Abraham and the ineffable call

The revelation began formally on the day when a nomadic Semite in the neighborhood of Ur of the Chaldees heard an ineffable call and obeyed the supernatural command. What call? The call of the one God, the true God, of God. He whom the human spirit discovers, but can know only darkly, selected Abraham, son of Terah, as the messenger of his Word and ordered him to break with the errors and abominations of polytheism. We are confronted here with an essentially mystical and inexplicable fact, as mysterious in its essence and as tangible in its results as the mission of Joan of Arc, perhaps for France. How, why, in a world soaked in idolatry, did a small Bedouin clan, led by its chief, opt for the truth? The answer is obviously to be found in the will of God, already at work.

Henri Daniel-Rops, What is the Bible?

Another Marguerite

Joaquin Sorolla, Another Marguerite

Action Thrillers — Special 26 and Don

In the early 1980s in India, a group of con artists rob well-known businessmen and politicians by posing as officers of the Central Bureau of Intelligence or income tax officials. The gang stages fake raids during which they steal great amounts of money from their targets.

A good heist film based on a notorious jewel robbery in the 1960s in Bombay (as it was called then). It is a bit confusing at first but just hang in there and it will all come into focus. It made me think of Inside Man, especially in the fact that I wanted both sides to win.

If you watch this it is helpful to know that the CBI can come in, shut you down (including cutting telephone wires) and tear the place apart looking for hidden wealth. As early scenes show, this is justified by the high levels of corruption. A really excellent movie that is almost like a primer for this concept of tax collection, which is incomprehensible to Americans, is Raid.

I especially wanted to see this since I'd only seen lead star Akshay Kumar in Tashan where he played a dim-witted, but good-hearted, mob enforcer. In this he is a mastermind a la George Clooney in Ocean's Eleven and carried it off quite well. Of course, there is a romantic subplot which means several song and dance numbers. This may be a heist film but we're not barbarians!

Rating — Introduction to Bollywood (come on in, the water's fine!)

DCP DeSilva sees a way to bring to justice the feared head of a criminal empire by recruiting a man named Vijay, who looks exactly like the crime boss. The ruse works too well, and soon Vijay finds his life in danger when DeSilva, the only one who knows his true identity, dies.

Really a fun crime thriller with some good plot twists. I enjoyed seeing Shah Rukh Khan play a psychotic, cold blooded killer as a contrast to his usually more charming roles. I think he enjoyed it too. Though, to be fair, this is a double role so he gets to play a warm-hearted good guy for a lot of the movie. The best of both worlds, perhaps?

As always, what is a crime thriller without four or five song and dance numbers? Yes, it can be done as Don proves. And I'm not complaining.

Rating — Introduction to Bollywood (come on in, the water's fine!)

Blind Man of Toledo

Joaquín Sorolla, Blind Man of Toledo

The most exhilarating aspect of the Bible

Very often the Bible compares God to a potter modeling human clay: "As clay in the hand of the potter," says Jeremiah, "so are men in the hand of God." Scripture is thus the story of this progressive refinement, of this patient work by the Creator on His creature to bring him to greater perfection. And just as a potter does not transform the lump of clay that he is modeling into a vase with skillful curves instantaneously, so God reveals Himself at work throughout the Bible and seems to enjoy displaying His alterations, His momentary defeats, His regrets, and His fresh starts.

This is perhaps the most exhilarating aspect of the Bible; it gives a constant sense of progress. "The historian receives an extraordinary impression from the Bible," writes Fr. de Lubac. "The contrast between the humbleness of Israel's beginnings and the power of the — explosives would be a better term — it bears within itself; the concrete and at first somewhat veiled form taken by its highest beliefs; then the majestic progress, the confident if mysterious march toward something vast and unforeseeable; nowhere else do we find anything even remotely resembling all this."

Henri Daniel-Rops, What is the Bible?

Walking Through Holy Week by Karen May

This year I invite you to experience Holy Week differently. These events are real. They are historical. They are shocking and devastating. They are surprising and exhilarating. In Walking Through Holy Week, you will see how each day allows us to enter into the action and be a part of the story. Imagine how different Easter will be when you experience the days leading up to it as the apostles did.

