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Last Updated: Friday - 09/24/2010

Week of November 10, 2003

Through her eyes to the rosary

Vegreville artist celebrates Mary's journey

By BILL GLEN
WCR Staff Writer
Edmonton

On the first day of the Year of the Rosary - Oct. 16, 2002 - Mark Mallett walked into his recording studio to begin production of a dream.

The Catholic singer/songwriter from Vegreville, laid down the first tracks of Through Her Eyes: A Journey to Jesus, a tribute to the rosary, which he hopes to have available on a double CD or cassette in time for Christmas.

While on a train to Hamilton, Ont., Nov. 2, having garnered two more music awards the previous evening in Ottawa, Mallett told the WCR that he has wanted to do the tribute for quite some time.

"We didn't know the pope was going to declare this the Year of the Rosary. I'm certain it's more than a coincidence," he said.

"I'm awfully excited because I think it will help people with the rosary. It's not only for the young and old, but for everyone to have a new way that has never been done before.

Rosary history

"I've been told this is rosary history in the making."

Mallett admitted the production, with co-producer Darcy Phillips, has been a mammoth project since its first inception more than two years ago.

He attributes the inspiration for the Guadalupan project to his cousin, Christine Foisy-Erickson of Mi Casa Ministries, which promotes Our Lady of Guadalupe.

"We have followed the guidelines the pope set out in his letter, Rosarium Virginis Mariae," Mallett said, "and included the luminous mysteries as well."

Twenty pieces of music complement 20 moments in history, much like a musical score, to help meditate on the mysteries.

"The music underscores the drama unfolding and makes it all come alive," Mallett said, who has enlisted the voice of Ephphatha House spiritual director Father Ray Guimond to help with the narration.

"It's a tremendous tool to enter the Life of Jesus through the eyes of Mary."

Travelling man

Mallett, who has just won Covenant awards for Country Album of the Year (Love Holds On) and Country Song of the Year (Makin' My Way), spends much of his time travelling across Canada and the U.S. playing his music to a growing audience. Through his ministry, what he does has rarely been tried before.

"It's an awfully big country. It takes a long time to be known. We (Lea, his wife) have done a lot of hard work, but it's slowly paying off," he said.

The rosary recording is a tribute to Mary and Jesus, but it is also a testament of the Mallett's faith and devotion.

"The pope has encouraged us to pick up the rosary again - to pray it with a renewed vision, to meditate on Jesus," he said.

"If we begin to focus on Christ and not just on the words we're saying, then the rosary takes on a transformative dimension.

"It can truly draw us closer to God."

To hear samples of the rosary CD, see www.markmallett.com.

To pre-order, call 1-877-655-6245.

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