The current Covid stuff affects every aspect of life at the moment. This week I have been reminded of one section of our society that is hugely touched, namely our schools. Yesterday I attended Zoom governors' meeting for both Christ the King Primary and Corpus Christi High schools. I am very happy to report that they are both doing a fantastic job in such difficult circumstances. I felt I should share with the Christ the King Governors my experience of last Thursday...
Year 4 (Standard 2 Juniors for oldies!) look at the priesthood in their RE syllabus and we often are asked to pop into the schools to chat with the kids. This year, of course, this was not possible so I "popped in" to a meeting with them and their teacher by Teams (that's Microsoft's version of Zoom for the uninitiated). I enjoyed it a lot, answering their 8/9 year old questions and chatting with them in their homes. Their questions were good, they were well-behaved and engaged with what was going on. When did I decide to be a priest, where did I train, what's good and what's difficult, were among the questions, the last one being did I think Fr Andy's jokes were funny!
Anyway, I told them how I trained in Rome, which caught their imagination, so when a thankyou card arrived, this was what they had drawn - that's the Colosseum of course, beautifully drawn, with me in front looking very clerical. Sorry the pic is a bit blue - my scanner is too old for my one year old computer and they won't talk to each other, so the pic is taken off a computer camera shot. Thankyou, Year 4!
"Hotel California" was one of the greatest songs around in my earlier years. It comes from 1977 and was written and played by the Eagles, one of the top American bands at the time (some would say of all time). It was taken from an album of the same name, and went on to win all sorts of awards.
What's it about? Who really knows? And yet it make sense - passing pleasures, emptiness, claustrophobia, being trapped. Great lines abound, such as "Some dance to remember Some dance to forget". "You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave". The band themselves have described it as an "interpretation of the high life in Los Angeles", while Don Henley, the drummer who is the lead singer in the song said that the song was about "a journey from innocence to experience... that's all..." and on another occasion "it's basically a song about the dark underbelly of the American Dream
and about excess in America, which was something we knew about." Very appropriate now maybe... What is it that draws each of us in off our desert highways? Maybe that
is our Hotel California. But be careful, in case "you can never leave".
In addition to the lyrics there is great music, with outstanding and, unusually, two lead guitars. Listen to the extended instrumental coda at the end of the song - great stuff. In fact it is all great stuff, mysterious, amazing. Here are the band playing it live in 1977. It mirrors the recorded version exactly, but with the extra bite that comes from a live performance. The lyrics are below.
On a dark desert highway cool wind in my hair Warm smell of colitas rising up through the air Up ahead in the distance I saw a shimmering light My head grew heavy and my sight grew dim I had to stop for the night
There she stood in the doorway I heard the mission bell And I was thinkin' to myself 'This could be heaven or this could be hell Then she lit up a candle and she showed me the way There were voices down the corridor I thought I heard them say
Welcome to the Hotel California Such a lovely place such a lovely face Plenty of room at the Hotel California Any time of year You can find it here
Her mind is Tiffany-twisted She got the Mercedes bends, She got a lot of pretty, pretty boys that she calls friends How they dance in the courtyard Sweet summer sweat Some dance to remember, some dance to forget
So I called up the Captain "Please bring me my wine" He said, "We haven't had that spirit here since 1969" And still those voices are calling from far away Wake you up in the middle of the night just to hear them say
Welcome to the Hotel California Such a lovely place Such a lovely face They livin' it up at the Hotel California What a nice surprise Bring your alibis
Mirrors on the ceiling The pink champagne on ice And she said, "We are all just prisoners here of our own device" And in the master's chambers they gathered for the feast They stab it with their steely knives but they just can't kill the beast
Last thing I remember I was running for the door I had to find the passage back to the place I was before "Relax", said the night man "We are programmed to receive You can check out any time you like But you can never leave"
Today, just a painting by Amedee Varin, an artist unknown to me, illustrating today's Gospel. Jesus goes out on the Sea of Galilee to calm the storm, an experience we can all understand in our present circumstances.
Today is the Feast of the Epiphany, when we remember the visit of the Wise Men to Bethlehem.
Here is Pier Paolo Pasolini's version of the scene, taken from his "Gospel According to Matthew" from the 1960's, one of my favourite Bible films. It has all the contents, but only the contents of Matthew's Gospel. Where there is no dialogue in the text, as in this scene, there is no dialogue in the film. So everything is done through looks, glances etc. All the actors are amateurs in the film except the man who plays the adult Jesus. Observe the dynamic between Mary and Joseph, and the faces of the Wise Men and the children. For more about the film see here
God of all
time,
help us enter the New Year quietly,
thoughtful of who we are to ourselves and to others,
mindful that our steps make an impact
and our words carry power.
May we walk gently.
May we speak only after we have listened well.
Creator of all
life,
help us enter the New Year reverently,
aware that you have endowed
every creature and plant, every person and habitat
with beauty and purpose.
May we regard the world with tenderness.
May we honour rather than destroy.
Lover of all
souls,
help us enter the New Year joyfully,
willing to laugh and dance and dream,
remembering our many gifts with thanks
and looking forward to blessings yet to come.
May we welcome your lavish love.
May we cast off the small, vindictive god our fears have made
.
May the grace and peace of Christ bless you now and in the days ahead.
Today, New Year's Day, in the Church's
calendar is celebrated as the feast of Mary, Mother of God. More
accurately translated as "God-bearer", the title theotokos is maybe the most ancient one for Our Lady.
Two images today, very different to each other. The first is an interesting one depicting a tired mother and caring Joseph in a somehwat realistic fashion. The second image is a traditional Mother and Child, a tiny watercolour that I own, decorated with goldleaf. Both capture aspects of today's Feast, so as they used to say in essay titles "compare and contrast"...
I never tire of reflecting on this version of the Annunciation. Painted by Antonello da Messina, it hangs in the gallery at Palermo. It offers us an archangel's view of the one to whom he has just delivered the greatest message of all time.
Her veil, her book, the dark background, but most of all her hands and face say it all...
