The Topmost Apple

"South Africa pays tribute to `Mama Africa' Makeba"
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (AP) — A trumpet wailed and poetry soared Saturday as South Africans remembered "Mama Africa," Miriam Makeba, for her music and her commitment to human rights.

The memorial service after Makeba's death Monday at the age of 76 followed two days of national mourning, with flags at half staff and books of condolences at the presidency and parliament — honors due a woman seen as an ambassador for the best values of her country, her continent and the world.

Makeba's celebrity and grace made her a powerful voice against apartheid, and she later championed women's and children's rights and other causes. She died after collapsing during a concert in Italy in honor of six immigrants from Ghana who were shot to death in September in an attack blamed on organized crime.

Mourners began arriving Saturday hours before the public memorial service began at a Johannesburg stadium.

Zindzi Mfundisi, a 20-year-old waitress and aspiring singer, was first in line. Mfundisi said she once met Makeba before a concert in South Africa. Her heroine encouraged her to stay in school.

"I know her as a mother, as a caring mother," Mfundisi said. "I love her humanity."

Moferefere Mofokeng brought his wife and two children to the service, rising early for a drive of several hours from the eastern town of Ermelo.

"This is my icon," said the 48-year-old engineer, his 5-year-old son Lebo looking up at him solemnly. "I have to be here with my family."

His 12-year-old daughter Cindy called Makeba "an inspiration."

The service drew a South African mosaic — young and old, white and black. Some wore sober black suits and church hats. Others wore vibrant traditional robes that recalled Makeba's own Afro chic — as well as the poet Langston Hughes's call to remember the dead with "one, blaring trumpet note of sun."

My brother had one of her albums, and I loved her right away when I heard it; I was only about 12 or so then. Her most famous song was "Pata Pata":



Here's another, "Amampondo," and very sixties. You'll understand immediately why I loved her:



Go listen to (the non-embeddable) "The Click Song" - which is really called "Qongqothwane," and is a wedding song in the Xhosa language (explained here). (Nelson Mandela is a Xhosa speaker.)

• 25th A.A./sobriety Anniversary, that is: November 17th, 1983. Seems very, very long ago now - which I guess it is. Well, again: it's Thanksgiving time.


• Now, listen: the ciabatta recipe I use is absolutely foolproof. It's easy, it's quick, and you can't mess it up. All you really need is flour, yeast, a mixing bowl, and a clean cloth. When I start to run out, as I am doing just now, I simply think: "Time to make the ciabatta." And I do, just like that.
  
  I really would like to get into the rye, whole-wheat sandwich bread area - but it's "sourdough, sourdough, sourdough" for so many of the Fresh Loaf crowd that you can't find anything else. I guess somebody'll post a good recipe when that craze passes.


• I found a good farmstand that will sell me half-bushels (around 25 lbs.) of smallish apples for $10; I got about 35 pounds for $14 and quickly made a big batch (8 lbs. worth) of apple butter. Yow! So good. It was a little too thin, but who cares?
  
  I also learned from the farmer that the Farmer's Almanac says we're going to have a very cold, very snowy winter - and December in particular. And that there's no real "bee crisis"! The problem, she says, is confined to commercial hive owners; these honey producers are pushing production too hard and killing off all the captive bees in their own hives. But there are still lots of natural bees around. ("Newsbusters" would seem to confirm this, actually.) And that apple trees naturally only bear every other year.
  
  All kinds of good information comes free of charge when you buy seconds, I guess. I spread the word to my local monastic friends, and they got even better deals; it's the uniform, no doubt. Anyway: applesauce next. Yum.


• Next: Chai lattes at home. I love this kind of tea (and I'm not a tea person, really), but it's just way too expensive at Starbucks - so I make my own now.
  
  I'm still fooling around with recipes, but here's the general idea: take about 4-6 cups of water and put it in a saucepan. Crush about 12-15 cloves, a stick-and-a-half of cinnamon, two pods of cardamom (I've been using black cardamom), and add these to the water. Add 5-6 thin slices of ginger, plus a bit of ground black pepper, and boil the whole thing till you have a bit more than half of the volume you started with. At that point, toss about 4 teabags in there and steep for about 15 minutes. Then strain the stuff out of the liquid, and sweeten it with sugar and/or honey to taste. Mix with equal parts of milk and heat.
  
  Yow! I just talked myself into going and getting one of these; mmmmm. You can make a lot of the tea ahead of time and keep it in the fridge, too. BTW, you can get big bags of cloves and cinnamon at your local Indian grocery for a song. Also cardamom and ginger; definitely don't buy these things in the grocery store in those little jars.


• I guess I should talk about something besides food. How about house painting? I got the primer coat done on the front and side porch sides - but that looks completely weird. It will look weird with the top coat, too, I realized later, because the new paint will be much brighter and deeper in color than what's on the house now.
  
  Well, too bad. I don't think I'm going to get to the top coat before it snows anyway, so it will have to wait till Spring. The house actually looks a lot better, though - at least from the front; the paint was really bad before. Unfortunately, when doing this kind of thing you start to notice everything else that's wrong with the house, too; I need to replace some of the clapboard pretty soon, and fix all the leaks in the gutters (or get new gutters). Hopefully I'll be able to afford that at some point; after having no work for months, I now have about 7 small jobs - so while I'm really very busy, and feeling over-pressured, it's a lot better than having no work at all.


• This winter will be "Get the house in shape for sale" winter - if selling it is possible at all, that is. I hope it will be, because I really need to move soon.
  
  I'll be: re-plastering where there's a hole in the ceiling in the living room; getting rid of wallpaper, and painting every room; putting ceiling tiles up in the basement where the cats have knocked them down by going up in there and horsing around; cleaning the basement and attic; insulating where it needs it, if I can; patching a hole in the cement sidewalk (in spring); cleaning out all the extra junk; going through boxes and boxes of my parents' stuff, and figuring out what to keep and what to get rid of; fix broken drawers in the kitchen and elsewhere.
  
  Well, now all I have to do is look at this post! That's my list. One interesting thing about doing these kinds of things is that you get used to it, and find out it's not that complicated after all. When I was painting the front of the house, for instance, I would stop and realize that I had to do it a better way, and would really have to start again - but that way, you get things done right. It's not enough to do a surface job, even though it's much more difficult and requires much more research and better tools to get things done right. Oh, well. It's really much cheaper this way, and I learn a lot. Some things - carpentry things - I'll have to hire professionals to do, but most I can really do myself, once I figure it out.
  
  And I can always ask the Home Depot folks.


• The washing machine gave up the ghost the other day. Not bad, though, after 30 years (and it might be closer to 35). The only problem was, when it decided to die, it forgot to alert the sink to turn off the water flowing in for the rinse cycle - so I spent most of one evening bailing out. It wasn't so bad, though: the clothes were already clean and so was the water, and I have a cement basement floor.
  
  I had to go to the laundramat to do my laundry - and the machines there cleaned my clothes much better than that old workhorse could anymore. Plus, they have a new system that involves computer chips on cards rather than quarters, so it was pretty good all in all.


• I've been hibernating ever since DST ended; I go to bed now at about 9:30 every night and for the first time in years, I'm getting some good sleep. Who would have guessed it would be so easy? Anyway, I think we're supposed to do this during the winter; the house is cold and the bed is warm and sleep is refreshing. So no more late nights until Spring.


• Wow, this chai latte is terrific! The taste of cloves and cinnamon is just about the best thing there is; it goes right up into your nose and head and makes everything seem very sweet and luxurious. And the warmth! It's almost enough to make a person forget coffee altogether - almost. When I have money again....


• I love it when the timer goes off in the kitchen; all the animals totally freak out, especially the cats. My small cat in particular takes off at about 600 MPH - and then the dog thinks that's a game and starts to chase her around and it all becomes a total disaster everywhere. Real drama queens we have around here.


• Speaking of, "When engineers own a dog" is something that I think you should see:
  
  
  


• Just had a terrific bowl of grits. Today's my "eat-anything-I-like" day, and next it'll be the leftover Chinese food that some co-workers gave me. I've lost about 15 lbs. so far and seem to be having no problems losing them; "eat-anything" day is a good little breather in this so that I can keep going on that. I need to go another 15 or so; it seems that as you get older it's easier to do.


• It's very interesting to see the protests that have sprung up organically, everywhere, over the passing of anti-"gay marriage" Propositions in various states. Very interesting and very good, in fact; once again, the lives of gay people have been put up for a vote (very Anglican Communion, that, don't you think?) and it's extremely important to take a peaceful and very firm stand on this.
  
  It's really very important that people start thinking about how they'd like it if their lives and marriages were voted on - and declared null and void.


• Speaking of Anglican Chant, here's a version of Psalm 151 that's perfect for Christ the King, don't you think?
  
  
  

From David Brooks:
Not so long ago, corporate giants with names like PanAm, ITT and Montgomery Ward roamed the earth. They faded and were replaced by new companies with names like Microsoft, Southwest Airlines and Target. The U.S. became famous for this pattern of decay and new growth. Over time, American government built a bigger safety net so workers could survive the vicissitudes of this creative destruction — with unemployment insurance and soon, one hopes, health care security. But the government has generally not interfered in the dynamic process itself, which is the source of the country’s prosperity.

But this, apparently, is about to change. Democrats from Barack Obama to Nancy Pelosi want to grant immortality to General Motors, Chrysler and Ford. They have decided to follow an earlier $25 billion loan with a $50 billion bailout, which would inevitably be followed by more billions later, because if these companies are not permitted to go bankrupt now, they never will be.

This is a different sort of endeavor than the $750 billion bailout of Wall Street. That money was used to save the financial system itself. It was used to save the capital markets on which the process of creative destruction depends.

Granting immortality to Detroit’s Big Three does not enhance creative destruction. It retards it. It crosses a line, a bright line. It is not about saving a system; there will still be cars made and sold in America. It is about saving politically powerful corporations. A Detroit bailout would set a precedent for every single politically connected corporation in America. There already is a long line of lobbyists bidding for federal money. If Detroit gets money, then everyone would have a case. After all, are the employees of Circuit City or the newspaper industry inferior to the employees of Chrysler?

It is all a reminder that the biggest threat to a healthy economy is not the socialists of campaign lore. It’s C.E.O.’s. It’s politically powerful crony capitalists who use their influence to create a stagnant corporate welfare state.

If ever the market has rendered a just verdict, it is the one rendered on G.M. and Chrysler. These companies are not innocent victims of this crisis. To read the expert literature on these companies is to read a long litany of miscalculation. Some experts mention the management blunders, some the union contracts and the legacy costs, some the years of poor car design and some the entrenched corporate cultures.

Couldn't agree more. Here's something else we need to protest, if it happens. Detroit makes crappy cars; the "Big Three" heartily deserve to go bankrupt, so that somebody else can take their place.

How about we stop rewarding incompetence - especially corporate incompetence? I think everybody's had more than enough of that.

From Episcopal Life Online:

It doesn't have much of a beat, the kids can't dance to it, and it's sung in a dead language, but Gregorian chant seems to be the hottest thing in sacred music right now.

Nearly 200 scholas -- choirs that sing plainsong -- have emerged around the country, many in the last five years, according to the Church Music Association of America. Sacred music seminars that once drew few people now lure musical directors, organists and singers who want to learn more about Gregorian chant, said CMA president William Mahrt.

Religious publishers are stocking and selling large collections of plainsong books and music. Paraclete Press, the Massachusetts publishing house of the Community of Jesus, a monastic, Christian community in the Benedictine tradition, sold 5,000 copies of its "Gregorian Melodies" CD in the first half of this year -- more than it did all of last year.

The style of chant is named for the sainted Pope Gregory I (circa A.D. 540–604) in what was probably an early exercise in brand marketing. Musicologists say the pope most likely didn't invent plainsong, but his name was used to help it spread from monastery to monastery in medieval Europe.

Written records of Gregorian chant date to the 10th century. Over the years, plainsongs' unadorned melodies, sung in Latin to an uneven meter, became somehow suggestive of high religiosity.

"It has an inner pulse like a heart beat, but it doesn't have a regular rhythm," said Jeffrey Tucker, managing editor of the magazine Sacred Music. "The effect is like musical incense. It's always sort of floating and rising."

There follows an extensive list of CDs and books available for purchase.

At Dan Savage's blog:
The LA Times asks...

Ever since Proposition 8 passed Nov. 4, enshrining heterosexual-only marriage in the California Constitution, demonstrators from Sacramento to San Diego have staged daily marches and protests to express their anger and disappointment that homosexuals will continue to be treated as second-class citizens. It's a stirring movement, reminiscent of past civil rights struggles, but it raises a troubling question: Where were these marchers before the election?Gay people generally aren't the placard-waving, bomb-throwing, chaps-wearing, communion-wafer-stomping radicals we're made out to be by the Bills O'Reilly and Donohue. Most gays and lesbians are content to be left to alone; many gays and lesbians go out of their way to ignore political threats and political activism and political activists. Only when gays and lesbians are attacked—only after the fact—do gays and lesbians take to the streets. Remember: the Stonewall Riots were are a response to a particularly brutal and cruelly-timed (we'd just buried Judy!) police raid on a gay bar in New York City; ACT-UP and Queer Nation were a response not to the AIDS virus, but to a murderous indifference on the parts of the political and medical establishment that amounted to an attack.

Most gay people grow up desperately trying to pass, to blend in; most of us flee to cities where we can live our lives in relative peace and security. We don't go looking for fights. And most gay people walk around without realizing that they've internalized the dynamics of high school hells some of us barely survived: it's better to pass, to stay out of sight, to avoid making waves, lest you attract negative attention, lest you get bashed.

But once you get bashed, once someone else throws the first punch, then you fight back—what other choice do you have?

Gays and lesbians were active in the fight against Prop 8—thousands of us. But the great gay masses marching in the streets over the last week didn't perceive Prop 8 as an attack until after it was approved. Which was idiotic not just in hindsight but in foresight—lots of gay people were screaming bloody murder about Prop 8, and pouring money into the campaign, before the damn thing passed. So now we're in the streets—now when some would argue that it's too late. But as with past attacks that galvanized the gay community—Anita Bryant, Harvey Milk's murder, the AIDS epidemic, Don't Ask/Don't Tell, Matthew Shepard's murder—the energy will be harnessed, new leaders will emerge, and we will emerge stronger.

HT Box Turtle Bulletin, which also has lots of photos of the protests last night in New York.

Counterlight tells us to Get Up Off Your Butts and Fight For Your Homes and Families!

The protests are planned for Saturday.

It's appropriate today to sing any of the hymns "For a Holy Man," "For a Confessor," "For a Monastic," or "For Bishops and Pastors," because Martin of Tours was all of these. The choice from the listing at Hymn Melodies for the whole year from the Sarum service books, though, is only "For a Confessor." From an earlier post:

Here's an mp3 of Iste Confessor, labeled a "hymn about a Holy Man" for the Common of Saints, from the Lutheran Liturgical Prayer Brotherhood. Here's the listing at Hymn Melodies for the whole year from the Sarum service books, where Iste Confessor is appointed as the hymn for First Vespers and Mattins. Below is a an image of the chant score for this hymn:





The words to the hymn above - the first line of which is "He whose confession God of old accepted" - are found at Oremus Hymnal, where it says the hymn is "Latin, eighth century; trans. Laurence Housman, 1906."
He whose confession God of old accepted,
whom through the ages all now hold in honor,
gaining his guerdon this day came to enter
heaven's high portal.

God-fearing, watchful, pure of mind and body,
holy and humble, thus did all men find him;
while, through his members, to the life immortal
mortal life called him.

Thus to the weary, from the life enshrinèd,
potent in virtue, flowed humane compassion;
sick and sore laden, howsoever burdened,
there they found healing.

So now in chorus, giving God the g lory,
raise we our anthem gladly to his honor,
that in fair kinship we may all be sharers
here and hereafter.

Honor and glory, power and salvation,
be in the highest unto him who reigneth
changeless in heaven over earthly changes,
triune, eternal.

Here is another set of words for this hymn; this source says that the hymn "was originally composed in honor of St. Martin of Tours":
This the Confessor of the Lord, whose triumph Now all the faithful celebrate, with gladness Erst on this feat-day merited to enter Into his glory.

Saintly and prudent, modest in behavior, Peaceful and sober, chaste was he, and lowly, While that life's vigor, coursing through his members, Quickened his being.

Sick ones of old time, to his tomb resorting, Sorely by ailments manifold afflicted, Oft-times have welcomed health and strength returning, At his petition.

Whence we in chorus gladly do him honor, Chanting his praises with devout affection, That in his merits we may have a portion, Now and forever.

Glory and virtue, honour and salvation, Be unto him that, sitting in the highest, Governeth all things, Lord and God Almighty, Trinity blessed.

Here's the chant score from my source to the hymn sung at Vespers on the feast days of monastics; the words are quite similar in content to those above. (That source lists hymns - different ones - for both monastics and "Holy Men.") The tune for this one is the same as on the mp3 and in the chant score above; again it's my favorite 11 11 11 5 meter, and this is one of my favorite of all hymns:





And here's the chant score for "Holy Men"; again, the music is the same:





Here's "Bishops and Pastors," using the same tune again:





Again from an earlier post:
But actually, Hymn melodies lists Iste Confessor as the hymn only for 1st Evensong and Mattins; Jesu, Redemptor Omnium is sung at Lauds and 2nd Evensong, to several different tunes, depending on the season. Here's the rundown:

At L. (except in Xmas & Paschal-tides) ... 25
At 2пd Ev. (& L. when по 2пd Ev.) ... 49
During Xmas-tide (L. & 2пd Ev.) ... 26
During Easter-tide ... ... 39
During Ascension-tide ... ... 41
On Simple Feasts of the lowest class throughout the year (L.) ... ... ... ... 6l

So there you have it. We are talking 25, 49, and/or 61 here. That's this gang:













#25 above uses the tune heard on this mp3, a tune I've heard used for the Lauds hymn on a Feast day.

Use the words to Jesu Redemptor Omnium with any one of these, and you're in business:
1. Jesu Redemptor omnium,
Quem lucis ante originem,
Parem paternae gloriae,
Pater supremus edidit.

2. Tu lumen et splendor Patris,
Tu spes perennis omnium:
Intende quas fundunt preces
Tui per orbem servuli.

3. Memento, rerum Conditor,
Nostri quod olim corporis,
Sacrata ab alvo Virginis,
Nascendo, formam sumpseris.

4. Testatur hoc praesens dies,
Currens per anni circulum,
Quod solus e sinu Patris
Mundi salus adveneris.

5. Hunc astra, tellus, aequora,
Hunc omne quod caelo subest,
Salutis auctorem novae,
Novo salutat cantico.

6. Et nos, beata quos sacri
Rigavit unda sanguinis,
Natalis ob diem tui,
Hymni tributum solvimus.

7. Jesu, tibi sit gloria,
Qui natus es de Virgine,
Cum Patre et almo Spiritu,
In sempiterna saecula.

The Lutheran Liturgical Prayer Brotherhood does offer a hymn "about the Bishops, Pastors, and Missionaries," though. Here's the mp3 of "O Thou Whose All-Redeeming Might"; the tune is the same as #49 above. The words used on this mp3 are the same as those at Oremus Hymnal (which lists the hymn as "Latin, eighth century; trans. Richard Meux Benson, 1906; Music: Jesu, Redemptor omnium"); so that's another loose end cleaned up (although as far as I can tell, these words do not match those in the Latin given above).
O thou whose all-redeeming might
crowns every chief in faith's true fight,
on this commemoration day
hear us, good Jesus, while we pray.

In faithful strife for thy dear Name
thy servant earned the saintly fame,
which pious hearts with praise revere
in constant memory year by year.

Earth's fleeting joys he counted nought,
for higher, truer joys he sought,
and now, with angels round thy throne,
unfading treasures are his own.

O grant that we, most gracious God,
may follow in the steps he trod;
and, freed from every stain of sin,
as he hath won may also win.

To thee, O Christ, our loving King,
all glory, praise and thanks we bring;
whom with the Father we adore
and Holy Ghost for evermore.


One of the interesting things about Martin of Tours is that his feast day, November 11, was once the de facto start of Advent (although that concept didn't really exist at that point). November 11 is 40 (liturgical) days before Christmas, and the Feast of Martin of Tours was the night before the fasting-before-Christmas began. According to the Martin page at Wikipedia:
From the late 4th century to the late Middle Ages, much of Western Europe, including Great Britain, engaged in a period of fasting beginning on the day after St. Martin's Day, November 11. This fast period lasted 40 days, and was, therefore, called "Quadragesima Sancti Martini," which means in Latin "the forty days of St. Martin." At St. Martin's eve and on the feast day, people ate and drank very heartily for a last time before they started to fast. This fasting time was later called "Advent" by the Church.

The feast is still celebrated (even with days off from work and school) in many parts of northern Europe, and it's still customary to have a big meal on the night of the feast - traditionally with goose as the main course.

This excellent history of Martin of Tours comes from the Order of St. Martin, of the the US Army Quartermaster Corps:
Saint Martin, whose name comes from Martem Tenens (one who sustains Mars), was born in Hungary during the reign of Emperor Constantine, and spent his early childhood in northern Italy. Drafted into the Roman Army at age 15, he later became a member of the royal cavalry guard. It was while he was campaigning in Gaul, as an 18-year-old tribune, stationed in Amiens, that the famous legend of Saint Martin and the beggar took place.

One bitterly cold day a beggar, naked and shivering, came near his station. Martin, like all the other soldiers, was in armor, but over his iron plated suit he wore a large military cloak. As none of his companions took notice of the beggar, Martin cut his cloak in two with his sword and gave half of it to the beggar. That night Christ appeared to him in a vision, dressed in the parted cloak, and commended the young soldier for his charity.

Saint Martin -- the patron saint of the Quartermaster Regiment -- was the most popular saint in France during antiquity and the early Middle Ages. It is said that French kings carried his cloak into battle as a spur to victory. Usually pictured on horseback dividing his cloak with the beggar, the image of Saint Martin as a Soldier-Provider offers a fitting symbol for Logistics Warriors charged with SUPPORTING VICTORY now and for all time.
Here's the St. Martin medal:




The readings are here, along with the collect:
Lord God of hosts, you clothed your servant Martin the soldier with the spirit of sacrifice, and set him as a bishop in your Church to be a defender of the catholic faith: Give us grace to follow in his holy steps, that at the last we may be found clothed with righteousness in the dwellings of peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen

The Hebrew Bible reading is Isaiah 58:6-12:

Is not this the fast that I choose:
to loose the bonds of injustice,
to undo the thongs of the yoke,
to let the oppressed go free,
and to break every yoke?
Is it not to share your bread with the hungry,
and bring the homeless poor into your house;
when you see the naked, to cover them,
and not to hide yourself from your own kin?
Then your light shall break forth like the dawn,
and your healing shall spring up quickly;
your vindicator shall go before you,
the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard.
Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer;
you shall cry for help, and he will say, Here I am.

If you remove the yoke from among you,
the pointing of the finger, the speaking of evil,
if you offer your food to the hungry
and satisfy the needs of the afflicted,
then your light shall rise in the darkness
and your gloom be like the noonday.
The LORD will guide you continually,
and satisfy your needs in parched places,
and make your bones strong;
and you shall be like a watered garden,
like a spring of water,
whose waters never fail.
Your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt;
you shall raise up the foundations of many generations;
you shall be called the repairer of the breach,
the restorer of streets to live in.

And the Gospel is, of course, Matthew 25:34-40:
Jesus said, "Then the king will say to those at his right hand, `Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.' Then the righteous will answer him, `Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?' And the king will answer them, `Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.' "

From Full Homely Divinity, "The Saints of Advent":

St. Martin was born about 316 in Pannonia (modern Hungary). At the age of 10 he became a catechumen and at 15 he joined the army, serving under the emperors Constantius and Julian. The most famous story about Martin tells how on a cold day he met a beggar who asked for alms. Having nothing else to give, Martin drew his sword and cut his cloak in two, giving half to the beggar. Christ appeared to him in a dream the following night, clothed in half a cloak, and said, "Martin, the catechumen, has clothed me with this mantle!" At the age of 18, he was baptized and wished to leave the military, but stayed for two more years at the request of his commander. Following a successful campaign against the Teutons, he went before the emperor who was distributing rewards to his men. Martin, however, declined the bounty and asked instead that he be released from military service. He said, "Up to now, I have served you as a soldier; allow me henceforth to serve Christ. Give the bounty to these others who are going out to battle. I am a soldier of Christ and it is not lawful for me to fight." Julian accused him of cowardice and imprisoned him for a time. When he was released, Martin sought out the saintly Bishop Hilary of Poitiers, under whose direction Martin lived a solitary life for a time, until he was joined by others and founded a Benedictine monastery at Ligugé.

Martin became famous for his holiness of life, his preaching, and for his gifts of healing and spiritual discernment. People often sought him out for help and when the bishop of Tours died, they chose Martin to be their new bishop. He declined the honor and responsibility and hid from the people when they came looking for him. However, a goose revealed his whereabouts with her honking and Martin was unable to resist the will of the Church that he become a bishop. The goose is one of Martin's symbols. It is also a popular food on his feast day. Martinmas is the last day before the traditional 40 day fast before Christmas (St. Martin's Lent). The new wine is usually ready to drink on Martinmas, which is also the traditional day for slaughtering livestock for the winter, so it is a kind of harvest festival and a late fall Mardi Gras all rolled into one.

St. Martin was an exemplary bishop, and much loved by his people. He visited every church in his diocese once a year and founded several more religious communities, including the monastery of Marmoutier near Tours, where he lived with 80 monks. He lived to the great old age of 81 and was so renowned that he came to be known as the "Glory of Gaul." The hymn Iste confessor was composed in honor of St. Martin in the eighth century, and was later appointed to be sung as the Office Hymn on the feasts of confessors.Click here for an English translation by Laurence Housman, set to a metrical tune.

