With the new Moreau First-Year Seminar curriculum, students are required to attend three co-curricular events. For one of these events, focused on the theme of rest, Moreau hosted Luke Spehar, a Catholic musician, to play a concert at Legends of Notre Dame on Nov. 13.
The night began with a few words from William Mattison, the Moreau program’s faculty director, who noted his love for Spehar’s work, which began with listening to him while on retreats with the Alliance for Catholic Education. As Spehar picked up his 12-string guitar, he explained that he was going to play “Holy Ghost” as “an invitation to let the Holy Spirit come into this space.”
The second song played was “To Saint Michael.” Spehar reflected that this song was “freaking scared right out of me,” as he considered what it meant for there to be a devil in the world.
“Any time we open our heart to anything good, true or beautiful, anything that would increase the faith, hope and love in our hearts, any time we even open up to the possibility of that, there is an evil that would do whatever it could take to distract you from receiving those beautiful gifts from the Lord,” Spehar said.
He started the song by plucking the strings, then transitioning into strumming, all while maintaining an impressively fast tempo. The 12-string guitar and quick tempo gave the music an almost Irish sound that was quite impressive. Unfortunately, some of the enunciation of the lyrics was lost as a result of the speed.
Spehar’s voice is very impressive. While speaking, his deep voice has a scratchy, rough quality, but this melts away when he begins to sing. While singing, he stayed very close to the microphone.
Next, Spehar exchanged his 12-string guitar for a classic 6-string. The third song was “Which Road.” This song grappled with the uncertainty of the future, reminding students that everyone is “fearfully and wonderfully made.”
The refrain of this song emphasized the struggle of having uncertainty about the future, and highlighted how, to live by faith, one must turn to the Lord over and over again with each challenge one encounters.
The refrain goes, “I’ve come to find that I learn slowly, / and most of the time / the hard way. / I’m meant to move, but / I tend to linger and stay. / Show me now / which road I should take today.”
The rest of the set focused on the virtues of faith, hope and love, with one song for each.
The song for faith was “The Plan.” Spehar reflected that faith manifests through actions. He emphasized the theme of rest by encouraging students to rest when angsty. While he conceded that such an instruction is difficult to follow, he suggested that it is easier when one steps into life with Jesus, even though it is difficult.
This song told the story of God’s knowledge of and plan for our lives through a beautiful extended metaphor of chess.
For hope, Spehar added a harmonica and sang “Love Songs and Lullabies,” dedicated to his wife. He shared the story of feeling pulled between the love of his life and his career that keeps him on the road.
For the love section, Spehar brought out the bass guitar and sang “Be Still.” This is Spehar’s most streamed song, with 1.47 million streams on Spotify, and it highlights Spehar’s skill with dynamics.
Finally, the set closed with “Joshua (Strong and Courageous),” emphasizing the way that rest takes courage, and featuring lyrics like “When my doubts feel as tall as the walls of Jericho, / I hear your words calling out.” This song also featured the impressive range of Spehar’s voice.
While Moreau had advertised that admission was capped at 200 students and warned students to arrive early to secure a seat, there were lots of empty chairs and only about 100 students present.
