Epic

TAKE A LOOK at this video; this is the trailer for an upcoming film, due out in May 2012:


TimeScapes 4K from Tom Lowe on Vimeo.

Photography is difficult. Photography at night is more difficult. Time lapse photography — where you take a photo every second or so, and join them together into a video — has its own difficulties. Adding smooth camera motion during the time lapse adds layers of complications. Likewise, videography or filmmaking is a difficult endeavor, while, slow-motion videography — where you shoot many more frames per second than standard to slow down motion — requires a certain vision and specialized equipment. But putting all of these together into a stunning, epic video such as this, is a great work of art that transcends mere technique.

One of the striking effects used by videographer Tom Lowe is his use of camera motion during time lapse sequences of the night sky. As the heavenly orb rotates overhead, the camera itself moves, showing us the three-dimensional quality of the foreground objects such as rocks and trees. It is so obvious, it seems — why hasn’t anyone done that before? And I must admit to a tinge of envy — which is not a capital sin that I usually succumb to — but ultimately this sublimated to finding inspiration in the art.

I find myself envious of the camera gear that Lowe uses, and his innovative technique. But ask a photographer “what camera do you use?” and if you are unlucky, you may get one of these answers:

• “Why I have a Cannikon D8x Mark V, with a 10-300 mm f/0.95 zoom lens, which has a maximum frame rate of 100 fps, maximum ISO 10 million….”He’ll then go on and talk about his  camera gear for the next hour.
• “I am an artist. What camera I use doesn’t matter all.” He’ll then go on and talk about himself for the next hour.

For a very long time, I was torn between these two opinions: they both seem to be true, yet they seem to be mutually exclusive, while yet both seem to be rather cold, naïve, or self-centered. Contemporary art theories tend to be partisan and lack universality. Only when I studied classical art theory, and then the artistic traditions of Holy Mother Church, did things become clearer. Well, you can’t take a photo with only a rock, and even the best artist would find it difficult to make a drawing if all he has is a piece of paper without any implement to draw on it. But give an unskilled person a slab of marble and Michaelangelo’s stone cutting tools, and they will be unable to make the Pietà; likewise give a Canon 5D Mark II camera to a novice, and they would not be able to duplicate Mr. Lowe’s work.

Aristotle explained that virtue — and art is the virtue of making things well — can only be gained with knowledge and with practice. Lowe has been making time lapse night photos for years now, but his work from only four years ago lack the polish of what we see above. Doing this kind of work full time for over a year, while living in an R.V., honed his skills tremendously, as is described here. Lowe also generously shares his expertise freely, as is seen here. If you would like to copy his technique, it’s easy: all you have to do is spend ten thousand hours of practice with tens of thousand dollars worth of equipment, along with thousands of hours of study, a thick enough skin to withstand criticism as well as the humility to realize that your work could always use improvement. Contrary to the two example photographers above, neither “being a genius” nor owning lots of equipment will make you good.

I think that a skilled artist will almost certainly advance the state of his art, out of necessity. As it happens, Lowe uses advanced camera technology, while manufacturers of this technology rely on Lowe to improve their equipment.

Questions that perplex Moderns — “what is art” and “how do you judge art” — have been answered in an explicitly Christian manner by Dorothy L. Sayers, in her book The Mind of the Maker. Following the three Creeds of the Church, Sayers explicitly lays out the divine Creation of the cosmos and human sub-creation in the arts in a Trinitarian manner, and how heresies about the Trinity are strongly paralleled by bad human art. According to Sayers, good art is trinitarian:

• The art has to be true, even (or especially) if it is fiction; not merely true to nature, but especially true to psychology and metaphysical truths. For examples, the characters in a play have to be real human beings, even if they are simultaneously allegories of higher things. In Lowe’s films, these images are straight from the camera: they were usually taken at night, carefully exposed to capture the stars, while the moon often illuminates the objects in the foreground. His images are not computer generated graphics, despite his extreme use of computer graphics technology. They show what they depict.
• The art must be done well, using excellent technique. Technique does include technology, such as the cameras and cranes Lowe uses, as well as the prodigious amount of computer processing that he must use afterwards to put the films together. Lowe invented some of the technique that he uses. Lowe does use expensive, specialized camera gear, but it serves the art and is not for its own sake.
• Viewers must have a lively spirited response to the art. Art is not made in a vacuum, and art fails if it does not elicit a good response from the audience, even if the audience is merely the artist alone. Regarding Lowe’s films, I’ll let you judge yourself whether or not they are successful.

In conceiving good art, all three of these must be taken together at once, not separated or divorced from each other. Giving emphasis to one Person of the Trinity at the expense of others is often found in the heresies, and so in art, giving emphasis to one of these at the expense of the others leads to bad works of art.

For his film, Lowe chooses epic locations, which well-illustrate what is called “the sublime,” things that are high, lofty, on a far greater scale than the individual human being. They are not merely pretty places, although they are usually beautiful, rather they overwhelm, in an instant, the person viewing them. The stars in the sky are especially sublime, because although we can see them, they are forever out of our natural human reach, despite what science fiction stories try to tell us. His slow-motion videography shows us more ordinary things, but in a manner that we normally cannot see, giving sharp emphasis on things that we would otherwise miss, such as a bird landing on water, sparks flying from a fire, or a girl wiping sweat from her forehead.


TimeScapes: Rapture from Tom Lowe on Vimeo.

http://timescapes.org

Feast of Saint Nicholas

Statue of Saint Nicholas of Myra, at Saint Nicholas Church, in Pocahontas, Illinois. Photo taken in April.

Born on the Ides of March, ca. 270-276, and died on December 6^th 343, Saint Nicholas was born in Asia Minor of wealthy parents; when they died, he was taken under the care of his uncle, who was bishop of Myrna, and who raised him as a cleric in the Church. During his life he gained a great reputation as a great holy man and generous donor to those in need, and after his death a great intercessor: so much so that he is now referred to as Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker.

An examination of his relics — which are now found in Bari, Italy — determined that Nicholas was five feet tall and had a broken nose. His relics exude a liquid, called the Manna of Saint Nicholas, which is collected on this day.

Although this Saint is the original source for Santa Claus, the modern-day secularized figure is no match to his prototype. More information can be found here.

The patronage of Saint Nicholas is vast, and includes children, students, sailors, brides and grooms, longshoremen, fishermen, pharmacists, prisoners, repentant prostitutes, murderers, and thieves, pawnbrokers, the poor, spinsters, and Greece and Russia. His iconography often shows him with three golden balls or bags of gold.

The Rocheport Tunnel

A former railroad tunnel, constructed in 1892, on the Katy trail, at Rocheport, Missouri. The Katy is a 240 mile long state park that consists of the right-of-way of the former Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad, and is now a hiking and biking path. This trail, which goes from Clinton in west-central Missouri, to Machens, northeast of Saint Charles, is largely flat and follows the floodplain of the Missouri River throughout much of its route. This is the only tunnel on the route: here the trail veers north of the river before crossing it and leaving the river valley behind at Boonville. Above the tunnel, after an exhausting climb, is an observation platform which offers views of the river below.

Under normal law, when a railroad abandons a line, the land reverts to the adjoining property owners: the railroad usually does not own the land, but has a legal easement on the property belonging to others. If the railroad is needed again in the future — closure is often due to transient financial reasons and not due to longer-term need — it would require a controversial or even tyrannical use of power to get it re-established. But under the federal railbank legal framework, this former railroad must remain linked to the existing railroad network; the government pays for maintaining the infrastructure such as bridges and this tunnel, pays claims to adjoining landowners who own the easements upon which the trail is built, while giving railroads the right to restore train service if needed in the future. While building roads such as this one is usually seen as a legitimate exercise of the power of eminent domain, it is both politically expedient and prudent to keep the status quo of this road instead of attempting to create a new one elsewhere in the future.



While the western end of the tunnel is a pleasant Romanesque arch, with brick and rustic stones supporting the soil above it, the eastern end at Rocheport is naturalistic and is cut through the native stone. In this photo you can see extensive nodules of chert or flint in the limestone rock. According to the journals of the famed Lewis and Clark Corps of Discovery:

“. . . a Short distance above the mouth of Creek, is Several Courious paintings and carving on the projecting rock of Limestone inlade with white red & blue flint, of a verry good quallity, the Indians have taken of this flint great quantities.”

