The Greatest Books Ever Written

I met an interesting man from Vietnam while attending the Unity Church of the Hills in Austin, Texas some time ago.  He was a chiropractor by profession and enjoyed reading and acquiring knowledge.  He had come to the conclusion that given he had only so much time to live, a limited time that is, he would compile and try to read from a list of the greatest books ever written.  He told me that he didn't have to go far to get such a list, Encylopedia Britanica had compiled one.

An avid reader myself, I was excited by what my friend had discovered and he went so far as to suggest the first one I should read: Plato's Republic.  A week or two later when I saw him again, he gave me an mp3 file of Plato's Republic to listen to while on the road.  The creaky wheels started to turn again.

Now of course book lists can be subjective; I wouldn't expect the atheist Richard Dawkins to have the same reading list as say Stephen Barr (all God, science, physics lovers MUST read his book: Modern Physics And Ancient Faith by Stephen M. Barr).

I'm going to post a link to Father Gary Coulter's Intellectual Catholic Book List.  Nearly every book that has been recommended to me over the last couple of years is on this list.  Here, you can sort titles by recommended age group.  Make sure to visit to his Apologetics book listings; many of those on my "must read" list show up in this group and I also like what I see in his Blog links. 

One book shows up in both lists, my friend's and Father Coulter's: The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky.  I originally heard about this book when Father Benedict Groeschel aptly described it as the best fiction work of its kind describing the reality, existence, and abject horrors of evil.  Nobody's going to suit up in spiritual battle armor unless they can clearly identify the foe of evil in this world.  Without giving it away, there is a section in this book that is absolutely horrendous in its description of the capacity of evil in man and I've never seen or read anything like it before. 

A revert to the Catholic church, I am totally free to pick whatever book I want to read, as are all Catholics and Christians that I know, but with the thousands upon thousands of choices available, spanning centuries of time, it's nice to see a common list emerge among those that I deem trustworthy. 

Indeed the beat goes on but one day the beat stops, that is sooner or later, I am going to die a mortal death.  Like my friend from Vietnam, within that span of time, I want to fill my mind with the best wisdom out there, to know and possess hope for the eternal life to come.

“Link” Expiration: a fact of life

In this effort, I work only for the Lord. I do the best I can with the limited time and resources available to keep the links here fresh. Yet, over time, links expire, as do their human authors (the probability of expiration of both human authors and readers is still 100%: study “the Four Last Things” now!). So, I’ve decided to remove all but a few hyperlinks. Regular or chance readers of this content now have the luxury of accessing sophisticated search and artificial intelligence (AI) engines (thank you God!) to delve deeper into the meaning of an author’s experience in his or her particular period of writing.  Yet, should you still come to a broken link, for further enlightenment, use the available tools to get even more out of these writings. Thank you, dearest reader, and please keep me in your prayers. Eternally yours, Gary! [Updated 4/18/2026]

Peeling the Onion

It's an age old problem with mankind.  However or whenever you get them isn't important just rest assured you're not alone in committing them.

Now the problem is what to do with all of one's sins before God.

Why don't you just clasp your hands in prayer and ask God directly for forgiveness and resolve to reform once and for all? 

I've talked to several that believe this is possible and I've heard about others where this is really the ONLY and therefore the best option.  Don't take my word for it, I'm just a layman, a Catholic.  I was taught to man-up and confess my sins before an ordained Catholic priest, a man in persona Christi. 

One has to prepare a bit to make such a confession.  Primarily you've got to become introspective about how you have been living your life, mentally listing out the sins that you are going to confess.  Then you've got to get into your car and drive to a church, and usually you've got to wait inside the church while others ahead of you go about taking their turn.  You might even worry, but you shouldn't, he's heard it all.

But I had fallen away from the church and over 25 years had elapsed since my last confession.  

During this time away, I hadn't become introspective, I hadn't resolved to do better, I wasn't contrite at heart, and I doubt if I ever asked God for forgiveness.  I'm saying that leaving it up to me alone didn't accomplish a thing and ultimately  had left me with no real certainty regarding my own personal salvation. 

That's why now I really can't conceive of doing it any other way.

