John Paul the Great: Remembering a Spiritual Father by Peggy Noonan - UPDATED

I'm rereading this book which has inadvertently turned into Advent reading. I'd forgotten just how good it is — inspirational, informative, and, above all, a wonderful reminder of a great pope and saint. I originally read it in 2006. My original review is below. 

(I have added an update upon my rereading which is in italics at the bottom.)

Why did so many love John Paul II? If you read this book you will know why. 

Peggy Noonan writes with conviction, force and clarity about her own love and respect for John Paul II as our spiritual father. In so doing, she gives us the essence of this great pope's life and faith as distilled through the lens of her own growing return to her Catholic faith and love of God.

I only really paid attention to him after I converted in 2000 so my own experience with JPII was of him as the old pope who showed us how to live, love, and give through suffering. In fact, I was aware of respecting him but didn't realize my own great love until I read the false report of his death (a day before the actual event) on the Drudge Report. I mystified myself by bursting into great, body-shaking sobs that wouldn't stop. When I went into Tom's office, he was alarmed and, after hearing an explanation, he shook his head at me. "You love him," he said, "You just didn't know how much until now." 

 Perhaps that is why I am finding myself pulled through this book at breakneck speed. I knew the bare bones of many of John Paul's experiences as pope but this book is something like a Weigel-lite (?) biography in some ways. I am learning much about the details of his papacy even as I am brought to tears or smiles again and again by both his experiences as well as Noonan's.

I picked up this book from the library yesterday and am about halfway through. Already, I have begun to push it on others. An email here, a strong recommendation to someone there (such as to my husband who never reads "religious" books but is interested in this one).

Part of the fascination for me is Noonan's transparent honesty. She is, in a sense, every modern person who has struggled with belief, honesty, and faith itself. As she intersperses her tale with that of John Paul II, I find myself in agreement with her along the way. Her path is not exactly mine but her sentiments and struggles echo them well enough to resonate. And the resonation already is calling me to reach further in prayer...

So I was thinking about pebbles — the pebbles on the cover of the videotape, the pebbles in the Kevin Orlin Johnson book, the pebbles I saw on Jones Beach when I went out that summer to see friends.

I thought a lot.

I just didn't say any Rosaries.

I find this to be true of my spiritual life, and maybe it applies to yours as well: I think about things more than I do them; I ponder what seems their goodness more than I perform them. As if my thought alone were enough. But a thought alone isn't quite enough; it's an impulse and not a commitment, a passing thing that doesn't take root unless you plant it and make it grow.

So I just thought about all this. And was very glad other people were saying Rosaries, and when I met them, I always asked that they pray for me.

Meanwhile, the problems I was having were growing more urgent. And I would talk to God about them. But I didn't say the Rosary.

And then I believe I was told to do it.

How was she told? Well, for that I encourage you to read the book (I'm not above dangling a tasty carrot). The problem Noonan details is a problem I have myself. It is so easy to think about something rather than to do it. However, through this passage (and the miracle that follows) John Paul II is reaching me through this book and calling me back to the rosary which I began saying again this morning on my way to work. It was once a steady habit, but fallen by the wayside somehow as things sometimes do.

Perhaps it also helps that Noonan was heavily influenced by Kevin Orlin Johnson's book Rosary, which also pulled me into the rosary soon after my conversion. I have never known anyone else who read it and so that helped get my attention. (Off topic is a question I always have meant to ask: does anyone else have this book and, if so, does their book smell of roses? I assume they somehow put the scent in the paper which is a nice touch but always wondered as I never could find any reference to it in the book credits.) [Update - it turns out no one else has had this experience except my family.]

Noonan also references others who have perspective and personal experiences such as George Wiegel, Michael Novak, Richard Neuhaus, and even actor Jim Caviezel who portrayed Jesus in The Passion of the Christ. The snippets that she quotes have made me interested in reading more indepth about John Paul II.

Go find this book and read it now!

