My friend David. . .

. . . introduced me to what later became one of my major musical influences way back in the seventh grade. Our little, urban Catholic elementary school was, I'm sure, like most others. When we were young, many of our parents' generation (of the Catholic persuasion) had horror stories about 'discipline' in Catholic schools involving everything but water-boarding. To this day I'm not sure if these graphic stories were concocted merely to frighten us or if they actually were, in fact, true. Irrespective of the veracity of those tales, we (happily) never experienced the 'extreme' version of discipline on our school. I don't even remember a teacher (nun, priest or 'civilian') laying a hand on a student in my eight year Catholic education.

But back to David. Sister Mary Agnes just happened to have a Magnus organ in her classroom. (You can read about this magnificent instrument HERE) David had been playing this arpeggiated pattern on the Magnus during lunch period on a rainy day when we could not indulge in the usual dodge-ball game outside, which sounded like Bach (or Beethoven- not that I would have known the difference way back then); a sophisticated yet complex and compelling combination of broken chords. I insisted that David teach the pattern to me, which he did. I'd like to say that I clearly remember mastering the entire little song on the spot, but that would be a LIE. But I do know that I did learn it. David told me that it was called "Colour My World" by Chicago (now shortened from Chicago Transit Authority). I investigated the music of this wonderful, new (it was about 1971-2, so they may have been around for about 5 years by that time) rock band. And I can still say that Chicago (1968 - 1974) is most certainly one of my favorite rock (now 'historical' rock, I guess) bands and without a doubt, one whose music had a profound influence on my musical development.



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VATICAN CITY - Pope Benedict XVI has made a sweeping exoneration of the Jewish people for the death of Jesus Christ in a new book, tackling one of the most controversial issues in Christianity. In "Jesus of Nazareth" excerpts released Wednesday, Benedict uses a biblical and theological analysis to explain why it is not true that the Jewish people as a whole were responsible for Jesus' death. Interpretations to the contrary have been used for centuries to justify the persecution of Jews. While the Vatican has for five decades taught that Jews weren't collectively responsible, Jewish scholars said Wednesday the argument laid out by the German-born pontiff, who has had his share of mishaps with Jews, was significant and would help fight anti-Semitism today."There's a natural human tendency to take things for granted, and very often this tends to lead to a lapse in awareness and consciousness" about the risk of anti-Semitism, said Rabbi David Rosen, head of interreligious affairs at the American Jewish Committee and a longtime leader in Vatican-Jewish dialogue. He noted that the Vatican issued its most authoritative document on the issue in 1965, "Nostra Aetate," which revolutionized the Catholic Church's relations with Jews by saying Christ's death could not be attributed to Jews as a whole at the time or today. Rosen said the pope's words might make a bigger, more lasting mark because the faithful tend to read Scripture and commentary more so than church documents, particularly old church documents. "It may be an obvious thing for Jews to present texts with commentaries, but normally with church magisterium, they present a document," he said. "This is a pedagogical tool that he's providing, so people will be able to interpret the text in keeping with orthodox Vatican teaching." The book is the second installment to Benedict's 2007 "Jesus of Nazareth," his first book as pope, which offered a very personal meditation on the early years of Christ's life and teachings. This second installment, set to be released March 10, concerns the second half of Christ's life, his death and resurrection.

. . . remember in 1992, three years after Galileo Galilei's namesake spacecraft had been launched on its way to Jupiter, the Vatican formally and publicly cleared Galileo of any wrongdoing?

To quote an old song, ". . . too much too little too late. . . "

(Hear my music at http://www.rayjozwiak.com)