A ringing, pristine sound

Luciano Pavarotti dead at 71. Read today's The New York Times article to learn more about

the Italian singer whose ringing, pristine sound set a standard for operatic tenors of the postwar era [...].

Like Enrico Caruso and Jenny Lind before him, Mr. Pavarotti extended his presence far beyond the limits of Italian opera. He became a titan of pop culture. Millions saw him on television and found in his expansive personality, childlike charm and generous figure a link to an art form with which many had only a glancing familiarity.

About spiritual gifts

Now about spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be ignorant. You know that when you were pagans, somehow or other you were influenced and led astray to mute idols. Therefore I tell you that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, "Jesus be cursed," and no one can say, "Jesus is Lord," except by the Holy Spirit.
1 Corinthians 12, 1-3

It is a consolation to think that for us Christians there is an intrinsic impossibility of becoming what we don’t want to become. Because “no one can say ‘Jesus is Lord,’ except by the Holy Spirit.” And that is just what we, as Christians, are committed to proclaiming wherever we go and whatever we do. Better still, because “no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God …" can say and even think anything less than a Psalm (and no prayer is sweeter, wiser, and more glorifying to God than a Psalm).