What's Going to Happen to the Children When There Aren't Any More Grown Ups?

This the title of a satirical song written by Noel Coward, the English. Like all that he does, one wonders at his sharp wit and brilliant use of language. In describing the self-indulgent behaviour of a small number of very rich in the 1920s, he seems to predict whole course of the 20th century and now the 21st in three verses and a chorus with an accuracy that makes one shudder. When writing an article about new numbers of Brits going walking in Spain, I quoted the title of another of his songs, Mad Dogs and Englishmen Go Out in the Midday Sun. As I was trawling around for the link, YouTube offered a series of other Noel Coward performances and curiosity took my cursor to this one.

In this song, Coward is brilliantly making fun of the hedonism of the upper classes in 1927 (although some of the references make me wonder if has updated the lyrics for this recording in the 1950s). In his characteristically English and erudite way, he describes how the adults behave like children right through middle age and and on to old age.

The pleasures that once were heaven, look silly at sixty-seven,

Does it amuse the tiny mites, to see their parents high as kites?

One day you'll clench your tiny fists, and murder your psychiatrists'

He describes excessive drinking, drug taking (he lists the drugs), plastic surgery, undignified drunken 'jiving' by the elderly trying to stay young, people seeking distraction through radio and television in order to avoid the responsibilities of life and then trying to assuage their consciences by running to the psychiatrist's chair. My guess is that this song was popular at the time because those to whom he refers would take a perverse pride in being wealthy enough not to have to behave like responsible adults; and then many of the rest of the population would genuinely like the idea of poking fun at wealthy for their childishness.

It would not have been known at the time just how truly destructive this behaviour is to the person and society and so this is one reason perhaps why he could get away with references to such things at the time. I imagine also the brilliance of the way he has crafted the song and his wit would mean that he was probably given more slack than his contempories.

Listening to it today we know the degree to which the lives he describes are worse than superficial, they are irresponsible and destructive. This bitter truth contrasted with the whimsical manner in which he delivers it,  it gives the  experience a macabre edge. Another surprise is when it was written, in the late 1920s. It is so accurately prophetic that it sounds like a jab at the hedonism of the sixties, not the twenties. What was true for a small part of the upper classes then, steadily became the standard for behaviour for a large minority perhaps even a majority in society later.

There is an element of self-parody in this song, for Coward was firmly part of the world that he is revealing to others. To hear him articulate so well all the consequences of such behaviour it sounds as though he knew full well where it was leading him. One wonders how troubled he was personally? If that were me, I couldn't live with myself.

http://youtu.be/IqZDroXkwdM

This article was first published in 2012. I was reminded of it by hearing someone talk of importance of the family for nurturing the faith. The hope for the children, one feels, is that they know that there is one who is truly and dependably grown up, Christ. They will learn this through seeing their parents humble themselves before God, kneeling or bowing in prayer. Then though mum and dad are less than perfect occasionally (though one hopes not as bad as those that Coward describes), they will know that there is a greater standard to look to and to rely upon.

Don't forget the Way of Beauty online courses 

• 3 College-level transferable credits,    $900. 
•  Audit the college-level course,      $299
•  Take a reduced version for 25 hours continuing education units (fewer video classes, less material, less interactive teaching)    $99

Accredited by Thomas More College of Liberal Arts, available through www.Pontifex.University. To sign up go to the www.Pontifex.University Catalog here.

For artists, for architects, for priests and seminarians, for educators, for all undergraduates! And for everyone who seeks what every Catholic education should offer - a formation in beauty through a living encounter with a cultural inheritance.

Start your own Alpha and Omega Group!

Meet for Vespers and Compline; plus a meal and conversation...and if you have a Dominican from the Western Province to hand all the better!

I remember that the Anglican Church in England designated the 1990s as the 'decade of Evangelism' with the goal of evangelizing the whole of the nation prior to the millennium. This seemed an absurdly optimistic goal to me, but I suppose if we remember that strictly to evangelize means 'to show' people Christ rather than to convert them then they might have come close, depending on what you consider showing people Christ means.

One thing that did come out of this energetic push to carry the gospel was the proliferation of 'alpha groups'. This was based upon a series of recorded talks about Christianity. Parishes set up groups in which people brought along food for a potluck meal, they watched the video and then had a discussion based upon it, perhaps guided by a series of questions that came with the video. I don't know how successful it was in converting people, but it was certainly successful at reinforcing the faith of existing Christians, which is a very good thing too. It was good enough for many other churches including the Catholic Church to follow the format and add additional videos that filled the gaps in the presentation of Christianity of the protestant Evangelicals.

My father ran one at his local Methodist church and I attended one the evenings he lead. It was popular enough that they repeated for several years and what was interesting was that quite a number of people came to the alpha groups each year that it took place, even though the materials were repeated. What they enjoyed I think went far beyond what they were learning intellectually, it was the fellowship with like minded people.

As far as I recollect, the hub of this evangelical (and Evangelical) push was Holy Trinity church in Brompton ('HTB'). This is the epicenter of guitar-strumming Evangelical Christianity in the UK. Readers in London will be aware that ironically it is is situated immediately adjacent to  a church which is at the other end of the spectrum, the traditional Catholic and very liturgically minded Brompton Oratory. In fact, when I was living in London and attended the Oratory regularly, a group of us used to go and sit in the grounds of HTB on pleasant summer afternoons and have a picnic after attending Solemn Mass at HMO (Holy Mother Oratory).

I do remember one of the Fathers at the Oratory joking that the name of the group - alpha - indicated that they had made a start but it was incomplete; he was referring to quotation in the Book of Revelation: 'I am the alpha and the omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.' The Oratory even started a series of talks of their own and they called it the 'Alpha and Omega Group'. If there is one church in England that understands evangelization it is the Brompton Oratory and they do not need to do it via organized talks or alpha-type sessions. Many, many converts have come to the Faith as a result of its mission of beautiful liturgy and spiritual direction from the Fathers. I am one of them.

I wanted to play my part in the evangelization of the Faith and so all I had to do was invite them to attend Mass their with me - perhaps with the promise of beautifully sung polyphony even if they didn't like the rest of it. A number of those converted including one his death bed a few months later (at the age of 40, when dying of cancer, may he rest in peace). All I had to do, I reckoned, was get them in there and the Fathers of the Oratory and the Holy Spirit would do the rest.

A beautiful Mass is always going to be what draws most powerfully to the Faith, but I think that there are things on the line of the alpha group that we could do to support that. My brother and his wife have just started a regular group in Berkeley, California that meets for Vespers, a potluck meal and then Compline. It involves minimal organization and runs at a relaxed pace from about 6.30pm to 9pm. They just invite friends and because they and they are lucky enough to have a large enough room in their home to accommodate perhaps 20 people, they encourage friends to bring others along. This is not an official parish event, it's all done through their own networks. There is no need to have a priest involved or use church space if they are not available.

When Rob and Anna described it to me he said it was a great success. The great thing is that the liturgy gives the evening a purpose, inspires conversation if they need it and engenders deep fellowship through the Holy Spirit. Also there is enough repetition so that people who are totally unused  to what is going on will pick it up over the course of each evening and subsequent evenings (they meet fornightly); and enough variation so that it distinguishes one evening from another and maintains interest. We have been encouraged in recent times by the popes since Pius XII (to my knowledge) to sing the Office in the domestic church and here is a simple way that it is being done.

They sang in the vernacular and were lucky enough on the first couple of occasions to have a local Dominican priest come along. The Western province of the Dominicans in the US has done a lot of good work in working out good and singable chant for the English language (apologies to other Provinces if I'm being unfair and you have contributed too!).  Before he moved to where he is now, Rob used to live walking distance from St Albert's Priory in nearby Oakland and whenever I stayed with him we used to go down and pray with them. I made use of much of what I heard either directly or indirectly in the singing of the Office at Thomas More College of Liberal Arts.

It was one of the recently ordained priests, Fr Dominic David, whom we used to see there when he was a student who came to these first evenings. He helped people by explaining what the Liturgy of the Hours is and taught people the tones. Some had never done anything like this before in their lives, but they happily joined in once things got going. They have some simple Anglican style, four-part harmonies and there were one or two others present who were experienced choristers who could easily pick up the simple harmonies. Rob told me that it was a wonderful thing to be part of this especially all those praying were chanting.

Benedict XVI told us that the domestic church ie prayer in the home centered on families is crucial to the new evangelization because of the effect that it has on those who pray and their participation in families and in society in general so establishing a 'culture of love' (cf Address to Plenary Assembly of the Pontifical Council for the Family, Thursday, 1 December 2011). 

Provided that the ultimate purpose is the worship of God so that the liturgy isn't instrumentalized, then fruits will ensue. Then as sacred liturgy it is showing us the alpha and the omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end and, to quote Sacrosanctum Consilium, the source and the summit of all.

So perhaps think about this at home...start your own alpha and omega group.

