Carthusians

What are my two loves of the Catholic tradition? Well, of coarse, God is first and foremost. Then comes my other two cherishings: sacred music and monks. God uses music and the lives of monks -who are already in love with Him - to romantasize the hearts of believers and inbelievers alike with transcendent sounds and consecrated quiteness. Both music and monks bring us closer to a mystery that has been revealed, but not fully.

The following poem, entitled Carthusians, was written by Ernest Christopher Dowson (1967-1900)about those superb and venerable Carthusian monks, who search for Him in ways and through paths known only to the holiest and the most true-hearted of human beings.

If you are not Catholic, the only thing I ask is that you keep an open mind about Carthusian monk tradition.

Carthusians

Through what long heaviness, assayed in what strange fire,
Have these white monks been brought into the way of peace,
Despising the world’s wisdom and the world’s desire,
Which from the body of this death bring no release?

Within their austere walls no voices penetrate;
A sacred silence only, as of death, obtains;
Nothing finds entry here of loud or passionate;
This quiet is the exceeding profit of their pain:

From many lands they came, in divers fiery ways;
Each knew at last the vanity of earthly joys;
And one was crowned with thorns, and one was crowned with bays,
And each was tired at last of the world’s foolish noise.

It was not theirs with Dominic to preach God’s holy wrath,
They were too stern to bear sweet Francis’ gentle sway;
Theirs was a higher calling and a steeper path,
To dwell alone with Christ, to meditate and pray.

A cloistered company, they are companionless,
None knoweth here the secret of his brother’s heart:
They are but come together for more loneliness,
Whose bond is solitude and silence all their part.

O beatific life! Who is there shall gainsay,
Your great refusal’s victory, your little loss,
Deserting vanity for the more perfect way,
The sweeter service of the most dolorous Cross.

Ye shall prevail at last! Surely ye shall prevail!
Your silence and austerity shall win at last:
Desire and mirth, the world’s ephemeral lights shall fail,
The sweet star of your queen is never overcast.

We fling up flowers and laugh, we laugh across the wine;
With wine we dull our souls and careful strains of art;
Our cups are polished skulls round which the roses twine:
None dares to look at Death who leers and lurks apart.

Move on, white company, whom that has not sufficed!
Our viols cease, our wine is death, our roses fail:
Pray for our heedlessness, O dwellers with the Christ!
Though the world fall apart, surely ye shall prevail.

Don't believe the quiz. I'm an Angel. Really, I am!

You Are 18% Evil

You are good. So good, that you make evil people squirm. Just remember, you may need to turn to the dark side to get what you want!

How Evil Are You?

Mozart's B-day + A music lesson for the day

Argent by the Tiber has a post reminding us today is the birthday of one of my favorite composers - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. This genius began his musical career at the tender age of five, writing his first symphony at the age of eight, and his first opera at the age of eleven (some sources say twelve). In his lifetime he managed to produce well over six hundred major compositions, and had a major influence over contemporary composers of his time (Beethoven).

Among his most popular compositions (I'm mentioning just a few. Too many to list completely) are his Requiem Mass, K.626; Symphony No. 25 in G minor, K.183; Piano Concerto No. 21 in C major, K.467; Symphony No. 40 in G minor, K.550. Not listed are his many piano and violin sonatas, as well as violin, horn, and piano concertos, string quartets, string duos and string trios, operas and divertimentos, serenades, masses, and many miscellaneous compositions.

By the way, the "K" next to Mozart's compositions and the numbers that follow it are known as the Kochel numbers, or, if you prefer, the K-numbers. Ludwig Ritter von Köchel (1800-1877) was a musicologist, writer, composer, and botanist, who catalogued the works of Mozart.


Piano Concerto No. 21 in C major, K.467




Ave verum corpus, K.618




Symphony No.25 in G minor, K.183




Symphony No. 40 in G minor, K.550




Also, if I'm not mistaken, he also wrote the 1985 hit Rock Me Amadeus (posthumously published) and performed by Austrian pop star, Falco. LOL!



"Before God and as an honest man I tell you that your son is the greatest composer known to me either in person or by name. He has taste and, what is more, the most profound knowledge of composition."
~~ Franz Joseph Hayden to Leopold Mozart

Carry Your Cross

I got this over an email, which means it must be circulating in other places. It's kind of mushy, but gets the point across.