Confessing before a man in persona Christi is as supernaturally plausible as is God's creation story in Genesis or Jesus Christ's resurrection in the New Testament.  The sacrament (a physical manifestation of God's grace) is biblically sound and can be traced back to a command that Jesus Christ himself gave to his apostles.

When one walks out of the confessional after a long draught such as mine, having just received absolution from all of one's prior sins, one knows without a shadow of a doubt, great mercy and love exist and that God is supremely good.  A penance is performed, usually a short repetition of prayers during which time, out of sheer gratitude, one can't imagine ever repeating such sins again.  One feels physically lighter in the chest and shoulders, a heavy burden having just been lifted.

   

           Gary Geraci, 2016

Once all the "big ones" have been confessed (Catholics call them mortal sins) one continues, through regular confession, to peel away other layers of sins, imperfections, defects and frailties.   The regularity of this kind of looking inward begins to reveal things about oneself that have been hidden under layer upon layer of accumulated vice and sin.  It's like peeling away layers of an onion.  The result is that one starts to gradually expose other vices, sometimes being able to remember when they were first acquired.  Such vice is rooted out and replaced with virtue that one now tries to practice in reparation for sins.

Fallen in nature we are and so we will sin again and again but through regular confession and the intervention of God's grace, the seriousness and frequency of sin will diminish.  In the process, one improves one's character, one's holiness, and moves oneself closer to Christ's vision for each of us: to become perfect, to become saints.

Myanmar Ensemble

"Looking out into the crowd, they too are caught up in this same 'groove' as if we were able to transmit this very 'groove'  to them.   Truly then is the crowd caught up in this joy or its something, because they're all smiling, tapping their feet, or have been liberated enough to come up to the dance floor and start dancing about."

Indian Drum Circle

"The more people present before us the more exciting things got.   But what really did it for us?  It's when we had enough practice together that each of our individual parts melded perfectly with the other so that we all instantaneously shared this joyous anticipation that tonight, perhaps unlike last night, we were 'in a groove' and we were 'feeling it'..."

Peace Drum Circles

"Entertaining the people - our fans, spreading joy, freedom, liberation via our ability to perform music in communion with one another, our commitment to be a show for one another, for the crowd..."

Charpentier Te deum (1)

Te Deum Laudamus! "O God, we praise thee!" A rousing Timpani part keeps this piece going.......

To Go Our Own Way

When The Titans! did their final show in 1992 my brothers had nearly 20 years of playing and performing music together.  Wow!  What a ride!  Rich and famous?  No.  Hit singles in circulation on the air waves or Internet?  No. 

Heck, I didn't even get to rejoin my brothers on stage for one last display of glory with a funky guitar rhythm or backing vocal harmony. 

I see now how people line up around buildings for auditions and I have got to shake my head; hundreds of people sometimes thousands, just to get maybe an hour of what my brothers and I struggled with during our lives.  Do you know that you guys are crazy?  Yes, I said struggle, the music business isn't easy.  It's easy to become misguided and prideful.  Now and days the odds of "making it" with your own music must be like those of winning the lottery and that's if you're really, really good.  Otherwise, you play for club owners or you're background music at some function or event; people telling you to turn it down all the time gets old too.

On the other hand…….despite the gazillion road trips, vehicular breakdowns, equipment failures, money shortages, and nameless other difficulties, The Titans! succeeded in spreading joy, happiness, and a sense of freedom to most all those who heard the live performances.   I don't think the band ever missed a show - that in itself is amazing.  I'll bet if you polled every musician who ever performed as a member of The Titans! and asked if they would do it all over again if they could, they would.   For this, we all are richly blessed.

But for now, like every musician that ever did a show or two or three with us, my brothers were faced once again with that ultimate, existential question of conscience: where does my life go from here?

Brothers (L to R) Daniel, Gary, Marc, and Ken Geraci (1983)

Vespro della Beata Vergine

Mother Mary makes her entry at the precise moment the vocalist begins, her long white flowing dress trails far away into the distance, supported by the wings of hundreds of seraphim. She walks into the great hall and gazes first at her Son and then at you - oh so radiant, pure and full of love!

Congas for Christ!