For a modern observance of the feast, this would be a good day to sort through drawers and
closets to gather good used clothing that could be donated to a local ministry to the needy, or to a thrift shop. Contributions to a food pantry or soup kitchen would be in order, as well. In many communities in the U.S., churches or other service organizations provide a free Thanksgiving dinner to any and all. Martinmas would be a good day to find out if there is such a meal served in your community and to sign up to help or to contribute money or food to the effort. If you are keeping St. Martin's Day at home, roast goose and a bottle of this year's Nouveau Beaujolais might top the menu, especially if you will be starting the St. Martin's Lent fast the next day.

Here's an El Greco of St. Martin:





And here's a "modern icon in the chapel of the Eastern Orthodox Monastery of the Theotokos and St Martin, Cantauque, Provence":

Via Joseph O'Leary:
The 2005 Vatican document barring homosexually oriented men from becoming priests was widely interpreted as applying only to men whose sexuality would weigh on them to a point that it would create difficulties in relating to the faithful, especially women, in the mode of spiritual fatherhood. But it seems that Cardinal Grocholewski is resisting this interpretation in his latest clarifications:

"At a press conference at which the Congregation for Catholic Education’s ‘Guidelines for the Use of Psychology in the Admission and Formation of Candidates for the Priesthood’ were released, Cardinal Zenon Grocholewski, prefect of the congregation, reiterated that even celibate homosexuals cannot be ordained to the priesthood.

"‘The candidate does not necessarily have to practice homosexuality’ to be excluded from ordination, said Cardinal Grocholewski. ‘He can even be without sin. But if he has this deeply seated tendency, he cannot be admitted to priestly ministry precisely because of the nature of the priesthood, in which a spiritual paternity is carried out. Here we are not talking about whether he commits sins, but whether this deeply rooted tendency remains.’

"The cardinal added, ‘It’s not simply a question of observing celibacy as such. In this case, it would be a heterosexual tendency, a normal tendency. In a certain sense, when we ask why Christ reserved the priesthood to men, we speak of this spiritual paternity, and maintain that homosexuality is a type of deviation, a type of irregularity, as explained in two documents of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Therefore it is a type of wound in the exercise of the priesthood, in forming relations with others. And precisely for this reason we say that something isn’t right in the psyche of such a man. We don’t simply talk about the ability to abstain from these kinds of relations.’"

John Heard (Dreadnought), an ardent defender of the lenifying interpretation I refer to above claims that even these utterances of Cardinal Grocholewsky pose no problems to chaste same-sex attracted men entering the priesthood: http://johnheard.blogspot.com/2008/11/dreadpriests-pope-benedict-xvi-vatican.html

What are we to think? It seems to me that the Cardinal's attitude is abusive and that, if implemented, it would be very damaging to the young men subjected to the psychological testing he advocates. In addition there is the wider abuse of a teaching that confirms ancient homophobic attitudes of the Catholic Church. Unless we have the clarity to name an abuse for what it is, we become ourselves perpetrators and perpetuators of abuse.

What the rise of Sarah Palin and populism means for the conservative intellectual tradition, from Mark Lilla in the WSJ.
Finita la commedia. Many things ended on Tuesday evening when Barack Obama was elected the 44th president of the United States, and depending on how you voted you are either celebrating or mourning this weekend. But no matter what our political affiliations, we should all -- Republicans and Democrats alike -- be toasting the return of Governor Sarah Palin to Juneau, Alaska.

The Palin farce is already the stuff of legend. For a generation at least it is sure to keep presidential historians and late-night comedians in gainful employment, which is no small thing. But it would be a pity if laughter drowned out serious reflection about this bizarre episode. As Jane Mayer reported recently in the New Yorker ("The Insiders," Oct. 27, 2008), John McCain's choice was not a fluke, or a senior moment, or an act of desperation. It was the result of a long campaign by influential conservative intellectuals to find a young, populist leader to whom they might hitch their wagons in the future.

And not just any intellectuals. It was the editors of National Review and the Weekly Standard, magazines that present themselves as heirs to the sophisticated conservatism of William F. Buckley and the bookish seriousness of the New York neoconservatives. After the campaign for Sarah Palin, those intellectual traditions may now be pronounced officially dead.

What a strange turn of events. For the past 40 years American conservatism has been politically ascendant, in no small part because it was also intellectually ascendant. In 1955 sociologist Daniel Bell could publish a collection of essays on "The New American Right" that treated it as a deeply anti-intellectual force, a view echoed a few years later in Richard Hofstadter's influential "Anti-Intellectualism in American Life" (1963).

