Two organ concerts and a lecture
And all in one week. Of course, it is not hard to hear many lectures in one week if you happen to be in Grand Rapids during January because of Calvin's famous January Series. (A reason to retire to G.R.) John Hamersma (husband of the little dynamo who runs the J series)opened this year's series with a lecture/concert on what makes an organ different from other instruments, complete with a student assistant who blew over Heinekin (sp?) beer bottles and a set of pan-pipes. Then today I heard George Weigel, the biographer of Pope John Paul II (a fascinating biography, by the way), speak about JP's legacy, the significance of the choice of the new pope, and the challenges facing Benedict XVI. One of the legacies stood out to me--John Paul's raising the question of freedom for our age. Is it merely personal wilfulness (to quote Frank Sinatra--"I did it my way.") or is it truly choosing the good. Weigel claims that this is a central issue for the future, relating to the nature of marriage, beginning and end of life issues and other biotechnical conundrums.
As for the significance of the cardinals' choice of Ratzinger (which we'd know if we had read his book God's Choice), it is, he claims, a resounding affirmation of JPII, a resounding affirmation of Ratzinger himself, the refusal to buy into the (false)media characterization of Ratzinger, and a signal that the forty year effor of the world to compell the Roman Catholic church to bend its moral teachings otmodernity is over.
The four challenges he mentioned were the death of Europe from spiritual boredom(literally with its declining population) which can only be stemmed by a reconversion to its spiritual roots, a strategic dialogue with those elements within Islam who desire reform, reforming the Curia and reform of the criteria for selecting bishops. I wish I could have asked about how one can dialogue with Islam's reformers and still hold to a notion of "truth-centered dialogue" (which is one of JPII's other legacies. My reading of some Islamic reformers tells me that not all of them hold to that kind of notion of truth (but my reading is limited).
And the other organ concert? A concert last Sunday celebrating 25 years of the organ at First Pres in Wooster, with its organist, a trumpter--Ellen's "old" teacher and now a prof at Old Miss, and his wife, a fine (light) opera singer, both regulars at Ohio Light Opera each summer. Wonderful!
As for the significance of the cardinals' choice of Ratzinger (which we'd know if we had read his book God's Choice), it is, he claims, a resounding affirmation of JPII, a resounding affirmation of Ratzinger himself, the refusal to buy into the (false)media characterization of Ratzinger, and a signal that the forty year effor of the world to compell the Roman Catholic church to bend its moral teachings otmodernity is over.
The four challenges he mentioned were the death of Europe from spiritual boredom(literally with its declining population) which can only be stemmed by a reconversion to its spiritual roots, a strategic dialogue with those elements within Islam who desire reform, reforming the Curia and reform of the criteria for selecting bishops. I wish I could have asked about how one can dialogue with Islam's reformers and still hold to a notion of "truth-centered dialogue" (which is one of JPII's other legacies. My reading of some Islamic reformers tells me that not all of them hold to that kind of notion of truth (but my reading is limited).
And the other organ concert? A concert last Sunday celebrating 25 years of the organ at First Pres in Wooster, with its organist, a trumpter--Ellen's "old" teacher and now a prof at Old Miss, and his wife, a fine (light) opera singer, both regulars at Ohio Light Opera each summer. Wonderful!
posted by Barb @ 11:14 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home