A few days ago I was in my car and listening to the radio (which
is a rarity outside of listening to talk radio because the music of today is
infested with modernism and ear pornography.
I willingly admit that I got caught up in listening to such
music for a while, and from time to time find myself whistling something stupid
like “tainted love” when at work. But
praised be Jesus Christ for his slow prodding, helping me to find more
meaningful music, something to make the gears in my head turn and lift my
spirit up to God. Specifically speaking
when my cousin introduced me to Johnny Cash.
Now he doesn’t hold a candle to Gregorian Chant or a classical work by
Bach or Mozart, but I would specifically put his music from his “American
Recording” days in the worthwhile pile.
The music is spiritual, hard hitting and smells of a life of hard
knocks. You really cant go wrong with
any of these records, but I want to recommend two of them specifically. First is Unchained, which was released in
1996 (the year of Brett Favre's Super Bowl run…but lets continue). He was backed on this album by many familiar
faces like Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and Flea from the Red Hot Chili Peppers,
and took on many songs that were written as anthems with a less than uplifting
intent. In typical Cash style he takes
lemons, adds some sugar and water and makes lemonade flavored with his Baptist
leaning (note I don’t hold this against his music). I would recommend Southern Accents and I
never picked cotton to anyone!
In 2002 he released American IV: The Man Comes around. These songs were heart wrenching. His voice and his character drive is fleeting
on this album, but this album made me sit up and take notice of the importance
of faith. Everyone knows his now famous
rendition of “Hurt”, but the album is littered with music that will pull your
heart out and set you on your knees. I
would recommend his covers of “Bridge over troubled water” and “The first time
ever I saw your face”, along with Hurt which won quite a few awards, shocking
many with his obvious religious overtones.
In other news looks like Thursday might as well be D-Day for
us sticking our nose into the Syrian conflict.
So while Russia, China and Iran are warning us to but out of the
conflict we are just giddy to get in….Lord Help Us (and the US in general)! I am so tired of the world seeking peace
through the sword…may I suggest a consecration of Russia to Mary's Immaculate
heart specifically? I mean a Bishop is
consecrated to the world but specifically given a consecration to his diocese…just
saying…Lords will I pray!
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| photo credit |
When I was out in DC we went to the two Latin Mass
communities out there, and even got to see the great Monsignor Wadsworth at St.
Thomas the Apostle for the Feast of the Assumption which was a real grace. On Sunday we were blessed to go from the beautiful
Mother of Mary Church for the Latin mass to the
National Shrine of the
Immaculate Conception. It was gorgeous
and absolutely astounding. At every turn
you could see another altar and another fantastic work of art giving glory to
God. This is not to mention the building
itself which was awe inspiring. The
architecture was mesmerizing, and draws me to move closer to God. Here's a hint, beauty converts, stop building boxes and start doing the work necessary to keep the beautiful old Churches erect.
+JMJ+
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