Loved Music: Holst's Two Psalms

Still another piece to which I frequently turn, at least once a week!  Gustav Holst's 2 Psalms, 86 and 148. H. 117.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5F5_pglj5M

Loved Music: Rosner's Responses, Hosanna, and Fugue

Another piece to which I turn often! Arnold Rosner, Responses, Hosanna, and Fugue, Op. 67.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkIWfbjcWfE

Loved Music: Hovhaness' Psalm and Fugue

I turn to this piece so often! Alan Hovhaness, Psalm and Fugue for String Orchestra.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BSF-mm6GP-M

Loved Music: Messiaen's "Ascension"

Messiaen - L'Ascension, for solo organ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1Qxixombe0

Landscape: Hopper

Edward Hopper, "Cape Ann Granite" (1928)

Copied under fair use principles. 

Ascension Day

"Today our Lord Jesus Christ ascended into heaven; let our hearts ascend with him Listen to the words of the Apostle: If you have risen with Christ, set your hearts on the things that are above where Christ is, indeed at the right hand of God; seek the things that are above, not the things that are on earth. For just as he remained with us even after his ascension, so we too are already in heaven with him, even though what is promised us has not yet been fulfilled in our bodies.

"Christ is now exalted above the heavens, but he still suffers on earth all the pain that we, the members of his body, have to bear. He showed this when he cried out from above: Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? and when he said: I was hugnry and you gave me food.

"
Why do we on earth not strive to find rest with him in heaven even now, through the faith, hope and love that unites us to him? While in heaven he is also with us; and we while on earth are with him. He is here with us by his divinity, his power and his love. We cannot be in heaven, as he is on earth, by divinity, but in him, we can be there by love.

"He did not leave heaven when he came down to us; nor did he withdraw from us when he went up again into heaven. The fact that he was in heaven even while he was on earth is borne out by his own statement: No one has ever ascended inot heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man, who is in heaven.

"These words are explained by our oneness with Christ, for he is our head and we are his body. No one ascended into heaven except Christ because we also are Christ: he is the Son of Man by his union with us, and we by our union with him are [children] of God. So the Apostle says: Just as the human body, which has many members, is a unity, because all the different members make one body, so is it also with Christ. He too has many members, but one body.

"Out of compassion for us he descended from heaven, and although he ascended alone, we also ascend, because we are in him by grace. Thus, no one but Christ descended and no one but Christ ascended; not because there is no distinction between the head and the body, but because the body as a unity cannot be separated from the head.”

St. Augustine, from The Liturgy of the Hours, II, Lenten and Easter Seasons (Catholic Book Publishing Inc., 1976), pp. 920-922.

Open America but Don't Wear Masks?

Interesting article about conspiracy theories, anti-vaxxers, and folks who won't wear masks.

https://thebulwark.com/the-curious-case-of-the-people-who-want-to-reopen-america-but-not-wear-masks/?fbclid=IwAR1mOyNBeJGbvaCnfgWG3RXDAdpz-4XKuxpfPbNkVlJo5vFe8-KVLtzCtiI

In Line Next to Jodie Foster at Naples

The new issue of the Yale Alumni Magazine has a short, nice article about the old Naples Pizza place on York St. in New Haven.

During my final year at Yale Divinity School (1981-1982), I was in line for pizza at Naples. I got my pizza at the counter, turned around, and realized that actress Jodie Foster was behind me! She was a smaller person than I realized--maybe 5'2"--but definitely her. 

At the time, Foster was an undergrad at Yale, and I knew that she kept a low profile because of the tragic shooting of President Reagan and his press secretary James Brady earlier in 1981. The shooter, James Hickney, reportedly had an obsession for Foster. 

Of course, I respected her privacy. I said "Excuse me," to her. She said something like, "That's okay," and I went on to find a table. That's my Naples story, fondly remembered. 

"We Must Not Forget the Jackson State Massacre"

Fifty years ago tonight, a few days after the Kent State shootings, local and state police fired over 400 rounds in 30 seconds on a crowd and dormitory at the predominantly African American Jackson State College. Two students were killed and a dozen were wounded. This essay calls attention to current issues that also show the elusiveness of racial justice.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/14/opinion/Jackson-state-shooting-police.html?action=click&module=Opinion&pgtype=Homepage&fbclid=IwAR24NDNUFtD8bN7PvRsGj85X2QxH2F-gqxYxhVZjxaXGH0cUg2jAjMzyPog

The Qur'an

So that I have these references and sources in one place, for my World Religions teaching and
reading, I've assembled some information about the contents of the Qur'an. Here are the titles of the suras:

