ABOUT THIS EPISODE
Welcome to Letters from Quotidia Fractal 7. I am posting this Letter at a time which is about are far removed from Easter as it is possible to get in the calendar year. So why the preoccupation with Easter at this time? One reason is a striking line from the late Pope Francis’s 2025 meditations on the Stations of the Cross which has stuck in my mind. He wrote shortly before he died, “Revelation never stops; it is not nailed to one place.”
What also never stops is the perversion of the message of Jesus by various Christian nationalist sects which I will counter by quoting from the meditations mentioned before. Francis wrote, “Today’s builders of Babel tell us that there is no room for losers, and that those who fall along the way are losers. Theirs is the construction site of Hell. God’s economy, on the other hand, does not kill, discard or crush. It is lowly, faithful to the earth.” The builders of Babel, the tech Bros and Sistahs and their ilk seek to make a commodity of everything human, even knowledge, where their spawn, AI and its agents, are making the products of human intelligence so cheap that workers in the various fields of human intellectual endeavour are becoming increasingly unemployable.
The late Pope, though, argues, “Humans are not mass-produced but handcrafted: we are unique treasures, a blend of grace and responsibility. Lord Jesus, you made yourself one of us; you were not afraid to stumble and fall. All those who are embarrassed by this, those who want to appear infallible, who hide their own falls yet refuse to pardon those of others, reject the path that you chose. You, Jesus, are the Lord of joy. In you, all of us were found and brought home, like the one sheep that had gone astray. An economy in which the ninety-nine are more important than the one is inhumane. Yet we have built a world that works like that: a world of calculation and algorithms, of cold logic and implacable interests. The law of your home, the divine economy, is different, Lord.”
There is widening chasm opening up between two opposing camps that are not aligned to the usual contending tribes of left and right, liberal and conservative, the urban and the regional, the woke and the yet to be awakened. On one side are those who consider themselves so far above the vast majority of humanity. In the decade of greed is good 1990s, they were the Wall Street masters of the universe who still figure largely in the malignant cohort but now it’s the Silicon Valley billionaires and their minions hogging the spotlight. On the other side of the ledger there are those who recognise the folly of putting all our eggs in the digital baskets which seem so enticing- those quantum computers and associated chimerical panaceas. These are the truly authentic people who recognise an older, wiser approach to our existence which I have set out in a song called The Altar of Repose and the Stations of the Cross [insert song]
In opposition to the world the masters of the universe seek to foist upon humanity is the Catholic concept of the sign of contradiction. The present Pope Leo XIV talked about it in an address on Sunday 17th August 2025 where he unpacks a demanding-text-from-the-Gospel-of-Luke-which-reads, I came to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already set ablaze! But I have a baptism to undergo, and how it consumes me until it is finished. Do you think that I came here to bring peace on the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. From now on five in one household with be divided: three against two, and two against three. Leo explains, “The Gospel presents us with a demanding text in which Jesus uses strong images and great frankness to teach his disciples that his mission, and even that of his followers, is not a bed of roses but a sign of contradiction.” These signs and images of contradiction I tried to capture in a song I wrote entitled, Reflections on Good Friday: After Noon [insert song]
The late Pope continues, “Lord, you show us that in every situation there is a choice to be made. That is the amazing reality of our freedom. Not even on the cross are you stripped of your freedom: you decide why and for whom you are there. You are attentive to both the men crucified with you: you let slip the insults of one and you hear the plea of the other. Where do we stand on Calvary? Beneath the cross? Somewhere nearby? At a safe distance? Or perhaps, like the apostles, no longer even there. You challenge the mindsets that devastate the earth, our common home, and human solidarity. You grant to those who “wait expectantly” for your kingdom the courage to speak to power: like Moses before Pharaoh, like Joseph of Arimathea before Pilate. You embolden us to take on great tasks. In this way, even in death, you continue to reign.”
In the blast from the past, first published in April 2021, I present here perhaps the greatest human sign of contradiction: St Paul, who is the subject of my song Whatever Comes. I have used songwriter’s licence to attribute to St Paul also, at the conclusion of the song, the Quo Vadis moment of St Peter who meets Jesus as he is fleeing Rome along the Appian Way. Where are you going? he asks Jesus, who replies, I am going to Rome to be crucified again. [insert song]
At this time which seems so lacking in hope I will conclude by quoting from Pope Francis’s meditation on the 14th Station of the Cross as Jesus is laid in the tomb, “Lord Jesus, who seem to sleep amid the tempests of this world, bring us all into the peace of the Sabbath rest. Then we shall see creation in all its beauty and goodness, destined for resurrection. Then there will be peace for your people and peace among the nations.” I have not quoted poetry in this post, as usual. The Papal texts quoted here show the insight and truth of poetry, IMHO. So, until next week, take care, be well and stay safe.
