From the film Little Caesar, 1931 "It's like comparing cats and dogs." Ever heard that expression before? Ever used it? I did, several years ago. I was teaching a 9th grade theology class in a (more or less) Catholic school, and same sex marriage (a hot topic at the time) came up for discussion. I wanted to emphasize that … Continue reading Our Eternal Destiny: Armed Robbery, or A Warm Place By The Fire?
Cons or Coeds? Sin, Suffering, and the Mystery of the Cross
Who would you expect to be more open to conversion, prison inmates, or students at a Catholic college? "It's not even close," was the priest's reply.
Looking for God in All the Wrong Places
There’s an old joke about a police officer who was walking his beat one night when he came upon a man, apparently drunk, crawling around on his hands and knees on the pavement under a streetlamp. “What are you doing?” asked the officer. “Looking for my keys,” came the reply. “Where’d you lose them?” … Continue reading Looking for God in All the Wrong Places
Before the Storm: The Finale to Haydn’s The Creation
We've been looking at selections from Haydn's oratorio The Creation over the past few weeks . Last week we saw the overture, "Chaos," a musical representation of the state of disorder that prevailed before God created the universe. The selection before that was "The Heavens are Telling," based on Psalm 19. This piece comes at the end … Continue reading Before the Storm: The Finale to Haydn’s The Creation
What Do you say to a God who permits bone cancer in children? Ask Chiara Badano
This is the transformative power of faithful suffering. If we let him, Christ can transform our suffering into a powerful force for the good of our fellow men and women.
A Musical Evocation of Chaos by Joseph Haydn
Last week’s musical selection was “The Heavens are Telling” from Joseph Haydn’s masterpiece, an oratorio called The Creation. There are three parts to the oratorio as a whole. The first part deals with the creation of the heavens and earth, and inanimate things such as light, water, land and plants.The subject of the second part … Continue reading A Musical Evocation of Chaos by Joseph Haydn
Newspeak and the Word of God
If you want to change the Church, if you want to change the beliefs that have animated Christians for two millennia, you need to take away the concrete images, the traditional words, and the familiar actions that embody the traditional understanding of the faith.
Sacred Music With an Edge – “The Heavens Are Telling” from Haydn’s The Creation
Do you want to talk about living on the edge? "Few composers can boast on their curricula vitae," wrote R.J. Stove in Catholic World Report a few years ago, "a deliberate and successful avoidance of gelding. Haydn could." Indeed he could: it was only through the timely and forceful intervention of his father that … Continue reading Sacred Music With an Edge – “The Heavens Are Telling” from Haydn’s The Creation
“Choice” and the Father of Lies
Truth is the mortal enemy of Sin. There is nothing sin hates and fears more than the truth. Few issues illustrate that reality as starkly as abortion. In Roe v. Wade the court sacrificed the Truth of Human Life to the Untrammelled Human Will.
I Show You The Times: The Truth v. The Narrative
Ultimately, it comes down to a matter of truth. Our Lord tells us "He who is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much; and he who is dishonest in a very little is dishonest also in much." (Luke 16:10) How can we hope to be faithful to Him Who is "the Way, the Truth, and the Life" (John 14:6) if we're not faithful to the ordinary everyday truths?