The young man was at the end of his rope. Seeing no way out, he dropped to his knees in prayer.

"Lord, I can't go on," he said. "I have too heavy a cross to bear."

The Lord replied,

"My son, if you can't bear its weight, just place your cross inside this room. Then, open that other door and pick out any cross you wish."

The man was filled with relief.

"Thank you, Lord," he sighed, and he did as he was told.

Upon entering the other door, he saw many crosses, some so large the tops were not visible. Then, he spotted a tiny cross leaning against a far wall.

"I'd like that one, Lord," he whispered.

And the Lord replied,

" My son, that is the cross you just brought in."

Tagged!

I've been tagged by Jaime at Bell Literary Reflections who, I might add, has an insatiable appetite for books and authors of every kind. I envy you, Jaime, not just for your love of books but also for the cozy place you created to read them.


1) Which book do you irrationally cringe away from reading, despite seeing only positive reviews?

Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. I cannot put into words how tiresome and banal this book is. It's like watching grass grow while under deep sedation.


2) If you could bring three characters to life for a social event (afternoon tea, a night of clubbing, perhaps a world cruise), who would they be and what would the event be?


Well, quite a few come to mind. To be whimsical and literarily consistent with the tea portion of the question, perhaps the Hatter (a.k.a. Mad Hatter) from Alice in Wonderland would make for an interesting tea-time guest. For a night of clubbing I would bring Yossarian of Catch-22 to life. His comical gutlessness would keep me cracking up all night long. And finally, for the world cruise, I select poor old Jacob Jankowski from the novel Water for Elephants. He's had it far from easy, so a well deserved getaway might do him some good.


3) (Borrowing shamelessly from the Thursday Next series by Jasper Fforde): you are told you can’t die until you read the most boring novel on the planet. While this immortality is great for awhile, eventually you realise it’s past time to die. Which book would you expect to get you a nice grave?


Again, Atlas Shrugged. There might actually be medicinal usages for this book. If given as a reading assignment before surgery, some patients might be so dummied up they might actually avoid the dangerous afterclap of risky anesthetics.


4) Come on, we’ve all been there. Which book have you pretended, or at least hinted, that you’ve read, when in fact you’ve been nowhere near it?

I have to agree with Jaime and go with The Davinci Code - although I have been perfectly clear with other people about not finishing it. I knew historically the book was a complete fabrication, but the plot and characters never engaged me like better written stories have.


5) You’re interviewing for the post of Official Book Advisor to some VIP (who’s not a big reader). What’s the first book you’d recommend and why? (If you feel like you’d have to know the person, go ahead and personalise the VIP).

If he's not a big reader, I would introduce him to a twentieth century literary classic: 2001 A Space Odyssey. It's an adventuresome and creative production by Arhtur C. Clarke that mysteriously describes an extraterrestial visitation to our solar system by alien entities, as well as the evolution of mankind.


6) A good fairy comes and grants you one wish: you will have perfect reading comprehension in the foreign language of your choice. Which language do you go with?

I'll take Russian, so that I may read Fyodor Dostoevsky in his native tongue.


7) A mischievous fairy comes and says that you must choose one book that you will reread once a year for the rest of your life (you can read other books as well). Which book would you pick?


Well, I LOVE books that make me laugh, and this one is an ol' favorite of a great many people: A Confederacy of Dunces. Folks, if any of you don't like to read but want to laugh until it hurts, pick this one up. You WON'T regret it.


8) I know that the book blogging community, and its various challenges, have pushed my reading borders. What’s one bookish thing you ‘discovered’ from book blogging (maybe a new genre, or author, or new appreciation for cover art-anything)?

A few weeks ago, Katie Alender, who has a book coming out this year, gave the book Life of Pi a great review. I had read the plot summary of this story and found it completely uninteresting. But with Katie's push I'm thinking that the summary I read might do the book no justice. Also, Jaime's positive review of the book Crossed: A Tale of the Fourth Crusade has firmly placed it in my must-buy list.

9) That good fairy is back for one final visit. Now, she’s granting you your dream library! Describe it. Is everything leather bound? Is it full of first edition hardcovers? Pristine trade paperbacks? Perhaps a few favourite authors have inscribed their works? Go ahead-let your imagination run free.

