St Aloysius Pupils Orchestra Rehearsal

St Aloysius Pupils Orchestra Rehearsal

October 29-30. Visit by members of St. Aloysius College pupils, orchestra.

Most of those attending Mass this morning were the pupils from the orchestra group of St. Aloysius College. So I decided to use the Memorial of St Alphonsus Rodriguez, Jesuit Laybrother.

Another Alphonsus (Ligouri) was doctor of the Church, another, Alonso Rodriguez (also Jesuit), wrote volumes on the ascetical life. Alphonsus the Jesuit Laybrother was noted for his great humility.

Today’s Gospel words, ‘The kingdom is like a mustard seed planted in the ground’, leads to the thought that to genuinely know our own selves we need to be humble.

Oracle of Delphi is often credited with the secret, “Know thyself”. Basic to St Augustine, St. Bernard and Fathers of the Church, a young priest gave this quotation his own spin, “Was it Socrates or his first cousin once removed who said that each of us would do well to know ourselves?”

“The story is told of the woman tourist in Germany. The guide took a group through Beethoven's house. He showed them the piano on which the genius had composed his Moonlight Sonata. A woman in the group immediately sat down and played some bars from the sonata. The guide told the group that Paderewski had recently been shown the piano. The woman gushed, "And I wager he sat down and played just as I did." Archly the guide said, "No, Madam, he said he was not worthy to touch those keys."

Budding musicians take note.