According to the journals, “uncouth paintings of animals,” known as manitous, painted or carved by the Indians, are or were visible on this cliff face, and on many cliffs in this region. Certainly more modern carvings can be seen near here, including some carefully lettered in the style of days gone by. A manitou is the Algonquin word for the patron or guardian angel of a particular place or thing, who may be prayed to in intercession to the Big Manitou or Holy Spirit, the Ruler of all. At the eastern end of the tunnel, appropriately enough, is a creek named Big Moniteu, after the Great Spirit. The bridge over the creek can be seen below:



Photos taken on November 25^th, the feast of Saint Catherine of Alexandria.

Initial Impressions of the New English Translation of the Mass

I’VE NOW ATTENDED two Masses of the new English translation of the Roman Missal: the Second Sunday in Advent and a funeral Mass.

As the peoples’ responses have changed significantly, I ought to note that the first parish did very well by having an announcement before the start of Holy Mass, where “And with your spirit” (which replaces “And also with you”) was repeated several times; they also referred to printed cards in the pews, and these were nearly universally used by the congregation of the faithful, as evidenced by loud page turning at one point during the liturgy. I must admit that out to habit and due to inattention, I did respond “And also with you” on occasion, but I was in the minority. I did not hear the now infamous “And also with your spirit”.

One thing that became quickly obvious is that the hymns and music — solidly in the casual spirit of the old translation — seemed definitely out of character with the more solemn, formal, poetic, and more theological new translation. The difference seemed jarring to me. However, the new translation also came with comprehensive chants for the Mass. In the mind of the Church, chant is an integral part of her liturgy, and is proper to it.

At the funeral Mass (may Jack rest in peace) many in attendance were not Catholic, or are not practicing. In this case, I would guess that about half of the Catholics in the congregation used the old responses. As it turns out, afterwards the new translation became a topic of conversation. When did they change it? Why did they change it? A Protestant friend made note of the new translation of ‘pro multis’ as “for many” rather than “for all,” and interpreted that as meaning that all are called, but not all respond, while a Catholic friend pointed out some roughness in the new translation of the Credo.

In both Masses, the priests obviously kept close eyes on the new Roman Missal. There was, as you might expect, some stumbling over the new translations, but strangely enough, I got the impression or had feeling that they had always used the new translation, that nothing had changed, that something eternal flowed out from the liturgy. Odd.

Newsletter from the Oratory

SAINT FRANCIS DE SALES ORATORY EMAIL NEWSLETTER 2653 Ohio Avenue Saint Louis, Missouri 63118 www.institute-christ-king.org www.TraditionForTomorrow.com 314-771-3100

December 01, 2011 EMAIL NEWSLETTER – EXTRA EDITION INTRODUCING A SCRIP PROGRAM FOR THE ORATORY SECOND ANNUAL SURVEY – FIRST GAUDETE BENEFIT GALA HALL RESTROOM RENOVATIONS - EXTERIOR RENOVATION ON CAMPUS: PORCH AND RAMP - FINALLY Dear Faithful and Friends of St. Francis de Sales Oratory, INTRODUCING A SCRIP PROGRAM FOR THE ORATORY FROM MRS. GRETCHEN CLINTON, ST. FRANCIS DE SALES SCRIP COORDINATOR: We are pleased to announce a powerful, new fundraiser for St. Francis de Sales Oratory. It requires no selling and will provide a constant source of revenue. This program is so easy that everyone can contribute with very little effort and with NO additional strain on your budget. Do you purchase gas, dine out, buy groceries, maintain your vehicle, or do home improvement? Of course you do! Need a gift for someone special or gift cards for the upcoming holidays? Do you read books or purchase electronics? Do you want to help and contribute to St. Francis de Sales Oratory? If you answered yes to any of those questions, then you too can help transform and restore this magnificent St. Louis landmark just by shopping at stores you already frequent. It is the scrip program. Scrip is simply a word that means “substitute money” – in the form of gift certificates and gift cards from national and local retailers. The way it works is simple. Scrip participating retailers agree to sell gift certificates to our organization at a discount. Families buy the certificates for full face value, they redeem them for full face value and St. Francis de Sales keeps the difference as revenue. For example: I order $100 worth of gift cards to eat at Bob Evans. The Oratory orders the cards through the scrip management company, Great Lakes Scrip Center. Bob Evans has agreed to a 10% standard discount on the gift cards; thus, the Oratory only pays $90 for those cards. I pay full value for the cards at $100 because I was going to spend that anyway eating there. The Oratory earns $10 just from a small bit of pre-planning on my behalf. All of the participating companies have different agreed percentages: some higher, some lower. Our first scrip order placed this week involved only 3 people, and $25 was earned for the Oratory. The potential is incredible and best of all THIS IS FREE MONEY. A portion of the money you are already spending will be coming back to the Oratory. The beauty of scrip is that you put your regular household shopping dollars to work. You can contribute to the Oratory without spending a single additional penny. Just do your regular shopping with scrip at the stores that participate in the scrip program! Scrip can be used for just about any household purchase including food, clothing, entertainment, gasoline and even dining out. There are hundreds of participating stores. Many local businesses will also be included and available soon. The complete listing of participating merchants can be found online and paper copies will also be available at the office and in the basement on Sundays. Ordering is easy! You can submit orders online at www.shopwithscrip.com or with paper copies. Simple go to the site to set up a family account. The ShopWithScrip enrollment code for St. Francis de Sales is 7B6B613B29666. Choose the scrip that you need and submit your order. Drop your check off at the Oratory office or after Mass on Sundays in the church basement. Weekly scrip orders will be placed every Monday and orders will be available for pick up on Wednesday or at your convenience from the Oratory. There is also the option of PrestoPay online. There are several retailers that have immediate e-scrip and reloadable options online for speedier service or unexpected purchases. If you own a business and are interested in being included in the scrip program the benefits are three fold. Businesses receive cash up front and repeat business, fostering a positive community relationship. Consumers are more apt to patronize businesses that are on the scrip list especially if they are local. St. Francis de Sales benefits because of the profit we receive from the discounted card. The consumer benefits because they are able to plan ahead and purchase with the knowledge that by using gift card purchased through St. Francis de Sales, they are helping both the church and local businesses. If you would like to be included in the program, please contact Canon Wiener and we will be glad to add your business to the growing list.  Any questions at all about the program please feel free to contact: Gretchen Clinton atsfdsscrip@gmail.com or the parish office at 314-771-3100. SECOND ANNUAL SURVEY Last year's survey From our survey last year, we learned that our Mass attendees come from near and far, some regularly at least once a week, and some regularly, but less often, and still some who only visit occasionally. We also found – as one would expect from a normal population profile, a wide spread in age, from small children to nonagenarians. The comments from the survey also provided us valuable information which helps the Institute’s work at the Oratory to serve the faithful in St. Louis. Having this baseline, we once again ask your help in conducting this simple survey this year, starting on the first Sunday of Advent. Whether you are a member of the Oratory, a frequent attendee, or an occasional visitor on Sundays or during the week, your contribution to this survey is important to the overall picture. Any answer given will be completely confidential, as no identifying information will be asked. Since not everyone is able to attend Mass here every week, this survey will take place over be a period of five weeks. You may fill out a paper form, which will be provided in the weekly bulletins, or an online version of the form at this link http://www.tinyurl.com/StFdS. Whichever form you choose, please fill out the survey only once, per household, during this 5-week period. Thank you for your participation! THE FIRST GAUDETE BENEFIT GALA Saturday, December 17, at 6:30 PM in the Oratory hall Ticket sales for the Gaudete Benefit Gala have been going very well, promising a very festive and joyful gathering. So far, at least 100 guests will be treated to a pampered evening of good food, drinks, entertainment and valet parking, in addition to sampling the Oratory’s repertoire of sacred music performed by our own talented musicians. As you know, this Gala will benefit the Oratory music program, an important component of the liturgy and the Oratory community life. In the near future, the organ in the church must be repaired, and the music suite in our “1888 Building” must be renovated. Proceeds from this Gala will be used to fund these needs. Music is a wonderful universal language of joy and peace, especially during Advent as we anticipate the coming of Our Blessed Lord. We hope that this Gala also provides an opportunity for you and your family to invite friends and neighbors to share in the spiritual bounty and cultural richness that the Church offers. Please purchase your tickets ($35 each) as soon as possible, either by contacting the Oratory office or by purchasing them after both Masses on Sunday. No tickets will be sold after Sunday, December 11th. For organizational purposes tickets are necessary for admission! Thank you. HALL RESTROOM RENOVATION The renovated restrooms in the Oratory hall are proving to be a much-appreciated benefit for all our families and visitors who gather in the hall every week. For all our upcoming events and gatherings, such as the Gaudete Gala, the renovation is a sign of our community’s hospitality and stewardship of this great church. Thanks to the generous contributions from all our benefactors, we are now only $3,215.00away from covering the total cost of $30,000.00 to renovate both restrooms. We deeply appreciate your continued support to help us reach this goal so that we can close the books on this important project. EXTERIOR RENOVATION ON CAMPUS – PORCH AND RAMP PORCH Before: Ramp in disrepair, with missing porch Work to repair the exterior portions of the structures attached to the gymnasium has begun in earnest. The gymnasium, once an important part of the high school campus, is used now on a regular basis by the KIPP Inspire Academy, and by members of the Oratory community, especially our youths and homeschoolers. After repairing the gymnasium roof to make it leak-tight, we have begun with necessary tuck-pointing work on various outside walls of the gym. The old porch which extends from the second-floor apartment above the gymnasium, and the wooden ramp outside of the gym building the replacing the dilapidated exterior structures attached to it must be our next step. These are the old porch which extends from the second-floor apartment above the gymnasium, and the wooden ramp outside of the gym building must be replaced.                 Current state: Porch being reconstructed               For the porch, tuck-pointing of the exterior wall facing the parking lot was part of the work required by the city before the permit could be issued. With the generous help of volunteers, this has been done, and the re-construction of the porch has begun, as shown in the photos. We are very grateful for all the help from many volunteers, especially Mr. Paul Lohmueller. Once this porch is completed, we can turn our attention to the renovation of the interior of the second-floor flat. RAMP                    The old wooden ramp on the north side of the gym building has become rotten and a serious safety hazard. St. Vincent de Paul Society at the Oratory has replaced the old ramp with a brand new one. The ramp is used by the Society volunteers to transfer boxes of donated food between the storage rooms and their cars. We are very grateful for this additional contribution the St. Vincent de Paul Society makes to the Oratory community and the neighborhood in South City. St. Vincent de Paul Society at the Oratory does important works of mercy throughout the entire year, as this description regarding their activity in the month of July by the Society itself shows:   “The St Vincent de Paul Society at St Francis de Sales served 41 families consisting of 118 individuals during the month of July. The majority of those assisted were in need of food, but we also had several instances where we were able to provide needed furniture and dishes. In addition to the food items (hot dogs, bologna, 'Soup and Stew' containers, canned goods, breakfast cereal, bread and bakery items and other non-perishables), we also distributed $1,170.00 in vouchers for Shop and Save to assist our clients in securing perishable items. The ongoing prayers and financial support of SVDP is deeply appreciated and enables us to provide services such as these for the residents of the local community. Thank you for your assistance.”  FINALLY In closing I invite you to continue to pray with us the Annual Novena in preparation of the feast of the Immaculate Conception on December 8. We are very honored to receive the visit of His Excellency, Bishop Edward M. Rice, on Tuesday, December 6, at 6:30 PM. He will preach to us about "The Purity of Mary". Monsignor Arthur Calkins will preach on the feast day, December 8. Father John Horn, S.J., Father Brian Harrison, O.S., Father Thomas Keller, Father Gregory Lockwood, Father Eric Kunz and Canon William Avis are participating also in this important liturgical event. With my sincere best wishes and the assurance of my prayers in Christ the King, Canon Michael K. Wiener Rector, St. Francis de Sales Oratory