Have you ever delighted in listening to an album with beautiful renditions of songs such as What Child Is This and Silent Night, only to be abruptly taken out of your delightful state by a tacky track such as Jingle Bell Rock? So many CDs have wildly varying songs, possibly because of a desire to […]
This article is a reflection on how music has shaped my devotion to the Church. There will be links to my favorite music: liturgical, hymns and other. I’d be grateful if readers would note in comments their favorite music. I won’t say much about the psychology of music or how music affects the brain. A […]
Normally I attend a parish that has excellent music—the best in town, actually. However, last Christmas Eve I ended up at a Mass that included a strange musical prelude. There were great voices in the choir, but the instruments employed (drums and an electric guitar) were out of place. The pounding and grinding were like […]
The year was 1967. The Summer of Love. Across America young people adopted a new way of living: “turning on, tuning in, and dropping out.” Love, or something like it, was in the air. But the counter-cultural movement of the Sixties caused much pain and confusion in the Roman Catholic Church. Today we suffer from the hangover: sex and drugs […]
Celebrations – those joyous affairs that offer a welcome distraction from the drudgery of everyday life; a time when the weight of worldly concerns takes a backseat to festivity and lightheartedness; a venue in which happiness is allowed to prevail, even if only for a moment, buoying the spirits of those who but surrender to […]
Reflecting Upon Attending a Christian Concert On Friday, February 4, I attended the Rock and Worship Roadshow at the Resch Center in Green Bay, WI.[i] I went because the artist Matt Maher was playing and I hoped to have the opportunity to meet and talk with him.[ii] I am glad to say that I was […]
Last Wednesday night I had the pleasure of addressing a “Theology on Tap” gathering of young adults on the topic of how to prepare for the new English translation of the Roman Missal. During the Q&A portion of our time together I was somewhat surprised when a number of attendees wondered aloud about how the […]
