About chant and an under-appreciated new book; Catholics and matters of race; black Catholics on the path to sainthood—and why art about saints is important.
2020’s Best-kept Literary Secret
Recommended by Dappled Things Editor in Chief, Katy Carl: “Just under the wire for Friday links, I hope. Our own (also positive) review of the book is scheduled for the spring 2021 issue!”
Janet Greer at “Catholic World Report” says, “Charis in the World of Wonders is broad and deep, sweet and savage, funny and terrifying, and just plain grand.”
Gregorian Chant for the Domestic Church
Janet Gorbitz at the Church Music Association of America’s Chant Café writes, “Looking for a way to expand your family’s knowledge and comfort with singing Gregorian chant? Join Mary Ann Carr Wilson for an upcoming multi-week workshop. Don’t delay! The first session begins next Tuesday, November 17th.”
Schedule dates and times: Nov. 17- December 22, 2020. 5:30-6:30 PM PST
How Black Catholic Leaders Have Been Responding to the George Floyd Video
Natalie Morrill, Dappled Things Fiction editor, recommends this link: “Relevant to Bakhita prize.” The Patheos Catholic post is by Brian Fraga. 
SACRED ART AT THE STREET CORNER
In October we linked to an article about artist Andrew de Sa’s painting of Servant of God Mother Mary Lange on the recommendation of Dappled Things Editor in Chief, Katy Carl. She also recommends the above link to a video about the painting, which includes the following observation by de Sa on the purpose of sacred art.
The purpose of painting is to make Christ present, to make Christ loved. Images of saints, the lives of the saints do just that. So when we are painting a saint we are portraying Christ in that saint and making Christ present in that community. One of the ways the Church can engage popular culture is to bring its rich tradition of sacred art, that’s always been the case. Art has in the past played a major role in catechesis and evangelization, in making the Church attractive. One way she does that is by portraying the saints. So anytime we are able to do a work as public as this one is, it is just an opportunity to put the beauty of Christ in popular culture—engage the community in a real way.”
More information is here at de Sa’s website.
Andrew de Sa sketching San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone at the “Painting Beauty” workshop held in conjunction with the premiere of the Extraordinary Form version of the Mass of the Americas at the Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception on November 16, 2019. De Sa is on the Benedict XVI Council for Liturgy and the Arts, which commissioned the Mass of the Americas and the after-conference that included the workshop.
Communal Guilt and the Black Catholic Experience in America: An Interview with Fr. Josh Johnson
Fr. Josh Johnson is an African-American pastor and Co-Chair for the Commission in Racial Harmony. In the linked article, recommended by Karen Ullo, Dappled Things Managing Editor, Fr. Johnson is interviewed by Shaun Blanchard at “Church Life Journal.” The discussion includes practical steps Catholics can take to work towards racial reconciliation. In the interview, he mentions Mother Mary Lange (subject of the Andrew de Sa painting in the previously linked video) among the six Afro-American candidates for sainthood, who all “experienced institutional racism and all . . .persevered in their relationship with Jesus and the Catholic Church. . . . Their fidelity and perseverance is very inspiring for so many people of color in the American Catholic Church.”
