ATHER GEORGE RUTLER is known all over the world as a preacher, and like many other Catholics, I grew up listening to his tapes (they were “cassette tapes” in those days). However, it turns out Fr. Rutler has many other talents. Among other things, he’s a truly gifted musician, first rate painter, and quite a sportsman, including things we might not expect, like boxing. I’m not a good writer, so rather than going on and on, let me simply say that Fr. Rutler is a truly brilliant man.
I would like to share a comment Fr. Rutler made about the Campion Missal [url]:
“Attractively, even elegantly, produced, the appearance of this Missal and Hymnal is appropriate to the high quality of the contents. It should be of great benefit of those who assist at the Traditional Mass and those who would be interested in learning more about it.”
— Rev. George William Rutler
More than a decade ago, I listened to Fr. Rutler give a talk about beauty. If I remember correctly, he said beautiful things possess “goodness and perfection of form,” or some such words. Then he pointed out, “You will never understand the purpose and order of the universe if you like rock music. Have you ever noticed that rock music has no form? It doesn’t even have a proper ending: it just fades out.” These words are quite profound, and he’s absolutely right: rock music usually has no form or structure. It’s usually just a “riff” that repeats endlessly. Here’s an example of how a rock music song ends. By the way, it turns out the song actually has a different ending for “live” concerts. They end it by saying, “Don’t stop.” Without question, sounds terrible . . . no wonder they usually just “fade away” when possible.
Even the really good Disney movies have a “shape” to them. Think of that classic, “Robin Hood.” It definitely has a beautiful “shape” to the way the story is presented (when the conflict happens, etc.).
In the future, I hope to write more about beauty and purpose in the universe in the context of what we’re trying to do at CCW.
