"Sermons are hit or miss. Theology, though intriguing, can get messy, confusing and contradictory. People fight over it. But music can bring us together and raise us up in some mystical manner that defies explanation."From an earthly vessel comes music from heaven - Kalamazoo, Michigan Living News - The Kalamazoo Gazette – MLive.com
PS - on the more humorous side, two great videos from the Corrigan Brothers:I'm sitting at my home computer in tears -- I've just watched Susan Boyle's first performance on "Britain's Got Talent."
I know the whole world's been talking about her for weeks, but I just hadn't made time to listen to her sing.
[...] I google her name, and there she is, in all her dowdiness. I know, from news reports and conversations, that something magnificent is about to break forth. Still, when she opens her mouth to sing "I Dreamed a Dream," and that rich, resonant voice comes pouring out, I'm overwhelmed.From this antithesis of a superstar comes music straight from heaven.
I begin to cry. Not a lone tear sneaking down my cheek. But a torrent. A deep-hearted weeping that rises up and spills over like a river in springtime.
What's causing this? Is it the lyrics, the melody, the voice, or the fact that this simple 47-year-old woman from a village in Scotland has been given this amazing gift that she's finally sharing with the world? Or is it the fact that she's overcoming all of the world's petty prejudices about her? Is it her triumph over our ignorant idea that only the beautiful and the model-thin have the right to share their talents onstage? Or is it all of these things?
I suspect it's all of them. But it's the music, I think, that pushes my emotions over into tears.
What is it about music that is so intense? That can throw us to the depths or take us to the gates of God?
[...] Music has always been the most direct route to God for me. Maybe it was for my father too.
Sermons are hit or miss. Theology, though intriguing, can get messy, confusing and contradictory. People fight over it. But music can bring us together and raise us up in some mystical manner that defies explanation.
Just look at the faces of the judges as Boyle begins to sing. Or the audience members as they rise to their feet when she's done.
Moments ago they'd been jeering and mocking her when she came onstage. Trivial human concerns about clothes, hairstyle, body shape, sophistication were all that mattered.
Then music broke through. Shattered Earth's illusions. And struck all of us with awe.
For me, that's transcendence. That's the assurance of things not seen.
"How does each of us remain firm in our principles, and fight for what we consider right, without, as Father John said, demonizing those with just as strongly held convictions on the other side?
[...] And I said a prayer that night that I might extend the same presumption of good faith to others that the doctor had extended to me. Because when we do that -- when we open up our hearts and our minds to those who may not think precisely like we do or believe precisely what we believe -- that's when we discover at least the possibility of common ground. That's when we begin to say, "Maybe we won't agree on abortion, but we can still agree that this heart-wrenching decision for any woman is not made casually, it has both moral and spiritual dimensions.
[...] Now, understand -- understand, Class of 2009, I do not suggest that the debate surrounding abortion can or should go away. Because no matter how much we may want to fudge it -- indeed, while we know that the views of most Americans on the subject are complex and even contradictory -- the fact is that at some level, the views of the two camps are irreconcilable. Each side will continue to make its case to the public with passion and conviction. But surely we can do so without reducing those with differing views to caricature. Open hearts. Open minds. Fair-minded words. It's a way of life that has always been the Notre Dame tradition."
Another Look at Scientology: Trump Took the Right Decision: "However, I would be outraged at the thought that she would lose [her crown] because she dared express her opinion, even if I completely disagree with it."
Another Look at Scientology: Crusing the Good Wave: "This being said, I did find quite bad the famous interview leaked on to the Internet and which has been the target of numerous parodies (the funniest to date, IMO, being the SuperHero one). I realize that Cruise made the video for an internal audience and not the general public, something critics don't take into account in their mockery, but really he was not good at it. His arguments were weak and his laugh, well... stupid. By far the worst 'role' I saw him in."The Irony in this is that the parody video I was referring to has been taken off YT because 'This video is no longer available due to a copyright claim by The Weinstein Company.".