Don't forget the Way of Beauty online courses 

• 3 College-level transferable credits,    $900. 
•  Audit the college-level course,      $299
•  Take a reduced version for 25 hours continuing education units (fewer video classes, less material, less interactive teaching)    $99

Accredited by Thomas More College of Liberal Arts, available through www.Pontifex.University. To sign up go to the www.Pontifex.University Catalog here.

For artists, for architects, for priests and seminarians, for educators, for all undergraduates! And for everyone who seeks what every Catholic education should offer - a formation in beauty through a living encounter with a cultural inheritance.

Do the expanded, college-level Way of Beauty online course for a third of the price

You can audit the college level course for just $299 (full price for credit is $900); and if you have done the cont. ed course already, then we will deduct what you have paid already and you can take that next step up for just $200 A number of people have been asking me about the difference between the  differences in the content of the college level course and the one for continuing education. The answer is quite a lot! There are 21 more videos to watch, including a whole history of Western art from the Greeks to the present day, so you can put all the theory presented into context much easier. There are also videos showing how modern astrophysics is compatible with ancient cosmology; how both are in harmony with the cosmic symbolism of the liturgy by taking you through the day of worship at a traditional Benedictine monastery; and giving greater detail on the nature of beauty itself. Furthermore there are opportunities to take part in interactive seminars after each new video which guide you to greater understanding of the information you are receiving.

For more information go to the Online Course page on this blog, or direct the Catalog at www.Pontifex.University

Furniture design in harmony with the cosmos

Here is a video demonstrating how furniture makers used to incorporate the musical harmony into furniture design. Some might remember that I featured the book that this promotes, By Hand and Eye on this site some time ago. http://youtu.be/MaUP_K2sW5A

Don't forget the Way of Beauty online courses 

• 3 College-level transferable credits,    $999. 
•  Audit the college-level course,      $299
•  Take a reduced version for 25 hours continuing education units (fewer video classes, less material, less interactive teaching)    $99

Accredited by Thomas More College of Liberal Arts, available through www.Pontifex.University. To sign up go to the www.Pontifex.University Catalog here.

For artists, for architects, for priests and seminarians, for educators, for all undergraduates! And for everyone who seeks what every Catholic education should offer - a formation in beauty through a living encounter with a cultural inheritance.

New recording of the Lord's Prayer by Jernberg with scrolling score for choirs

Paul has just sent this to me. It is the Our Father from his CD so the quality is much higher and also he has loaded it on YouTube so that the score srolls as the choir sings. This means that it will be easy for choirs to learn. Every choir should start with this - it is amazingly easy to sing and as you can hear from the recording sounds great. Also, in this recording you get a sense of how the whole Mass is sung - the priest is intoning the parts normally spoken. For more information go to pauljernberg.com.

http://youtu.be/aFlrmie-MhM

Don't forget the Way of Beauty online course www.Pontifex.University (go to the Catalog) for college credit, for continuing ed. units, or for audit. A formation through an encounter with a cultural heritage - for artists, architects, priests and seminarians, contributing to the 'new epiphany of beauty'

Why Did They Ever Make This Tea Pot?

You cannot separate true utility and beauty, the two are connected. Some things have both...and some have neither

Anyone from the UK will recognize this 1960s design of teapot. I remember first seeing them as a boy at a rest stop on the M6 motorway which runs from Birmingham to Glasgow through the northwest of England. We were struck by how modern they looked in gleaming stainless steel. Everything in the 1960s looked modern and at the time I thought it was great. As a 7 year old I was enthusiastic about it all, from concrete shopping malls through to 100% nylon shirts that always untucked themselves spontaneously because of the static they generated. We went out and bought one of these new teapots.

This design is still knocking about. I was reminded of them when I went for a cup of tea in a cafe in England and the milk was served in a jug of this design. The milk jug had exactly the same design flaw as I remember in every teapot like this - it was very difficult to pour without dribbling milk, or tea, onto the table. On this occasion, I  spilled milk onto the cafe table (I didn't cry over it in case you're wondering, although in my irritation I did mutter a few choice words to myself).

It was just like the pot we had at home all those years ago. There was rarely a clean line of liquid going from minimalistic-lip spout to cup. Usually there was a dribble as well that ran down the front of the pot to the base then and onto the table beneath. It didn't spill every time. Some could develop the knack of a clean pour. I can remember that some of my family (not me) developed this skill. However whenever I or my mum or one of my brothers poured, onto tablecloth and table it went. This was particularly troublesome in our family home years ago because we had a french polished dining table. This meant that wherever hot tea hit it, there was a clear white stain on the deep chestnut coloured table. French polishing is beautiful when pristine, but it is awkward to repair. So in the end my dad stripped the table and put a layer of more durable polyurethane varnish on it.

