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FEB. 8, 2009: FIFTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
Job 7:1-4, Ps 147;1 Cor 9:16-19, 22-23 Mart 1:29-39
Italian violinist and composer Niccolo Paganini often performed before a full house and with a full orchestra, playing even the most difficult compositions with ease. One evening, as the audience was rapt with attention, one of his violin strings snapped. Paganini .improvised and played on three strings. Suddenly, a second string broke; now two strings were dangling from his violin, but he played on the other two without missing a beat. Incredible as it seems, a third string also snapped. Undaunted, the maestro finished the concert on one string.
In tribute, the audience stood and applauded for several minutes. No one thought to ask for an encore, given-the condition of his violin, but Paganini held his instrument high in the air and announced, "Paganini and one string!" Then he proceeded to play an encore with the full orchestra, coaxing more music out of one string than many other violinists could produce with all four. The difference, aside from his superb musical abilities, was his attitude. Paganini's positive...