Day by day and for the first time in my life, I get a bit further in my personal reading of the Old Testament section of the Holy Bible (Catholic).   I'm in 1 Chronicles 25:1 right now.  It's elating for me to think that Mary, our great Jewish Mother and the Mother of Jesus Christ, was so dedicated in her own personal study and fidelity to God, to the teachings of Jewish Scriptures.

A musician most of my life, I am struck by how many times I see the word "cymbals" and other words referencing musical instruments, but especially "cymbals."  

This morning, wanting to see perhaps how many times the word "cymbals" is used in the Bible, I did a Google search and I came across the following blog post instead:  

God Loves to Reveal Himself Through Music  by Dave Cover 

It's worth the read, especially to anyone who sings or plays music or perhaps is thinking about playing music or singing in the future. 

I think this biblical/historical tie speaks volumes for the power of rhythm and music in persevering to unite people in love and celebration all over the world; activities that glorify God -  -music made in praise, worship, celebration, and best of all, LOVE!

Here's what my own church, the Catholic Church teaches about the subject of music in her Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC)- Part Two, The Celebration of the Christian Mystery,( …..anyone with a new YouCat? Please comment if music is referenced here.)

1. importance of songs and music (CCC 1158)

2. liturgical music as Church's treasure (CCC 1156)

3. Sign function in the liturgy (CCC 1157)

Sadly, like wealth, art, food, and fashion, rhythm and music can also be used for the profanation of man.  I've seen it used to incite rebellion and instigate overt sensuality and I have seen it performed preceding horrible acts of genocide and war. 

For my part, I would like to join the focus on using rhythm and music for the love of neighbor and community, celebration, increasing virtue while decreasing vice; i.e. playing rhythm and music to glorify God! 

So, from time to time, I will try to give you or point you to a few simple rhythms here; like the Tumbao.  These rhythms originate from all over the world.  Play them alone or in community with your family and friends.  Practice them throughout the day perhaps preceding meditation or prayer.  Whether you have an instrument or not, play these rhythms on a table top, in union with your own community or in union with the saints, the Old Covenant cymbal players, most of all, play these rhythms for the glory of God! 

Coming Home

Until recently, my own path home has varied:

1960's and 1970's - regularly, various Catholic Churchs

St. Felicitas Catholic Church, San Leandro, CA

Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Austin, TX

St Thomas More Catholic Church, Austin, TX

Late 1980's - sparingly, non-denominational Cornerstone Church, San Antonio, TX

Late 1980's - sparingly, Unity Church, San Antonio, TX

Mid to late 1990's - sparingly, Our Lady of Atonement -Roman Catholic/Anglican Use Parish

Mid to late 1990's - sparingly, Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church, Helotes, TX

Late 1990's to early 2000's - Agnostic but not quite Atheist

2005-2006 - attended a few services,  Mormon LDS, Round Rock, TX

Late 2000's - regularly, Unity Church of the Hills, Austin, TX

Late 2000's - regularly, non-denominational, Riverbend Church, Austin, TX

Late 2000's to Present - regularly, via Internet, Joel Osteen Ministries, Houston, TX

Mid through Late 2009 to Present - Complete Catholic reversion after my own, real world experience with the miraculous*

St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church, Austin, TX

St. Luke's Catholic Church, Temple, TX

St. Mary's Catholic Church, Temple, TX

Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church, Temple, TX

St. Williams Catholic Church, Round Rock, TX

...and wherever else our daily travels take us.

Religious freedom is pivotal to a free society; God is at work everywhere.

*"Imagine a dot in a circle. You are the dot. Inside the circle are all your knowledge and experience. Outside the circle is everything else. Surely, there is much more outside than inside.  So how could you 'know' there are no miracles or no God? If you have never been to Iceland, how do you know miracles don't happen in Iceland?"  Peter Kreeft & Ronald K. Tacelli, Handbook of Christian Apologetics

 

                                    

Greater Kindness

Between 2001 through 2007, during my own "calls to action"  if you had asked me about God, I would have told you that I considered myself agnostic  and that "mankind cannot know God."   None-the-less, I still tried to love everyone even if we didn't always see eye-to-eye regarding say religious matters.  

