Universalis, your very own breviary in pixels...

Tuesday 13 November 2007

Frugality

I just heard anchor Raymond Arroyo (Pee-wee Herman's decorous, upright brother, I've heard him described,) talking about cost-cutting measures by the USCCB, say that the press was given cds to print out documents themselves, rather than thick stacks of paper.
Bravi!
On the other hand, they did not provide their line by line budget in any form.
Fie!
I would like to see them pinching pennies on their own accommodations.... like that'll happen.
Part of the problem is the size of the gathering, I suppose; a big hotel or convention center is probably needed, (although if they did in in the summer, I imagine a college campus with teensy little shared dorm rooms, and a gymnasium with rented folding tables could surely be made to do? And they could get by on decent cafeteria food rather than the Marriot's catering?)

2 comments:

Paul Buckley said...

Nothing to do with this post, but I'd like to offer a thought on a piece from your white list -- "Before the Marvel of This Night" -- and invite your response (as well as the response of anyone else who cares to chime in).

I think the piece is really attractive. I want to like it even more, but one line of text makes my ears twitch every time, no matter how much I try to talk them out of twitching:

Give earth a glimpse of heav'nly bliss,
A teasing taste of what they miss


"A teasing taste of what they miss" -- that's the line that bugs me. I'm having a hard time articulating my objection, but here's a shot. "Teasing taste" and "miss" seem -- to these ears -- to fall short of the mark. "Miss" understates the void; the gift announced by angels is far deeper, and addresses a far deeper need, than something of which we might say to a friend, "You don't know what you're missing." "Miss" just doesn't work for me.

Similarly, "teasing taste" sounds a bit trivial in context.

I've spent odd moments for the past several weeks trying to think how to rewrite this line, but nothing satisfactory has occurred to me.

Anonymous said...

I can't disagree with you, theparticular phrasing does seem too casual for the marvel that is being spoken of, but it just hasn't bothered me that much.

Thanks for dropping by, you have obviously put some thought inot this.
Would you have a "white list" of your own, of worthy contemporary sacred or liturgical compositions? (I realize now that most on my list are not suitably liturgical, in their texts)

Save the Liturgy, Save the World)