In lieu of announcements at church

As y'all know I don't much care for announcements at the end of Mass. So here is a little video for y'all to play before Mass starts.

What iPhone doesn't want you to read

Manhattan Declaration addresses signers on Apple pulling iPhone app: "To Manhattan Declaration Signers,
Some of you may be aware by now that Apple has removed the Manhat"

Election Day Special

it gets fun at about 1 minute 20 seconds.

Did you vote today?

Tantantara! Tzing, boom!

Several months ago (April 2009) I posted a photo of the bass drum and cymbal action of the Kilgen theatre organ spread out on the dining room table. Those pieces have slowly found their way back together (ankle bone to shin bone) and now those dry bones live:

Publishing

A few days ago the post brought some pages from The New Catholic Encyclopedia Supplement 2010. I had nearly forgotten that I updated on the articles in it. According to the publisher, the Supplement is "Authoritative and Peer Reviewed" which sounds rather imposing, don't you think? The editor, Dr. Robert Fastiggi, had asked me to update the article on "Mary, Blessed Virgin, Devotion to," originally written by the late Father Eamon Carroll, who died in November, 2008. I think the article was written in 1974 or so. It was a bit intimidating to be called upon to continue the work of a well=known scholar and former professor of mine. The editor especially directed me to discuss developments in the field during the last two pontificates, but I ended up doing more than what he asked. I felt that the sections on Scripture and Early Church needed rewriting to take into account more recent scholarship. The editor accepted my revisions and then I forgot about the whole thing until a big envelope landed on my desk a few days back. I checked to make sure may name was really there (this is something authors can't help doing, sort of like reading the obituaries to make sure your name is not there, and no doubt for the same psychological reasons).

This reminds me that a few months ago I received an issue of Antiphon, the journal of the Society for Catholic Liturgy, with a short article of mine on the word "Salus" in the Roman Missal. I was disappointed to see how brief the article was. I don't seem to write anything lengthy these days. Can't imagine why.

Publishing

A few days ago the post brought some pages from The New Catholic Encyclopedia Supplement 2010. I had nearly forgotten that I updated on the articles in it. According to the publisher, the Supplement is "Authoritative and Peer Reviewed" which sounds rather imposing, don't you think? The editor, Dr. Robert Fastiggi, had asked me to update the article on "Mary, Blessed Virgin, Devotion to," originally written by the late Father Eamon Carroll, who died in November, 2008. I think the article was written in 1974 or so. It was a bit intimidating to be called upon to continue the work of a well=known scholar and former professor of mine. The editor especially directed me to discuss developments in the field during the last two pontificates, but I ended up doing more than what he asked. I felt that the sections on Scripture and Early Church needed rewriting to take into account more recent scholarship. The editor accepted my revisions and then I forgot about the whole thing until a big envelope landed on my desk a few days back. I checked to make sure may name was really there (this is something authors can't help doing, sort of like reading the obituaries to make sure your name is not there, and no doubt for the same psychological reasons).

This reminds me that a few months ago I received an issue of Antiphon, the journal of the Society for Catholic Liturgy, with a short article of mine on the word "Salus" in the Roman Missal. I was disappointed to see how brief the article was. I don't seem to write anything lengthy these days. Can't imagine why.

Kilgen Theatre Organ Percussions Test

updated video
v

Trapped

The Kilgen theatre organ has begun to come back to life. The video shows a test of the percussions. Note that the indian drum is not yet mounted, and that there is a lot of background noise from the blower, which is not yet enclosed. The percussions being tested are, in order from right to left: snare drum roll, sleigh bells, bird whistle, indian drum, tambourine, castanets, siren.

You Would Think

Digging through the files I found this snapshot, taken in New York City back in May. Think about it: if you truly had the power to foretell the future, why didn't you notice that you were about to run out of sufficient space to paint all the letters of the word "cigrarttes?" I mean "cigarettes."

What a Great Idea

What is worse than waking up in the morning to find that there is no more coffee in the kitchen? Don't let this specter continue to haunt you. Just subscribe to Javatruck. For a low monthly fee, a tank truck will pull up to your house each morning and pour forth gallons of the lifegiving fluid. I think they got the idea from the home heating oil folks.

Here I Am

Sorry there have been no recent updates. First I broke my laptop by dropping it (safety tip: do not do this), and second I have concentrated free time on preparing a course, Mary and the Church in the Patristic Period, which I am currently delivering at the International Marian Research Institute, University of Dayton. I have thoroughly enjoyed doing the research necessary to prepare my lectures. There may be a book in this...

There are seven students in my class: a priest from Africa, a priest from Brazil, a priest from Italy, and American priest living in Canada, two Korean nuns, and a Mexian laywoman. This is the International Marian Research Institute, after all.

Yes, I did buy a new laptop. With the special insurance policy for pinheads that protects you if you pour your coffee into the keyboard. Or drop your laptop.

A State of Mind

A large part of central-north Columbus, Ohio is known as "Clintonville." Clintonville is not a city, a village, or any other kind of incorporated political unit. It's a state of mind. It has no official borders. But you can tell when you are inside it. How? One way is to take a walk through the streets and especially back alleys until you begin to see sights like these, encountered on a recent afternoon walk.a little closer...





and, for the sailing enthusiast:



another angle:



I can confidently predict that this same boat will be here next summer, and the summer after that.

