Gospel of Matthew — Back in the beginning, a very good place to start

Matthew 28: 16-20

 I really love the point made about why Jesus called the disciples to meet him in Galilee. That never occurred to me before (as with so much in this brief look at Matthew over the last year).

Fresco in Bishop's chapel located in Cortona depicting the mission of the apostles

Placing the final scene in Galilee, Matthew brings the story full circle. This is where it all began, where Jesus grew into manhood, where the first apostles were recruited, and where the message of the kingdom first sounded forth. Readers have anticipated a return to Galilee since the prediction in 26:32 and the instructions given in verses 7 and 10. Galilee, the launching point for the Messiah's mission to Israel, is now to become the take-off poit for a mission to the whole world.

[...]

It is important to recognize that making disciples is not reducible to winning converts or ensuring that people get baptized. A disciple is one who listens to Jesus (17:5) and learns from him how to love (11:28-30), how to pray (6:9-13), and how to do what is pleasing to the Father (3:17). Christian discipleship is a total way of life, a commitment to pattern our daily actions and decisions after the example set by Jesus and his most heroic followers (see 1 Cor. 11:1). As important as it is to attend weekly Mass or to say one's bedtime prayers, something much more is called for in the Lord's mandate.

May we all become the disciples our Lord calls us to be! With this we end our look at the gospel of Matthew. 

Quote is from Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture: Gospel of Matthew by Curtis Mitch and Edward Sri.

A Movie You Might Have Missed #27 — Waking Sleeping Beauty

It's been 10 years since I began this series highlighting movies I wished more people knew about. I'm rerunning it from the beginning because I still think these are movies you might have missed.

You'll laugh. You'll cry. You'll fall in love all over again with a little mermaid. Believe it or not, all from a documentary

The Black Cauldron is universally agreed to be Disney's lowest point in animated movies. This documentary takes us from the time that movie is being created in 1984 through Disney's golden animation renaissance that began with The Little Mermaid and ended with The Lion King in 1994. How the studio went in a  mere ten-year period the depths to the heights of animation is the subject of this behind-the-scenes tale from the point of view of the animators. Everything is told through stills and archive footage although with new audio interviews by several of the principal figures. Much of the footage shot by the animators themselves while at work.

The business side of the company is also examined, including what was really responsible for Disney's rise and subsequent fall after The Lion King, the monumental egos of Roy Disney, Michael Eisner and Jeffrey Katzenburg. Hearing the animators' side of these much loved movies is fascinating. The movie clips played remind us that it has been all too long since we watched The Little Mermaid or Beauty and the Beast. As well, you will appreciate Howard Ashman as never before for his creative genius and the passion he gave to his work. It is an engrossing and surprisingly fast-paced work that any Disney movie fans will enjoy.

We can't fight imperfections if we don't know what they are

The task of purifying the soul cannot, may not, end as long as we live; however, our imperfections should not make us anxious, for perfection consists in fighting against them, and we cannot fight them unless we see them, or overcome them if we do not face up to them.

Victory does not lie in being unconscious of them, it lies in not consenting to them, and we are not consenting to them as long as they displease us.

In fact, to learn humility, we must sometimes be wounded in this spiritual warfare, but we will never be defeated unless we lose courage or our life, and as our spiritual life is lost only by mortal sin and never by imperfection or venial sins, we have only to look to our courage, praying with David that God may rescue us from the fears that daunt us and from the storm around us. (Cf. Ps. 54.9)

Luckily, in this kind of battle, we shall always be victorious as long as we are prepared to fight.

St. Francis de Sales, Introduction to the Devout Life

I've begun rereading  Introduction to the Devout Life, slowly — fortunately it comes in small doses and is perfect for that. Here's a bit that grabbed me.

A beautiful lady in a beautiful hat

Eula Wilson of Bowie, Texas circa 1900 (via Traces of Texas)

As stimulating as black coffee

Good conversation is as stimulating as black coffee and just as hard to sleep after.

Anne Morrow Lindbergh

This hits me where I live. It's why I have to have a slow-down time after my book club, for example. And even with that I often still can't sleep well all night because my brain is buzzing with all the talk and ideas.

Archduke Leopold Wilhelm in his gallery in Brussels

 Archduke Leopold Wilhelm in his gallery in Brussels, c. 1647–1651

Click through the link to take a look at all the paintings in the gallery in more detail.

Congealing into one story only

A society in crisis teaches itself to congeal into one story only, and sees reality through very narrow glasses. But there is never only one story.

Amos Oz

Praying and Fasting for the President to Experience Conversion of Heart

Note: I've updated my First Tuesday fast to expand the scope beyond whoever is president to include our country's leaders. We need heroes, we need effective leaders, we need people who are self sacrificing and willing to put the needs of the people beyond their own political agendas (like re-election).

 Below is the original post.

Today on Morning Glory, guest Father Josh Johnson pointed out that we've never had a President who has become Venerable or Blessed ... or in other words, a saint. Duh, I thought. Then he startled me by enthusiastically recommending that we fast and pray for whoever becomes president to experience a conversion of heart and to get on track for sainthood. 

Wow. The fact that I was so startled by such an idea, initially thought it crazy, says something about how pragmatically I view our governmental system and politicians. I loved Father's passion and belief that God can do anything. And, let's face it, that would indeed be a real change for either Joe Biden or Donald Trump. It would make them into the people we wish they would be. What a witness that would be.

So I'm going to do it. I'm still considering how to do this. I already fast on every first Friday for the Church and our priests. So this needs to be a separate fast. Right now I am thinking about a small fast — breakfast or lunch or maybe only bread all day (which is a heckuva lot harder than you'd think) — on the first Tuesday of each month (election day in November!). 

It's wild. It's reckless. It's completely crazy. So that makes it a perfect thing for God to use showing his glory and power. And this is a way to do that.

Join me!

Source

Thank God in every instance

One of the great spiritual "secrets" that the saints teach is that we should thank God in every instance for every event in our lives. Even what has the appearance of undoing us can be turned to powerful graces when we offer it to God with thanksgiving for what he is doing in that very event. The worst event of history, the crucifixion of the Son of God, is now our Eucharistic feast! Let the Eucharist be the perfection of paying your own debt of gratitude.

Paul Jerome Keller, A Year with the Eucharist

Today, the day after the election, I think maybe a lot of folks are feeling we're facing a bad event of history. As hotly contested as this election has been it seems inevitable that about half of us are going to be upset with the results. We're waiting to see who will be elected president with a mixture of hope and trepidation. Hope that our candidate will be elected, trepidation that he won't.

If your candidate doesn't win, remember it is by no means the worst event. And also remember that the same God in whom we trust can and does bring good from things we don't like. We see this over and over in the Old Testament. Just one example is Joseph from Genesis, whose brothers sold him to a passing caravan? He underwent what must have seemed very much the "worst." Yet at the end, he told his brothers that God had allowed it in order that he might be placed to save his family in time of great need.

Wherever he put you, serve him there. I myself am very thankful not to be a politician but to simply be a wife, a mother, a daughter, a writer, a Catholic ... and to serve where I am.

 Be not afraid and remember to rejoice in our Lord — with gratitude for everything.

Gospel of Matthew — Peter's Staggering Honesty and Heroic Courage

 Matthew 26: 57-58, 69-75

Here we have Peter's famous betrayal of Christ three times before the cock crows. It wrings the heart. I've often felt sympathetic with Peter because I've found myself in similar positions, albeit not usually so publicly. I've also admired his honesty in telling the story. After all, no one else knew this — except Jesus, of course.

However, the points made here about Peter's courage and love hadn't occurred to me before.

Peter's Denial, Duccio di Buoninsegna

No one can read this passage without being struck with the staggering honesty of the New Testament. If ever there was an incident which one might have expected to be hushed up, this was it—and yet here it is told in all its stark shame. We know that Matthew very closely followed the narrative of Mark; and in Mark's gospel this sotry is told in even more vivid detail (Mark 14:66-72). We also know, as Papias tells us, that Mark's gospel is nothing other than the preaching material of Peter written down. And so we arrive at the amazing fact that we possess the story of Peter's denial because Peter himself told it to others.

So far from supressing this story, Peter made it an essential part of his gospel; and did so for the very best of reasons. ... We must never read this story without remembering that it is Peter himself who is telling of the shame of his own sin that all men may know the glory of the forgiving love and cleansing power of Jesus Christ.

And yet it is quite wrong to regard Peter with nothing but unsympathetic condemnation. The blazing fact is that the disaster which happened to Peter is one which could have happened only to a man of the most heroic courage. All the other disciples ran away: Peter alone did not. In Palestine the houses of the well-to-do were built in a hollow square around an open courtyard, off which the various rooms opened. For Peter to enter that courtyard int he centre of the High Priest's house was to walk into the lion's den—and yet he did it. However this story ends, it begins with Peter the one brave man.

[...]

What happened to Peter after [the cock crowed] we do not know, for the gospel story draws a kindly veil over the agony of his shame. But before we condemn him, we must remember very clearly that few of us would ever have had the courage to be in that courtyard at all. And there is one last thing to be said—it was love which gave Peter that courage; it was love which riveted him there in spite of the fact that he had been recognized three times; it was love which made him remember the words of Jesus; it was love which sent him out into the night to weep—and it is love which covers a multitude of sins. The lasting impression of this whole story is not of Peter's cowardice, but of Peter's love.

Just imagine being in the Mass where Peter preached the story of his betrayal of Christ! Wouldn't that have been something?

Quote is from Daily Study Bible Series: Gospel of Matthew, vol. 2 by William Barclay. This series first ran in 2008. I'm refreshing it as I go.

October

 Ok, this is titled October, but here in Dallas they would call it November because we don't have leaves turning fall colors until then usually. So I'm posting it now!

October, by Willard Leroy Metcalf, 1908. 

Via J.R.'s Art Place

The changing past

Nothing changes more constantly than the past; for the past that influences our lives does not consist of what actually happened, but of what [we] believed happened.

Gerald W. Johnson

A Movie You Might Have Missed #26 — Without a Clue

It's been 10 years since I began this series highlighting movies I wished more people knew about. I'm rerunning it from the beginning because I still think these are movies you might have missed.

Mystery and comedy. There may be no better combination, and certainly you won't find it done better than in today's movie.

Without a Clue features stellar teamwork by Michael Caine and Ben Kingsley, who are at their best here. Kingsley is Dr. Watson who actually is the genius at deduction. He has written his adventures as stories with a fictional detective, Sherlock Holmes, so as to not hurt his chances at being named to a prestigious board. When the stories got so popular that people wanted to meet Holmes he hired actor, Reginald Kincaid to act the part. The problem: Kincaid is a two-bit, drunken, skirt-chasing actor (Caine) which causes no end of trouble and comic delight whenever "Holmes" tries to improvise his way through a case. 

 

It is a real delight to watch these two great actors throw themselves into their parts with wonderful comic timing. Caine gets a lot of mileage out of Holmes' efforts to appear a genius. This movie is especially good for any children who understand how twists work on the classic detective stories.

unstable Felicity by Cat Hodge

"Is Ohio your home?" Amita lit up. "Over Thanksgiving, I saw a Christmas movie set in a small town in Ohio, where the girl had to save her family's business by teaming up with the hot competitor, and he caught her when she fell off a ladder, and they got everyone to come together to fix up the old downtown. And then it snowed and they lived happily ever after," she sighed ...

===========

"Well, all your worries are over now! We'll straighten out your books, and then we're going to make the season merry and bright."

Oh, the season will be bright, Jill thought. That glow is just my family burning down.

Jill O'Leary hasn't been home for twelve years, except to attend her father's funeral. But now her mother's summoned her to help figure out the finances for the family's inn and Jill's all out of excuses. She's not sure what she dreads more — her demanding, self-absorbed mother or the White Elephant gift exchange.

Of course, her friend Amita has accurately predicted what we all expect in a Hallmark Christmas story and this book's got that and more. It also has elements of King Lear, which is a weird combination but it works. Somehow Cat Hodge delivers both a lighthearted, amusing Christmas adventure with the simmering rage, greed, and family dysfunction of Shakespeare for a very readable, funny story.

If a Hallmark Christmas and/or King Lear leave you cold, I understand. I myself avoid both. In fact, I had to look up the plot to King Lear online. But  this mashup is greater  than a sum of its parts. The elements that made it work for me were the results of Hodge's fertile imagination.

First, as I said, it is funny. Jill's machinations at the White Elephant exchange made me laugh. Quennedey's methods of squashing her mother's pretensions cracked me up. I loved Quennedey a lot. (When seeing how Quennedey's name is spelled, we understand exactly what her mother is like — a sign of Hodges' sly humor and intelligence.)

Second, there is a raw edge which opens up space for characters to grow. This mostly happens to the people around Jill but it is unexpected and interesting when it happens. This allows Hodge to  redeem a lot of the unlovable King Lear elements in a way that works for our modern times and that allow it to be a Christmas story.

I will say that I struggled in the beginning of this novella because I really disliked Jill and her knee-jerk rage. She definitely should have found a new therapist long ago. I was really shocked by one unrepentant action in particular.  It's a tough read when you don't like the main character. But I liked Kristin Lavransdatter and Gone with the Wind and really didn't like either of those main characters. As with those books, I just let this wash over me and enjoyed everything else. It also helped that it was kind of interesting to see the story once I realized that Jill was Lear's second daughter's — and she was not great (seriously, that online Lear summary really helped). So Jill was true to her origins.

You don't have to have seen King Lear or a Hallmark Christmas movie to enjoy this novel. The quirks, charm, and family drama are things we all understand and can appreciate. Get yourself a copy.

Pope Francis' homosexuality comments heavily edited in documentary

I was stunned, as was everyone to judge from the media headlines, when Pope Francis seemed to endorse same-sex civil unions in a documentary. However, I should have waited for the full context to be revealed.

Catholic News Agency (CNA) reports:

“Francesco,” a newly-released documentary on Pope Francis, contains comments from the pope on homosexuality and civil unions. Some of the remarks, however, are the result of editing distinct phrases from a papal interview and presenting them as a cohesive whole. ...

a CNA analysis of the interview’s transcript shows that other papal comments on homosexuality featured in “Francesco” were compiled by heavy editing of the 2019 interview’s video footage.

If you read the whole piece, CNA bolded the appearance of those words in an excerpted translation of the pope’s remarks during his 2019 interview. 

The Vatican still isn't commenting on the story and there may be further discussion to come, but it was nice to see the context for the Pope's comments.

A Review of Thus Sayeth the Lord That Makes Me Very Proud

Some recommended reading for your month of All Souls, Advent, or Ordinary-Time Bible study needs. Excellent intro to the prophets by Julie Davis.

Final verdict: This is a fantastic offering that fills a void in the Bible-study literature. I highly recommend this book if you are looking for a readable, down-to-earth introduction to the prophets that is a balanced combination of Bible study and reflections for personal inspiration and spiritual growth.

This wonderful review of my book Thus Sayeth the Lord comes from Jennifer Fitz. It's lovely to have someone I respect so much give such a glowing recommendation. It makes me really proud! 

Do go read the whole thing! I'll leave you with a last bit that filled me with more pride.

What makes this book especially good: Julie writes the book from the perspective of a former atheist, of a faithful-but-normal Catholic, and as someone engaged for decades now in a constant two-way conversation with the wider culture. You can tell that she really understands how people struggle with the faith and what it’s like to be looking at Christianity and scratching your head and wondering if the Catholic faith has anything, at all, to offer somebody like you.

Her depth and breadth of experience shows on every page, and the end result is a book that is exquisitely suited to parish Bible study groups, where participants may vary from curious-non-believers to earnest disciples, all thrown together in one classroom to puzzle out what can be a very daunting topic.

 

Gospel of Matthew — Love's Last Appeal to Judas

 Matthew 26:20-25

Usually we look at the scene where Judas is leaving the last supper and think about betrayal, staying loyal, and so forth. This, however, looks at what we can learn from Jesus in this situation.

Judas Iscariot (right), retiring from the Last Supper  by Carl Bloch

And now we can see Jesus' methods with the sinner. He could have used his power to blast Judas, to paralyse him, to render him helpless, even to kill him. But the only weapon that Jesus will ever use is the weapon of love's appeal. One of the great mysteries of life is the respect that God has for the free will of man. God does not coerce; God only appeals.

When Jesus seeks to stop a man from sinning, he does two things.

First, he confronts him with his sin. He tries to make him stop and think what he is doing. He, as it were, says to him, "Look at what you are contemplating doing — can you really do a thing like that?" It has been said that our greatest security against sin lies in our being shocked by it. And again and again Jesus bids a man pause and look and realize so that he may be shocked into sanity.

Second, he confronts him with himself. He bids a man look at him, as if to say, "Can you look at me, can you meet my eyes, and go out to do the thing you purpose doing?" Jesus seeks to make a man become aware of the horror of the thing he is about to do and of the love which yearns to stop him doing it.

[...]

There is sin and sin. There is the sin of the passionate heart, of the man who, on the impulse of the moment, is swept into wrong doing. Let no man belittle such sin; its consequences can be very terrible. But far worse is the calculated, callous sin of deliberation, which in cold blood knows what it is doing, which is confronted with the bleak awfulness of the deed and with the love in the eyes of Jesus, and still takes its own way. Our hearts revolt against the son or daughter who cold-bloodedly breaks a parent's heart — which is what Judas did to Jesus — and the tragedy is that this is what we ourselves so often do.

Quote is from Daily Study Bible Series: Gospel of Matthew, vol. 2 by William Barclay. This series first ran in 2008. I'm refreshing it as I go.

A Movie You Might Have Missed #25 — Shower

It's been 10 years since I began this series highlighting movies I wished more people knew about. I'm rerunning it from the beginning because I still think these are movies you might have missed.

Now we share one of Tom's favorite movies. Have you noticed that many of his favorites are gentle, charming, and humorous? Yep. But all individuals in their own way. This one is no different. 