The Holy week masses are carefully designed to allow us to walk with Jesus through His passion, crucifixion, and resurrection. I love it whenever I learn more about the context and scripture because it opens up the stories and helps transform it into a personal experience. But I know there's plenty more to discover.

That's why I was so interested in Walking Through Holy Week and I really love it. Each mass is broken down by section, with an introduction to each reading, brief commentary, and questions for reflection. I especially appreciate that full scriptural readings are included so you don't have to look anything up. (Because I already know I'm not going to take the extra step to go look stuff up.) And there are additional scriptural references in the back for anything else that's referred to. I also like that the questions are thoughtful. They make you dig deeper.

For example, the first reading for Palm Sunday has the phrase, "This happened so that what had been spoken through the prophet might be fulfilled."

Have you ever wondered who that prophet might be, and how the reader is supposed to know about it? This reference is a combination of two verses. Isaiah 62:11 and Zechariah 9:9, and would have been easily recognized by the Jewish people.

Well, no, it never occurred to me to ask that question. I always just take the gospel's word for it. The quoted verses are included with scriptural references in an appendix so they are easily found ... and they give much food for thought, especially when paired with the next two questions:

1. Read the passages from Isaiah and Zechariah 9. After reading these scriptures, what would you have expected Jesus to do after he entered Jerusalem?
2. The Book of Zechariah continues with descriptions of battle and triumph, but changes suddenly from tales of success and glory to descriptions of grief and desolation. Read Zechariah 12:10-13:1. What are some of the things that point to what Jesus is about to do?

I suddenly understood why people expected a triumphal political leader ... and what the reality was that Jesus had come to achieve. It is all there, set up for us by the two ancient prophets.

Modern parallels are also included to help you relate to how regular people at the time would have thought and felt. They are particularly effective especially since they stay away from dwelling on the sentimental. For example, to give an idea of how Jesus' arrest would have struck faithful believers, we are asked to imagine that Pope Francis has been captured by ISIS and put on trial. There is a thrill of shock at the idea and it helps us remember the vivid horror of events covered in Holy week.

Since stations of the cross are traditional for Good Friday, each of them is covered with the same thoroughness.

Use it during Holy Week or use it all during Lent as a study. This book is a real treasure for anyone who wants to enter into Lent and especially Holy Week more fully. Although it is centered on the mass readings and Stations of the Cross, any denomination of Christian is going to get a deeper understanding of Christ's passion, crucifixion, and resurrection.

The Buccaneer

Since our discussion of the Ten Commandments airs today, I couldn't resist this wonderful poster (with so much shirtless goodness) for a favorite movie from my youth, though I only got to see it on Saturday afternoon movies on TV. And it stars Charlton Heston and Yul Brynner! Directed by Anthony Quinn who was Cecil B. DeMille's son-in-law at the time, since DeMille was too ill to do the project as a remake of his earlier 1930s version.

So there are many parallels with the Ten Commandments. Aside from the fact that this is just a really fun popcorn movie and the Ten Commandments is that and much, much more.

The Hebrew People and God's Special Protection

As human author of the Bible, the Hebrew people asserts that it is in receipt of spiritual assistance, inspiration; as an actor in biblical events, it declares that it enjoys God's special protection, the Covenant. To what extent does a historical view of the facts corroborate these two assertions?

From the purely literary point of view, there is a problem that is insoluble if we rule out divine intervention: how was this people without arts, philosophy, and any particular natural endowments able to produce this incomparable masterpiece, while people infinitely more advanced intellectually have left books full of gross moral and religious errors?

Fom the strictly historical point of view, how was this tiny people — in the time of Solomon's splendor, it never exceeded a million souls — able to exert such widespread influence? Persecuted, tortured, reduced in the dark days of the captivity "by the waters of Babylon" to fewer than a hundred thousand exiles, how was it able to survive right up to the present day, while mighty empires all around it have left us only ruins, inscriptions, and mummies? And why did the long trial that was its destiny lead it step by step, from suffering to suffering, ever upward toward revelation?

Henri Daniel-Rops, What is the Bible?

Graveyards, Babies, and The Jungle Book

Jesse, Maissa, and I discuss Neil Gaiman's wonderful homage to The Jungle Book ... which manages to be both a tribute and altogether original. Get it at SFFaudio.