Wow! This fairy better have a big budget. LOL! Actually, in terms of setting, I would like something that is both versatile and intimate. Something that draws from the contemplative atmosphere of a monastic environment while at the same time employing various components of an office space. A place where you can read and write as you read. And, yes, it would be filled with first editions that contained the authors' handwritten notes or dedication.

For sure I'm tagging Katie Alender. If you like to read and want to share with the rest of us some of our literary inclinations, take me up on the challenge and consider yourself tagged!

Well, I'm off to the gym. See ya!

A Goofy Post

You Are A Romantic Realist

You tend to be grounded when it comes to romance. Sure, you can fall hard... but only for someone you've gotten to know. And once you're in love, you can be a total romantic goofball... But you'd never admit it to your friends!

Are You Romantic or Realistic?

Oh, please. Me? A goofball? Have I ever written goofy posts for this blog or made goofy comments on anyone else's? (You don't have to answer that)

In Paradisum

If you haven't noticed by now, I LOVE sacred music. I especially enjoy those works that are imbued with a sense of mysticism (mystery of God) and transcendence. At the pinnacle of all sacred works is Gregorio Allegri's Miserere (see music player on side bar), which was composed almost 400 years ago and is still performed in the Sistine Chapel during Holy Week at the Vatican. Unfortunately, not every composition can be a Miserere or a Palestrina production, but that doesn't mean they carry no beauty of their own. One such wonderful work is the marvelous Requiem by French composer Gabriel Urbain Fauré. Melodic, inventive, sometimes dark but always beautiful, this Requiem is one of my favorites by a composer outside the Baroque era. Below is the "In Paradisum" excerpt of the Requiem Mass. Note the rather playful mood that characterizes this segment of the work.

This one is for *YOU* (you know who you are) who visited my blog minus THE words

I'll let another Thomas - of a sort - say it for me:)


Unknown

She is most fair,
And when they see her pass
The poets' ladies
Look no more in the glass
But after her.

On a bleak moor
Running under the moon
She lures a poet,
Once proud or happy, soon
Far from his door.

Beside a train,
Because they saw her go,
Or failed to see her,
Travellers and watchers know
Another pain.

The simple lack
Of her is more to me
Than others' presence,
Whether life splendid be
Or utter black.

I have not seen,
I have no news of her;
I can tell only
She is not here, but there
She might have been.

She is to be kissed
Only perhaps by me;
She may be seeking
Me and no other; she
May not exist.

Edward Thomas

I can just imagine the potential misunderstandings that come with this post. I should leave this kind of stuff for me second blog. Sheesh...

Shame On Me

Ever been shamefully aware of knowing things that you shouldn't? If I'm going to fill my head with useless data, I should at least make an effort to educate myself about people who have made this world a better place, sometimes at tremendous sacrifice to themselves.

This is a list of shame - MY shame. The list below contains the names of actors, political figures, and all-around dolts that I have heard of and recognize when their faces are plastered all over a magazine or television. It's shameful because instead of knowing EVERY NAME of every saint in the cannon; instead of knowing theology more fully; or the works of every great humanitarian in history; or every name of the men and women who are fighting in Iraq; or the names of ALL the victims of the September 11th attacks, I know these names.

1) Paris Hilton (useless twirp)
2) Lindsey Lohan
3) L.Ron Hubbard
4) Britney Spears
5) Rick and Cathy Hilton (parents of the useless twirp)
6) Michael Jackson
7) Scott Peterson
8) Tom Cruise
9) Richard Dawkins (dogmatic/ fundamentalist atheist)
10) George Clooney
11) New Kids on the Block and Backstreet Boys (this one is especially unforgivable)
12) Hulk Hogan
13) Marilyn Manson (?????)
14) Charlie Manson
15) Colin Ferrel
16) Brian Seacrest
17) Courtney Love (skank)
18) Katie Holmes (victim)
19) Madonna
20) Kid Rock
21) Ted Kennedy
22) Dr. Phil
23) Pamela Anderson
24) O.J. Simpson
25) Nancy Pelosi
26) William Hung (American Idol reject. "She Bangs")
27) Kevin Federline (sloth)
28) Ashlee Simpson
29) David Letterman (NOT funny)
30) Rosie O'Donnel ( ditto )
31) Oprah Winfrey
32) Christopher Hitchens (dogmatic/ fundamentalist atheist)

There are many, many more.

