Interesting.

Words like could, might, make it more of an inquiry than a concrete job ad. Besides, churches get away with murder, at least where treatment of musicians is concerned.

I do not really see the cheap part - does young necessarily mean cheap? I'm offended! *sarcasm* Someone who has these skills and are young would come at quite a price tag on my side of the world. When the clergy start talking about "stipends" rather than a job offer or salary, we know that low pay is on the way. Our version of the AGO (SAKOV) has a certain set of requirements depending on education. These are respected by the Dutch Reformed communities, but not by us Catholics, sadly.

But everything on Z’s blog is of unspeakable importance to western civilization....,

does young necessarily mean cheap?

Definitely not.

It's a way of saying they would like a "young" musician, just like wanting a "young" priest out of seminary who has a vision of change, not having been beaten to submission and accepted that things are not going to ever change and he/she's got to get on with it without a chance over ever making great music at a faithful liturgy.

"Young" people are also the ones who are valued by the Protestan parishes when they bring their superior understanding and knowledge of liturgy and litugical music to the non-Catholic world when they abandon catholic parishes where they are browbeaten by un-trained unmusical volunteer cantors who often polish their skills at getting Father's ear.

everything on Z’s blog is of unspeakable importance to western civilization

Sorry. I forgot that.

Your assumption is that priests are granted infused knowledge of Catholic church music because they have a collar, or something.

Brings to mind a footnote from the Fortescue/O'Connell/Nichols page-turner The Ceremonies of the Roman Rite Described. Concerning Palm Sunday it says:

"There is no authority for anyone below the rank of deacon to sing the Passion."

Which prompted me to write in the margins:

"There is also no authority for anyone above the rank of deacon to be unable to sing."

You know, Charles, for all the grief I give you Easterners, you did one thing right by this - never ordaining the tone-deaf.

I am no fan of Fr. Zuhlsdorf and believe he harms the Catholic Church in many ways.

That being said, I find what's written above (criticizing the ad for a “young” musician) to be beyond absurd and baseless.

One notes that Fr. Z. could be sued by the Feds or the State of Wisconsin. Using the adjective "young" has been illegal in want-ads since about 1972 or so. We get the picture, but simply saying "cheap" would not cause legal firestorm.

How about we meet halfway?

If you can find a judge willing to hear such a case against Fr. Zuhlsdorf (you won't be able to) then I'll allow you to tell me how to spend my time.

:-)

Troll, troll, troll your boat.....

"fuses theological with political views ... his silence"

That pattern goes back to shutting down intra-Catholic combox questioning of the morality of waterboarding back during the GWB administration. It was not a profile in courage. No one's perfect, and only in Hell should we be reduced to our worst selves. My major beef with blogs of his type (btw, I don't mean his specific views - I've witnessed the type across the viewpoint spectrum) is that they are designed to cultivate an audience by the stroking of anxiety (that's the technique of enterpreneurial consumer capitalism, even if the market is one of ideas rather than goods, services and experiences), and anxiety (which is different from fear or proper care) is ultimately at war with fruitful Christian discipleship. Chronic anxiety saps hope and the related peace and joy of discipleship, and we should take care to avoid getting attached to things that stroke it. Fr Z does not have the actual charge of pastoral care of a real flock, so I am less bothered by his indulging of this than with an actual pastor - he's a freelancing lone ranger, as it were - and the faithful have to take their own share of responsibility for not gratifying the indulgence on their part.

Fr. Z is something of a sacred cow in some quarters. I don't know whether to be glad I never read him nor care about him, or to learn a bit more about him.

Fr. Z is something of a sacred cow in some quarters. I don't know whether to be glad I never read him nor care about him, or to learn a bit more about him.

The problem with Fr. Z, I think, is deceptively simple. He tells a lot of people overwhelmingly what they want to hear. If there's one thing I learned as a journalist, it's this: when someone tells you only what you want to hear, that's when you should be most skeptical of what they have to say.

I had to quit reading Fr. Z. He's much too angry.

Well, there are select works from that group that I can and do appreciate from time to time, but that would be O/T.

Okay, I know I'll hear "Anathema, sit."
I knew and accompanied all five of them back in the seventies (I was in El Cerrito when three of them were at GTU, on the record, NPM 1979).
All of them were gentlemen and very pleasant to be around.
Foley was quite insightful about composition, despite my thinking my scholastic background far exceeded his.
Dufford delivered the news of my third child's birth whilst we were at NPM; he was genuinely "honored" to be the one doing that.
Dad, there's no need to throw shade on them personally.

I do read (from time to time) and appreciate Fr. Zuhlsdorf's writings.
I also greatly prefer the TLM to the Novus Ordo, and prefer the clarity with which priests who celebrate the TLM preach and catechize. *shrug*
But, I'm not sure what all these opinions have to do with his call to people knowledgeable and excited about sacred music and Gregorian chant.

Dad, there's no need to throw shade on them personally.

Did I? I must have missed that. Relaying the thoughts of a friend of mine--and without any specifics? Hmmm.

Clarification: I don't know the men. They could be just dandy. Don't care.

Will not use their music before, during, or after a Mass. Perhaps for a devotion or something....