Not with my consent!

It seems that someone impersonating the President of the United States has decided to kill a U.S. Citizen, without benefit of presentment or indictment, and without due process of law. The facts of that killing are evident, and without any doubt. The person in question has all but boasted of them.

I will remind you of the relevant words of the Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which I believe remains the law of the land here:

No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation. (Emphasis in bold)

It would appear to follow that the so-called President has violated his Oath of Office, which I will quote here: I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. The text of that oath may be found in Article Two, Section One, Clause Eight of that Constitution.

I do not care if the person killed was the reincarnation of Adolph Hitler, or had simply engaged (as he appears to have done) in the aid and comfort of the enemies of the United States. The so-called President should have had the brains, the heart, and the guts to declare war, and (at the very least) should have occasioned a trial of the man for treason, before killing him.

The failure of the so-called President to do so was and remains a violation of his Oath of Office. Under Article 1, Section 3, clauses 6 and 7, it is for the Senate to determine whether the so-called President is guilty of high crimes and misdemeanors for his actions under Article 2, Section 4 of the Constitution.

While I doubt that the Senate will do so, as we currently have the best government that money can buy, I can at least exercise my rights of speech, the press, and petitioning the government for redress of grievances to say that this was a great wrong against the Constitution, and against the people of the United States.

Perhaps the so-called President can go down the road of tyranny.

But not with my consent!

What if this present were the world's last night?

What if this present were the world's last night?
Mark in my heart, O Soul, where thou dost dwell,
The picture of Christ crucified, and tell
Whether that countenance can thee affright,

Tears in his eyes quench the amazing light,
Blood fills his frowns, which from his pierced head fell.
And can that tongue adjudge thee unto hell,
Which prayed forgiveness for his foes' fierce spite?

No, no; but as in my idolatry
I said to all my profane mistresses,
Beauty, of pity, foulness only is

A sign of rigor: so I say to thee,
To wicked spirits are horrid shapes assigned,
This beauteous form assures a piteous mind.

John Donne

The real reason the BP oil rig blew up in the Gulf of Mexico

To find out why, click here.

Assisting your paranoid delusions since 2004.

Beginnings

In an earlier post, entitled The Sacrifice of Cain, I had made the thesis that perhaps the main reason why the real reforms of the Second Vatican Counsel never were implemented properly was because the clergy did not implement the reforms in priestly education mandated by Optatam Totius.

Those reforms included making sure that candidates to the priesthood knew Latin well, that they were encouraged to learn the languages of Scripture and Tradition (i.e., Greek, Hebrew and Aramaic), that they were first to obtain the educational prerequisites needed for those who were to go on to professional academic work, and that they were to get a thorough education in philosophy and theology, with particular emphasis on the fonts of the Holy Spirit: Scripture, Tradition, and Church Authority.

As anyone who has much acquaintance with many (but not all) priests who received their formation in the last two score years, it is obvious that most have not come anywhere near to gaining such an academic formation. It is therefore not surprising that, for the most part, they have been unable to implement the real reforms of Vatican II. You can't give what you don't have.

A discerning reader might respond with the running gag from Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: This is true, but unhelpful. I would entirely agree.

On the principle that it is better to light one small stick of dynamite than to curse the silence, or something like that, I am beginning to look through various websites, to find the means by which laymen or priests may get such an education on one's own. More will be forthcoming.

Watch this space.

Carpatho-Rusyn Chant, Part 1

In an effort to show the riches that Slavic Chant contains, I think it wise to include Carpatho-Rusyn chant. This music was the beginning of my experience of those riches, and I am deeply indebted to it, and to those who introduced me to it.

And so, I would like to begin to introduce you to it. I am happy to say, though, that there are such abundant riches that it will take quite some time, and any number of entries, to get anywhere near to covering it all. But, as Lord Farquaad from the motion picture, Shrek, would say: "It is a sacrifice I am willing to accept."

So, let us begin:

1. Really Great Stuff from the Old Country. If one goes to the website of the Greek Catholic Church of Slovakia, one will find this webpage of beautiful music. All of it is quite good. I particularly like this piece, which is one version of the hymn, God is with us, sung during the Orthodox Compline of the Nativity and of the Theophany (aka Christmas and Epiphany). Another one is this gorgeous chant with ison version of the hymn, Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silent, well known in the West, largely thanks to Ralph Vaughan Williams, but found first in the East, sung by the Orthodox for Great and Holy Saturday of Passion Week, when we mourn the death of God Himself. (Nietsche, Sartre, and Hitchens, eat your hearts out!)

2. Neat Stuff from the New World. If one goes to the website of the Metropolitan Cantor Institute, one will find scads of written music and recordings, both in English and Slavonic. One lack, though, is that one can't get much in the way of pdfs of the original stuff. For that, let me suggest:

3. Archival Material from a Good Guy Steve Puluka has provided on his website pdfs of just about every irmologion, or collection of sacred liturgical music, that he has been able to find. One can find that website here.

Enjoy.