UPDATE (part of the original review)

I have now finished the book and it holds up right through the end. To her credit, Noonan does not skirt the places where John Paul II was not perfect and which contributed to such problems in the American church as a "cardboard" Mass or the sex scandals. She examines the problems and the various degrees of blame which could be attributed to the areas where John Paul's lacked in leadership. I found especially interesting her theory of why the pope was so deficient in handling the sex scandal problem. It was a theory that I hadn't heard and one that some may say is too kind, however, I think it possibly is quite right.

However, this does not diminish his great overall achievements both for Noonan (and many, many others personally) and for the Church as a whole. The book ends on a note of JPII's legacy to Benedict XVI. I will leave it to you to see Noonan's nickname for Pope Benedict which I hadn't heard before but is so apt that I laughed with delight when I read it. Again, this book cannot be more highly recommended.

REREADING UPDATE

In the chapter "The Great Shame" where Noonan talks about John Paul's failings, in particular the sex scandal, she recounts being asked to speak at a meeting of Catholic conservatives held by Cardinal McCarrick and Bishop Gregory. Over a decade after the original meeting, with the knowledge of Cardinal McCarrick's true nature and behavior now revealed, it was chilling to read about his reassuring nods and kind smiles to some of her most heartfelt points about the victims and the Church. More than anything it reminded me of how well he masqueraded, as good predators do, as an understanding, caring person who is to be trusted.

Psalm 2: The Lord's Annointed King

When finding fault with the conspiracy ... against the Savior you have Psalm 2 ... which accuses the impious and those who act contrary to law.

Athanasius, On the Interpretation of the Psalms 14, 15

Psalm 2 is interesting because there are three ways to look at it. The first is as a secondary introduction to the psalms since it has no heading or author listed, as all other psalms do, except Psalm 1. It is of a category called the royal psalms which are concerned with the kinds of Judah who felt they were authorized and empowered as God's adopted sons, his representatives on Earth as it were. Finally, after the Babylonian exile, these psalms were viewed as promises of messianic hope and expectation. What the human kings couldn't do, God would do through the Messiah, his "Anointed One."

That's a lot to lay on a liturgical song, but then again, the Bible is the place where you find layer upon layer. Let's throw in another layer — what is the Holy Spirit saying to us today using Psalm 2?

Gerard van Honthorst,
King David Playing the Harp, 1622

Remember that at the time this text was written, we "Johnny-come-lately" Christians were the nations—outside the people of God, seeking to make our own way in the world. ...

We must still count ourselves on the side of the nations when we take up their banner of "freedom" from God's rule. Even Israel—the people of God‚ could think of God's bonds as restrictive chains and seek to throw them off. ... whenever we buy into the world's way of placing self and satisfaction before all else, we become the nations once again. ...

Whenever we read this psalm, we must be careful not to reduce it to a mere messianic prediction of the ultimate submission of the unbelieving nations to the authority of God's rule and kingdom. It is that, but it remains much more than that. ... it should remain for us who name the name of Jesus a powerful caution to lay down daily our own banners of personal freedom and self-satisfaction in order to "kiss the Son." When we do so, we avoid the path of destruction that Psalm 1 warns against, and we also discover that the imagined fetters and chains are instead the "cords of human kindness" and the "ties of love" with which God leads us into "the glorious freedom of the children of God" (Rom. 8:21).

Psalms Volume 1 (The NIV Application Commentary)

Sources are here and an index of psalm posts is here. 

A Movie You Might Have Missed #30 — The Mill and the Cross

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.

This film is a luminous masterpiece that is an art movie in every sense of the word. 

Painter Pieter Bruegel the Elder (Rutger Hauer) explains the meaning of his painting, The Procession to Calvary,  to his patron (Michael York) from within the painting itself. That is the description from the back of the DVD case which gripped my imagination and made me take it home. We were not disappointed. As Roger Ebert said, "If you see no more than the opening shots, you will never forget them."

