Theology

Now, i am what is termed a "marginal' Christian. I believe in Jesus, and not a whole lot of the historical ecretion that has taken hold for 2000 years. I do still go to church on occasion,and my children are /catholic/christian. Upon reading a theologian who I admire , Stanley Hauerwas, I was suddenly struck at the utter bullshit that is theology. Not scripture study,theology. It is almost akin to astrology. To take something that was uttered 2 millenia ago and extropolate that into dogma and rules is absurd. To fight and disect where only certain people can comprehend is so far from the message of Jesus that I shake my head. And Laugh at the cosmic joke. Theology is Jean Vanier and Larch`e, theology is The Catholic Worker houses,theology is every person who bends over to help instead of harm by apathy,to work to create that community, that beloved community,which is our charge. The rest, as another said, is commentary.

Stockhausen

Karlheinz Stockhausen, musical visionary creator of great music and utter bullshit, has died. His electronic music was brilliant, new, life affiming stuff. Later, he assumed the mantle of the prophet sage, selling his own music and work amid his hexagon shaped house, surrounded by acolytes. His final opera saga if you will, LICHT runs somewhere between 29 and 31 hours, a feat of endurance that would dwarf even Wagnerians. Still, at his best, his music was beautiful and strange and wonderful. His pronouncements[and I do not mean his allged WTT comments} were self indulgent bordering on preposterous, though, his childhood would have scarred anyone. So rest in peace, Brother , and thank you for the Licht you brought to all.

Music and color

Music often projects color,as does the sense of smell. I do not have synthesia,yet often I can associate smells with colors. I think this is what Olivier Messiaen attempted to do with his music,the tonal scales producing such sensations. While listening to the various works of Messiaen,his density is followed,often it seems, by quiet.His love,obsession,with birdsong finds its way on to almost all of his post 1950's work. I think in his birdsong is the key to Messiaen, trying to if not imitate the pure sound,to reproduce it for those of us who could not hear it. Interesting, actually, is Messiaens view of color and sound, crossed with Ken Kesey's,both looking for God ,their muses differing,yet their lives color soaked ,in bright vivid neon{Kesey wore ,maybe helped bring along tie-dye, Messiaen favored loud,brightly colored Hawaiian shirts.}While not attempting a false synthesis, both remind me ,often, of the ending 15 minutes of Kubriks masterpiece,2001,A Space Odyssey,when the astronaut David Bowman,peers into the vastness and says[in the book,anyway} "My God, it's full of stars!" then flies through color never before seen. That, to me is Messiaen and Kesey{ and Arthur C. Clarke}, all of us, standing on the abyss where God is...

Tragedy

A NYC Firefighter lost his life yesterday, a few days after many did in South Carolina.There are no Words,just prayers for their families . In South Carolina:Capt. William "Billy" Hutchinson, 48; Capt. Mike Benke, 49; Capt. Louis Mulkey, 34; Mark Kelsey, 40; Bradford "Brad" Baity, 37; Michael French, 27; James "Earl" Drayton, 56; Brandon Thompson, 27; and Melvin Champaign, 46. And in Brooklyn, Daniel Pudjak,23. Rest In peace,all...

on watching the news

My son insisted on watching the re-run of Charlie Rose yesterday afternoon, and there he was,no not Chuck[who has the coolest job on Tv, and is a terrible interviewer} but henry Kissinger, the old war criminal himself, having found a new lease on life[as it were] with the current adminstration. If you though the usurper in the White House could not reach any lower,ponder that K is a welcomed guest at the white House,and is CONSULTED ON IRAQ!!!!! My God, how terribly frightening that is...I am loathe to discuss politics,simply because it is ultimately a dead end,a plague on both of their houses,gutless,compassionless cowards,masquerading as tough guys.Ugh...
Well,the Mets finally won again last night, the absurd ridiculous inter-league nonsense, brainchild of Bud Selig[OXYMORON}, continues. So instead of seeing the cubs or pirates or Giants we get the Twins and A"s?sigh.anyway, here is John Maine, pitching a fine game a shutout, 4 hits through 7 and 1/3, and Willie pulls him, almost shooting himself in the foot again.This is the Tony La Russa school of managing, which insists you use the closer for one inning only, and a setup man in the 8th.etc. overmanaging,trying to prove how 'smart' you are.sigh.another reason, besides the ever diminishing strike zone,that games last forever.They continue to try to ruin perfection.Baseball is perfect,yet, they contiue to tinker...am reading Flannery O'Connor's Spiritual writings, put out by the good folks at Orbis books.Terrific book, great writer[The Modern Spiritual Masters series by Orbis is an excellent resource. I have and have read theAlfred Delp.SJ, Perdro arrupe,S. J., Simone Weil, Clarence Jordan,Oscar Romero,Mother Maria Skobotsova and Teilhard De Chardin volumes, and am waiting to read Swami Abishkitananada. A superb series}...The infamous Photograph by the late Kevin Carter is below the cost of war running total for the obvious reason that that IS the cost of war.Only when we view that child as our own child will it cease.

Remembering Fr. Doug Brown

As I get older, I retain memories that grow more evocative.Odd,no, how a piece of music, a smell,color, can bring forth such things. It was a Bach Cantata that brought with it memories of Doug Brown.Doug tailored the cursillo retreat and turned it into the Christian Awakening,which held forth, in its salad days, at St Pauls retreat center on Humboldt street in Greenpoint,Brooklyn.Literally thousands of young men, full of oats as it were passed through the doors, and left at least slightly the better for it. Brown was stern at times but gracious,fair, kind and generous, one of the two or three finest human beings I have met. His influence is still felt, though muted and anonymously, with the many adaptations of the movement he helped usher in.He was that rarity, an excellent Catholic preacher, was a dear good friend. I still miss him, though, as is oft said, there is no such thing as a Christian tragedy.In the late 1960's and through the middle of the 70's, St Paul's center was a hub of activity.You could FEEL the spirit working. Now, those days are long gone, idealism replaced with certitude.Sigh. I wish we had 1/5 of Doug Brown's vision and 1/10th of his courage around now...

Morning raga

Listening to Nikhil Banerjee this morning, I got to thinking about India, that extraordinary country made up of hundreds of thousands of villages,a billion people,literally hundreds of dialects, and many many faiths. Listening to a Christian missionary talk about converts in India, made me think of what my dad always said"people are happy as they are, doesn't God love people as they are?" That would effectively end mission work. Now people like Maryknoll, the New Friar Movement and some others, really live the Gospel, in Gospel poverty as a WITNESS. Unlike the "electronic soul molesters"{ to quote brother will Campbell}they seem willing to learn as well as teach.Where Im going is here: so much of what is said and done in the Lords name is horrible,a soul disturbing confidence scam, a game of three-card-monte, a shell game playing with peoples emotions[and most importantly, their purse strings} I would think that maybe, just maybe, we as a people, should mind our own business, and thank God Almigthty for people like Ole anthony and the folks at Trinity foundation,who expose these venal theives....
an a less esoteric note, My Mets seem to be taking on water.and Fast. Time for wille Randoplh to show that he can actually, uhm, manage. Managing that Mets team last year was not exactly difficult.Losing 12 out of 14 is not the mark of a good team, and , eventually the manager has to actually DO SOMETHING.