Well, who said you couldn't serve God and Mammon? Oh, it was Our Lord, of course! However, I don't think these chaps will have young ladies begging them to take them back to their hotel rooms (unless they are in dire need of Confession that is) and I doubt they'll be attending the after-gig party.
Sony BMG have signed 3 Catholic Priests for a staggering £1.4million. The Church, believe it or not, could do with all the money it can find (to anyone who thinks it is rich, I would ask the question, "Why can't we afford a new roof, then?") and if they have a little to spare the Building Fund for the restoration of St Mary Magdalen's could do with some cash. Hint, hint!
Often when I listen to the radio in the car I do have great difficulty in finding something that actually sounds half-decent. I often listen to Classic FM, get bored of it, go searching for something with a bit more oomph, only just to go back to Classic FM. The music scene nowadays is atrocious and, though I am in which I perpetuate a pseudo-Morrissey fantasy, I doubt very much we would add anything worthy to the world of music, even if we "broke through". I guess you could say I am going through a 30 year old male crisis. We have a gig in September and I have already resolved to apologise not only for our name, which is so crass it cannot be said, but that anyone should have to listen to my neuroses in song.
I suppose that music reflects the spirit of the age and this age really isn't that great. Art, real art, has taken a backseat. As Fr Blake says in his blog when he looks at art, and probably when he listen to modern music, he often feels pity for the artist, whereas the best art inspires us to "raise our hearts and minds to God." The spirit of the age is very arrogant. We think that because everything we do is modern and not traditional that it is better. Well, that is clearly nonsense. If someone builds a church nowadays it looks modern and frankly, pants. If you look at a church built in the 14th century it looks lovely. If you look at a painting by Velazquez and compare it to Tracey Emin's bed, which is more beautiful and spiritual? If you listen to Radiohead or Oasis now and compare them to Mozart, Bach and Thomas Luis de Victoira, which album is beautiful and which one grates?
I'm not saying that this age is terrible and everything was better back then. I'm just saying, look at the evidence. Art nowadays reflects only the self. Art from years ago says, "No, I am not the centre of the universe. Behold, the God who died for us!" Or "Behold, the Incarnation of Christ, the Word made flesh." Or, "behold the glory of the Resurrection!"
I've just been reading Holy Smoke in which Damian Thompson had a dig at Bishops promoting a kind of "happy clappy" music in the church liturgy. He should be happily clapped at doing so. It does seem, that even though I am lucky enough to go to a parish which tries to inspire reverence for God in the Mass, rather than recreating a disco, not all Catholics are.
However, my main point is, secular music nowadays either says, "I want to bone you" or "feel my pain." I am as guilty as the next man for this kind of music, but, I'm not Palestrina and am, frankly, talentless. These Priests should be encouraged for singing music as it should be, to the glory and honour of God.
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