But over the next decade and a half all that changed. Magazines like the Public Interest and Commentary became required reading for anyone seriously concerned about domestic and foreign affairs; conservative research institutes sprang up in Washington and on college campuses, giving a fresh perspective on public policy. Buckley, Irving Kristol, Nathan Glazer, Daniel Patrick Moynihan, Gertrude Himmelfarb, Peter Berger, Jeane Kirkpatrick, Norman Podhoretz -- agree or disagree with their views, these were people one had to take seriously.

Coming of age politically in the grim '70s, when liberalism seemed utterly exhausted, I still remember the thrill of coming upon their writings for the first time. I discovered the Public Interest the same week that Patty Hearst was kidnapped by the Symbionese Liberation Army, and its pages offered shelter from the storm -- from the mobs on the street, the radical posing of my professors and fellow students, the cluelessness of limousine liberals, the whole mad circus of post-'60s politics. Conservative politics mattered less to me than the sober comportment of conservative intellectuals at that time; I admired their maturity and seriousness, their historical perspective, their sense of proportion. In a country susceptible to political hucksters and demagogues, they studied the passions of democratic life without succumbing to them. They were unapologetic elites, but elites who loved democracy and wanted to help it.

So what happened? How, 30 years later, could younger conservative intellectuals promote a candidate like Sarah Palin, whose ignorance, provinciality and populist demagoguery represent everything older conservative thinkers once stood against? It's a sad tale that began in the '80s, when leading conservatives frustrated with the left-leaning press and university establishment began to speak of an "adversary culture of intellectuals." It was a phrase borrowed from the great literary critic Lionel Trilling, who used it to describe the disquiet at the heart of liberal societies. Now the idea was taken up and distorted by angry conservatives who saw adversaries everywhere and decided to cast their lot with "ordinary Americans" whom they hardly knew. In 1976 Irving Kristol publicly worried that "populist paranoia" was "subverting the very institutions and authorities that the democratic republic laboriously creates for the purpose of orderly self-government." But by the mid-'80s, he was telling readers of this newspaper that the "common sense" of ordinary Americans on matters like crime and education had been betrayed by "our disoriented elites," which is why "so many people -- and I include myself among them -- who would ordinarily worry about a populist upsurge find themselves so sympathetic to this new populism."

The die was cast. Over the next 25 years there grew up a new generation of conservative writers who cultivated none of their elders' intellectual virtues -- indeed, who saw themselves as counter-intellectuals. Most are well-educated and many have attended Ivy League universities; in fact, one of the masterminds of the Palin nomination was once a Harvard professor. But their function within the conservative movement is no longer to educate and ennoble a populist political tendency, it is to defend that tendency against the supposedly monolithic and uniformly hostile educated classes. They mock the advice of Nobel Prize-winning economists and praise the financial acumen of plumbers and builders. They ridicule ambassadors and diplomats while promoting jingoistic journalists who have never lived abroad and speak no foreign languages. And with the rise of shock radio and television, they have found a large, popular audience that eagerly absorbs their contempt for intellectual elites. They hoped to shape that audience, but the truth is that their audience has now shaped them.

Back in the '70s, conservative intellectuals loved to talk about "radical chic," the well-known tendency of educated, often wealthy liberals to project their political fantasies onto brutal revolutionaries and street thugs, and romanticize their "struggles." But "populist chic" is just the inversion of "radical chic," and is no less absurd, comical or ominous. Traditional conservatives were always suspicious of populism, and they were right to be. They saw elites as a fact of political life, even of democratic life. What matters in democracy is that those elites acquire their positions through talent and experience, and that they be educated to serve the public good. But it also matters that they own up to their elite status and defend the need for elites. They must be friends of democracy while protecting it, and themselves, from the leveling and vulgarization all democracy tends toward.

Writing recently in the New York Times, David Brooks noted correctly (if belatedly) that conservatives' "disdain for liberal intellectuals" had slipped into "disdain for the educated class as a whole," and worried that the Republican Party was alienating educated voters. I couldn't care less about the future of the Republican Party, but I do care about the quality of political thinking and judgment in the country as a whole. There was a time when conservative intellectuals raised the level of American public debate and helped to keep it sober. Those days are gone. As for political judgment, the promotion of Sarah Palin as a possible world leader speaks for itself. The Republican Party and the political right will survive, but the conservative intellectual tradition is already dead. And all of us, even liberals like myself, are poorer for it.