Sacred Turtle of Hanoi Passes On

There is a soft spot in my heart for turtles and tortoises, so I was saddened to hear of the passing of Cu Rua a.k.a. Grandfather Turtle of Hanoi.  I first heard of this turtle in 2011 when his illness spurred a massive effort to improve the water quality of Hoan Kiem Lake and restore Cu Rua to health.

According to today's NY Times article, "Hanoi’s giant turtle was seen as an important link between “the here and now, the earthly world and the spiritual world.”

Mercy Playlist: I'll be your mirror

Hit it, Nico!

111 Varick: The Shape of Things to Come

BEFORE

AFTER

Read all about it: "First Look at Madigan Development’s Upcoming Hudson Square Tower at 111 Varick Street" at 6sqft.  Please note that the artists rendering on the site shows Our Lady of Vilnius standing next to the new monument to commodification.

Pope Francis' 'The Name of God is Mercy'

Pope Francis provides us with more help in our personal transformations and motivation for the walking wounded to serve in  “a field hospital, where treatment is given above all to those who are most wounded.” 

Pope Francis gives us "The Name of God is Mercy."  See a straightforward and un-snarky review in today's  NY Times  by Michiko Kakutani. s

Our Lady of Vilnius Church to be replaced by...this

To refresh your memory, it used to be this:

CLICK HERE for details.

A Modest New Year's Proposal for Catholic Composers and Donors

Roman Catholic liturgical composers:  Please give us a beautiful Mass with a Gloria that will make its way into the classical canon.

Today's New York Times presents a review by Zachary Woolfe titled "Praying to the Heavens, Looking at the Stars and Revising a Service."  The review addresses a Wednesday performance of Daniel Felsenfeld's work, "Astrophysical Mass" but the real news is a commissioning project called Mass Reimaginings  under the aegis of Trinity Wall Street.  This is an arts project that aims to re-invigorate the Mass as a creative genre in the tradition of Leonard Bernstein.

Could we gather some Roman Catholic patrons of the the arts to underwrite a similar process that aspires to create works of artistic value for the wider world as well as Masses that we can celebrate in our churches.  We could have the premiers at St. Patrick's Cathedral, new and/or old, and all choristers who sing the American English vernacular Mass would be able to sing Gloria without sounding like the needle has stuck on an old phonograph.

Please and thank you.