A Cloudy Day, Bluebonnets

Julian Onderdonk, A Cloudy Day, Bluebonnets, near San Antonio, 1918
via Arts Everyday Living

The Mass gave full expression to the truths and mysteries of Christianity.

As with beauty and imagination, the order and symbolism of public prayer were bound up with truth. The Mass gave full expression to the truths and mysteries of Christianity. The Cross was there, but so was our Lord's crucified body, with the pierced side, the bloodied hands, the scourged and welted back, the thorns cutting into the forehead. His sacrifice was present. And so was the Virgin, who had given him flesh from her own flesh, nursed him from her bosom and accompanied him to the last. She was our link to the Incarnation — how could we leave her out of worship? ...

Without Mary, Christianity risked losing the truth about Christ's own identity — the union of two natures, divine and human, in one person — and drifting toward Gnosticism of various kinds.

Sohab Amari; From Fire, By Water

Coffee and potatoes

Albert Anker, Still life: coffee and potatoes
via Lines and Colors

Assyrian Horses

Assyrian horses, alabaster bas-relief from Nineveh, 7th century BC

Band Baaja Baaraat (Band Music and Revelry)

Bittoo meets Shruti when he crashes a wedding for free food and she tries to have him thrown out. He's interested in flirting but she's all business about her future, which does not include romance. That's ironic because she's going to begin a wedding planning service. When his father wants Bittoo to return to the sugar cane farm, Bittoo throws in his lot with Shruti's. It's strictly business. Of course.

This is a solid romantic comedy and a much better movie than the description makes it seem. The script often surprised me by taking unexpected turns. Probably the most refreshing bit was that it focused much less on the problems of running a wedding planning company than those of their relationship. Normally that wouldn't be a plus for me but these two actors elevated the movie and with the plot twists it all worked. Plenty of songs and dance numbers kept it fun and the item number is wonderfully over the top.

Rating — Introduction to Bollywood (come on in, the water's fine!)

 Hannah and Rose review this on An American's Guide to Bollywood podcast.

March Snow

Edward B. Gordon,
Today the snow blustered over land and sea. Flakes as big as handkerchiefs danced in the wind.

Nothing like that here so maybe that's why I like the painting!

"Freedom in the service of the good," freedom that allowed "itself to be led by the Spirit of God."

Too much autonomy was as likely to yield despotism as the hideous statist projects of the last century. True freedom, Benedict [XVI] taught, was something else. It was "freedom in the service of the good," freedom that allowed "itself to be led by the Spirit of God." To know what God wants and to bring oneself into conformity with the transcendent order of the universe, then, was freedom. That was the essence of Israel's joy, what set it apart from the pagans with their idols and god-emperors. The Christian, however, had the added joy of knowing the "face" of the law: self-sacrificial love. The road to fullest freedom ran through the Cross.

Sohab Amari; From Fire, By Water

Rewatching Secretariat: "He holds not back at the sound of the trumpet."

I first reviewed this movie in 2010 after a preview screening but recently rewatched it. I was surprised at how much I loved it still and how inspiring it was. I shouldn't have been surprised. For one thing it was Roger Ebert's movie of the year. 

I thought I'd rerun the review in case you forgot it too ... or missed it the first time around.

Do you give the horse his strength, and endow his neck with splendor?

Do you make the steed to quiver while his thunderous snorting spreads terror?

He jubilantly paws the plain and rushes in his might against the weapons.

He laughs at fear and cannot be deterred; he turns not back from the sword.

Around him rattles the quiver, flashes the spear and the javelin.

Frenzied and trembling he devours the ground; he holds not back at the sound of the trumpet,

but at each blast he cries, "Aha!" Even from afar he scents the battle, the roar of the chiefs and the shouting.

Job 39:19-25

These are the opening words of the movie, Secretariat. It is part of God's speech to Job when asking him where he was when God made the world. Unusual as it is to hear a long passage from the Bible quoted when showing us a racehorse glorying in running, it is nonetheless a perfect definition for the true story of Secretariat and his owner, Penny Chenery.

