Rome of the West

Saturday, January 10, 2009

Looks Familiar

Saint Joseph Roman Catholic Church, in Zell, Missouri, USA - view from distance with pigs

A view of Saint Joseph Church, in Zell, Missouri, which I took on December 17^th, 2007.

The cover of the January 2009 issue of the Missouri Historical Review.

Cover Description: Many smaller cities and towns, as well as urban centers, in Missouri became home to German immigrants in the mid- to late nineteenth century, but the new arrivals did not simply strike out on their own; they often followed or were accompanied by family and friends from home. Walter D. Kamphoefner discusses how his research on Missouri’s German heritage led him to the idea of chain migrations to towns like the pictured Zell, Missouri, in “Uprooted or Transplanted? Reflections on Patterns of German Immigration to Missouri,” beginning on page 71. [Mark Abeln, St. Louis, MO]

Thursday, January 08, 2009

Fr. Richard John Neuhaus, R.I.P.

Announcement at First Things:

Fr. Richard John Neuhaus slipped away today, January 8, shortly before 10 o’clock, at the age of seventy-two. He never recovered from the weakness that sent him to the hospital the day after Christmas, caused by a series of side effects from the cancer he was suffering. He lost consciousness Tuesday evening after a collapse in his heart rate, and the next day, in the company of friends, he died.

My tears are not for him—for he knew, all his life, that his Redeemer lives, and he has now been gathered by the Lord in whom he trusted.

I weep, rather for all the rest of us. As a priest, as a writer, as a public leader in so many struggles, and as a friend, no one can take his place. The fabric of life has been torn by his death, and it will not be repaired, for those of us who knew him, until that time when everything is mended and all our tears are wiped away.

Funeral arrangements are still being planned; information about the funeral will be made public shortly. Please accept our thanks for all your prayers and good wishes.

In Deepest Sorrow,

Joseph Bottum
Editor
First Things

Click here for some of his writings.

THE BASEMENT OF the Saint Louis Art Museum is, for me, the most interesting part of the building. Containing mainly what are called 'decorative arts', this floor contains objects of art that date from a time or state of mind where utility and æsthetics were happily married and living in beautiful harmony. On the museum's main floor, the conceits of the Renaissance are apparent, with each spouse bickering for their freedom and rights.

I usually avoid the museum's top floor, where (so to speak) æsthetics has completed an angry, bitter divorce from her spouse utility, and where she pretends that she is happy with her hollow freedom, while also trying to convince herself (and us) that she is still young and beautiful. Her cold, heartless ex-husband utility is enjoying his freedom by manufacturing generic pre-fabricated buildings at the lowest possible cost.

So in the basement I remain, surrounded by the decorative arts, which are children of a happy marriage. Besides Western European and American decorative arts, the basement also contains art from Egypt, sub-Saharan Africa, and Oceania, which also embody this same spirit of harmony.

In the basement you can also find an excellent gift shop and café, both well worth patronizing.

Saint Louis Art Museum, in Saint Louis, Missouri, USA - ceramic squirrel

A ceramic squirrel bottle.

Saint Louis Art Museum, in Saint Louis, Missouri, USA - carriage clock

Carriage clock: Angelus Domini nuntiavit Mariæ — The Angel of the Lord declared unto Mary.

Saint Louis Art Museum, in Saint Louis, Missouri, USA - romantic painting of a young lady

A charming depiction of femininity, nearly lost in our age.

Saint Louis Art Museum, in Saint Louis, Missouri, USA - Mediaeval tomb cover

Tomb cover of Ulrich and Elisabeth von Erbach.

Saint Louis Art Museum, in Saint Louis, Missouri, USA - suits of armor

Chivalry, at its best, adhered to the command "Love your enemies", and cared for honor more than victory. Chronicles often show bitter enemies becoming friends due to honorable conduct during warfare.