Despite my unbelief, the older I became the more I developed this desire to do the right thing and to protect the little guy.   Where was this coming from?

Peter Kreeft in The Pocket Guide to The Meaning of Life writes "How has God revealed Himself?" In at least seven ways, I'll quote three of them here:

1.)  In nature, His creation, as an artist revealed in his art.

2.) In human nature, especially in conscience, His inner prophet in your soul.

3.) In every truth we discover, every good we do, and every beauty we create.

I can't explain exactly how this happens except from what I know today:  In ways we don't understand God chooses to work through us.

"If an employee learns that her company is polluting the environment or engaging in criminal fraud, she should report the offense to the appropriate authorities.  Decent people understandably balk at causing someone pain, financial difficulty, embarrassment or worse, public disgrace and imprisonment.  Their first reaction is that doing so would be unkind. 

The problem with this thinking is that it is too narrowly focused.

To report a harasser, burglar, or child molester is, in a sense, unkind to him but wonderfully kind to all his victims.  Conversely, not reporting the victimizer would be kind to him but unkind to the others.  The choice in such cases is between two kindnesses, and the decision should be for the greater kindness. -It could, of course, be argued that reporting a wrongdoer represents a kindness even to him.  It halts the wrongdoing and helps him redirect his life."  

Excerpt from: The Practice of Loving Kindness: A Guide to Spiritual Fulfillment and Social Harmony by Vincent Ryan Ruggiero (page 60)

For the Greater Public Interest - 2001

It was early September 2001, just prior to 9/11, two armed security guards escorted me out of my work area the day after my submission of the following, word for word statement to my employer’s purported "unbiased" Public Interest Council.  The incarnation of my antipathy towards public and governmental corruption was born here.

Statement to the Office of Public Interest Council

RE: Public Meeting Notice for Lake Travis II Investments - Permit No. 14257-001, Canyon at Lake Travis Wastewater Treatment Facilities

The Texas Water Code prescribes the duties of the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission (commission) relating to the control of pollution including the review and approval of plans and specifications for sewage disposal systems. This authority is found in Texas Water Code, §§5.013, 12.081-12.083, 15.104, 15.114, 26.023, 26.034, 49.181-49.182, 54.024, and 51.333.

In the course of it's duties, the commission recently conducted full plan and specification review on aerobic treatment systems using recirculating media filters, dosing tanks, and subsurface drip irrigation with shallow installation of drip tubing. The facility reviewed, Permit No.14227-001 (WWPR 0701/055) is similar in design and location to the facility proposed for the Canyon at Lake Travis Wastewater Treatment Facilities, Permit No. 14257-001 and was designed by the same consulting firm, Loomis-Austin.

The commission finds:

1.) The likelihood for effluent surfacing from some emitters at "shallow installations of 6 inches" is high

2.) Effluent surfacing from the installed drip tubing does not receive the additional treatment from the soil as designed

3.) Soil moisture sensors may not be helpful in preventing surfacing because the entire soil does not need to be saturated for surfacing to occur

When public access is expected in areas where effluent exposure is high, the commission historically rules citing Texas Administrative Code §309.3(g)(4):

"Except as provided herein, disinfection of domestic wastewater which is discharged by means of land disposal or evaporation pond shall be reviewed on a case-by-case basis to determine the need for disinfection. All effluent discharge to land which the public has access must be disinfected and if the effluent is to be transferred to a holding pond or tank, the effluent shall be rechlorinated to a trace chlorine residual at the point of irrigation application." [Emphasis added]

We understand that the Office of Public Interest Counsel's participation ensures that all relevant evidence on environmental, public, or consumer-related issues is developed and made part of the record for the commission's consideration of permit issuance. As a result, the commission is able to make better-informed decisions and issue permits that are protective of human health and the environment and take into account the greater public interest, as well as the interests of affected parties.

For comments or questions, please contact Gary E. Geraci, E.I.T. at (512) 239-5703.

Sincerely,

Gary E. Geraci, E.I.T.

