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"God showed up in Washington today..."
Apr. 17th, 2008 12:07 amI know some of you caught this live or when it re-aired on EWTN, but for those who didn't, I highly recommend going here to watch the video or listen to the audio of the pope's visit to the White House. So far I've heard only two of the musical highlights--Kathleen Battle singing "The Lord's Prayer" and the US Army Chorus singing "The Battle Hymn of the Republic"*--and a couple of sound bites of Himself's speech, but I'm about to listen through the whole thing. Glorious stuff.
The reason I heard any of it was that Rush Limbaugh played highlights on his show today. He said that he'd had it on while doing show prep and was only half listening when "Battle Hymn" started, and it stopped him in his tracks. He was so moved that he got hold of the woman who pulls sound bites for him and asked her to get that audio.
"You could hear that?!" she asked.**
"I can always hear God's music," Rush replied.
Somehow, that says it all.
* The few times I've gotten to hear either the Army Chorus or the Armed Forces Choir sing "Battle Hymn," I've been amazed that they use the exact same arrangement we used for the region choir concert when I was in eighth grade. And of course I have to sing along, although the final verse always makes me cry.
** For those who don't know: Due to an auto-immune disease, Rush suddenly went completely deaf several years ago [nolettersonthatpleasethankyou]. He has a cochlear implant now that works better for him than for most people, but it's not anywhere close to normal hearing. He can't hear music that's new to him, for instance, although with old favorites his memory fills in what doesn't come through the implant.
The reason I heard any of it was that Rush Limbaugh played highlights on his show today. He said that he'd had it on while doing show prep and was only half listening when "Battle Hymn" started, and it stopped him in his tracks. He was so moved that he got hold of the woman who pulls sound bites for him and asked her to get that audio.
"You could hear that?!" she asked.**
"I can always hear God's music," Rush replied.
Somehow, that says it all.
* The few times I've gotten to hear either the Army Chorus or the Armed Forces Choir sing "Battle Hymn," I've been amazed that they use the exact same arrangement we used for the region choir concert when I was in eighth grade. And of course I have to sing along, although the final verse always makes me cry.
** For those who don't know: Due to an auto-immune disease, Rush suddenly went completely deaf several years ago [nolettersonthatpleasethankyou]. He has a cochlear implant now that works better for him than for most people, but it's not anywhere close to normal hearing. He can't hear music that's new to him, for instance, although with old favorites his memory fills in what doesn't come through the implant.