The Altar of Repose and the Stations of the Cross (words and music Quentin Bega)
(Two Vignettes from the Tridium)
Intro and Interlude: C F Em Dm C F C
Am Em C Em G Am
After the processing, incensing gesturing and liturgical chanting
Em C Em G Am
After the readings, responses the sermon our souls are now decanting
Em C Em G Am
Into the space representing the awesome, prophetic, consequential
Em C Em G Am
Last supper which again we attend on our knees in prayerful contemplation
F G Am F G Am
As in the lead up to Easter we observe, waiting for the Rising to occur
F G Am F G C
As in the lead up to Easter we observe, waiting for the Rising to occur
Interlude: C F Em Dm C F C
G F Am Dm G
Condemned to death He stands as friends around Him flee
C F Em Dm G
He takes up His Cross on the way to Calvary
F G C
He falls as we have fallen many times, we’d have to say
F G C
He meets His Mother as she stands there along the painful way
G F Am Dm G
Simon helps Him carry His portentous load
C F Em Dm G
Veronica wipes His face as He passes on the road
F G C
Jesus falls the second time- so many more for us
F G C
He consoles the women of Jerusalem as they make a fuss
G F Am Dm G
Jesus falls for the third time weary as can be
C F Em Dm G
They strip Him now of all His clothes for all the world to see
F G C
They nail Him to the Cross and watch Him writhe in agony
F G C
Jesus dies upon the Cross for you my friend and me
G F Am Dm G
They take Him down from the Cross you know they will need the room
C F Em Dm G
For future executions as He’s laid in the tomb
Dm G Dm G
As He is laid in the tomb, as He-is-laid in the tomb
Reflections on Good Friday After Noon (words and music Quentin Bega)
Am Em
As if struck down I fell into a swoon and saw there swirling pictures all around
Am Em
And as the maelstrom slowed its frantic pace some fell out and scattered on the ground
G D
Three nails , a bloody crown, dice in a cup, the veil of the temple rent from top to toe
G D
The earth shakes violently as darkness falls; women wail and scream in direst woe
Am Em
Then mocking voices fill the empty space, He doesn’t look so mighty wracked in pain
Am Em
Come down from the cross and save Yourself, or stay up there and keep us entertained
G D
We have to stay here till the deed is done, the pay is lousy and conditions worse
G D
The locals hate us and we’re far from home, for this task we don’t give a tinker’s curse
C Dm
Time hangs heavy as we wait here, marking this dark solemnity
C Dm
Waiting patiently and prayerful, meditating on eternity
G F
Everything is hanging in the balance as he hangs there, even nature seems to hold its breath
G F Dm7
And with an anguished cry out to His father up above, He surrenders to the icy grip of death
(desc. chord seq: Dm7 fret 8, Adimf5 Bbmaj7f5 Gm6f3 Fdimf1 B11sus4 E Fdim B11sus4 E)
D G D A
Have a wish upon a star no matter where on earth you are and keep alight a tiny spark of hope
D G D A
Even in your darkest days keep on the path don’t lose your way even at the end of your rope
G A D
There is always Someone there to catch you if you fall in grace just gaze up at His kindly face
G A
He’s been there before, you know, dispelling darkness as he goes preparing an eternal place
D
For you
D G A
So prayer and patience as you wait will stand you in good stead as His rising from the dead is
D A D A G
coming soon, delivering an everlasting boon, with his enemies now before him strewn, you’ll
A D
no longer dance to someone else’s tune…
Whatever Comes (words and music Quentin Bega)
You came from the north righteous with rage sallying forth
Seeking to blame all of those people don’t think your way
Saw Stephen stoned, dying alone
Then back on the track wielding a rod for any errant back
Struck from above fell to the ground blinded by Love
Cried out in pain what is your name
Friends you had known thought your mind overthrown
I guess this was true and you knew you had to choose
To roam the world spreading the News
Through cities and towns deserts and woods grasslands and mountains
Speaking His mind got yourself whipped got yourself fined
Shipwrecked and gaoled despised betrayed
You sailed from the east making your way to the home of the beast
I don’t know the facts of how it all ends it isn’t in Acts
But I’ve heard some say it ended this way
You tried to flee but coming towards you who did you see
Someone you knew and as you looked into His face
Asked where are You going- he said to die in your place
And so you turned around walked on back to the killing ground
You lost your head for Love as you said endures whatever comes
Credits: All written text, song lyrics andmusic (including background music) written and composed by Quentin Bega unless otherwise specified in the credits section after individual posts. Illustrative excerpts from other texts identified clearly within each podcast. I donate to and use Wikipedia frequently as one of the saner sources of information on the web.
Technical Stuff: Microphone-songs Shure SM58; (for the podcast spoken content) Audio Technica AT 2020 front-facing with pop filter); Apogee 76K also used for songs and spoken text. For recording and mixing down: 64-bit N-Track Studio 10 Extended used; Rubix 22 also used for mixing of microphone(s) and instruments. I use the Band in a Box/RealBand 2023 combo for music composition.
