Post-vacation links

By Thomas V. Mirus ( bio - articles - email ) | Jul 14, 2015 | In Quick Hits

I've just returned from a two-week vacation, so it's time to catch up with a few things that caught my interest during the first half of June.

First, a topic near to my heart: In Dominicana, the official journal of the St. Joseph Province of the Dominican Order, Br. Bonaventure Chapman meditates on what John Coltrane's creative approach to jazz improvisation taught him about scriptural exegesis.

CNA has published a two-part interview with Joseph Prever, who has been blogging for years about his experience as a gay man who lives faithfully to the Church's teaching on sexuality. This is a must-read, containing a great deal that will help Catholics better serve their brethren who struggle with same-sex attraction. Prever has a commendably sober and nuanced take on some of the more contentious aspects of the issue among Christians (such as the controversy over the word "gay").

In the Register, Fr. Dwight Longenecker provides a brief history of the Shroud of Turin's interaction with modern technology, and explains how the Shroud's authenticity is vindicated more and more as technoscience develops.

Once again, an album of Gregorian chant sung by monks is at the top of Billboard's traditional classical music chart—for five weeks now. Benedicta: Marian Chant from Norcia (Norcia being the birthplace of St. Benedict) is out from De Montfort Music, which has had numerous successes in collaboration with Decca in the past year or two. Watch the video below to get a taste: