Contact: Ben Peterson, PR Specialist, OCP, 503-460-5363

PORTLAND, Ore., July 14 /Standard Newswire/ -- Six years ago, Sarah Hart stumbled across the Anima Christi in an old prayer book her mother used as a child. Awed by the beauty of this ancient prayer, she set it to music, then began searching for more. The first collection of its kind, "SaintSong" is a contemporary montage featuring wisdom from saints throughout the ages.

"The process of creating this project allowed me to really deepen my Catholic faith, through the knowledge of these saints and their beautiful perspectives on God," says Hart. "My hope is that maybe it will do the same for others."

The CD presents 12 brand new compositions in Sarah's signature folk-pop style. Texts include poems, prayers and other writings by some of the Church's most revered doctors and theologians. St. Augustine figures prominently, as do women mystics like Catherine of Siena, Hildegard of Bingen and Mechthild of Magdeburg.

With sub-sections inspired by lectio divina, the ancient Benedictine method of praying with texts, each song becomes a devotional and catechetical exercise. The CD is enhanced with a prayer guide that directs the listener through four steps: Read, Reflect, Respond and Rest. "Read" features the complete song text along with a short bio of the saintly author. In "Reflect," Sarah shares her personal thoughts on the text. "Respond" is a prayer or petition inspired by the text, while "Rest" offers a theme for meditation.

The devotional content and songs combine for a powerful resource for personal prayer and more. Offering several songs for use in the liturgy, "SaintSong" is great for youth and young adult ministries, retreats, sacramental preparation, and prayer services.

Sarah discusses the music of "SaintSong" in short videos available for viewing at www.spiritandsong.com/saintsong. Visitors to the site can also hear full-length versions of 11 songs and purchase the enhanced CD, offered at $18.00.

About spiritandsong.com
spiritandsong.com, a division of OCP, offers the latest releases by both big-name artists and emerging new talents. OCP, a not-for-profit publisher of music and worship resources based in Portland, Oregon, has been in operation for more than 80 years. Worship materials produced by OCP are used in thousands of churches in the United States and are distributed worldwide. More information is available at 1-800-548-8749 and ocp.org.