1st Verse:
I was an unhappy soul in the past
And dug myself into a deep hole fast...
That would take faith in something I didn't know-about
The grace was coming when I was down-and-out...
A presence could be felt and it couldn't be ignored
My negative life sentence was about to be cut-short
Because I saw the evil and pulled the cord to get some real life-support...
Jesus came to me and I somehow knew he was always watching
I was pleased and dark hallways were no longer an option... 

1st Verse:
The light can still shine on the darkest of days
At night there may still be crimes but we continue to pray...
The love Jesus has for us
Is so open yet at times mysterious...
The hope continues
From writing this note with open windows
My coat is always yours and I'm sure it will fit-you...
Brothers and sisters
Cousins and teachers...
We all deserve love and... 

Hip Hop lyrics by Alex were made into a Hip Hop song and a Folk-Country song. See how we did it! Richard has recorded two audio demos. See revised lyrics in Comments section. See the Comments section for the progression of lyrics and the two different song approaches. 

Love 101
Original Hip Hop lyrics by Alex:

1st Verse:
The cold weather followed me around town
But I never sold my soul even though I was mostly down...
Then I got to know the lord
That's when I knew it was time to put down my sword
That frown turned upside down and I started to adore...
Everything around me - and it seemed magical
Was I in a dream - because life became manageable...
And beyond - this must be the answer
So I put love into every song and mess around like an amateur dancer...
Because very few opinions only matter to me
Life gave me a platter when I decided to be free...
  

Please see this blog article to see how this collaboration with Asiansa09 evolved: topcatholicsongs.com/enchristment

Initially, I had imagined this song would be slow and meditative. But the Spirit made me go uptempo! Tell me what you think. Record the song and send it to me! A lead sheet with guitar chords is attached to the end of this story. Thanks, Dan (Asiansa09), for the inspiration.

5/12/17: I uploaded a revised audio demo in which I did voice pitch correction and also corrected mistakes I had made in singing the melody in verses 2 and 3.

7/20/2017: I uploaded a piano + voice score (notated sheet music) which can be downloaded free as a PDF file. See download links at end of story. Huge thanks to my music colleague André van Haren for preparing this arrangement!

9/28/2017: See the Sibelius score player below. A brand new feature of Sibelius 8.7. Thanks to André van Haren for sending me the embed code for his Sibelius engraving. Please comment below if you have questions about Sibelius or scoring/engraving in general. This song has been submitted to OCP Music for consideration. 

Enchristment

CHORUS
On my knees, I humbly pray.
I love to feel your radiance.
My heart is one with you, O Lord,
in this moment of Enchristment.

VERSE 1
My God, my Christ, you are in my heart.
I praise you, I worship you.
Your presence in this holy place
makes me want to be with you
forevermore.

VERSE 2
My God, my Christ, you are in my mind.
I pray, with Mary, for chastity.
I pray for us to receive your... 
  

This track deals with the current state of the world through the mind of a Catholic. Everyday issues are presented and evaluated. This song was composed by my friend and I. I am on vocals while he is on guitar.

Artist: God's Messengers
Title: The Hardest Song of Songs
Genre: Religious
Year: 2016
Composer: God's Messengers

It's the Second Luminous Mystery. It's Our Lord's first miracle. AND it has everything to do with YOU, right now....

NOTE: We submitted this song to Oregon Catholic Press (ocp.org) but it was not accepted. 

​Our World So Beautiful is a new Christmas song co-written by Dan vi Nguyen, Richard Schletty and André van Haren. Dan posted her lyrics here and asked if anyone could make a song out of her words. Richard Schletty rewrote the lyrics to give them a consistent rhyme, line length, metrical pattern and overall poetic structure. Then Richard came up with a melody. Next, André van Haren wrote a beautiful piano arrangement based on an a cappella recording of the melody by Richard. Using Sibelius, André engraved the sheet music not only for piano and voice, but developed the song fully by adding guitar chords and two additional instruments: flute and cello. He also engraved a version of the song with optional SATB harmonies in the refrain...