This is an art movie in every sense of the word. Dialogue is spare, the pace is deliberate, and sometimes it can be difficult to tell where real life ends and the painting begins. Those elements contribute to this movie's power, as we are introduced to a dozen of the over 500 characters in the painting in an extraordinary blend of live action and special effects. As the artist imagines them coming to life with a new morning, we follow the characters to their eventual inclusion within the art. With careful scene framing and lighting as luminous as that of any painting, we truly felt as if we were within a painting.

Most of what I have said would not actually tempt me to watch the film. It must be experienced and is very difficult to describe. It came to my attention after being recommended as a contemplative piece during Lent by Joseph Sousanka, but I think this film stands on its own as a unique piece of art which anyone may appreciate. It certainly should fascinate anyone interested in the making or appreciation of either art or films.

A looking deeper hint — pay attention to how many times you see bread, whether being carried, eaten, or made. And then think of the Mill of God and the Cross of Christ, with all that implies for Catholics.

You will either love it or hate it, but you will not forget it. (And then you'll go to a museum.)

Pieter Bruegel's The Way to Calvary
via Wikipedia

Calories and morals

Calories are not the same as morals. No food can be either "naughty" or "virtuous." It's all just food.

Bee Wilson, First Bite

Wild Turkey

Plate 1 of The Birds of America by John James Audubon,
depicting a wild turkey

 

Psalm 1 — The Blessed and the Wicked

If you wish to declare someone blessed you learn how to do so and whom to call upon and the words to say in Psalm 1.  

Athanasius, On the Interpretation of the Psalms 15

I won't put the whole psalm every time, but for our first look, let's  have the whole thing. 

Keep in mind that this psalm is meant as a foundation to understanding the entire book of psalms. That was a new idea for me — the psalms were put by editors into specific order. Well, it seems obvious when you say it, but I've always just thought of them as a general collection. 

Let's begin!

¹ Blessed is the man
who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
    nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
² but his delight is in the law of the Lord,
    and on his law he meditates day and night.
³ He is like a tree
    planted by streams of water,
that yields its fruit in its season,
    and its leaf does not wither.
In all that he does, he prospers.

⁴ The wicked are not so,
    but are like chaff which the wind drives away.
⁵ Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
    nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
⁶ for the Lord knows the way of the righteous,
    but the way of the wicked will perish.

I always love any reference to the tree planted by streams of water, which pops up in various places in the Old Testament. It is a favorite image. Here there's a little extra interest because it is contrasted with the chaff later on. Of course, if a plant doesn't have enough water, what happens? It withers and eventually will disintegrate and blow away. If hard times come and you don't have deep roots in the water, that is your fate. If you aren't rooted in the solid worship and word of God that's what happens. 

 Let's get a bit of insight from some wise men who have meditated upon these words over time.

Hebrew text of Psalm 1:1-2

1:1a Blessed Is the Man

Foundational for the Book of Psalms, Basil the Great: Like the foundation in a house, the keel in a ship and the heart in a body, so is (Psalm 1 as a) brief introduction to the whole structure of the Psalms. For when David intended to purpose in the course of his speech to the combatants of true religion many painful tasks involving unmeasured sweats and toils, he showed first the happy end, that in the hope of the blessings reserve for us we might endure witout grief the sufferings of this life. Homilies on the Psalms 10.3

==========

The Crown to Be Conferred, Ambrose: What a delightfully apt beginning! Those who wish for a grand display and a great celebration to add glory to the games generally promise a prize. They make much of the honor of the crown to be conferred. All this is to make the contestants more eager to take part and to strain every nerve in order to win. This is what our Lord Jesus does. He promises us the glory of a heavenly kingdom, the sweetness of everlasting rest, the happiness of eternal life. Commentary on Twelve Psalms 1.13

1:4 Like Dust Blown by the Wind

Driven by Every Temptation, Chrysostom: Even as chaff lies exposed to the gusts of wind and is easily caught up and swept along, so is also the sinner driven about by every temptation; for while a sinner is at war with himself and bears the warfare about with him, what hope of safety does he possess; betrayed as he is at home, carrying with him that conscience that is a constant enemy? Homilies Concerning the Statues 8.4.