Either from approbation or infamy, I can't justify knowing who these people are while having such incomplete knowledge of other people and other subjects that really matter. Please pray for me.

A little humor from before he became Pope...

Karl Rahner, Hans Kung and Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger all die on the same day, and go to meet St. Peter to know their fate.

St. Peter approaches the three of them, and tells them that he will interview each of them to discuss their views on various issues.

He then points at Rahner and says "Karl! In my office..." After 4 hours, the door opens, and Rahner comes stumbling out of St. Peter's office. He is highly distraught, and is mumbling things like "Oh God, that was the hardest thing I've ever done! How could I have been so wrong! So sorry...never knew..." He stumbles off into Heaven, a testament to the mercy of Our God.

St. Peter follows him out, and sticks his finger in Kung's direction and "Hans! You're next..." After 8 hours, the door opens, and Kung comes out, barely able to stand. He is near collapse with weakness and a crushed spirit. He , too, is mumbling things like "Oh God, that was the hardest thing I've ever done! How could I have been so wrong! So sorry...never knew..." He stumbles off into Heaven, a testament to the mercy of Our God.

Lastly, St. Peter, emerging from his office, says to Cardinal Ratzinger, "Joseph, your turn." TWELVE HOURS LATER, St. Peter stumbles out the door, apparently exhausted, saying "Oh God, that's the hardest thing I've ever done..."

Arthur Peacocke

I came across an essay today by one of my favorite authors involved in the science-religion dialogue, the late scientist and Anglican priest Arthur Peacocke. Soon after he was diagnosed with cancer around July of 2004, Peacocke, realizing his death was immanent, wrote his Nunc Dimittis (Lord, now let your servant go) and left behind him a letter of comforting words letting us know God is real. When you read his Nunc Dimittis down below you'll know that you need not have interest in the science-religion debate to appreciate a good Christian. It's a long read but well worth it.




Nunc Dimittis
Arthur Peacocke 2006
Up until July 2004 I was blessed with a long, healthy and fruitful life. In July 2004, in my eightieth year I was diagnosed not only with prostate cancer, but having it in an advanced form. This was an enormous shock to myself and my wife who was with me in all the medical consultations.


The hormone therapy which I was prescribed was of the simplest form and limited my public activities very little. However when I visited St. Petersburg in the spring of 2005 to attend a conference I was finding walking very difficult, even for very short distances. Consequently I had to cancel two holidays, many conferences and lectures which would have taken me abroad. It was only during this time that the enormity of what I had to face up to gradually dawned on me and this catalysed me to finishing off "An essay in interpretation" concerned with a more naturalistic understanding of the Christian faith which I hoped would be congenial to more orthodox believers as well as those who are seriously challenged by the scientific world view as the norm for their thinking.

I was also happy to see the fruition of my co-operation with Ann Pedersonin "The Music of Creation" which was published in November 2005 with an accompanying CD to give musical illustrations of the text . Meanwhile I was much less mobile but not so much that I could not spend Christmas with my daughter in 2005. By this time I was taking an enormous range of pills, bouts of nausea were becoming frequent, and it was becoming less and less possible to envisage a normal life of any kind.

I was trying to be stoic and trying not to inveigh against God for what was clearly going to be my fate - a fate I had not really envisaged or imagined. However I did manage, with the help of my wife and daughter, shuffling me between cars, hotels and view points to visit for a few days my beloved Cairngorms and Strathspey, but clearly life was rapidly changing. And not only in this regard. It became clear - during a short stay in hospital where I was treated(unsuccessfully) for excessive swelling in my legs- that the house we had lived in for a long time would be impossible to manage with one person an invalid. Hence the house was sold and we bought a small flat that would be suitable for the two of us. The move, especially clearing out the accumulation of over twenty years would have been impossible without the energetic and willing help of my grandson David who gave up his summer vacation to do this.