This is the sweet, charming story of a son who returns home due to a misunderstanding. He has made a successful life for himself in another city while his father and brother have remained in business at the father's bath house. 

On one level the story is predictable, revealing the problems of the bath house regulars. As we expect, the returning brother has been somewhat estranged from his family and this, too, is resolved. For instance, I will never again hear "O Sole Mio" without thinking of this movie. 

However, on another level, there is complexity that was unexpected. This is provided by the brother who has remained at home and by the father's revelation of his past ... whereby we understand exactly why he loves running his bath house. Also quite enjoyable  are the glimpses of life in the father's corner of Beijing.

Autumn Leaves in Yokokan Garden

Autumn Leaves in Yokokan Garden, kskphoto via Find/47

 

Falling Leaves

 Olga Wisinger-Florian, Falling Leaves, 1899

A Movie You Might Have Missed #24 — Equilibrium

It's been 10 years since I began this series highlighting movies I wished more people knew about. I'm rerunning it from the beginning because I still think these are movies you might have missed.

Come now to a future, after the Third World War, where a hidden leader named "The Father" has decreed that the answer is to remove emotions as they are the root of all violence and evil. Banishing emotions leads to banishing art, music, and books as well, but that is a small price to pay for peace. Or so this futuristic society believes as they take their daily doses of Prozium which sublimates feelings. 

Christian Bale is John Preston, a Clerick whose job it actually is to enforce the anti-emotion laws by rooting out and destroying the underground sense-offender resistance who luxuriate in things like perfume, silk, and symphonies. One day he accidentally misses his daily dose of Prozium and ... you guessed it ... discovers what he's been missing. 

In many ways, the story line is predictable but watching it unfold brings a fair number of surprises, the acting is good, and the faces are lovely (Christian Bale, Taye Diggs). As well, there is the inventive "Gun-Kata," martial art with weapons at a super-high speed which lends itself to a choreography which is simply amazing to see. This came out around the same time as The Matrix which may be why it has been overlooked by so many, but our family prefers this movie.

Gospel of Matthew - Self Protective Lovelessness

 Matthew 25:14-30

This is the famous parable of the master who, before going on a journey, gives varying numbers of talents to his servants, according to their abilities. Two servants use them profitably to increase on investment. One servant buries his in a field. Upon return the master praises the profitable servants and condemns the profitless servant as lazy, saying the he could at the very least have put his talent in the bank where it would have earned interest.

In a long ago Bible study, the priest pointed out that the good servants success in "small matters" are only given perspective in the great joy of the master.

"Well done, my good and faithful servant. Since you were faithful in small matters, I will give you great responsibilities. Come, share your master's joy.

I love that the success even in small matters gives the master great joy.

Also, the lazy servant wasn't punished for trying and failing. He was punished for not even trying the bare minimum. You get the idea that possibly if he had tried and failed, the master might have been understanding. It is the lack of effort, not the failure to achieve, which is being condemned.

Ok, now let's turn to C.S. Lewis from his book The Four Loves. I already love this quote, but the C.S. Lewis Bible uses it for reflection on this parable.

The parable of the talents, depicted in a 1712 woodcut. The lazy servant searches for his buried talent, while the two other servants present their earnings to their master.

To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly be broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket — safe, dark, motionless, airless — it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. The alternative to tragedy, or at least to the risk of tragedy, is damnation. The only place outside of Heaven where you can be perfectly safe from all the dangers and perturbations of love is Hell.

I believe that the most lawless and inordinate loves are less contrary to God’s will than a self-invited and self-protective lovelessness. It is like hiding the talent in a napkin and for much the same reason. "I knew thee that thou wert a hard man." Christ did not teach and suffer that we might become, even in the natural loves, more careful of our own happiness. If a man is not uncalculating towards the earthly beloveds whom he has seen, he is none the more likely to be so towards God whom he has not. We shall draw nearer to God, not by trying to avoid the sufferings inherent in all loves, but by accepting them nd offering them toHim; throwing away all defensive armour. If our hearts need to be broken, and if He chooses this as the way in which they should break, so be it.

This series first ran in 2008. I'm refreshing it as I go.

More valuable than any treasure

If you were to find a gold coin, would you ask yourself, "Why has no one else found it?" Of course not. You would not hesitate to take it as your own. Likewise, whenever you find a brother in need, realize that you have found something more valuable than any treasure—the opportunity to care for another.

St. John Chrysostom
via In Conversation with God 4 by Francis Fernandez

Triplets Gassho-zukuri houses

Triplets Gassho-zukuri houses, Koichi Hayakawa via Find/47

 

Mating Season

 

Mating Season, Remo Savisaar

Good, evil, and a thing's usefulness

This is long but so worth it.

When this reason, which is so just and apt—namely, that the goodness of God should create good things—is carefully considered and devoutly weighed, it puts an end to all controversies on the part of those who inquire about the origin of the world. Certain heretics, however, have not been willing to accept this reason. In their view, there are too many things—such as fire, cold, wild beasts, and the like—which are unsuited to the needy and frail mortality of this flesh (which itself stems from just punishment), and which actually do it harm. These heretics do not notice how flourishing such things are in their rightful places and in their own natures, or with what ordered beauty they are arranged, or how much they contribute, each according to its own share of beauty, to the whole scheme of things, as if to the common well being of all, or how much they actually work to our own benefit, if only we make appropriate and intelligent use of them. Even poisons, which are fatal when used wrongly, are turned into healing medicines when properly employed; and, on the other hand, even things that give us delight, such as food and drink and sunlight, are seen to be harmful when immoderately or improperly used. In this way, divine providence warns us not to blame things without thought but rather to inquire diligently into their usefulness. And when our insight or our weakness fails us, whe should believe that teheir usefulness is simply obscure, as were various other things that we have barely been able to discover. The very fact that a thing's usefulness is hard to find, in fact, serves us either as an exercise in humility or as an antidote to pride. For there is no nature whatsoever that is evil; in fact, "evil" is nothing but a term for the privation of good.

St. Augustine, The City of God, book XI

Christianity's leaves, flowers, root, and fruit

The rules and rituals of Christianity are not its core, but its leaves. Joy, the kind of joy that none of life's contrarieties can diminish, as the lives of countless saints from every walk of life so powerfully attest to, is its flower. But its root is God's love, and its fruit is God's love lived out in the humdrum routine of daily life by the followers of Christ.

John Bartunek, The Better Part

The Hobbit Cover

The illustrations for The Hobbit were drawn by J.R.R. Tolkien himself. This cover shows his unique style and I simply love it.

Gospel of Matthew — Oil for Our Lamps

Matthew 25: 1-13

I like the point that the foolish virgins may not have done anything big to have empty lamps. Filling them with oil is just a little detail. But little details make a big difference, as we will see.

Friedrich Wilhelm Schadow, The Parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins

First an overview of how the foolish virgins relate to our own Christian lives.

The Holy Spirit is teaching us that it is not enough just to have started out on the path that leads to Christ; we have to remain on it, continually alert, because the natural tendency of every man and woman is to lower the level of self-giving that the Christian vocation requires. Little by little, almost without realizing it, the soul gives in to the tendency to make Christ's call compatible with a comfortable existence. We have to be eternally on our guard against the pressure of an environment whose guiding principle is the insatiable search for comfort and the easy way. If not, we will end up like those maidens. ...

In Conversation with God by Francis Fernandez, vol. 4

Sadly, I have to admit that sounds all too familiar to me. However, here are a few practical ways to think about this (and practice discipline).

On one level, it may not seem like a big deal to forget your oil—again. Or to show up to work ten minutes late every day. Or always to make time for watching TV but not enough time for prayer. The habits may be deeply ingrained, but every time we give in to them, we become a little more self-centered, and our ability to love God and the people around us diminishes. ...

What do you need to do to keep your flask filled with oil? Perhaps you could set your alarm a little earlier so that you are sure to have enough time to pray each morning. Maybe you could give up one night of television each week and offer to volunteer at church. The particulars may vary from person to person and day to day. But what’s important is finding a way to focus your life on God so that he can keep filling you with the “oil” of his love and grace. Because you never know when Jesus might show up!

Word Among Us, August 2020

Excerpts are from sources listed here. This series first ran in 2008. I'm refreshing it as I go.

Listen Up — Soundtrack Podcasts

I've lately come across several podcasts which celebrate  movie soundtracks. In one sense they're a lot alike. They all take in-depth looks at how the score serves the story, what makes it tick, and how the composer pulls it off in their own unique way. However, each has a different enough focus and hosts that I like them all. In each case I come away marveling at what the music was "saying" that I didn't know enough to hear. It's really fun.

I haven't listened to every episode on any of these podcasts but I've sampled plenty — certainly enough to want to share them with you.

 I found all these via iTunes but I'll include the website links for each.

 

This is the first soundtrack podcast I discovered. Listening to David Collins' polished yet enthusiastic two-part presentation about Jaws hooked me. And that's quite a feat, considering that I don't like the movie that much.  

He has a real love of John Williams and, in fact, I think he had an entire podcast devoted to him before this one. Luckily, he looks at movies scored by other composers too, although this podcast is heavily weighted toward Williams. Ranging from Morricone's music for spaghetti westerns to Casablanca to features about Max Steiner and Wagner as the first Lord of the Ring, there's a lot of variety to choose from. He does all this in terms that anyone can understand.

Episodes are usually half an hour although they occasionally run longer and there are often 3-4 part series of episodes about one movie. The Soundtrack Show website is here.

These three Australians (Andrew Pogson, Dan Golding and Nicholas Buc) crack me up. They are clearly good friends and just as clearly love music and movies. They know lots about the mechanics of music but when they go deep they manage to do it without making it mind-numbing, which is no small accomplishment. I also enjoy how often they find a piece of music  reflecting elements from other pieces in completely different films, which they'll then play for comparative listening. They'll review music form TV  (don't miss the Star Trek episode) and video games as well.

This is probably my favorite of these four podcasts. I find it hard to stop listening to these guys.

Episodes are usually 1-1/2 to 2 hours long with a fairly even mixture of single episodes and two-part series. The Art of the Score website is here.

 

Jon and Andy began their look at film scores by tackling the AFI's list of the 25 greatest film scores. They've since gone on to whatever catches their ear, ranging from new (Interstellar) to old (Spartacus).  I like the later shows better since at the beginning they tended to get a little bogged down in whether they liked the movie that went along with the AFI score.  Regardless, they have good chemistry and cover the music very interestingly.

They don't get too bogged down in what I call "music speak" which leaves the average non-music literate (like me) in the dark. They're also the only one of these podcasts that haven't geeked out over John Williams yet. Whether that is a good or bad thing, I leave to your judgment.

Films are covered in single episodes, just over an hour long. Settling the Score website is here.

 

Hosted by brothers Marty & Will Brueggemann, UnderScore is a podcast dedicated to celebrating the rich tradition of movie music one film at a time.

And when they say "rich tradition" that means these two are doing a very deep dive into every film. Each movie is covered in four episodes which cover, in turn, main theme, additional themes or songs, cues, and spotting (or commentary) of the full film. They also will discuss music very technically sometimes. I love their enthusiasm during those moments as each one's interest feeds the other's excitement. "I know! That chord structure would be ruined in thirds!" (Or something like that.) I just let it wash over me and, to be fair, they do explain what they are talking about. I'm just not as interested on a technical level, which is why I generally listen to the first two of each series. That said, those discussions are fascinating and I love the brothers' musical camaraderie. If you want a good sample, listen to their most recent episode about The Wizard of Oz. Really wonderful stuff.

Episodes usually run half an hour to an hour long. This podcast has been in hiatus since mid-2019 but there is plenty there to enjoy. The UnderScore website is here.

Meiji tunnel Shizuoka

Meiji tunnel Shizuoka, AsunoAkari via Find/47

 

The Tobolowsky Files are back

I've listened to this podcast almost from the beginning, way back in 2009. There haven't been any new episodes since 2017 though. Until today!

That's good news for everyone who knows just what a great storyteller Stephen Tobolowsky is. He's the character actor that you didn't know you knew. (Groundhog Day's Ned Ryerson, to mention just one great role.)

 From growing up in Dallas to attending SMU to breaking into the movie biz in LA, Stephen brings humor, humanity, and sometimes inspiration to his stories.

Get it at iTunes or his website.

Dinner with a Long Spoon

 My people tell a story about the great Ever After, one that reminds my mother of Sis. In the story, a rich and selfish man is condemned to hell, and is ushered into an endless dining hall. He sees a great banquet laid out before the assembled people there, a feast of dripping, roasted meats and savory soups and sumptuous stews. The devil's imps file down the table to pass out spoons, but the spoons are longer than the arms of the men and women gathered there. They cannot, as hard as they try, get the delicious food into their mouths, and a wailing and gnashing of teeth echoes and echoes through the great hall.

Meanwhile, in heaven, Saint Peter welcomes another new arrival, a common and generous man, into a similar great, long banquet hall. The newcomer sees another grans feast laid out before the diners assembled there. But, disconcertingly, the man sees the waiters pass out the same spoons as the ones passed out to the diners in hell, all of them too long for people to feed themselves. "How then," the crestfallen man asks Saint Peter, "can this be heaven?"

Saint Peter smiles.

"Because in heaven," he says, "we feed each other.

Rick Bragg, The Best Cook in the World

Spoon

Spoon, Duane Keiser

I love using the reflection to show the artist.

A Movie You Might Have Missed #23 — Matchstick Men

It's been 10 years since I began this series highlighting movies I wished more people knew about. I'm rerunning it from the beginning because I still think these are movies you might have missed.

Nicholas Cage is a con artist whose successful cons can't compensate for the fact that his numerous phobias leave him no way to have any personal life. Sam Rockwell is his partner and they are in the middle of pulling off a potentially lucrative scam when Cage discovers he has a teenage daughter who arrives unexpectedly to live with him. What then unfolds is a story of learning to parent interspersed with pulling off the con. The two stories become entangled which leads to increasing tension. 

You don't get much more of an anti-hero than Nicholas Cage's character in this role. As for style, granted it is that of the 60's more than today but that is more than compensated for by the sheer attraction of watching the con go on. More than anything, however, I was struck by the sheer potential for change and growth that Cage's character discovers. The end, which I won't reveal here, struck me as an extremely Catholic one.

Cajun Meatball Fricasse

I'd never heard of this dish but it is quite good and makes a nice change from the regular idea of meatballs derived from Italian or Swedish roots. Get it at Meanwhile, Back in the Kitchen.

History's Queen by Mike Aquilina

 

In History’s Queen, you’ll learn about the many ways Mary has left her mark on the great events of time, not only as we see them in the Bible, but also in pivotal events such as Fatima, the battle of Lepanto, and the plague. In this journey through two thousand years of Mary’s active participation in world events, each chapter of History’s Queen highlights a Marian intervention that is emblematic of a particular era, and opens our eyes to the ways in which Mary provides a vital key for understanding both our past and our future.

I have always enjoyed books which give us a glimpse of God working in history. In this book, Mike Aquilina takes us on a quick tour of the Virgin Mary leaving her marks on historical events. In so doing, he also gives beautifully lucid descriptions of historical context. I always came away with a fuller understanding of events than I had before, often linked to a better understanding of the effect it had on our times.

On the judgment day, the Koran says, God will ask Jesus whether he told the people to worship himself and Mary in addition to God, and Jesus will emphatically deny it. This verse suggests a Trinity consisting of the Father, the Son, and Mary. Many Christian commentators have said that the verse shows a profound ignorance of Christian doctrine. But it might be better to say that it shows a firsthand nowledge of Christian practice. Mohammed had not seen the Christianity of the theologians and apologists. He had seen the Christianity a merchant would see—the Christianity of common people on the edge of theChristian world. And for those common people, Mary was the route to the divine. She was everywhere. The mistake was easy to make. It is the mistake some evangelical Protestants still make today when they say that Catholics worship Mary.

This isn't just about Marian apparitions, although we are shown some of those. It also is about the times when Christians were inspired and informed by  aspects of Mary which affected behavior, art, and creativity in everything from public policy to everyday life. We are shown Byzantium and those who protected icons from being smashed, Irish missionaries to Europe and the Book of Kells, the rise of the great cathedrals and the Book of Hours, the plague and the Pieta, Luther and mass media, Guadalupe in Spain and Mexico, and more. In all cases, Mary is there to inspire Christians and care for them like a mother. Aquilina's skill in showing that through such diverse historical events not only informs but reassures. 

This is a message not only of history but also a reminder that as God has moved in the past, so he continues to do today—weaving salvation history with Mary as his willing servant.

Lady in a Red Hat

Lady with a Red Hat, Frank Duveneck, 1904
Dallas Museum of Art

This is another of those paintings which just can't be fully appreciated on screen. The way the artist captured backlighting with the light coming through the red feathers and casting red highlights on the lady's face is mesmerizing and unique.

Gospel of Matthew — The Transfiguration: Parallel to the Execution

Matthew 17:1-8

This parallel never occurred to me before. But what a world of meditation it opens up!

12th-century icon of the Transfiguration
Saint Catherine's Monastery, Sinai (Egypt)

The transfiguration scene serves as "a twin of sorts" to the execution narrative in 27:32-54. Davies and Allison beautifully note the parallels. "In the one, a private epiphany, an exalted Jesus, with garments glistening, stands on a high mountain and is flanked by two religious giants from the past. All is light. In the other, a public spectacle, a humiliated Jesus, whose clothes have been torn from him and divided, is lifted upon a cross and flanked by two common, convicted criminals. All is darkness. We have here a pictorial antithetical parallelism, a dyptych in which the two plates have similar lines but different colors. The parallel scenes highlight the horror of Good Friday and the splendor of Jesus's love for us. It is no ordinary man that will be crucified on Calvary, but the beloved Son of God revealed in glory at the transfiguration. This same glorified Son will freely submit himself to utter humiliation in order to redeem the human family (see Phil 2:5-11).

