Author Archive: Bill Black
I'm a baby boomer, lefty Democrat, Boston Irish Catholic, born in 1953. I work as a public affairs consultant in Washington.
The Company Song
I had a very nice business dinner in Beijing this week. It was a traditional Chinese banquet, with course after course of food and a lot of wine flowed. The highlight was when two of the woman attending sang the company song. They were described as PR staff, but I was told that their primary responsibility was to sing this song. As you can see, they are very accomplished.
Mass in Beijing
I attended Mass in Beijing at St. Joseph’s Cathedral in East Beijing. I’m not sure whether this church is approved by the Vatican, but the Mass was essentially the same as I would have seen at home.
The church was very historic, dating from the 1600’s. it was burned down and rebuilt a few times. It did have a modern touch. Big flat screen TVs hanging on the columns that projected the words of prayers and music. Good idea.
On big difference was the “enforcer,” a young man who stood next to the priest questioning people as they received Communion. Occasionally, the priest would get involved. Some were denied Communion and at least one woman had her Communion taken away after the priest gave it to her.
Another difference was the music. Most of it was familiar. But the processional and recessional hymns were, shall we say, unusual. The processional hymn was sung to the tune of Morning Has Broken, written by Cat Stevens aka Yusuf Islam, noted follower of Ayatollah Khomenei. I don’t think his music is approved by the Vatican. But the recessional hymn tried to rock the house. The cantor announced that the “recessional hymn will be I Will Follow Him from the movie Sister Act.” I KNOW that is not approved for the liturgy.
Check it out:
A Month in China
I’m at Dulles Airport about to board a plane for a month in China for business. Will visit Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and, possibly, Mianyang. I’ve never spent more than four days in a row in China, so this will be quite the adventure. I hear July in Beijing is delightful….NOT.
Still, I am looking forward to visiting Shanghai for the first time. I’m particularly psyched about taking the high speed train there.
I hope to be posting among various media, this blog, my company blog, Twitter and even Weibo. So, to the literally dozens of eyes who will read this, feel free to follow me and provide comments.
Goodbye, Theresa. Rest in Peace
My aunt and Godmother, Theresa Anna Singleton, died last week. She was the last member of my mother’s family of eight to pass on. She was a kind and generous person who lived with my immediate family her entire life. Here’s the eulogy I gave at her funeral this past Thursday.
Remembrance of Theresa
May 2, 2013
Theresa was a mystery. She lived the life of a single person, a singleton, as it were, but was surrounded by family. We all felt very connected to Theresa, but there was always a distance. She was generous in every way, except in sharing her deepest feelings. She was the youngest of eight whose siblings produced brood after brood of children. Yet, she remained, in some ways, alone. Continue Reading
I am impressed
Given my somewhat critical post below, it is only fair to give credit where credit is due.
Pope Francis washed and kissed the feet of prisoners in honor of Holy Thursday. I have to say that I am immensely impressed. I can’t imagine any world leader doing such a thing and I’m proud it is the leader of my Church that did.
One of the prisoners was a Muslim woman. Think about it, a woman, a Muslim and a convicted criminal and the Pope is kissing her feet. Now, if only she were a lesbian…
Let he who is without sin….
There was no way the new Pope was going to be anything like the reincarnation of Pope John XXIII, the hero of every liberal Catholic, like me. Any Pope coming out of this College of Cardinals would hold views consistent with the conservative Popes who appointed them, John Paul and Benedict. There would be no daylight on the sexual issues like abortion, birth control and gay marriage. My hope was that the new Pope would balance those views with a great commitment to the poor and disadvantaged. I wanted a Pope who exercised the “preferential option for the poor,” to coin a phrase. I have some hope that I got that. Pope Francis does seem to live by my favorite line in the Bible, “Whatever you did for the least of my brethren, you did for me.” Continue Reading
When a retreat fails
I am at a Catholic retreat in southern Maryland. It’s an annual parish men’s retreat and I have done it the last two years. I’m sort of an “unlapsed” Catholic who struggles a bit intellectually with religious faith. Still, I’m also a committed Catholic who goes to Mass every Sunday.
My previous two visits were calming and somewhat spiritual. I left feeling renewed and refreshed. And i gained some spiritual satisfaction. Nevertheless, I do sometimes find the full immersion in “God” talk a bit off-putting.
In my mind, a God who created the entire universe, with its millions, if not billions, of galaxies, doesn’t square with the anthropomorphic God described in some of the sessions. “God wants this or God wants that” just doesn’t make sense to me. How can an all powerful, omniscient God “want” anything? I prefer to think of God as utterly incomprehensible to the human mind.
That said, the concept of such a God sending a version of himself to humanity to teach a gospel of love has some logic for me. So, Jesus, I get. And I also believe a God that powerful, can find a way to “care” for every one of the billions of humans on earth and probably quadrillions of extraterrestrials individually. But I don’t think we can possibly ascribe to Him (Her?, It) human emotions and motivations. Continue Reading
View from my taxi
I’m heading for Tianjin, a city outside of Beijing. Don’t know much a out it but it gives me an excuse to ride the high speed train.
In Beijing
- View from the J.W. Marriott in Beijing
Just arrived in Beijing to participate in the U.S. Ambassador’s Investment Forum, designed to educate Chinese companies on the challenges and opportunities of investing in the United States. I will be on a panel with other service providers, including lawyers, accountants and investment advisors.