I had only a week living in the flat before the cancer struck again,totally immobilising me to the extent that I was taken to Sir Michael Sobell House. This is a wonderfully caring hospice that brought me through near fatal kidney failure. I was cared for there for five weeks and then moved to a nursing home from which I am at present writing and where one day is very like another. I experience discomfort as I am washed and hoisted by carers, for I am paralysed from the waist downwards. This alternates with relatively pain-free periods when I can read, listen to music and enjoy the company of friends and family who faithfully and regularly visit me. I have long been one of those who have been unsure about the role and efficacy of intercessory prayer. My view of it was that the intercessor by placing him or herself in the presence of God, with the person prayed for very much in mind, enabled that person to experience the enfolding presence of God. I felt that the person prayed for was being taken up in the loving arms of God enhancing the divine presence. I can honestly say that this is what I have experienced. Many many people from the science-religion community, a wide circle of friends and of course my family have assured me that they are praying for me. It seems that my suffering has evoked a response from friends and colleagues which has revealed to me (surprisingly) how my words and actions have been a positive influence in their lives. This kind of prayerful support I had not expected; it was, and is a great help. Uniquely through all of this the mutual love of my wife and myself has been enriched and deepened in her daily visits and the knowledge that we share the same prayers and the conviction that death will not part us.

Over the years I have given much thought and spilt much ink on the nature of God and God's interaction with people. Not surprisingly the subtler nuances of my deliberations have fallen away before the absolute conviction that God is love and eternally so. This remains the foundation of my prayers and thoughts for "underneath are the everlasting arms." This is not always easily experienced and it needs much concentrated meditation- the "black dog" of depression is sometimes difficult to expel. Another of my concerns over the years has been the recurrence of what theologians call "natural evil" I have often attempted to illustrate the ambivalence of this concept, for example showing that what we call natural evil is a consequence of a divinely created law-like structure implementing the divine purpose to bring into existence intelligent persons. The irony is that one of the examples I took was the role of mutations in DNA which are the basic source of evolution, and so of the emergence of human beings, - and also of cancer. This is a new challenge to the integrity of my past thinking. I am only enabled to meet this challenge by my root conviction that God is Love as revealed supremely in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus the Christ.

However the fact remains that death for me is imminent and of this I have no fear because that belief. This conviction was not available to the non-Christian audience who, according to Bede, were addressed concerning the mystery of life. "Such", he said, "O King, seems to me the present life of men on earth, in comparison with that time which to us is uncertain, as if when on a winter's night you sit feasting with your ealdormen and theigns,- a single sparrow should fly swiftly into the hall, and coming in at one door, instantly fly out through another. In that time in which it is indoors it is indeed not touched by the fury of winter, but yet, this smallest space of calmness being passed almost in a flash, from winter going into winter again, it is lost to your eyes. Somewhat like this appears the life of man; but of what follows or what went before, we are utterly ignorant."

Thanks to the revelation of God through Jesus the Christ we do not share this ignorance. I know that God is waiting for me to be enfolded in love.
Death comes to every one and this is my time.

Nunc Dimittis

Arthur Peacocke 2006

I can't figure him out...

John Dominic Crossan is an example of what an atheist would believe if he was religious. This former priest - who resigned the ministry close to forty years ago - decided to continue his involvement in Catholic academia despite his dissidence over significant traditional Catholic teaching. Co-founder of the infamous Jesus Seminar, Crossan has made an effort to demythologize Jesus Christ into a figure that would be analogous to the Buddha. As if that wasn't enough, Crossan - who claims to believe in God - DOES NOT believe in life after death.

What is wrong with this guy? Dr. William Loewe of Catholic University told me in an email that despite the fact that Crossan was a brilliant scholar, there were times when he was just "plain wrong."

Je t'aime: A prelude to Valentine's Day

I know I'm jumping the gun, folks, and I also know that there are observances much more important than the one I'm about to mention. But today I was reminded that in just a little over a month it will be Valentine's Day.

A friend of mine who works for the Bellagio here in Vegas, told me last night that their wedding chapel was going to get hit with a storm of would-be married couples that week, and that the amount of flowers that will be distributed across the properties to guests was unthinkable. Naturally, I happened to have my mom with me at the time we were having this discussion and the first question that came out of her mouth was, "Thomas, what are you waiting for?" Basically, when am I going to take the plunge and make her a grandmother? My dear mother will never accept the fact that her son DOESN'T want to get married. I'm not saying that I've completely ruled out that possibility, I'm simply stating that at this point in my life I don't have that inclination. Could that change by tomorrow morning? Absolutely. But until that natural and unforced change freely comes along this is where I feel most at peace. I think my mom has forgotten that I have to find the right woman for that type of commitment; and I can tell you that the ones I've gone out with recently were not marriage material for this bachelor.