1. Al-Fatihah (The Opening)
2. Al-Baqarah (The Cow)
3. Al-'Imran (The Family of Amran)
4. An-Nisa' (The Women)
5. Al-Ma'idah (The Food)
6. Al-An'am (The Cattle)
7. Al-A'raf (The Elevated Places)
8. Al-Anfal (Voluntary Gifts)
9. Al-Bara'at / At-Taubah (The Immunity)
10. Yunus (Jonah)
11. Hud (Hud)
12. Yusuf (Joseph)
13. Ar-Ra'd (The Thunder)
14. Ibrahim (Abraham)
15. Al-Hijr (The Rock)
16. An-Nahl (The Bee)
17. Bani Isra'il (The Israelites)
18. Al-Kahf (The Cave)
19. Maryam (Mary)
20. Ta Ha (Ta Ha)
21. Al-Anbiya' (The Prophets)
22. Al-Hajj (The Pilgrimage)
23. Al-Mu'minun (The Believers)
24. An-Nur (The Light)
25. Al-Furqan (The Discrimination)
26. Ash-Shu'ara' (The Poets)
27. An-Naml (The Naml)
28. Al-Qasas (The Narrative)
29. Al-'Ankabut (The Spider)
30. Ar-Rum (The Romans)
31. Luqman (Luqman)
32. As-Sajdah (The Adoration)
33. Al-Ahzab (The Allies)
34. Al-Saba' (The Saba')
35. Al-Fatir (The Originator)
36. Ya Sin (Ya Sin)
37. As-Saffat (Those Ranging in Ranks)
38. Sad (Sad)
39. Az-Zumar (The Companies)
40. Al-Mu'min (The Believer)
41. Ha Mim (Ha Mim)
42. Ash-Shura (Counsel)
43. Az-Zukhruf (Gold)
44. Ad-Dukhan (The Drought)
45. Al-Jathiyah (The Kneeling)
46. Al-Ahqaf (The Sandhills)
47. Muhammad (Muhammad)
48. Al-Fath (The Victory)
49. Al-Hujurat (The Apartments)
50. Qaf (Qaf)
51. Ad-Dhariyat (The Scatterers)
52. At-Tur (The Mountain)
53. An-Najm (The Star)
54. Al-Qamar (The Moon)
55. Ar-Rahman (The Beneficent)
56. Al-Waqi'ah (The Event)
57. Al-Hadid (Iron)
58. Al-Mujadilah (The Pleading Woman)
59. Al-Hashr (The Banishment)
60. Al-Mumtahanah (The Woman who is Examined)
61. As-Saff (The Ranks)
62. Al-Jumu'ah (The Congregation)
63. Al-Munafiqun (The Hypocrites)
64. At-Taghabun (The Manifestation of Losses)
65. At-Talaq (Divorce)
66. At-Tahrim (The Prohibition)
67. Al-Mulk (The Kingdom)
68. Al-Qalam (The Pen)
69. Al-Haqqah (The Sure Truth)
70. Al-Ma'arij (The Ways of Ascent)
71. Nuh (Noah)
72. Al-Jinn (The Jinn)
73. Al-Muzzammil (The One Covering Himself)
74. Al-Muddaththir (The One Wrapping Himself Up)
75. Al-Qiyamah (The Resurrection)
76. Al-Insan (The Man)
77. Al-Mursalat (Those Sent Forth)
78. An-Naba' (The Announcement)
79. An-Nazi'at (Those Who Yearn)
80. 'Abasa (He Frowned)
81. At-Takwir (The Folding Up)
82. Al-Infitar (The Cleaving)
83. At-Tatfif (Default in Duty)
84. Al-Inshiqaq (The Bursting Asunder)
85. Al-Buruj (The Stars)
86. At-Tariq (The Comer by Night)
87. Al-A'la (The Most High)
88. Al-Ghashiyah (The Overwhelming Event)
89. Al-Fajr (The Daybreak)
90. Al-Balad (The City)
91. Ash-Shams (The Sun)
92. Al-Lail (The Night)
93. Ad-Duha (The Brightness of the Day)
94. Al-Inshirah (The Expansion)
95. At-Tin (The Fig)
96. Al-'Alaq (The Clot)
97. Al-Qadr (The Majesty)
98. Al-Bayyinah (The Clear Evidence)
99. Al-Zilzal (The Shaking)
100. Al-'Adiyat (The Assaulters)
101. Al-Qari'ah (The Calamity)
102. At-Takathur (The Abundance of Wealth)
103. Al-'Asr (The Time)
104. Al-Humazah (The Slanderer)
105. Al-Fil (The Elephant)
106. Al-Quraish (The Quraish)
107. Al-Ma'un (Acts of Kindness)
108. Al-Kauthar (The Abundance of Good)
109. Al-Kafirun (The Disbelievers)
110. An-Nasr (The Help)
111. Al-Lahab (The Flame)
112. Al-Ikhlas (The Unity)
113. Al-Falaq (The Dawn)
114. An-Nas (The Men)

Here is a site that summarizes each of the suras: https://www.soundvision.com/article/a-thematic-introduction-to-the-surahs-of-the-qur-an

Here are two other sites of summaries and key passages:  
https://www.islamreligion.com/category/77/summary-of-quranic-chapters/

https://mafiadoc.com/some-improtant-contents-of-surahs-understand-quran-_5a19ed1f1723dd221d4565b2.html

On page 27 of my Study Quran (above), the footnote has these lovely verses:

We are nearer to him than his jugular vein (50:16)

God comes between a man and his heart (8:24)

And you do not will but that God, the Lord of the worlds, wills (81:29)

When My servants ask thee about Me, truly I am near. I answer the call of the caller when he calls
Me. So let them respond to Me and believe in Me, that they may be led aright (2:186).

Unto God belongs intercession altogether (39:44)

Race and the Virus

Here is an excellent essay from The Atlantic, "The Coronavirus Was an Emergency Until Trump Found Out Who Was Dying: The pandemic has exposed the bitter terms of our racial contract, which deems certain lives of greater value than others."

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/05/americas-racial-contract-showing/611389/?fbclid=IwAR2moBHAVsuE94xUvzCBCbgnzxPWX5tOzyfZE9WAETFMT_EumMgub0SCh5M