The Sun's Love

I'm writing this afternoon from our pad on Pinehurst Avenue in Washington Heights / Hudson Heights. While perhaps not the most chic spot, its close proximity to the highest natural point in Manhattan proved ideal this weekend as we waited for Tropical Storm Irene to pass by.

"High and dry" would be an apt description.

While very thankful we never lost power or running water, we do now have an awful lot of non-perishables in the kitchen. (Not to mention the $13 in little candles I bought yesterday at the neighborhood pharmacy during an early afternoon rain that turned out to be regular old rain.)

The post-storm calm calls for an equally reassuring tune for this week's "YouTube clip for a peaceful weekend." I have selected Amanda McBroom's 1979-1980 song "The Rose" as heard in a 2008 episode of "Family Guy." (I saw this for the first time earlier this week -- don't know how it took me three years to catch it!)

Peace:



Clips from the episode are banned on YouTube. Fortunately, the "Family Guy" lawyers have not yet discovered its Japanese counterpart:

Jolene

Earlier tonight, the steady and I watched the season finale of "The Glee Project" on Oxygen. It's cotton candy for summer Sunday nights.

For his final offering, contestant Samuel performed Dolly Parton 's 1974 hit "Jolene." While I'm not a fan of most country music, I must say this is a fine song -- it's simple but memorable and tells a story.

For this week's very late "YouTube clip for a peaceful weekend" below are two covers of "Jolene." (The first is from The White Stripes. Up second is Ellie Goulding.)

Peace:

Softwood

For Catholics, today (August 15) is the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Out in Teaneck, New Jersey, my old college buddy Anthony Santella is doing a large scale carving of Mary out of the trunk of a dead softwood tree on the grounds of St. Anastasia Church.

Here are some images of the work in progress:



Also (via Fran on Facebook): Karl Rahner on the Assumption of Mary.

Flashbacks: Solemnities of the Assumption 2010, 2009, 2008 and Bertha.

Leads Me Into Life

This weekend, I was on retreat with Apostolist, the young adult group from the Church of Saint Paul the Apostle. We gathered at the retreat center on the grounds of St. Mary's Abbey and the Delbarton School in Morristown, New Jersey.

On Saturday night, we had a beautiful candlelight prayer service on side porch of the Kountze Mansion, also known as Delbarton's "Old Main." With the sounds of a light rain and various insects in the background, we sang three long Taizé chants.

For this week's "YouTube clip for a peaceful weekend," below is the first of those chants, "Bless the Lord, My Soul."

Peace:

A Privilege

Quote of the day:

"Do not regret growing older. It is a privilege denied to many."

- Unknown

(I spied this on the inside label of a bottle of Honest Tea.)

Heaven Opens

I'm writing tonight from the Hyatt in Wichita, Kansas. I've been here since Friday to exhibit for my gig at the Midwest Catholic Family Conference.

It's our fifth visit to this annual event that draws moms, dads, grandparents and loads of kids and teenagers from Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Texas.

I have been trying to think of a song related to Wichita or Kansas for this week's "YouTube clip for a peaceful weekend." Only one has come to mind -- and it's more a Hollywood creation than anything locally grown.

But, as it's already technically Monday, I better get to it. So, for this week's belated offering, below is the classic tune "Over the Rainbow."

Peace:



I chose the Ella Fitzgerald version because it includes the often-overlooked first verse:

"When all the world is a hopeless jumble,
and the raindrops tumble all around,
Heaven opens a magic lane.

"When all the clouds darken up the skyway,
there's a rainbow highway to be found.

"Leading from your windowpane,
to a place behind the sun,
just a step beyond the rain ... "

Pipes Are Calling

Tonight, the steady and I spent a lazy hour watching a new episode of "The Glee Project" on Oxygen. (Yes, it's a guilty pleasure.)

Near the end of the program, one of the young participants performed a rather unmemorable rendition of "Danny Boy."

Frustrated that such an amazing tune should receive a lackluster treatment, I'm posting another version here for this week's (quite late) "YouTube clip for a peaceful weekend."

Cue the late great Eva Cassidy.

Peace:



Flashback: St. Patrick's Day, 2010

La Divina

On Tuesday evening, we attended a fine performance of the the Manhattan Theater Club's Broadway revival of "Master Class."

The 1995 play by Terrence McNally is a look of the legendary opera diva Maria Callas. The soprano is adeptly brought to life in the revival by the Emmy Award-winning actress Tyne Daly.

From The Economist's review: "Ms. Daly is excellent, revealing a Callas-like commitment to text and nuance that vividly evokes La Divina's real despair."

For this week's belated "YouTube clip for a peaceful weekend," below is a clip of Callas singing the Puccini aria "O Mio Babbino Caro."

Pace:



Bonus: Callas with a selection from "Carmen":

Tell Her Everyday

My old college buddy Alicia (who lives in the Los Angeles area) will be visiting the Big Apple this coming Monday to Wednesday. In fact, the steady and I will be hosting her at our pad in Washington Heights / Hudson Heights.

In preparation, I spent nearly all of Saturday cleaning and organizing. It's amazing how the impending arrival of company motivates cleanliness!

While I was cleaning, I listened to some podcasts to keep me company -- specifically, the Dating God podcast and Catholic in a Small Town.

In one CST installment from several months back, Katherine Barron spent some time talking about how she appreciates the lyrics of the Bruno Mars hit "Just The Way You Are."

So, for this week's "YouTube clip for a peaceful weekend," below is that fine tune.

Peace:



Bonus: A violin cover:

Rewrite

This week's "YouTube clip for a peaceful weekend" was suggested by my cousin, Luke Snatchko.