Well, we must let history take its coarse and let things unfold as they should. HotTaMolly is the opposite of me. She wants to get married but realizes that timing plays a factor. For now, I will do the unoriginal act of adding to my sidebar what I feel are some of the nicest love songs that I know. The list is incomplete, so if your song isn't there I apologize.

I don't like these percentages

You Are 25% Left Brained, 75% Right Brained

The left side of your brain controls verbal ability, attention to detail, and reasoning. Left brained people are good at communication and persuading others. If you're left brained, you are likely good at math and logic. Your left brain prefers dogs, reading, and quiet. The right side of your brain is all about creativity and flexibility. Daring and intuitive, right brained people see the world in their unique way. If you're right brained, you likely have a talent for creative writing and art. Your right brain prefers day dreaming, philosophy, and sports.

Are You Right or Left Brained?

Martyred Monks of Tibhirine

On March 26, 1996, just outside Algiers, a group calling itself The Armed Islamic Group broke into Our Lady of the Atlas monastery and took hostage seven of the nine Trappist monks living there. They demanded the release of members of their group that were being held in France and in Algiers in exchange for the seven monks. After two months of captivity and no favorable response from French and Algerian authorities, the seven monks were beheaded by their Muslim captors.

I wrote this post for several reasons. Number one, I love Catholic monks. They present to me - with great authenticity and tangible reassurance - that God is real and not make-believe. They live their days away from the hustle and bustle of secular operations, not so they can keep YOU out of their way but rather to keep themselves out of yours. Another reason is that these group of murdered men have largely been ignored by Catholic sources I expect to observe and remind us of the vile and infuriating act of savagery they were victims of.

The monks of Our Lady of the Atlas were under constant death threats from various groups to leave their monastery and Algiers. But because they felt a strong commitment to their community and had an established presence in the area, they ignored those threats and continued with their way of life. When civil war tore Algiers apart, these monks cared for the sick (one of the monks was a doctor) and they visited their Arab neighbors. After their murders, a letter by prior Father Christian de Cherge was made public. He ends this letter by addressing the man he knew someday would kill him:

"And you too, the friend of my final moment, who would not have known what you were doing,Yes, for you too I say this THANK YOU and this "A-DIEU" to commend you to the God in whose face I see yours. And may we find each other, happy "good thieves", in Paradise, if it please God, the Father of us both. AMEN!"

My Mind is on Lent

We've just celebrated Christmas and New Year's Day, and my mind is quickly turning towards Lent. With Lent, it seems that the whole world is transformed by the liturgy that recapitulates the Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Believing, as I'm sure most of you would agree, isn't always easy. This will sound frivolous to you, but my personal struggles come from what my faith tells me and from the seemingly contradictory propositions made in the science arena. I have wrestled with the two since I was a mere child, and getting answers to my questions has been very difficult for me since I don't have anyone in my immediate vicinity to consult with.

Perhaps while I wait for answers, I should interpret my struggles as something analogous to the strain that Jesus faced when He was instructed to spend forty days in the desert, hungry and tempted. My hunger would be for answers (God), and my temptation would be surrender and say there is no God. However, I know that God shall reveal more of Himself to me in due time. During these times of doubt and desolation, He could be calling me to an ever deeper relationship with Him. Also, to help advance our faith it would help to recall those mystics who, throughout the ages, romanticized our hearts by courageously asserting the promises of Jesus Christ. I ask again, could Chardin, C.S. Lewis, Eckhart, Grffiths, Avila, and Lisieux be COMPLETELY wrong? Could they have been victims of megalomania or self-delusion? I think not.

I shall continue to seek my God with all my heart and with all my mind knowing that in due time I shall know more.



"Do not abandon yourselves to despair. We are the Easter people and hallelujah is our song." ~~ Pope John Paul II

Too Early to Ask?

How far did you make it with your New Years Resolutions? Or were you smart and made none? I typically make mine a week or so before New Year's Day, so that by the time January 1st rolls around I've broken every single one of them.