The question that always comes to my mind when I think of these teapots is how did something that is so manifestly unsuited for its purpose, pouring tea, ever get to the stage of being mass produced? Didn't somebody along the way investigate whether or not it actually works before they put it on the market? Didn't somebody try to make a cup of tea with it first? There is a string of other artifacts that come into the same category for me. There is the design of cheap travel mug which no matter how hard you screw down the lid, even when brand new, always leaks and drips coffee onto your shirt when you tip it up. Then there is the automatic hand dryer that is set off by light sensor so your hands trip of the light sensor as long as they are in the stream of hot air so you get a swift, continous dry...or that's the theory; in fact the air jet goes on for a few seconds and then you have to trip the light sensor again to keep it going. The only problem is that your hand doesn't trip the light sensor while it is in the air jet, so you have to move it away to the right place in order to restart it. The drying process therefore become of annoying process of many five second bursts rather than being continuous and swift. And there is the toilet seat that stays up for precisely 11 seconds, just long enough so that you are confident it will stay up permanently and remove your stabalizing hand, and then when your not expecting it, falls back down again with a clatter (men will understand the annoyance of this one).

Going back to making to making tea in England, we used the the more traditional silver teapot that was supposed to be just for guests, because it poured perfecty. It had the traditional spout as we see in the following teapots, which are based on the 18th century English design.

Here we have utility and beauty. In the past it was assumed that you could not have one without the other. First of all, beauty was itself a utility in the sense that anything that participates in the divine beauty - and yes even a teapot can do that - raises the soul to God, which should always be consideration regardless of the primary use of what we design. Second, it was assumed that the most efficient design in terms of use was also the most beautiful. Gothic masons created beautiful cathedrals because this was an indication of the most structurally sound form (other things being equal - its not the only indication).

Well, that's my rant about teapots...I'm off for a cup of tea and a biscuit out on the patio, with elegant teapot. Next week I will discuss the aesthetics of biscuits...

In the mean time here's some elegant china:

Don't forget the Way of Beauty online courses www.Pontifex.University (go to the Catalog) for college credit, for continuing ed. units, or for audit. A formation through an encounter with a cultural heritage - for artists, architects, priests and seminarians, and all interested in contributing to the 'new epiphany of beauty'. 

A Mass in an Ancient Church in Wales with Restored Gothic Wall Paintings

Here are some photos, courtesy of David Woolf of a Votive Mass of St Teilo that was celebrated on February 7th in the Extraordinary Form in the Church of St Teilo, at St Fagan’s National History Museum, Cardiff, Wales, UK.

David told me: 'The Mass was hosted by the students of the Cardiff University Catholic Chaplaincy and was celebrated by their Chaplain, Fr Gareth Jones.

'The Church of St Teilo is of particular historical interest. Having become redundant in 1970, it was moved, brick by brick, from its 12th century site at Llandeilo Taly-Bont, near Pontarddulais, and reconstructed at the St Fagan’s Museum. Prior to its removal wall paintings, dating from the 15th century, were uncovered beneath the wall plaster. These were removed and preserved in the National Museum of Wales. When St Teilo’s Church was reconstructed it was decorated as it would have appeared in the 1530s.'

St Teilo's feast day was two days later on February 9th. St Teilo is is a 6th century British saint, who studied under St Paulinus at Llanddeusant, in the Brecon Beacons and, as a monk, with St David at Mynyw in west Wales. He founded his own monastery at Llandeilo Fawr, again in the Brecon Beacons, where is probably died.  A later tradition has St Teilo accompanied by St David and St Padarn make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. He spent some years in Brittany. At Llandaff he is venerated as the founder of the see (which contains the capital of Wales, Cardiff).

I don't know what readers thing about the paintings? When I look at them, it tells me that we should not always be so starry-eyed about paintings from the period before the Englightenment. It is of great historical interest to see the church as it was in the 1530s so I am very glad that this was done. The images look to my inexpert eye as though they are older than that, probably gothic. What I would say is that the artist was no Matthew Parris or Fra Angelico. In the medieval period many small churches would have been painted by the parishioners or local artists and they took pride in matching or surpassing the local village churches. It would not have occurred to them to have bare walls.

Information on St Teilo from www.universalis.com

Photos: Dr David A Woolf

 

Don't forget the Way of Beauty online course www.Pontifex.University (go to the Catalog) for college credit, for continuing ed. units, or for audit. A formation through an encounter with a cultural heritage - for artists, architects, priests and seminarians, contributing to the 'new epiphany of beauty'

The Tragedy of Detroit

After my article on the tragedy of Venezuela, here is Harry Veryser, economist and native of Detroit talking of the reasons for the decline of the city that in the 1950s had the highest standard of living in the world. I have visited Detroit several times and my memory of it is of a city that has been abandoned. There is block after block of empty and very often burnt out shells of buildings. I would say that it looked like a bomb site, but in many cases Detroit city hasn't even had the money to flatten the ruined buildings. They are a standing monuments to economic mismanagement.

The enormous once beautiful railway station is greatest (or perhaps I should say least) among them, see below.

In the reasons that Harry cites, there are parallels with the decline of Venezuela in which government tries to control the economy centrally with disastrous consequences.

Harry, who heads the Masters program in economics is an advocate of the school of Austrian economics. His book, It Didn't Have to Be This Way - Why Boom and Bust is Unnecessary portrays a compelling case for an economic system that allows the human person to flourish. He stresses constantly the importance of the culture and for local communities to be strong for the economy to prosper (we hear this in his remarks about Detroit too). He is also a committed Catholic and he draws on Catholic social teaching as the moral underpinning for the policies that he advocates. My review of his book is here.

Don't forget the Way of Beauty online, for college credit, for continuing ed. units, for audit www.Pontifex.University (go to the Catalog after you follow the link)

http://youtu.be/gymEHKS3_10

The Flowers from the Feast of the Presentation on February 2nd

After comments from Nancy F. on the last gardening article, who mentioned that snowdrops are the flower for the Feast of the Presentation, here are some snowdrops from the garden in England where I am at the moment. They are living up to their attribution: these photos were taken this past Monday, on February 2nd the day of the feast and they are at their peak. The other winter/early spring bulbs, in contrast are not yet there. As you you can see the crocuses are coming next but not yet in flower and the daffodils are just hard buds. My original intention was to post these photographs with a tongue-in-cheek caption aimed American readers in New England and the mid-West who are under feet of snow at the moment. I thought a comment such as, 'these are the only snow drops you will see in England' might be amusing...then we had some snow ourselves. It had just melted when I took these photos. Now, my wife tells me, the forecast is for more snow tomorrow. Serves me right I guess. And so much for global warming...if only it were so!

So here are the flowers in question. This is not a large garden. They are growing up out of a patch of lawn in the front that is perhaps 15ft square, but they add hugely to the enjoyment of going out in the  morning! The drawing of the icon for the Feast of the Presentation is mine and heads one of the chapters in the book, the  Little Oratory.

The Work of Michael Matheson Miller

I would like to draw your attention to what Michael Miller is doing and his blog at michaelmathesonmiller.com. I met Michael when I attended the Acton University the annual conference of the Acton Institute, which is devoted to promoting faith, freedom and prosperity through the free economy. Acton University is open to all and is taking place again this year and I would recommend it to all who are interested in how faith, freedom and the flourishing of the human person, including economic prosperity, are connected.

He is a research fellow at the Acton Institute and is an inspiring speaker. He is particularly interested in the interaction between capitalism and culture. He is aware of the accusation that is often made against the free market economy, that even if we allow for the fact that it promotes economic prosperity, it stultifies the culture. I do not believe this and Michael is someone who speaks eloquently to counter this. I have include a link to a video of a talk by him entitled Does Capitalism Destroy Culture. Listen particularly to his descriptions of the different types of capitalism and why some forms are bad, and some are good. It may surprise some to hear an advocate of the free market state that the United States does not represent a free market economy. The text is on is website here along with a list of longer articles he has published.

Michael is devoted to working towards the alleviation of poverty in the undeveloped world particularly by promoting entrepreneurial solutions. He has recently been a key part of a team that has made a film that is attracting a lot of attention called Poverty Inc. which has the strap line Fighting poverty is big business, but who profits most?. This is an award winning documentary that describes how the West's traditional approach to helping the developing world - foreign aid - has actually caused more problems than it has solved. The answer, it argues, it to promote entrepreneurial solutions. The trailer for this is here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UrUIDu5SfKU

His talk at Acton on Capitalism is below here

http://youtu.be/e25PvN9c6Ik

Here is a radio interview by Bill Frezza on the Real Clear Radio Hour. In this is discusses the video. He also talks well about Catholic social teaching in relation to this and how we might interpret the recent statements by Pope Francis about capitalism. The link to the podcast is here.

Don't forget...the Way of Beauty online course, for credit, continuing ed. units or for audit. Read more on Online Courses page on this blog or sign up by going to Pontifex University's homepage, here, go to Catalog