If you’re anything like me, Pope Francis’ recent visit to a record shop in Rome probably has you wondering: What might the vicar of Christ’s Spotify playlist look like?
Music
Posted inArts & Culture, Interviews
The Bob Dylan Bible: In ‘Girl From the North Country,’ an Irish playwright takes inspiration from the prophet of folk
“Bob Dylan is in the tradition of great writers stretching back to the biblical prophets—there’s something in his songs that is so resonant that people will be trying to figure the songs out for generations.”
Posted inArts & Culture, News
Pope Francis’ music library contains nearly 2,000 CDs — including 25 by Elvis Presley
While the pope’s collection is mostly made up of classical music, it also includes a 25-disc collection of Elvis Presley’s Gospel songs.
Posted inFaith, Short Take
What makes for good liturgical music? St. Thomas Aquinas has 3 criteria for what works at Mass.
We need some criteria in deciding what music is best for Mass. St. Thomas Aquinas offers us three qualities that anything beautiful must have.
Posted inFaith, News
Pope Francis stopped by his favorite record store to say ‘hello’
Pope Francis took an evening ride in a white Fiat 500 to visit a record store he used to go to when in Rome as a cardinal.
Posted inFaith, Music
The Case for Listening to Christmas Carols After December 25
Christmas is a season of blessing. So do not put away the carols (or the lights) until you have to.
Posted inArts & Culture, Music
‘Silent Night’: a song invoked in both World Wars and sung to a dying president
“Silent Night” is a song that seems to inspire the imagination in so many ways.
Posted inAdvent Reflections, Faith
Why we sing the ‘O Antiphons’ in the lead-up to Christmas (and not before)
A Reflection for the Friday of the Third Week of Advent
Posted inArts & Culture, Podcasts
Joyful and triumphant: ‘O Come All Ye Faithful’ brings a message of hope to those who are suffering
We do not generally think about Christmas carols as about a battle. And yet what does it mean for the Christ child to be our savior, if not a blessed release from some kind of struggle?
Posted inArts & Culture, Music
The history of a Christmas classic, ‘O Come, All Ye Faithful’
“O Come, All Ye Faithful” is a song almost everyone knows. But where did it come from, and why is it so popular?