Serbian Chant

At the beginning of the motion picture, The Peacemaker, we see an Orthodox Church in Serbia, and a small choir of men singing the service of Baptism (A YouTube clip of that scene can be found here). They are singing Serbian Chant, a chant that harks back to the Byzantine Chant of the Church that brought Serbia to the Faith. After seeing that motion picture, I was fascinated by the beauty of the chant sung there, and had wanted to learn more of it.

Thus, I would like to introduce you to the website of Nikola Resanovic, which may be found here. One of the chief treasures which can be found there (other than his own excellent compositions) is an extensive set of chant texts, in modern musical notation, in English translation, and on PDF, with many MP3s, of just about the entire Orthodox music in Serbian chant, which can be found here.

In addition, Mr. Resanovic has provided a complete set of PDFs of the Eight Tones of Serbian Chant, here, and instructional material as regards the nature and expression of those eight tones, here. These resources would reward any liturgical musician, whether Catholic or Orthodox, who wanted to examine (or perhaps to make liturgical use of) this musical tradition. And for those who would want to read or hear Serbian Chant in its original Slavonic, Mr. Resanovic is also beginning a new resource, which may be found here.

But Mr. Resanovic has done more than providing Serbian Chant: he has also continued the process of harmonizing Serbian Chant, which has been a tradition of the Serbian Orthodox Church for the last four or so centuries. PDFs and MIDIs of his work on liturgical harmonizations can be found here. Harmonized troparia and kontakia (hymns used in the Divine Liturgy, Vespers and Matins) can be found here. Hymns to Mary, Theotokos and Ever Virgin, can be found here. And paraliturgical hymns, including Christmas carols, can be found here.

For any one who wishes to sample the riches in Serbian Chant and harmonized hymns, I can think of no better beginning. Enjoy.

Watch This Space

With the new civil year, I have decided to resume my weblog.

I have also resolved to the following changes:

From now on, while I will be pointing out problems in the religious, liturgical, and musical world, I shall also be looking toward finding solutions.

The two main solutions that I can see are toward education, and toward providing resources.

We will see what we can do to help.

An open letter to Arturo Vasquez

Dear Arturo:

I really like your weblog. I have been following it, thanks to (or if you prefer to blame him, due to) The Young Fogey. I like the approach, which is very nearly that of ‘a voice crying in the wilderness’. The present apospasmatic (or if you prefer, ‘fragmentary’) age may be a technological terror or wonder (depending upon one’s point of view), but it is also a spiritual desert. Too many words. Not enough logos. Someone needs to call it for what it really is. Thanks for doing your part.

As regards your recent entry, Eastern Catholicism: UR DOING IT WRONG, I too have passed the various Kubler-Ross stages as regards Catholicism, from denial as regards how bad it is, to rage over its many failings, to bargaining (‘if only we restore Gregorian Chant. . .’, ‘if only we face the East. . .’, ‘if only we trust His Holiness, the Pope. . .’), to acceptance that it will really never change, save to get worse and worse. I’m expecting the parishes of St. Gilles de Retz in Laguna Beach, or Ss. Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas in either Oakland or Long Beach, or that we have discovered the ancient Liturgy of the Laodiceans, any day now.

I really don’t care any more. I am totally reconciled to the fact that, in spite of the high pronouncements and councils of perfection in the Second Vatican Council (and a lot of good scriptural, patristic and traditional advice there as well), Roman Catholicism in the United States and most other places appears to combine the worst aspects of a clerocracy and the booboisie of H.L. Mencken, and the lunatics in charge of the asylum will continue to do whatever they damned well please.

If you wish to consider this attitude as triumphalism, while I cling to my home parish of St. Andrew Russian Catholic Church with the fervor of a castaway holding on to his piece of wreckage, and for much the same reasons, then I suppose that the First Amendment would entitle you to your opinion. So far.

Unfortunately, I agree with you that the same rot is entering the Eastern Catholic Churches as well. As one example, most RC castaways who have clung to the Ruthenians (as but one example) are happy that their pieces of wreckage, which they call Byzantine Catholic Churches, are still above water. The old timers, among them many Rusyns who have been there far longer, have confessed to the same sinking feeling, though, and have either already bailed or are waiting to bail for something a bit more seaworthy.

I would also agree with you that it is best not to p*ss off the little old ladies. Of such are the stuff of St. Mary of Egypt, or St. Joan of Arc. Pat their heads patronizingly, and you are more than likely to draw back a stump. But from where I am standing, most of them are already more than a bit, er, peeved with both RC and EC churches. They are oh, so, hungry for that little taste of heaven which an honest prayer (or a well-served Liturgy) brings forth, and too many of the clerks have been depriving them of even the slightest of those tastes. Bad idea.

Speaking of other tastes, while I will sip Jerez if you set it before me, I much prefer either Modelo Negra or Guinness, at room temperature, thank you. I’d be happy to buy the first round, as we speak of Pico della Mirandola and the Christian Cabbalists and Neo-Platonists.

Very truly yours,

Bernard Brandt