Missa pro Defunctis, Alan Sullivan
 

http://www.youtube.com/user/MrTimMurphy#p/u

Alan wanted a mass to be sung in Latin at his passing. This is it. Monsignor Laliberte is the man of god who will be granting the Sullivan/Zohar translations of David's Poems the Nihil Obstat. His sermon on the Word of God and Poetry is the most remarkable I have ever been privileged to hear. His sermon begins near the end of Tube One and continues into Two. I think we can all learn from this.

Msgr Laliberte I
 

Try clicking Msgr Laliberte I if your first click doesn't work. Mine doesn't.

Tim

Personally, I always liked the words "what is man that thou art mindful of him." "What is man that you mark him" sounds too prosaic.

Philip

Sorry, Philip, I find King James, not Sullivan, prosaic.

On the advice of a friend. Offending post removed.

Post also removed, since it responded in part to the preceding.

Tim, I watched Tube One and found it utterly fascinating. Thanks for posting the link. It was good to see you and your lovely church, and I was stunned that these clergymen were talking about Alan, your lifelong partner, as if they accepted him and you. Stunning, Tim, really stunning! It was good hearing a bit of the sermon about the meaning of the color black. Monsignor Laliberte seems like a remarkable person. And so are you.

Mary, the big man, the deacon co-officiating, is Stuart Longtin. He was my high school quarterback when I was president of my high school. He also worked for me as a lifeguard when I ran Camp Wilderness. We'd been out of touch for forty years, but I wrote him a poem, which Poetry published two years ago.

Prison Chaplain
for Stuart Longtin

Heavy and grey now, dressed in deacon’s robes—
I see you in your Speedo at Floyd Lake,
its nylon clinging to those golden globes
you exercised for Moorhead football’s sake.

We hiked the Black Trail to Itasca Park,
but now I see a deacon hard at work
explicating the Gospel of St. Mark,
our high school quarterback become a clerk—

in the high sense. A boy with such good looks,
you could have run to Hollywood and whored
but turned to mastery of sacred books
and the manly mimesis of our Lord.

Lifesaver, that was your job at Wilderness,
teaching tenderfoot farm boys how to swim.
Soulsaver, I would call you now and bless
any man who preaches Saint Mark to Tim.

We take our coffee outside for the view,
patrol the walk-about with twelve-foot mesh
where drunks can smoke. What has become of Stu?
The Word. Not on the page but in the flesh.

Prairie St. John’s Hospital

You must hear the second Tube, my friend, for that is where Msgr Laliberte gets to his real theme, poetry. The Church adores poets, so it is no wonder they embraced Alan and me. As for Philip Quinlan? No comment.

Timothy

Apologies to all concerned.

On the advice of a friend I have removed the offending post.

A subject for another time and place.

Philip

Thank you, Philip.