Wastewater Plan and Specification Review Team (MC 148)

Water Permits & Resource Management Division

First Grade

I think many of us get stuck in the first grade when it comes to religious understanding.   I've seen the word 'God' used in the same breath as 'Tooth Fairy,' 'Santa Claus,' 'Boogie Monster,' etc; certainly characters common to the first grade imagination.  I'll give you another example; in response to a choir of prayers over the recent Texas drought, I read an adult's comment that we should unclasp our hands, stop praying to the ceiling, and get out and use our hands for something more productive.  


When I became an adult, I left my faith understanding in the first grade.  Instead of "see Dick and Jane run," to "see Dick and Jane run using muscles, tendons, and bones,"  to "see Dick and Jane run assisted by gravity, good nutrition, high tech running shoes" my faith IQ got stuck in "see Dick and Jane run" or as my brother likes to say: an appreciation akin to a red crayon picture of a heart with the word 'God' written in the middle. 


As an adult around other adults, I wanted to talk about 'higher minded' subjects and so naturally I would become uncomfortable talking about such 'elementary topics' as God, Mother Mary, and Jesus Christ.  Talking about positive mental attitude, new age practices, the infinite, omniscient power surrounding us, peace and love, now this was intellectually stimulating talk; talking about Christianity, well that was just plain simplemindedness.  


In the blindness of my ignorance were the multitudes of prominent institutions, worldwide Christian churches, and colleges on every continent that to this day still teach about the historical Jesus Christ who was proclaimed over 2000 years ago.   Could this all really have come about and sustained itself for so long without God really becoming man, dying, and then rising from the dead?  I haven't found a historically feasible alternate explanation for why Christianity exists today.  There are modern experts called apologists that can explain God's existence and Christianity much better than me and I am also discovering that much of the best writings were written in medieval times. 


Jesus Christ came to this earth as an infant having first to learn the basics, attaining elementary knowledge from Mary and Joseph during his adolescent years, acquiring woodworking and trade skills in his father's workshop, becoming educated in Jewish synagogues, and only then did he begin his public ministry. 


I realized too that along with fellow Christians worldwide, I am called to follow his lead.


I finally chose to get out of this first grade mentality.  I read more, interact with other members of my faith community, receive the sacraments more often, and defend the faith.  I have become more confident in living and proclaiming the Christian faith that we are all called to receive by our Creator.  


Regarding that "praying to the ceiling" comment, from the teachings of St. Thomas Aquinas, I have learned that something much more profound and life changing occurs during prayer and that praying is indeed our connection to the supernatural.


Although I am making every effort to personally grow in faith, hope, and love through reading, studying, and action, I take comfort in identifying myself with the very poor of the world whom suffer a lack of education, often beyond their circumstances, yet still celebrate in profound joy when a communion host is placed on their tongue or in the palm of their hand during mass.


If all else fails, rejoice in the teachings of Jesus Christ and his Apostles regarding the sufficiency of a "child like" faith; in this respect, a first grade understanding of faith is enough. 

Margie's Ministry

Growing up I had a difficult time reconciling how God could create a life suffering mental retardation from birth.  Recently, while trying to understand the dementia that had now consumed my grandmother, Aunt Margie's mom and lifelong caretaker, I came across the following.  For the first time, I think I understand.  This entry is dedicated to my grandmother who went home to the Lord earlier this year and especially to my aunt, Margie Medley who suffered with Down Syndrome all her beautiful life:

Margaret Mary Medley

December 28, 1945 - March 19, 1995

DEMENTIA AND A CHRISTIAN PERSPECTIVE*

A Paper from the Church of England’s Mission and Public Affairs Council

The Mission & Public Affairs Council of the Church of England is the body responsible for overseeing research and comment on social and political issues on behalf of the Church. The Council comprises a representative group of bishops,clergy and lay people with interest and expertise in the relevant areas, and reports to the General Synod through the Archbishops’ Council.

The origins of the Christian faith lie deep within the Jewish tradition which is recorded and extolled in the Old Testament section of the Bible. In the creation story at the beginning of Genesis, it is clear and significant that God created human beings in His own image. Saint Irenaeus was later to write that God became man so that man could become divine. What the Old Testament account of the creation makes very clear is that each person is created as an individual who is to be respected and dignified because each person is to become like God. Most certainly human beings are created in order to enter into relationships with other human beings, but they do so as individuals in their own right. What develops from this is a concept of human relating which is interdependent, rather than dependent or independent.