In 1969, Penny Chenery is a Colorado housewife and mother when she must take on the management of her ailing father's Virginia horse stables. Struggling to make ends meet, she hires veteran trainer Lucien Laurin (John Malkovich) who is haunted by past big losses. When a crucial decision must be made about which colt may become a winning racehorse she goes against conventional wisdom in what will become a pattern for the future. Using her hard won knowledge, innate sense of what is right, and stubborn determination to never give up, Penny Chenery makes great inroads into the male-dominated business.

There are inevitable strains on family and marriage as Chenery continually commutes and runs the business as well as being a wife and mother. These are not a large part of the movie but are nonetheless important subtext for what Chenery accomplishes, as is the parallel journey with a daughter who is discovering her true self. Although most of the attention is on Chenery's struggles, we also become well acquainted with that incredible horse, Secretariat, including his prodigious appetite, trademark late start from the gate, sheer joy in running, and endearing love of the limelight.

It is no secret that Secretariat won the Triple Crown in 1973, but just as in watching the movie Apollo 13, knowing the outcome in no way detracts from the tension when viewing this film. This is a true story that reads like a work of fiction with myriad unbelievable twists and turns. I remember watching the three races in which Secretariat ran and the truly amazing performance he gave at The Belmont, in the crowning victory. However, I had no idea of what was at stake or the road traveled to get there and this behind-the-scenes story was fascinating.

The overall message is that we must live life to the fullest, joyfully, and to strive with all that is in us to do our utmost. Emphasizing that message was the unashamed reference to religion in the movie. From the beginning when the book of Job is quoted at length, to joyous gospel songs at two crucial scenes, to the stable hand Eddie's comments about lifting each other up, there is a definite subtext of faith which is as rare these days as it is welcome. This is skillfully done without ever clubbing the viewer over the head, which is also welcome.

This is not a perfect movie. The missteps seemed to always be in a desire to "help" the audience understand the movie better. I am not sure whether it was the director or studio who felt that the audience wouldn't understand the speed and power of the horses in some of the close racing scenes without using modern editing techniques (removing frames perhaps?) to make the motion seem faster. The overall effect, however, was to give us less to see of the very thing that they wanted to celebrate, namely the power and speed of these graceful animals and their riders as they compete. Reality, in this case, did not need enhancement. Likewise, when one of the daughters said her mother was "Awesome," I winced. Not in 1973. She'd have said her mother was cool or groovy. We get it. Stay in character. Conversely, the place where we could have used the help was in including a long shot of the end of the Belmont race, where one really needs a visual demonstration to understand the enormity of just how that race turned out. However, these are relatively minor flaws and easily overlooked.

I was stunned when director Randall Wallace appeared at our preview screening. He spoke feelingly about his pride in making a family movie celebrating time honored virtues which anyone in America could watch. He can be rightly proud of this accomplishment in telling an incredible story in a captivating, inspirational way. As the movie began I was reminded of the movies that Disney used to make long ago. Toward the end, it had surpassed them in the richness of the storytelling.

The question on everyone's mind going into this movie is most probably, "How does it compare with Seabiscuit?" I can tell you that it would be like comparing apples and oranges. Both are enjoyable in their own ways. Seabiscuit was more of a period piece and multiple character study. This is a straight forward, inspirational movie of the same sort as The Blind Side. The actors are not called upon to stretch their talents in part because they are telling a straight forward story. The possible exception to this might be John Malkovich who, for a change, was not playing John Malkovich as is the trend lately. He turned in a charming and likable performance as the quirky, flamboyantly dressed, but overall normal trainer.

Highly recommended.

Courtesan

Courtesan (after Eisen), 1887, Vincent van Gogh

Its beauty was the work of human hands yet transcendent in effect.

This [church] was a holy place, set apart from the banality and corruption of human affairs. It was a place of right worship. Its beauty was the work of human hands yet transcendent in effect. Here beauty paid an enduring homage to the theological precepts that inspired and preceded it. And if metalwork and masonry and painting directed my imagination to spiritual realities, was that not because Almighty God had blessed me with a receptive imagination in the first place?

Sohab Amari; From Fire, By Water

Montmartre

Vincent van Gogh. Montmartre. Paris. Autumn 1886.