OU MAY REMEMBER a certain phenomenon which I’ve mentioned a zillion times on this website. I’ve never been quite sure what to call it, so I refer to it as: Notice an unfamiliar word, see it within 24 hours. It has to do with the miraculous way Almighty God designed us. Our brains are always “blocking out” items which aren’t important.1 For instance, you’re probably not thinking about how your knee feels right now. But if you make a conscious decision, you can ‘point’ your brain towards your knee’s current status. The phenomenon I call learn a word, see it within 24 hours makes one realize how often the brain disregards anything not on its radar.
My Mother • My mother sent me a text message informing me that she enjoys podcasts by someone named Mike Aquilina. In my whole life, I’d never heard the name of “Mike Aquilina” … yet what do I see within the next hour?
Here’s what Mike Aquilina wrote:
“This is not the choir. These are the hundreds of random University of Mary students who show up for vespers and sing the psalms and canticles in harmony. UMary is a thing of beauty. Send your kids and grandkids here. I bow to Rebecca Raber who oversees the music in this chapel.”
That was a post on social media. And it again proves this phenomenon to be true.
We would like to hear more about Rebecca Raber!
Renewal of Challenge • In many recent articles, I’ve been recommending the Brébeuf Catholic Hymnal. I believe this book is indispensable for any serious Catholic choirmaster. (I certainly couldn’t run my choral program without it.) I don’t use the “P-word” word lightly, but I’m comfortable calling the BRÉBEUF HYMNAL peerless. Indeed, one of the main authors for the Church Music Association of America weblog declared (6/10/2022) that the BRÉBEUF HYMNAL “has no parallel and not even any close competitor.” For years, I’ve been searching for a qualified partner who’s willing to debate this assertion over zoom. Today—4 November 2024—I respectfully renew my challenge. Our website garners millions of hits, but so far nobody has accepted my challenge.
1 One reason people go crazy—and end up in an asylum—is because their brains are sending them too many signals. Receiving too many signals at once is not good. The human brain is supposed to “block out” anything unimportant to the situation at hand.