Signs of the Times

If you have never been to Rushville, Ohio, I recommend a visit. It's an easy drive through beautiful scenery from Columbus, Lancaster, or Zanesville. While in Rushville, have lunch at the Rushville Coffee House and take time to admire this sign at the counter.

The Front Page

The sisters made it to the front page of Fronteras, a Spanish-language weekly published by the English-language daily, the Columbus Dispatch. The photo shows them listening to someone, possibly me, give a presentation at our Cinco de Mayo dinner that raised funds for the parish's mission of evangelization.

Setting the Record Straight

Recently we have seen more than one representative of a Catholic hospital opposing a bishop or bishops with regard to health care policies. Catholic hospitals -- like all hospitals -- receive a lot of government money in various forms, directly and indirectly. Perhaps they will now face a choice between government money and being truly Catholic, which means two things: ensuring that their medical practices conform with the moral teaching of the Church, and promoting the unity of the Church by not confusing people about who are the authentic teachers and pastors of the Church; namely, the bishops. A recent statement from the US Conference of Catholic Bishops aims to address this second point.

New York

This week I was obliged to travel to Huntington, New York, for the annual meeting of the Mariological Society of America, which starts tonight. I decided to fly out of Columbus a day early to visit my friend Fr. Carleton Jones, OP, Pastor of St. Vincent Ferrer parish in Manhattan. The parish church has been called one of the fifty most beautiful buildings in America. What do you think?
This was my first experience of getting from JFK airport to Manhattan via public transport. It's very easy if you don't have too much luggage. First you take something called the airtrain, which links all terminals, to Jamaica Station of the Long Island Railroad.

Then you take the LIRR right into Pennsylvania Station (track 1!).



Fr. Carleton and I had a leisurely breakfast this morning at a diner with a perfect name. It was good to catch up as we had not seen each other in about five years' time.
After midday Mass I packed up and dragged my little suitcase through the turnstiles and up and down the stairs of three different subway lines to return to Penn Station, where I caught the LIRR for Huntington. From that station I took a tax to the Seminary of the Immaculate Conception. In about 30 minutes I'll go downstairs to the refectory to unite with the other members of the MSA who are taking a bus in from LaGuardia airport. Theoretically.

It's All in Your Head -- Again

Many people don't believe me when I tell them, "When I was growing up, we weren't allowed to have allergies." "It's all in your head," we were told. Now, new research indicates that what we were told has some validity. Many people think they have this or that allergy but really don't. The full story may be found here. Now stop sniffling.

Early Christian Studies

Recently I found out about a great set of links to resources for studying Patristics and Early Christianity.
Take a look!

Artiste repairs continue

Before I could install the bass pipes in the Moller Artiste, I had to repair one of the pieces of wood that forms a support rack for these larger pipes. The split occurred, of course, right where a wood screw passed through the piece.







This involved laminating a piece of pine onto the existing upright
and filling in some gaps with water putty, just to make it pretty









(one of my favorite materials).









the finished product installed in the organ

Bart Chamberlain

Since beginning this blog I have held firm to the principle that nothing remotely important would be discussed in it. But current events demand that this principle be abandoned. Come back to this post in ten years and see what has happened in our country. Remember this moment, folks.

Getting Organ-ized

It's been a long while since I last posted on the restoration of my Moller Artiste pipe organ. Last year I had the pouchboards releathered but time to work on this has been scarce. I eventually got the pouchboards installed and have been chasing down bugs as time permitted. Sometimes two weeks went by without one single thing being done to the organ. The work demands the kind of patience I don't always have when tired. I am happy to report that all the dead notes and ciphers (notes that play by themselves) have been eliminated, and I have begun to re-install the pipes. It seems a fitting way to begin Daylight Savings Time.

Catholic Men's Conference

Last Saturday I went to the Lausche Building at the Ohio State Fairgrounds to assist with confessions at the Columbus Catholic Men's Conference. This year they achieved an attendance record of 1,700 men! As you can imagine they had invited a large number of priests to help with confessions, and it was wonderful to see the devout participation of so many men from around the area. The short video shows you what I saw coming out of the Confessions area as Mass was beginning.

Convent Chapel Progress

As the photo shows, the convent chapel is finally starting to look like something. You can see the new ceiling and walls, as well as the beams that were constructed by our volunteers. The large beam running down the centerline of the room, as well as the large beams at the top of the side walls, were existing beams that we painted to match the new beams, which are non-structural. Yesterday they started staining and cutting the oak mouldings for the room. Check back in a couple of weeks to see the results.

Three Cheers for Literacy

Res ipsa loquitur

Congratulations Father Rossier

Last Monday, January 25, I traveled to Dayton, Ohio, to attend the formal installation of Fr. Francois Rossier, SM, as Director of the International Marian Research Institute and the Marian Library at the University of Dayton. This was also a chance to thank Fr. Johann Roten for his years of service as the previous Director. Fr. Roten directed my STL thesis years ago and later hired me to teach a couple of courses at the Institute. I have worked with Fr. Rossier on the Board of the Mariological Society of America and look forward to collaborating with him in the future.

Icons in Space

Russian cosmonauts have blessed icons and a crucifix in their space vehicle. They also received a priest's blessing before blasting off. How things have changed...

Christmas Trains

Some of the parishioners decided that I needed a new train set for Christmas. I was very excited and planned to set it up around my Christmas tree. That finally happened last Sunday. I find it very soothing to watch on a cold winter's night.