Sunday Trailer [ The Island

The Island (2007) was introduced to me a few months ago, and is probably the best Christian/religious movie I’ve ever seen. From the IMDB summary:

Somewhere in Northern Russia in a small Russian Orthodox monastery lives an unusual man whose bizarre conduct confuses his fellow monks, while others who visit the island believe that the man has the power to heal, exorcise demons and foretell the future.

Trailer here:

Directed by Pavel Lungin, screenplay by Dmitry Sobolev, lead character played by Pyotr Mamonov. The full movie with English subtitles is available on the T’Oobs and can be found pretty easily. (I won’t link directly to it because the movie is so recent.)

Sunday Music & Jimi Hendix & Gary Moore & RIP Zippy

This is not part of my normal routine here as a default music blogger, but I’d like to dedicate this post to the memory of blogger Zippy Catholic, who was lost in a traffic accident. He’s had an immense influence on me, though I didn’t know him in real life. He was frighteningly smart and spiritually hard-core.

Prayers for Zippy, who has been in my daily Rosary, and condolences to his family.

There is a musical connection. Zippy actually visited this blog once, and we had an exchange on, of all things, moral theology and Jimi Hendrix. (Apparently Zippy loved him some rock guitar, especially metal.)

Oddly, days before I heard the terrible news, I had dug up my Hendrix CD Electric Ladyland (which I hadn’t listened to it in a very long time) and I had chosen it for my commuting music. I was grooving pretty intensely on both versions of “Voodoo Chile” for two days.

To honor Zippy’s theological proposition about rock-n-roll, I revisit the T’Oob that he contributed to WDYDFAE on the thread above, “Red House,” a Hendrix tribute performed by Gary Moore.

Rock on, Zippy.

This post has been lightly edited for grammar and content. This addendum is in the spirit of Zippy, who never edited without indicating so — and it was always something about content, because I never saw him make a grammatical or spelling mistake.

Addendum re-edited for errors. Sheesh. Zippean standards are exacting even for these trivial things.

A Bing at BoFN

A modest contribution over at BoFN, just because Fannie’s doing the heavy lifting over there and I thought I might pitch in for her, for Dave, and for the rest of the crew.

Sunday Photos Hibaku Maria

A fierce persecution of Christians in Japan began in the late 1500s and continued for several decades, ending in the virtual eradication of Christianity. But there were “hidden Christians” in Kyushu, concentrated especially in the area around Nagasaki and the setting for Martin Scorcese’s new movie Silence (based on the novel by Shusaku Endo). The “hidden Christian” practiced their faith in secret for generations. Even after Japan opened up to the world, the hidden Christians could not gain religious freedom until the late 1800s.

Urakami Cathedral was built in 1914 in the village of Urakami, next to the booming port and industrial center of Nagasaki. It was the testament of the “hidden Christians” of Urakami who could finally practice their faith openly. Formally it was called Immaculate Conception Cathedral (and still is). It was for a time the largest church in Asia. A wooden statue of Mary of the Immaculate Conception was set above the main altar.

Urakami Cathedral was a few hundred yards from ground zero of the atomic bomb which was dropped on Nagasaki about three decades later. The burned and severed head of Mary of the Immaculate Conception was miraculously found in the rubble. It is now enshrined in the rebuilt Urakami Cathedral and known as “Hibaku Maria,” or “Bombed Mary.”

R.I.P. Mother Angelica

Mother Angelica was often the background music during my long, slow conversion to Catholicism. The died on Easter Sunday, 2016. Requiescat in pace.

Immaculate Conception, Consecration

To honor Feast of the Immaculate Conception (Dec. 8), reposting The Immaculate Conception, by Diego Velasquez (1619).

Text for final consecration here.

Consecration Day 33 & Haden & Garbarek & Gismonti & Silence

“Silence,” from Magico (1979). Charlie Haden (bass), Jan Garbarek (sax), Egberto Gismonti (piano).

33rd and final day of Consecration preparation. Text here. Video here:

Consecration Day 32 & Evans and Hall & 600th Post

“Romain,” from Undercurrent (1962). Bill Evans (piano), Jim Hall (guitar).

32nd day of Consecration preparation, 6th day of the 12th month of the 15th year of the millennium, and the 600th post on this blog. It all has to mean something, I’m just not sure what . . .

Consecration text here. Video here:

Consecration Day 30 & Miles Davis Quintet & All Blues

“All Blues,” from My Funny Valentine, live performance at Lincoln Center (1964), New York City. Miles Davis (trumpet), George Coleman (sax), Herbie Hancock (piano), Ron Carter (bass), Tony Williams (drums).

Text for Consecration here. Video here:

Consecration Day 29 & Alborada del Gracioso & Ravel

Maurice Ravel, “Alborada del gracioso” (Miroirs no 4), Orchestre de Paris conducted by Herbert von Karajan.

Text for consecration here. Video here: