Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Colloquium 'Music of the Jesuit Missions of the Chiquitos,' April 14, 2011 and my musings on inculturation of the Liturgy

As many of you may recall, the focus of most if not ALL of my earlier entries dealt with the subject of First Nation (American Indian, Meso American etc.) Catholicism (Some of you may even remember my Ning network with that VERY title.). As such, my interests in the field have not wavered, but have only momentarily been placed on hold as I sort through my own liturgical stability (More on that to come in a future blog entry. Yeah, I REALLY need to start updating these entries. :P).

As many of you may recall from my previous entry on The Mission there is a general lack of knowledge or plainly apathy towards the subject of Native American Christianity. This however has not ALWAYS been the case as the historical and anthropological record inform us. Regrettably for better or for worse, the work of the various Missionaries amongst The Indigenous of The Americas was either suppressed or contained to remote regions and groups. However, not all is lost (THANK GOD !), for a new generation of Catholics seeking to know precisely where we've been as a Church have reignited the zeal of those many times under appreciated Missionaries. Each seeking to redeem those elements of pagan cultures and baptize them for The Church. This has met with a GREAT deal of hostility both historically and in the modern era. For many, The Faith MUST remain true to its Greco Roman roots. However, a peripheral view of what compromises much of hellenistic thought, reveals that foreign influences were ALWAYS the norm as cultures cross pollinated between themselves. Why then favour some and disavow others ?

A very dear friend of mine (Which reminds me, I REALLY need to post an entry here about his blog :P), blogged this particular entry which I believe succinctly expresses my own views on the matter: Traditionalism NOT merely an Alternate Globalism . For many the mere proposal of an alternate approach of evangelization to the various groups of the world in a way that is BOTH organically Traditional AND culturally relevant is seen as "anathema". But I then ask, pray tell, what precisely is so abominable of presenting The Gospel in a contextualized manner WITHOUT compromising the message ? I find it MORE offensive that people are either a) expected to be culturally castrated and adopt a foreign mode of thought or b)have parodied representations of their culture as defined by an outsider in the context of Liturgy. I'm offended by BOTH forms and believe that a middle way is both necessary and prudent. As such, I've ranted for far too long and as such present a venue for your pleasure on the very theme discussed herein. I am pasting some excerpts from an e-mail forwarded to me by a friend of mine (I hope the author of the original e-mail does not mind.):


"Please consider attending a fascinating colloquium here at Loyola University Chicago on April 14 entitled 'Music of the Jesuit Missions of the Chiquitos'. This great day will involve a lecture, a film, a panel, and a musical performance focused on Dr. Gustavo Leone's remarkable work recovering long-lost musical scores from the 18th century Jesuit missions in Bolivia. The music from the mission that will be performed at Madonna will be heard for the first time in 200 years!

... People interested in music, history (esp. the history of the Society of Jesus), theology, and Latin American Studies should find the colloquium very rich.

Also, listen to WFMT at 2:00pm on Sunday April 10 for a one hour interview and performance by Dr. Gustavo Leone on "Music of the Jesuit Missions of the Chiquitos".

Please see the attached flyer for the April 14 event. Print and display, if you can. The event is free of charge and feel free to come to any or all of the programs."

Here is a link to the PDF flier for the event: Colloquium 'Music of the Jesuit Missions of the Chiquitos

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