Jewish history from creation onwards is a story of a journey in which human beings work out the theme of interdependence with the one God whom they believe speaks to them in both action and history. It is a journey which is fascinating in its complexity, its sadness and its glory, and one which has inspired some of the greatest minds in the history of mankind. It is not to be understood lightly or without careful study. It provides us with a unique understanding of human endeavour in the history of the world.

The Christian faith is articulated in the pages of the New Testament section of the Bible where we find a cogent argument in St. Paul’s letters that Christians are understood as temples of the Holy Spirit viz.

“Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s spirit dwells in you? ……… For God’s temple is holy and you are that temple.” (1Corinthians 3 vs.16 /17)

Dementia colours the very walls of that temple. The framework of a person’s inner life breaks down and fractures. The core personality disperses and eventually disappears leaving a silent emptiness. Yet what remains is a temple (in Christian theology) where the spirit of God dwells. Whatever stage the dementia has reached, the person in all their human frailty continues to seek and become divine. The person is a temple wherein we experience the Spirit and very presence of God.

In the gospels is an account of Jesus healing a paralysed man who has been carried by four friends (carers) and, because the crowd around Jesus is so large, they take him onto the roof, roll it back and lower him close to where Jesus is standing [Luke 5:17-19]. This might be described as ‘enabled’ healing, dependent on the active support of the carers. The healing by Jesus can only go ahead because of the care, support and insight of a third party(ies). People with dementia, especially in the latter stages, depend upon the support of others. This is a proper dependency on others to carry persons with dementia through to the end.

Sadly memory is one of the first casualties of dementia. Whilst Reminiscence Therapy is important for the dementia sufferer, eventually it no longer helps and the popular hymns and familiar words of worship committed to memory are no longer within reach. For those who define a person in terms of memory and continuity, loss of memory raises questions about human identity. The bleak reality of an attribute/consciousness-based definition of what it is to be a person is that those without the attributes are not fully persons. Conversely a rich doctrine of human social cohesion and belonging indicates a person’s identity continuing in the memory of others.

In the latter stages of dementia what is left is the physical, a living body to be fed and washed and nurtured – and loved. Being a temple of the Holy Spirit there is the possibility of transformation. In the Christian tradition, transformation comes through the grace of God which is particularly made visible through the sacraments of the church. Transformation of the physical happens when the body is sustained by the living bread and the cup of salvation of Holy Communion. The grace of God still operates in an ‘empty shell’.

Theologically, an essential part of being human and human identity is being known by God. As Bonhoeffer famously put it, ‘Whoever I am, thou knowest, O God, I am thine’ [Letters and Papers from Prison, SCM, 1971 pages 347-8]. Again in terms of a theological understanding, the ultimate guarantee of our identity is the prayer of the Psalmist ‘to be remembered by God’.

“For what human person knows what is truly human except the human spirit that is within? So also no one comprehends what is truly God’s except the Spirit of God” ( 1 Corinthians 2, v11).

Helpful for our purpose is the analogy Paul makes between the human spirit as the agent of self-knowledge and the divine spirit as the agent of the knowledge of God. It follows that ultimately our identity rests not on what we know or remember of ourselves, but on being known and remembered by God.

Jesus always addressed health and healing holistically. He was very clear that healing and salvation encompass the whole person – body, soul, mind, spirit, personality, culture, and (in German) Sitz-im-Leben. Therefore, those who support the sufferer whether family, friends or the wider community are crucial to the provision of well being and health. This is a pastoral ministry undertaken by the local church/faith community and by the wider community often represented in the person of the community nurse, social worker and carer.

This ministry, if we are to understand and take seriously interdependence, is not one directional- a service from the carer to the sufferer. Rather, we need always to be open to the possibility of the ministry the sufferer offers the carer. Archdeacon Hawes, who has long experience of this ministry, has written:

I well remember as a student spending time in a hospital for people with learning disabilities, what in those days was called a hospital for the mentally handicapped. (Very few such hospitals exist today). I was asked to care for a boy of eight who had profound and multiple disabilities. In fact, the only senses he had were touch and smell. He could not see, hear, speak or walk. Tickle his feet and you were rewarded with an infectious smile which spoke of God. He died before he was nine. I struggled to make any sense of his life which had been so limited, so restricted until his nurse explained that she needed him in order to be able to care and exercise her ministry. Of course, the ministry was his to the nurse and to all the other carers.