Quote is from Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture: Gospel of Matthew by Curtis Mitch and Edward Sri. This series first ran in 2008. I'm refreshing it as I go.

Pope Francis — Euthanasia and assisted suicide are always the wrong choice

To take one’s own life breaks one’s relationship with God and with others. “Assisted suicide aggravates the gravity of this act because it implicates another in one’s own despair,” it said.

The Christian response to these actions is to offer the help necessary for a person to shake off this despair, it emphasized, and not to indulge “in spurious condescension.”

“The commandment ‘do not kill’ ... is in fact a yes to life which God guarantees, and it ‘becomes a call to attentive love which protects and promotes the life of one’s neighbor,’” the letter said.

The 45 page document (Samaritanus bonus: on the Care of Persons in the Critical and Terminal Phases of Life) is all over the news. Probably the least biased place to read about it is at the Catholic News Agency which does a straight forward reporting job.

As CNA points out, this is a reaffirmation of classic Catholic teachings. In fact, looking around I found this Declaration on Euthanasia from 1980. However, the attention the new document is receiving means it was high time to spell things out again.

The reaffirmation came to mind strongly when I was reading this morning's commentary from In Conversation with God.

Whether we are dealing with children in the womb, old people, accident victims, the physically or mentally ill, we are always dealing with our fellow human beings whose credentials of nobility are to be found on the very first page of the Bible: "God created man in his own image" (Gen. 1:27). On the other hand, it has often been said that it is possible to judge a civilization by the way it deals with the defenseless, with children, with the sick, etcetera. Wherever you have a sick person, there has to be a supremely human environment where each one is treated with dignity. One experiences in such circumstances the closeness of brothers and friends.

Paul VI, Address, 24 May 1974, italicized

Great White Egret

Great White Egret, Remo Savisaar

 

A Movie You Might Have Missed #22 — Radio Days

It's been 10 years since I began this series highlighting movies I wished more people knew about. I'm rerunning it from the beginning because I still think these are movies you might have missed.

 

Before the internet, video games, and television, there was radio which captivated its audience just as thoroughly as modern storytelling venues do today. 

This movie is Woody Allen's love letter to the medium he grew up with. He narrates as we watch a young boy's view of his ordinary family and the way that different radio shows influenced their lives. Several generations of his family live in their New York house during World War II and the always-playing radio provides the backdrop to the small daily dramas that make up their lives. The stories go from humorous to dramatic as we see the family stories interspersed with those of the radio stars of the day and Sally the cigarette girl who is struggling to begin a radio career. 

At the heart is a love of family that shines through all the everyday ordinary scenarios and the nostalgic look at the past. Thoroughly captivating and a movie I have watched countless times.

What we can learn from Ginsburg’s friendship with Antonin Scalia

 Eugene Scalia considers Ruth Bader Ginsburg's legendary friendship with someone who was her ideological opposite, his father Antonin Scalia.

It’s often remarked today that if our government leaders spent more time together, they would come to like and respect one another, be more civil, and achieve consensus, harmony and wondrous legislation.

Don’t draw that lesson from Ginsburg-Scalia. ...

What we can learn from the justices, though — beyond how to be a friend — is how to welcome debate and differences. The two justices had central roles in addressing some of the most divisive issues of the day, including cases on abortion, same-sex marriage and who would be president. Not for a moment did one think the other should be condemned or ostracized. More than that, they believed that what they were doing — arriving at their own opinions thoughtfully and advancing them vigorously — was essential to the national good. With less debate, their friendship would have been diminished, and so, they believed, would our democracy.

Read the whole thing at The Washington Post.

A Unique and Inexhaustible Book

There is a unique and inexhaustible book in which all there is to say about God and man is said. God's presence pervades it and in it are revealed all those aspects of His mysterious being that we are allowed to glimpse; in it He appears, He speaks, and He acts. Man can also see himself in it, in all his potentialities, his grandeur and his weakness, from his sublimest aspirations down to those obscure regions of consciousness in which each of us bleeds from the wound of Original Sin. It embodies above all a religious doctrine, the doctrine of the revealed truth; but human knowledge and intellectual activity also find in it right and never-failing nourishment. It is as vain to claim to understand the principles of ethics and law as of sociology, economics, and even politics if we are unaware of the message contained in this book.

Henri Daniel-Rops, What is the Bible?

Dorothy

Dorothy, John Singer Sargeant
Dallas Museum of Art

I love Sargeant's portraits anyway, but this little lady's expression just wins me over every time. She brims with personality.

Crunchy Onion Burger

Simple, delicious, and even my mom who doesn't like hamburgers (which is still hard for me to fathom) liked them. Get your Crunchy Onion Burger at Meanwhile, Back in the Kitchen.

Jodhaa Akbar

An epic romance, set in 16th-century India, about the love story between Jalaluddin Mohammad Akbar, the Mughal Emperor of Hindustan, and Rajput princess Jodhaa. In order to extend his empire, Akbar agrees to a marriage of alliance to young and fiery Jodhaa but soon realizes he has to defend his choice of bride as his courtiers voice their displeasure at the idea of their Muslim Emperor marrying a Hindu.

The first time we watched this we found the first part really disorienting. I assume that if you are Indian you know a lot about the factions we were being introduced to and the basic history being told — which we had no clue about. Also, as Bollywood newbies, we had a really tough time keeping track of the many warriors and kings, especially since they all were in historical garb. However, the film did a good job bringing us up to speed, the romance was compelling, and by the time they got to proclaiming the emperor Akbar, we were on board all the way. 

A second viewing, almost two years and 150 Indian movies later, made us really able to appreciate it properly. We could even keep track of all those confusing warriors and kings! Also, with the basic story knowledge from our first viewing meant that we could properly appreciate the performances. 

When they say "epic romance" they aren't kidding. By the time that the emperor and Jodhaa declare their love and he puts his hands on her shoulders (yes, they move slowly in a traditional movie like this), you'd been brought to a state of high tension over that ultimate forehead kiss and neck nuzzle. It doesn't hurt that they are the hottest emperor and empress ever. 