Psalms 1-50 (Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture)

This comment really struck home for me, thinking of the master gardener planting the tree deliberately and the idea of thriving where I am planted. This also resonates when I think of my gardening daughter, Rose's, care and nurturing of her plants and how she delights when they thrive under her carefully plan for the correct environment for each.

The faithful tree is not simply a wild oak that takes its position by happenstance. Those who delight in Yaweh's torah are "planted" (a passive participle) — as by a master gardener — in the place where they can receive the nourishment they need to flourish. Like a tree planted in a conservatory, well watered and provided with a protective climate, the leaves of this tree never wither, and is able to remain consistently faithful.

Psalms Volume 1 (The NIV Application Commentary)

Here's a lovely reflection from a more modern wise man that takes us into considering how God provided for Jesus' upbringing with a righteous man.

Psalm 1 presents the classic image of the ‘just' man. We might well think of it as a portrait of the spiritual figure of Saint Joseph. A just man, it tells us, is one who maintains living contact with the word of God, who ‘delights in the law of the Lord’ (v. 2). He is like a tree, planted beside the flowing waters, constantly bringing forth fruit. The flowing waters, from which he draws nourishment, naturally refer to the living word of God, into which he sinks the roots of his being. God’s will is not a law imposed on him from without, it is ‘joy.’

Pope Benedict XVI, Jesus of Nazareth: The Infancy Narratives

Sources are here and an index of psalm posts is here. 

1914 Ivory Soap Ad

Jesse Wilcox Smith, illustrator
via My Daily Art Display

 

A Movie You Might Have Missed #29: Stranger Than Fiction

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.

This movie is an unexpected delight, as unique and original in its own way as About a Boy was, and that is high praise indeed. It's one of my top ten movies.

 29. Stranger Than Fiction

Harold Crick (Will Ferrell) is an IRS auditor with an incredibly dull life. One day he begins hearing a woman's voice narrating his every action. Unbeknownst to Crick, he actually is the protagonist in author Karen Eiffel's (Emma Thompson) latest novel. We are shown dual realities as Ferrell tries to discover why he is hearing the voice and Eiffel investigates method after method of killing off her character. When Ferrell hears the voice mention his impending death the search takes on a new urgency. He  enlists the aid of a literary professor (Dustin Hoffman) and life takes new turns as he begins to incorporate the professor's advice into his life.

This movie tells an original and delightful story while pointing out that things like a warm cookie, the touch of a hand, a hug, or a little act of kindness can transform our lives and make them worth living. It is also part of the genius of this movie, that such hackneyed phrases can take on a new and redemptive life when the viewer is seeing them ... and that is because they are true.

(My full review is here. After you've watched the movie, you may care to hear Scott and me discuss it at A Good Story is Hard to Find.)

Tahoto of Kogenji Temple in autumn

Takayoshi Endou, One of the most famous temples in Tamba,
the Tahoto of Kogenji Temple in autumn.

 

Changing what you eat

We mostly eat what we like. Before you can change what you eat, you need to change what you like.

Bee Wilson, First Bite

August Afternoon

 

August Afternoon, Appledore, Childe Hassam

Queen Elizabeth, Empress of Austria and Queen of Hungary

 

Portrait of Queen Elizabeth (1899). Gyula Benczúr.
Via Books and Art.

Do click through the link for a little more information about Queen Elizabeth.

The virtue of keeping on top of our moods

The practice of charity involves a whole series of virtues. These virtues support and defend charity. They include loyalty, gratitude, mutual respect, friendship, deference, affability, refinement ... If we are to live the Lord's New Commandment, we will often need to be on top of our moods. We will have to make an effort to be cordial, to spread good cheer, to be optimistic. It may be more natural for us to act in just the opposite way, to give in to critical spirit, to let slip harsh words, to use bad language, to become easily annoyed ... These are signs of a lack of supernatural struggle.