Finally, the context of the Christian faith is the eternal. The resurrection of Jesus points us to eternity and the full glory of God, so often described as heaven. What happened before we were born and during our life time is not the full story. In Christian theology and thought, the journey of life moves beyond death into the numinous, the otherness of God. Just as God is with us now, so He awaits us in His transcendence where through His grace we are able to complete the process of becoming divine and sharing in the glory of God. Here is real transformation as we are changed ‘from glory to glory’ – as it says in one Christian hymn. All that assailed us in our human experience is left behind. Here there is no place for mental illness, for dementia, for learning disabilities, and a whole range of other conditions. Here there is wholeness, mystery, glory, wrapped for eternity in the divine embrace of the God of love.

Dr Philip Giddings                                                                              January  2010

Chair,

Mission and Public Affairs Council

* The Council gratefully acknowledges the very substantial contribution Archdeacon Arthur Hawes has made to the preparation of this note.

According to Grace

"For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by men and hating one another; but when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of our deeds done by us in righteousness, but in virtue of his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal in the Holy Spirit." - Titus 3:3-4. See also 2 Timothy 1:9


"God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with him, and made us sit with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus." - Ephesians 2:4-6


Scriptural excerpts taken from Interior Freedom, by Jacques Philippe, pg. 113 "The Trap of the Law"

The Titans! 1991-1992, Final days

The Titans! -1991 (Full time cover band with an occasional original show) 

Members:  

Ken Geraci-guitar, songwriter, vocals

Daniel Geraci-bass, songwriter, vocals

Marc Geraci-drums

Glen Barnes-lead vocals

Omar Madani-keyboards, vocals

Events:

• Scott Linhardt and Arnaud Robin leave the band
• Glen Barnes rejoins group
• Omar Madani joins group
• At the request of clients, the band begins to play more country western cover tunes, especially Garth Brooks
• Band plays the most shows during this year averaging 4-5 shows a week reaching our peak in popularity
• Cassandra and Evette from San Antonio, TX become regular fans of the group and make several video recording of our shows at Billy Marbles and Sonova Beach
• The band meets San Antonio Spur David Robinson and his younger brother at Sonova Beach, Daniel Geraci gets his autograph
• Ken Geraci gets married in July

Memorable Shows: 

• Sonova Beach, San Antonio, TX 
• Billy Marbles on the Riverwalk, San Antonio, TX
• Marriot lounge Dental Hygienist Convention, San Antonio, TX
• Steamboat, Austin, TX
• A Jewish Wedding Reception (band played a "spirited" version of Hava Nagilah)
• An Indian Wedding Reception
• Prom Parties in Dallas and Houston, TX
• Maggie Maes, Austin, TX
• Toulouse, Austin,TX
• Sam’s Boat –Houston, TX
• Sherlocks-Houston, TX
• Shows in Galveston, TX
• Shows in Freeport, TX
• Shows in Bay City, TX
• Shows in Lubbock, TX
• Shows in Dallas, TX
• Shows in Lackland Air Force base San Antonio, TX
• New Year’s Eve Party, Houston, TX

The Titans! -1992 (Part-time cover band)

Members:  

Ken Geraci-guitar, songwriter, vocals

Daniel Geraci-bass, songwriter, vocals

Marc Geraci-drums

Glen Barnes-lead vocals

Omar Madani-keyboards, vocals 

Events: 

• Ken Geraci's son Steven Geraci was born in January 1992
• The band decides to scale back their shows and just play high dollar private parties
• Ken and Daniel Geraci form Adams and Whitaker music talent agency as an experimental side project
• Burn-out from playing cover tunes and out of town shows begins to set in
• Daniel and Ken Geraci seek employment outside the music industry
• We played our last show as The Titans! on December 31, 1992

Memorable Shows: 

• Private parties for lawyers and actuaries, Houston, TX
• Private Christmas Party
• Last show was a New Year’s Eve Show, Houston, TX.  Thanks to Jon Barret for taking the video footage.  John Blankenship was there as well.