This is something on a scale that Cecil B. DeMille would have loved. Lavish is an understatement for the jewelry and costumes and settings. The battles are grand in every sense of the word. It is a feast for the eyes.

The first time around we thought that the movie must have been modernized because Akbar's religious views were so tolerant. We were impressed when we looked up his history and saw that he was indeed a most unusual ruler for his time. Interestingly, on vacation in Charleston talking over movies with some Indian tourists, we brought up Jodhaa Akbar, asking if the great Akbar was as portrayed. He obviously is a national hero because they instantly began praising him with great animation and enthusiasm. It was really impressive and makes the movie even more fun to watch.

NOTE: medium to difficult Bollywood viewing. Just let it flow over you without worrying too much about the politics and you'll enjoy it.

Scott and Julie discuss Jodhaa Akbar at A Good Story is Hard to Find podcast.

Hannah and Rose discuss Jodhaa Akbar at An American's Guide to Bollywood.

The Icebergs

The Icebergs, Frederic Edwin Church
Dallas Museum of Art

Nothing can replace sitting in front of this painting and taking it all in. The tints and coloring are impossible to adequately convey on a screen.

I love the story that this was bought by a private collector and kept out of public view for over a hundred years. When it came back into public sight for auction, it raised the most ever given for an American painting. The anonymous buyers donated it to the Dallas Museum of Art. After Lamar Hunt's death, he and his wife were revealed as the generous donors.

The study of history is a powerful antidote to contemporary arrogance.

The study of history is a powerful antidote to contemporary arrogance. It is humbling to discover how many of our glib assumptions, which seem to us novel and plausible, have been tested before, not once but many times and in innumerable guises; and discovered to be, at great human cost, wholly false.

Paul Johnson, The Recovery of Freedom (1980)

Making pain meaningful

Obedience makes our actions and sufferings meritorious in such a way that, no matter how pointless they may seem, they in fact can be extremely fruitful. One of the wonderful things Our Lord has done is to have made the most useless things, like pain, meaningful; by his obedience and his love He has made it glorious.

R. Garrigou-Lagrange, The Three Ages of the Interior Life

Time and Tide

Time and Tide, 1873, Dallas Museum of Art
Alfred Thompson Bricher

I just love this painting. I could stand in front of it all day.

A Movie You Might Have Missed #21 — Shaun of the Dead

It's been 10 years since I began this series highlighting movies I wished more people knew about. I'm rerunning it from the beginning because I still think these are movies you might have missed.

Shaun and his best friend are a couple of slackers. A good evening is one that ends at the pub and every evening ends at the pub. Shaun's girlfriend is less than pleased with this lack of initiative, especially after celebrating their third anniversary ... at the pub. She breaks up with Shaun who is so distraught that he doesn't notice all there is a zombie epidemic all around them. This leads to some hilarious scenes, such as when Shaun and his friend first encounter zombies and think they are drunks. Shaun takes the lead in rescuing his mum and ex-girlfriend to take them to the safest place he can think of ... the pub. This truly is a romantic comedy with the original twist being the zombies.

I was anxious to see this from the first moment I heard the premise, yet put it off for fear of the "R" rating (for zombie violence ... yes, that's actually what it says). There is plenty of warning for any such scenes and much of it is so fake that it doesn't matter. The directors are really good at combining our awareness that this is a zombie movie with Shaun's general cluelessness to provide many very funny jump scenes as well.

Why Coming Back to Mass Matters

What probably surprises most contemporary readers of the book of Exodus is that, immediately following the laying out of the moral commandments, the author spends practically the rest of the text, chapters 25 through 40, delineating the liturgical prescriptions that the people are to follow. ...

No indication whatsoever is given that the moral prescriptions are somehow more important than the liturgical prescriptions. If anything, the contrary seems to be the case, since Exodus is followed immediately by the book of Leviticus, which consists of twenty-eight chapters of dietary and liturgical law. ... God doesn’t need the ark and the tabernacle and priestly vestments and regular worship, but we do. Through the gestures and symbols of its liturgical praise, Israel is brought on line with God, ordered to him. The moral law directs our wills to the divine goodness, but the liturgical law directs our minds, our hearts, our emotions, and yes even our bodies to the divine splendor.

This is a great piece from Bishop Barron which uses Exodus to remind us that following moral law matters but just as important is learning holiness through the liturgy. Thanks to Patsy for bringing it to my attention. I loved it.

Gospel of Matthew — Transfiguration: The Cloud

Matthew 17:1-8

This is one of the biggies in the gospels and so much has been said about it. I always found that cloud mysterious until I was reminded that the shechinah, the glory of God shows up prominently in Exodus. In a pillar leading the people, covering the mountaintop when Moses visits, etc.

And here is the cloud of God's presence again. Of course.

Transfiguration, Alexander Andreyevich Ivanov

Peter, James, and John did not see any ordinary cloud atop the mountain of transfiguration. They saw the cloud of God's Presence. In the Old Testament God's presence was made manifest to Israel in the form of a thick and luminous cloud. God guided the Israelites through the desert in a pillar of cloud (Exod 13:21-22). At Sinai the cloud of God's glory overshadowed the mountain when Moses received the Ten Commandments (Exod 24:15-18). Later the cloud filled the tabernacle (Exod 40:34). It also filled the temple in Jerusalem at its dedication by Solomon (1 Kings 8:11). However, in the sixth century BC, the prophet Ezekiel received a vision of God's glory cloud leaving the temple and Jerusalem because of the people's sinfulness (Ezek 10). Since that time, god's presence had not been visibly manifest to Israel But the prophets envisioned the return of this cloud to God's people in the eschatalogical age (2 Macc 2:8, Isa 4:5, Eze 43:1-5). Peter, James, and John witnessed the fulfillment of these prophetic hopes when the "bright cloud cast a shadow over them" on the mountain of transfiguration.

Quote is from Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture: Gospel of Matthew by Curtis Mitch and Edward Sri. This series first ran in 2008. I'm refreshing it as I go.