Francis Fernandez, In Conversation with God, vol. 5

The Psalms - initial notes and sources

David dictating the Psalms

Recently my daughter Rose picked up a translation of St. Augustine's commentary on the first 50 psalms or so. My interest was piqued and I began thinking about reading through the psalms, along with a bunch of commentary — a very casual Bible study, in other words. And what better to do than to bring you all along for the ride?

There are a few psalms which I love, but in general I've not paid much attention to them. However, Athanasius's word below strike home. So I feel inspired to dive in deeper.

All the books of Scripture, both Old Testament and New, are inspired by God and useful for instruction (2 Tim 3:16), as it is written; but to those who really study it, the Psalter yields especial treasure. … Each of these books, you see, is like a garden which grows one special kind of fruit; by contrast, the Psalter is a garden which, besides its special fruit, grows also some those of all the rest.

And herein is yet another strange thing about the Psalms. In the other books of Scripture we read or hear the words of holy men as belonging only to those who spoke them, not at all as though they were our own … [however with] Psalms it is as though it were one’s own words that one read; and anyone who hears them is moved at heart, as though they voiced for him his deepest thoughts.

[T]he Psalms thus serve him who sings them as a mirror, wherein he sees himself and his own soul ...

Just as in a mirror, the movements of our own souls are reflected in them and the words are indeed our very own, given us to serve both as a reminder of our changes of condition and as a pattern and model for the amendment of our lives. ...

For I think that in the words of this book all human life is covered, with all its states and thoughts, and that nothing further can be found in Man.

Athanasius, Letter to Marcellinus on the Interpretation of the Psalms

Hebrew Poetry 

Let's take a super quick look at the way Hebrew poetry works because that's what the psalms are, after all.

Hebrew poetry doesn’t rhyme. It uses parallels to reinforce thoughts and make impact with creative repetition. You thought free verse was something new? Nope, it’s from Mesopotamian times and probably even before then. They’re just the first ones who wrote their songs down.

There are different sorts of parallels but these are easy to pick up. I don’t love poetry and I don’t love free verse but I began to enjoy Hebrew poetry once I discovered those parallels.

My mouth shall speak words of wisdom,
my heart shall offer insights.

Psalm 49:4

The second line above, parallels the point of the first, but by repeating the thought in different words which enrich and beautify.

A second method, of course, is to parallel by using contrasting or negative imagery to make the first point even stronger.

The wise heart turns to the right;
the foolish heart to the left.

Ecclesiastes 10:2

Last but not least is a method where the second part completes the thought from the first line.

As the deer longs for streams of water,
so my soul longs for you, O God.

Psalm 42:2

Adapted from Thus Sayeth the Lord by Julie Davis

Sources  

• The Book of Psalms: Translation with Commentary by Robert Alter
  Hebrew scholar Robert Alter's translations routinely made the top ten list every time one was published. No translation and commentary I have read has so vividly brought alive scripture. The commentary is cultural and literary rather than religious, just fyi, but that simply enhances it for the reader who already has a religious grounding.  
• Psalms 1-50 (Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture) edited by Craig A. Blaising, Carmen S. Hardin
  A truly stunning commentary consisting solely of Church Fathers. There are more than sixty-five authors and over 160 works excerpted in this commentary, some of which appear for the first time in English here.
• Psalms 51-150 (Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture) edited by Quentin F. Wesselschmidt. Vol. 2 of the psalms for the series. 
• Expositions of the Psalms 1-32 (Vol. I) (The Works of Saint Augustine)
  The inspiration for beginning this whole thing! It's a combination of essays and sermons. I am more drawn to the sermons which are more casual, but we'll see what hits me as we go along.
• Psalms Volume 1 (The NIV Application Commentary)
  This series is so thorough about ancient sources, very even handed, and really good about providing a way for insights into modern life via ancient text.
• The Navarre Bible: The Psalms and The Song of Solomon
  Great for the fact that they include so many comments from the Fathers of the Church, Catholic saints and popes and great thinkers, as well as including pertinent bits from the Catechism and other Church documents. 
• NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible
  Provides  context on the customs and culture of the Hebrew people and the ancient peoples around them. This is based on history, archaeology, and literature of the ancient world.
  
