Arts & Culture: December 2003 Archives

Giles, today there comes to
redeem us
A shepherd boy, our kinsman,
God Omnipotent!

He frees us from
Satan’s prison;
But he is kin of Bras,
Menga, and Llorente,
Oh, He is God Omnipotent!

If He be God, why sold
And crucified dies?
Giles, in His suffering innocently,
Do you see, He vanquished sin?
He is God Omnipotent.

Oh, I saw Him being born
Of a shepherdess most fair.
If He is God, why did He
desire
Among such poor folk to be?
See you not that He is Omnipotent?

No more questioning,
Let us serve Him
Llorente, since He comes to die,
Let us die with Him.
He is God Omnipotent.

Mark Steyn, whose wisdom and intellect are not yet legendary but should be, has some things to say about Europe's practically non-existent birthrate:

I recently had a conversation with an EU official who, apropos a controversial proposal to tout the Continent's religious heritage in the new constitution, kept using the phrase "Europe's post-Christian future". The evidence suggests that, once you reach the post-Christian stage, you don't have much of a future. Luke, a man of faith and a man of science, could have told them that.

His exposition of Luke 1 at the beginning of the article is accurate and perceptive. Steyn consistently reminds the public about some uncomfortable truths, among them that kids are essential to a functioning society and not ornamental. Europe (and Japan) is embarking on a dangerous experiment: having massively expensive social programs and expecting immigrants and the young to shoulder the cost. That the fiscal numbers don't add up does not seem to bother them too much.

My personal opinion is that the European Union is nothing more than a continent-wide suicide pact, designed to ensure that Europeans can live comfortably at the state's expense as they contracept and abort themselves into oblivion. Look at Europe's birthrates and tell me that's incorrect.

Two brief comments this evening:

1. As part of my personal crusade to "Keep the Incarnation in Christmas," I want to reiterate, contra every choral society in the English-speaking world, that Handel's "Messiah" is an Easter oratorio. Furthermore, the "Halelujah" chorus from that oratorio is a celebration of THE RESURRECTION, not the Nativity. The words are from Revelation, not Luke. It's exciting music. I love it. But it ain't for Christmas.

2. Some mischevious persons change the words of "Hark! the Herald Angels Sing," because their tender ears can't stand to hear masculine pronouns used in an inclusive manner. "Pleased as man with man to dwell" is what Charles Wesley wrote, and that's what we should sing. If you are "uncomfortable" with standard English, and you like gender-bending music, my advice is to write your own damn song.

Aside from eliminating the play on words with the double meaning of "man" (since when did liberals favor artistic censorship?), it's an attempt to fly from the meaning of the Incarnation. "Pleased with us in flesh to dwell" is less theologically robust and it puts the emphasis on us, the worshippers.

Anyone else have Christmas hymn atrocities against which they would like to rail?

I received this in my Inbox:

Hi Eric,

I was wondering if you could post an announcement for me on your blog. I'm doing some publicity for a literary journal of orthodox Catholic poetry and prose that will be started up next year. We're looking for contributors and subscribers. The journal is called the St. Linus Review. Here's the website: www.stlinusreview.com. Thanks!

Sarah DeCorla-Souza

Sounds like a good idea to me. I think it's a little ambitious to expect that the prose must be under 350 words -- that's practically haiku! -- but I'm not much into fiction, so my opinion doesn't count for much. Good luck to you, Sarah, and all your collaborators and contributors.

Is it possible for Rod Dreher to write about any Catholic topic except sexual scandals? One wonders. Do a Google search on "rod dreher" child sex and you'll see what I mean. Here's his take on Lauryn Hill's embarrassing speech:

...What [she] did was rude, but prophets don't stand on protocol. I'm thrilled she went right to the heart of our Church and said what she did. The AFP report quotes her as having told the cardinals and invited guests: "Holy God has witnessed the corruption of your leadership, of the exploitation and abuses which are the minimum that can be said for the clergy." She also called on the hierarchy to "repent."

Good for her. It's a shame it takes a non-Catholic to show that kind of courageous witness to the hierarchy, which has so grievously failed Catholic children and their families in the sex-abuse scandal.

Sure. No Catholic -- not the Pope, not George Weigel, not Father Neuhaus, nobody -- has spoken out about the scandal.

And to him, she's a prophet, like Jeremiah or Isaiah! The Lord must be hurting for prophets these days. Maybe a more articulate prophet can explain what "the exploitation and abuses which are the minimum that can be said for the clergy" means.

Come on, Rod. You're a smart guy and a faithful Catholic. Being shrill and strident isn't going to help anything. You might consider taking a sabbatical from the kiddie-sex beat for a while.

Lauryn Hill, a singer whose oevre I am completely unfamiliar with, denounced the Church's leadership at the Vatican's Christmas concert. Maybe someone can explain why a non-Catholic was performing at the event. I know nothing about the her, except that she's made some pro-life music in the past, which I assume is why she was invited in the first place.

I don't agree with the stereotype that says Americans are all insensitive boors who are eager to share their ill-formed, ignorant views on many topics, but it's not hard to see where that opinion comes from.

A nude mural of our Lord on the outside of an Orange County church is dubbed "The Bawdy of Christ".

A fan site for the Passion movie has photos, with news and FAQs in English and even Latin.