Courtesy Marc Geraci: Visit Marc's Soundcloud page for a selection of original music.

Running Sound (and from my brothers)

The Titans! were getting multi-night gigs in San Antonio on a regular basis now so my brothers asked if the band could crash out at my place between shows. 

Somehow it was in this arrangement that I got recruited into the paid position of running sound for the band.  Yes, I kept my day job and so this was purely "fun" money but a soundman goes wherever the band goes, in my case Houston, Galveston, San Antonio, Austin, Oklahoma, and many places in-between.  My duties didn't require any Austin area rehearsals in-between shows, the Titans! would just give me the dates and I would show up to work in time for the sound check.   

My predecessor soundmen were family friends like John Blankenship, heck, I think Jon Barret might have also run sound when the band gigged in Houston; he certainly videotaped the band a time or two.

One "runs" sounds via a long cord and mixing board set up in the back of the room.   If the band is too loud, someone usually lets the sound guy know.

Titans soundboard and effect rack, 1992

A reliable sound guy keeps the band focused on making music rather than having to constantly go out into the audience, listening, and worrying about the band's sound levels.  Too loud, too soft, turn this singer up, turn that one down, add more drums into the mix, more reverb, less of that offending frequency causing feedback, etc.  Associated duties might also include running the lights.  


Running sound also meant running the band's monitoring system.   If they're low, the band doesn't hear themselves singing on stage relative to the volume of the live instruments.  Band members wildly flailing their fingers and arms in the upward direction was a pretty good indicator that the monitor volume needed to go up. 

It was a challenge pleasing everyone in the band with individual monitor levels but we tried having fun with it anyway.  On one occasion, one of my brothers dropped his guitar, jumped off the stage and came running after me full speed because he thought I was purposely dropping his monitor level just to irritate him.  Now why would I do something like that? 

When the show's over, the sound guy becomes a roadie, rolling up the long cord now possibly covered with alcoholic beverages of all sorts, other gross liquids - you name it, etc.  Oh yeah, parking to a down-town club venue is notoriously bad for a band and so getting equipment in and out is always a hassle; try dragging your luggage through an Austin 6th street alley at about 3 in the morning  and notice how it smells afterwards.

All in all it was just like old times, all of us brothers together again and on the music scene.   I would even get introduced during the final act of the night as "the guy running sound in the back, brother Gary Geraci."  The fact that there were four brothers involved in the show always drew a good round of applause from our audiences, which of course, we enjoyed receiving.  

However, deep down, I had this unsatisfied urge to get up on stage and perform music. 

What Will Profit A Man?

'What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his life?' What use to man are all the things of the earth, all that our intelligence and will can aspire to? What is the point of all that, if it is all to come to an end and sink out of sight; if all the riches of this world are mere theatre props and scenery, and if after all this there is eternity for ever, and ever, and ever?


Saint JoseMaria Escriva, Friends of God, 200

Gary's Music Instrument Collection

• Roland TR-505 RHYTHM COMPOSER
• TASCAM PORTASTUDIO 414 MK II
• SHURE SM58 Microphone
• AUDIX D2 Microphone (x2)
• Yamaha PORTATONE PSR-225 Portable Keyboard
• Two TOCA Traditional Series Congas (played as Requinto and Quinto)

• Two LP Classic Congas (played as Conga and Tumbadora)

• Senegal Djembe

• LP Generation II Professional Bongos & stand

• LP Matador Timbales & stand
• SEIKO Quartz Metronome

• TAMA Throne High Boy

• Roland HandSonic HPD-15 Hand Percussion head & stand

• Roland PM-3 Personal Monitor System

• Roland Kick Trigger Pedal and Hi Hat Trigger Pedal

• Percussion Toys: tambourines, multi pitch egg & fruit shakers, mexican maracas, LP rock shaker, guiros (steel & wood), wood castanets, cow bells, multi pitch clave, nut shaker, steel egg chime, bamboo log drum, rain stick

• Conga travel bags, barrel conga stands, mic cables & mic & sheet music stands