The Demonization of Snow, Part II

   As seen in the previous post, Tolkien placed snow on Middle Earth as a gift from Illuvatar, using the evil Melkor's bitter cold to create something of beauty and grace. And there is much truth to it- God does bring good out of evil. But is snow good? These days, it seems only children understand and love the snow. The expectation of it, and the excitement when at last it comes is lovely to see in a young child. How many blissful hours did we ourselves spend in the snow? Feeling its powdery-ness, forming it into shapes, rolling in it, sledding on it, and of course, tasting it?
But as we grow older, we are taught that snow is the enemy. It is bothersome, always in the way, dangerous, and worst of all, unpredictable. We want to predict and ordain all that happens in our lives, and one snow can disrupt our plans for perhaps as long as a week! "Unsufferable!" we cry. In many circles, it is considered a four-letter word. It is my opinion that when a person commences hating snow, he has reached the point (regrettably) of considering himself an adult.

I was watching NBC after the Olympics one night, and was very upset to see that during the weather report (which was already extremely derogatory towards the subject of snow), clips of ugly old bulldozers pushing huge mounds of snow into obsolete corners of parking lots were shown, as well as close-ups of said ravaged snow, all gray and slushy from the onslaught. That was when I knew that snow had been demonized by the media, and consequently, by the general (adult) public.

I am writing in all seriousness and gravity. Though I am not against snow removal (on the contrary, I am extremely grateful to snowplowmen everywhere) I think that the attitude we take towards snow can tell us much about ourselves. Snow, ultimately, comes from God (Who obviously controls the weather). If we complain about it, we complain against His Will, which wills good for all Creation. That is very serious. We prefer our wills (that it not snow) to His (that it snow), which is the very nature of sin. Again, it shows that we want to be in control of everything, rather than accepting God's supreme Rule over All.

I agree with Tolkien. Snow is beautiful, adding grace to the otherwise forlorn and barren trees, and blanketing the otherwise brown and dreary earth with its soft white wool. Can you imagine a winter without snow? How awfully dreary and dull it would be!
In the Bible, snow is mentioned quite a bit, and is usually referred to as something clean, white, pure, and desirable. In Psalm 51, snow is mentioned in verse seven: 'Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me and I shall be whiter than snow.' Isaiah 1: 18 reads: 'Come now, and let us reason together saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be like crimson, they shall be as wool.' According to Mark 9:3, here is an account of Jesus' transfiguration: 'And his raiment became shining, exceeding white as snow; so as not fuller on earth can white them.' And again, according to Matthew, when the Lord rose from the dead: 'his countenance was like lightning, and his raiment as white as snow.' Apparently, snow is the whitest, purest thing that biblical writers are able to refer to, and rightly so. Snow is beautifully soft, pure, and white, and should fill every soul with wonderment at the goodness of God, Who causes it to snow on the just and the unjust, however undeserving they may be.

The Demonization of Snow, Part I

"In the beginning Eru, the One, who in the Elvish tongue is named Illuvatar, amde the Ainur of his thought; and they made a great Music before him. In this music the World was begun; for Illuvatar made visible the song of the Ainur, and they beheld it as a light in the darkness...

The mightiest of those Ainur who came in the World was in his beginning Melkor... Melkor spent his spirit in envy and hate, until at last he could make nothing save in mockery of the thought of others, and all their works he destroyed if he could..

[Valaquenta;J.R.R. Tolkien]

Then the voices of the Ainur...began to fashion the theme of Illuvatar to a great music; and a sound arose of endlessly interchanging melodies woven in harmony... and the echo of the music went out into the Void, and it was not void...But as the theme progressed, it came into the heart of Melkor to interweave matters of his own imagining that were not in accord with the theme of Illuvatar, for he sought therein to increase the power and glory of the part assigned to himself...Some of these thoughts he now wove into his music, and straight-way discord arose about him... Then the discord of Melkor spread ever wider, and the melodies which had been heard before foundered in a sea of turbulent sound... in the midst of this strife, whereat the halls of Illuvatar shook and a tremor ran out into the silences yet unmoved, Illuvatar arose a third time, and his face was terrible to behold. Then he raised up both his hands, and in one chord, deeper than the Abyss, higher than the Firmament, piercing as the light of the eye of Illuvatar, the Music ceased.

Then Illuvatar spoke, and he said: 'Mighty are the Ainur, and mightiest among them is Melkor; but that he may know, and all the Ainur, that I am Illuvatar, those things that ye have sung I will now show them forth, that ye may see what ye have done. And thou, Melkor, shalt see that no theme may be played that hath not its uttermost source in me, nor can any alter the music in my despite. For he that attempteth this shall prove but mine instrument in the devising of things more wonderful, which he himself had not imagined...But when they were come into the Void, Illuvatar said: 'Behold your Music!'And he showed to them a vision... and they saw a new World made visible before them...And when the Ainur had gazed for a while and were silent, Illuvatar said again: 'Behold your Music! This is your minstrelsy; and each of you shall find containeth herein, amid the design I set before you, all thos things which it may seem that he himself devised or added. And thou, Melkor, wilt discover all the secret thoughts of they mind, and wilt perceive that they are but a part of the whole and tributary to its glory'...

Now to water had that Ainu whom the Elves call Ulmo turned his thought...But of the airs and winds Manwe most had pondered, who is the noblest of the Ainur...And Illuvatar spoke to Ulmo and said:' Seest thou no how here in this little realm in the Deeps of Time Melkor hath made war upon thy province? He hath bethought him of bitter cold immoderate, and yet hath not destroyed the beauty of thy fountains, nor of they clear pools. Behold hte snow, and the cunning work of frost! Melkor hath devised heats and fire without restraint, and hath not dried up thy desire nor utterly quelled the music of the sea. Behold rather the height and glory of the clouds, and the everchanging mists; and listen to the fall of rain upon the Earth! And in the clouds, thou are drawn near to Manwe, thy friend, whom thou lovest.
Then Ulmo answered: 'Truly, Water is now become fairer than my heart imagined, neither had my secret thought conceived of the snowflake, nor in all my music was contained the falling of the rain. I will seek Manwe, that he and I may make melodies forever to thy delight!'

[Ainulindale; J.R.R. Tolien]

The Mockery of Modern Music

The Catholic Faith is not hokey. The truths of the Faith are not simply shallow ideas made up to give people an emotional crutch with which to get through life. Catholic minds are not filled with crayon rainbows and cotton ball clouds. The Catholic Church does not preach the "why don't we all just try to get along" doctrine, compromise, that everybody's religion is just fine, or that everyone will go to Heaven.

Why then, is this taught in the liturgical music?

The doctrines of the Church have so much depth, mystery, and beauty. They are far more incomprehensible and intimate than the superficial "everybody just be nice to everybody" maxim.

Should not the liturgical music, presented to God and man at Mass, reflect this character? The character of beauty, mystery, depth... and above all, love? (This being True Love, which is the wish of a person for the perfect well being of his neighbor. Not simply a warm fuzzy emotion towards particular persons.)

Any music that falls short of this goal is merely a bunch of hokey, aimed at causing a flow of emotion for the brief period of time the majority of Catholics are in church, rather than drawing these Catholics to experience freely the depth of the truths of the faith, to meditate on them, to wonder at them, and the awesomeness of God. In many cases, such music has even been found to teach heresies against these truths!

Any music that falls short is a mockery of Our Lord and His Church.

Java

Grace is the sugar in my coffee cup of life. Without it, I am bitter and unpleasant. Although it is invisible, it makes all the difference!