Lifestyles of the Young and Liturgically Impressionable

Last updated on: January 18, 2015 at 3:41 pm By Joseph Susanka

A brief account of my favorite moment from the just-completed Triduum. (Well, OK. Fine. My second-favorite moment. Right after the Paschal Vigil’s tintinnabulous Gloria, which is always my favorite moment. Because I’m a lousy Lent person.) During Good Friday’s General Intercessions, our cantor intoned “Let us kneel!” beautifully, as is his wont. And then, after an appropriate period of silence, equally beautifully, “Let us stand!” Around the third intercession or so, David the Fourth Son, who is alternately standing-and-kneeling next to me... Read more

SSF: “Attenborough’s Wonderful World”

Last updated on: March 24, 2015 at 4:12 pm By Joseph Susanka

Yes, this is an advertisement for The Beeb One, as evidenced by the watermark. It’s also pretty much the perfect short for Easter Monday. Wonderful, indeed. (Here’s a live version from Louis the Legend. And here’s a bit more Attenborough.) Attribution(s): All artwork, publicity images, and stills are the property of their respective creators and/or distributors. Read more

“Jubilate Deo!”

Last updated on: January 21, 2015 at 3:50 pm By Joseph Susanka

He is risen! Sound the trumpets! Jubilate Deo omnis terra, quia sic benedicetur homo qui timet Dominum. Jubilate Deo omnis terra. Deus Israel conjungat vos et ipse sit vobiscum. Mittat vobis auxilium de sancto, et de Sion tueatur vos. Jubilate Deo omnis terra. Benedicat vobis Dominus ex Sion, qui fecit caelum et terram. Jubilate Deo omnis terra. Servite Domino in laetitia. TRANSLATION: O be joyful in the Lord, all ye lands, for thus shall the man be blessed that feareth... Read more

Emilio de’ Cavalieri’s “Lamentations of the Prophet Jeremiah”

Last updated on: April 2, 2015 at 9:44 am By Joseph Susanka

I’m unfamiliar with this work. In fact, I’m unfamiliar with this composer. Strange stuff, indeed. Yet that strangeness seems entirely appropriate for the day. Even though they come each year, Holy Saturday’s strange absences are as uncomfortable and unsettling to me as anything I’ve ever experienced. Just as they should be. Attribution(s): “Disciples Running” by Eugène Burnand is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons. Read more

John IV of Portugal’s “Crux Fidelis”

Last updated on: January 21, 2015 at 4:58 pm By Joseph Susanka

Crux fidelis, inter omnes arbor una nobilis: nulla silva talem profert, fronde, flore, germine. Dulce lignum, dulces clavos, dulce pondus sustinet. TRANSLATION: Faithful cross, above all other, One and only noble tree: None in foliage, none in blossom, None in fruit thy peer may be. Sweetest wood and sweetest iron, Sweetest weight is hung on thee! The prevailing opinion is that this work is not, in fact, by King John. But the sentiment behind this gentlest of “debunkings” is entirely... Read more

SVS: “Ostrov”

Last updated on: January 9, 2015 at 2:42 pm By Joseph Susanka

It’s Good Friday. A potentially-awkward day to be recommending a movie, yes. Especially because I’m planning to go film-free today, myself — as, I’m sure, are many of you. But it’s also a day with a surprising number of options. And a day when I can honestly say that I’ve benefited from a bit of visual meditation, in years past. So, if you are inclined, Ostrov (the film that sparked my “critical career”) is currently streaming on NETFLIX INSTANT. A tormented Russian... Read more

Gesualdo’s “Tenebrae Responsories for Maundy Thursday”

Last updated on: January 21, 2015 at 3:20 pm By Joseph Susanka

The name “Tenebrae” — Latin for “shadows” or “darkness” — has been given because this Office is celebrated in the hours of darkness, formerly in the evening or just after midnight, now the early morning hours. There is an impressive ceremony, peculiar to this Office, which tends to perpetuate its name. There is placed in the sanctuary, near the altar, a large triangular candlestick holding fifteen candles. At the end of each psalm or canticle, one of these fifteen candles is... Read more

Chesnokov’s “Let My Prayer Arise!”

Last updated on: January 21, 2015 at 2:43 pm By Joseph Susanka

Da ispravitsya molitva moya, yako kadilo pred Toboyu: vozdeyanie ruku moeyu, zhertva vechernyaya. Gospodi, vozzvakh k Tebe, uslïshi mya: vonmi glasu moleniya moyego, vnegda vozzvati mi k Tebe. Polozhi, Gospodi, khranenie ustom moim: i dver ograzhdeniya o ustnakh moikh. Ne ukloni serdtse moe v slovesa lukavstviya: nepshchevati vinï o gresekh. TRANSLATION: Let my prayer arise in thy sight as incense; and let the lifting up of my hands be an evening sacrifice. Lord, I call upon thee, hear me; receive... Read more

Musical Mediation for Holy Week

Last updated on: January 21, 2015 at 2:43 pm By Joseph Susanka

It’s time once again to embark on one of my longest-standing personal spiritual traditions: Finding some time during Holy Week to listen to J.S. Bach’s towering masterpiece, the Matthäus Passion. It grows progressively more difficult each year, because “some time” actually means 3+ hours. And Lent seems to fly by more rapidly each year. And there are shocking number of kids around my house. But it’s worth it, especially if you have a chance to sit down with the libretto and... Read more

SVS: “The Conversation”

Last updated on: January 9, 2015 at 1:46 pm By Joseph Susanka

Monday marked the 40th Anniversary of what I have long considered Francis Ford Coppola’s best film (“to date,” Joseph says hopefully). A film which I now happily share with y’all: The Conversation is currently available from NETFLIX INSTANT. I realize that’s a bit of a controversial claim, given that the legendary Godfathers feature prominently in his filmography. But I can’t help myself. It’s far-and-away my favorite. And has been for years, since long before that opinion was cool. (What do you mean, “It’s still not... Read more