• Food for the Soul
  In his inimitable style, Kreeft offers reflections on each of the Sunday Mass readings, excepting the psalms (which I wish he'd included). These amount to a series of mini-homilies on each reading and I like them a lot so far. My review is here.
• The Word of the Lord
  Biblical scholar Dr. John Bergsma provides commentary on each Sunday's selection of readings. Whether you are a homilist seeking insight into the meaning of difficult scriptural passages or a Catholic desiring a deepened understanding of the readings you hear at Mass, The Word of the Lord series is an invaluable guide. My review is here.

An index of psalms studied is here.

Big Bend National Park in 1899

Man sitting on a jonboat in Santa Elena Canyon in what is now Big Bend National Park
but was then unmapped territory during a U.S.G.S. survey back in 1899.
Via Traces of Texas

 

Every day of my life is a page of this book

So to make sure that there are no surprises at the last moment, I often like to take this book in my own hands — this book that I'm in the process of writing, whether I like it or not, as long as I live. I like to take it up and open it and let my soul read it. And that's very easy and very useful to do at the time of prayer or or examining one's conscience. I like to think that every day of my life is a page of this book; and when I begin a day what I have in front of me is a blank sheet of paper. And sometimes I run quickly through the pages already written, and allow the blank pages to pass through my fingers — the pages which are as yet unwritten because the time hasn't yet come. And in a funny way some pages always stay on my fingers: they are the days I don't know whether I'll get to write, because I don't know when the Lord will show me this book for the last time. ...

The "name of the game" is examination of conscience. You will gain a great deal of knowledge of yourself and of your character and your life. You will teach yourself to love God and to pin down your desire to make good use of your days by making clear, effective resolutions.

S. Canals, Jesus as Friend
via In Conversation with God, vol. 5

A Movie You Might Have Missed #28: Lagaan

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.

I am hard put to it to think of any four hour movie I'd recommend. When I add that it is a Bollywood sports film, that just increases the odds against it. Yet this movie's charm is undeniable.

A small Indian village battles a sadistic British officer during the time of the Raj. He has imposed high taxes or "lagaan" which a prolonged drought makes it impossible to pay. Rallied by one independent soul, Buvan, the villagers find themselves in a winner-take-all cricket match. You might want to treat this one like a mini-series as the 4-hour length that would make Martin Scorsese envious. However, I will add that Tom and I never regretted a minute of it.

This is a delightful story of the triumph of the human spirit, complete with Bollywood dancing and singing that moves the story along in the best musical style. I will add that, by the end, you will have a fairly decent understanding of cricket. I will also add that, noticing hair as I do, it was rather painful whenever the young villager who pushes everyone on to fight for their rights had his head uncovered. Possibly the worst haircut ever. As Tom said, "He looks like a young Vulcan." Other than that though ... enjoy!

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

Scott and I discuss Lagaan at A Good Story is Hard to Find.
Hannah and Rose discuss Lagaan at An American's Guide to Bollywood.

If you want your children to eat better ...

If you want your children to eat better, don't tell them what to do. Eat better yourself.

Bee Wilson, First Bites

Of course, this holds true for much more than eating. If you want your kids to live their faith and to love it, first do it yourself.

Monterey Coast

 Monterey Coast, Theodore Wores

Updated: Finally — The McCarrick Report

Yesterday the Vatican  finally released their report on  former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick who also was a sexual predator. This is a really lengthy document and I have not had a chance to read it but I can point you to a few places that I'm finding useful in beginning to get a handle on it.

I'll add to this as I come across other sources I like. I'm swamped with work right now so my time is a bit limited.

National Catholic Register -  they have a link to the full text and feature the Vatican's summary of the document.

Morning Glory radio show - I listen to the podcast. They will unpack the report a little at a time for several days in a row. They spent the first fifteen minutes today getting started.

UPDATED

Bishop Barron on The McCarrick Report - listen or watch here. An excellent and insightful discussion.