It's the catchy new Paul Simon tune "Rewrite."

Peace:

A Land That's Free

This year's long Independence Day weekend calls for a patriotic tune for the "YouTube clip for a peaceful weekend."

Below is an old film clip featuring the late great Kate Smith performing the Irving Berlin classic "God Bless America." It's complete with the seldom-heard first stanza:

"While the storm clouds gather
Far across the sea
Let us swear allegiance
To a land that's free
Let us all be grateful
For a land so fair
As we raise our voices
In a solemn prayer ... "

Peace:



Flashbacks: 2010, 2006

Healer of My Soul

On Friday and Saturday, I exhibited for my gig at the Archdiocese of Atlanta Eucharistic Congress. With tens of thousands of attendees, it's always a great event.

Saturday evening, we attended the vigil Mass for the Solemnity of of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ ("Corpus Christi"). During Communion, the youth choir and instrumentalists presented John Michael Talbot's "Healer of My Soul."

Below is one man's rendition of that beautiful song for this week's (belated) "YouTube clip for a peaceful weekend."

Peace:

The Secret

Quote of the day:

"I think 80 percent of the population are really great, caring people who will help you and tell you the truth. That's just the way it is. And I think 20 percent of the population are crooks and liars ... So the truth is, the secret is, find out who the crooks and liars are."

-- Tom Hanks, from here.

Hat-tip: Scott Beveridge's Facebook Wall

Dear Prudence

Friday evening, we braved the scattered storms to head out to the Beer Garden in Astoria for our friend Ernie's going-away party. He's headed back to Texas after several years of life in the Big Apple.

Nearly the whole gang was there from the young adult group at the Church of St. Paul the Apostle in Manhattan (through which we came to know Ernie).

For most of the night, a young man on solo guitar ably played covers of many popular tunes. One that caught my ear in particular was The Beatles' 1968 song "Dear Prudence."

So, for this week's "YouTube clip for a peaceful weekend," below are two covers of this favorite -- one by another young musician named Andrew Stein and a live performance by the amazing Alanis Morissette.

Peace:

Not Afraid to Live

Most Christian traditions observe tomorrow as Pentecost Sunday. It's a little strange to be celebrating it in mid-June. But, as Easter fell late in this year's calendar, so then must Pentecost.

To learn about this special day in the liturgical year, the go-to person is A Concord Pastor. For more than a week, he has had many excellent posts with art, prayers and music.

At her blog, There Will Be Bread, Fran also has a fine post on Pentecost. In it, she includes this wonderful thought she once heard in a homily:

"Easter makes me not afraid to die; Pentecost makes me not afraid to live."

Below, for this week's "YouTube clip for a peaceful weekend," is a beautifully-done example of the chanted Pentecost sequence "Veni Sancte Spiritus" (Come, Holy Spirit).

Pax:



Flashbacks: Pentecosts 2010, 2009, 2009, 2008 and 2007.

Back to the Earth

We are in Western Pennsylvania this weekend vising family and friends as well as taking in some of the sights.

Today, we headed to Pittsburgh's Oakland neighborhood and visited the beautiful Phipps Conservatory and the nationality rooms at the University of Pittsburgh's Cathedral of Learning. It was my first time at both in several years.

As a tribute to my native place, this week's "YouTube clip for a peaceful weekend" features a song by the Pittsburgh band, Rusted Root. "Back to the Earth" was the last track on the band's mid-'90s debut album. (The Alaska photos in the video are unrelated to this post -- it was difficult finding a high-quality version of this song on YouTube.)

Peace:

As Christ To You

On Saturday morning, I attended the ordination to the priesthood of Paulist Father Dat Tran. Father Dat was ordained by New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan during a beautiful Mass at my parish, the Church of St. Paul the Apostle in Manhattan.

It was the first priestly ordination I have ever attended.

Among the many fine musical selections at the Mass was "The Servant Song" by Richard Gillard. Here below is a version of that hymn for this week's "YouTube clip for a peaceful weekend."

Pax:



Bonus: An instrumental rendition on dulcimer:

Compassion Walks

Some verse before the long weekend:

Compassion walks the city street
And listens with uncertain feet
That seek a home they cannot find
Because the heart that leads is blind.

Compassion holds a steady light
To show the way through chill of night
And takes the homeless by the hand
To lead them to a warmer land.

Compassion walks where life is hard,
Where eyes are blank and faces marred
By pain too great to understand,
And shoulders those too weak to stand.

Compassion is the Shepherd's name:
Who from the halls of heaven came
To travel landscapes bare and bleak
For those that only love would seek.

Compassion does not tire or sleep
But walks wherever suff'rers weep
Through ages past and still to come,
Until the world is gathered home
To rest at last where Mercy reigns
And heals all ills and stills all pains.

And there Compassion's walk will cease,
Where God is all, and all is peace.

- Sister Genevieve Glen, O.S.B.

Copyright 2002 by Benedictine Nuns, Abbey of St. Walburga, Virginia Dale, CO

The image above is a painting by Kevin Levick.

Anna Sun

I realize the weekend is almost at an end. But, since Sunday officially lasts another 20 minutes or so, I am still going to post a "YouTube clip for a peaceful weekend."

The piece below is called "Anna Sun" by the indie band Walk the Moon. I have no idea what the lyrics are about. But, it's a fun tune.

Peace:



Here's an acoustic version:



Hat-tip: Ryan N.

At the Center

Quote of the day:

"As a Christian, I don’t think my own personal satisfaction should be at the center of what I do with my life. I’m here to serve ... "

- Bishop Daniel Conlon, from here.