Hell Burns

BEST THEOLOGY OF THE BODY POETRY SLAM EVER

2012-01-29T20:10:00.000-06:00

Not that we have unreasonable expectations or too-high standards, but we gotta do this as men and women of God....

MOVIES: "THE DESCENDANTS"

2012-01-21T13:45:00.000-06:00

I came to bury Caesar, not to praise him, and wound uppraising him. I had my skewers ready and planned to make shishkabob out of thisfilm. But I cannot. Why was I all set to hate on this film? I thought it wasJust Another Sad Tale of a Dysfunctional Family Where Dad Is Once AgainEmasculated And For That We’re Going To Give It An Oscar. I thought the titlewas super-lame as well. It sounded like: Just Couldn’t Think of Another Word For“Family,” So Used Thesarus.com And Chose The First One. That’s not true either.The title is totally appropriate.

Since the trailer already gave away a key revealingplot-point (bad trailer! bad trailer!)--well, actually it gave away the “incitingincident” that kicks off the action—so will I. “The Descendants” is about acuckolded husband, Matt King (George Clooney). It’s ALL about that. Except his wifeis in a coma when he finds out. My fellow-screenwriting buddy insists thatthere is no arc for Matt, but I think there is. (Writer/director AlexanderPayne does not have huge arcs for his characters, much like life. They tend tobudge just a little bit.) Clooney’s character must choose how he will now FEELabout his wife (he can’t DEAL with her), and how he will DEAL with her lover.It’s a story of the choices surrounding FORGIVENESS. Who will we forgive? When?How? Why?

It’s clear that Matt was a neglectful husband and father,having been married to his work as a real estate lawyer. He seems to have acloser relationship with his rebellious teenage daughter, Alexandra (theamazing Shailene Woodley) than his precocious ten-year-old daughter, Scottie(the ever-so-natural Amara Miller), which seems to indicate that his distancingwas a gradual thing. But his wife’s accident (that induced the coma) woke himup to his sorry state of affairs (pun intended) and he is doing his darndest tobe a good parent now. However, dear old Dad vacillates between being a wuss ANDsticking up for his affronted manhood (which includes appropriating hispaternal authority), in many different ways.

This movie is incredibly tender (amongst all the brattiness andfoul profanity). It is a real THEOLOGY OF THE BODY movie (with reservations) inmore ways than one. First of all, Matt’s wife, Elizabeth, is in a coma for theentire movie—lying there in her hospital bed. And everyone TALKS to her becauseit’s HER and EVERYONE knows that. Elizabeth IS her body, her body IS Elizabeth—righttill one of the closing shots (don’t wanna spoil).

Marriage is SACRED in “The Descendants.” To be unfaithful isa terrible, terrible thing. (The teenage daughter gets this in a big way, too.)However, one might argue that “love” is treated as something more to do withfeelings. For example, it’s very important to the characters if someone REALLY “loves”someone else (whether or not they’re having a fling with them). But love andmarriage are more than these deep-seated, jene sais quoi feelings. What if one REALLY, REALLY “loved” MORE than one person?Should marriage then be “open”? What about polyamory? Polygamy? And yet, sincewe—particularly in the West—have adopted the “romantic love” version of marriagefor centuries now, the question of choosing one person based on attraction/admirationand how that plays out is a very legitimate concern. Thornton Wilder’s play “OurTown,” and BJP2G’s “Love and Responsibility” comes in very handy here!

Matt is unselfish enough to want to follow what he believesElizabeth “would have wanted.” BUT what if the one you love wants things thataren’t right?

Smarmy teens that know more than the parents? Check! But Dadengages richly with his teen daughter who really does love her Dad. Cussingteens (and kids)? Check! But I’m afraid that’s the reality in many, manyfamilies today.

Not a movie for teens, methinks. The message is: The teensare in control. You will get what you want (from your parents) in the end. Weare living in post-parental-authority times. And not only that. The CLEARmessage is: You can be as wild as you want as a teenager. You’re SUPPOSED to bebad. Do anything you want. Drinking, drugs (not too many hints at teen sex--almost avoiding?). Nothingbad will happen to you. You will “outgrow” it unscathed. (Bad things onlyhappen to parents and adults!) Once again, Hollywood chants its mantra: NO CONSEQUENCES.

Very interesting scene when family is gathered in a hotelroom and Scottie wants to watch the adult channel. She begins describing howher same-age girlfriend watches porn all the time in the basement. With boysover. Before Matt can take charge, Alexandra lays into Scottie and handles thesituation. This scene is horrifying, and in some ways treated lightly, butthere’s also a sharp point being made. No spiritual arguments are made, just anextremely crude “why porn is bad” diatribe.

I have problems with virtually naked teenage girls in barely-therestring bikinis in films. I know that’s Hawaii (see also “Soul Surfer”), butthere’s a huge diff between walking by (or even ogling) half-naked girls at abeach setting (still uncomfortable with THAT) and prolonged, voyeuristic gazingat a larger-than-life screen. True, these gals are RAIL THIN (that’s ANOTHERissue), but what makes it sooo creepy is how young they are. Like, hey,filmmaker, what’s your point here? (Would also like guys to weigh in here, please…??)

However, among my various reservations about this film,everyone is treated as a full-blown PERSON. No one is one-dimensional. No oneis just a problem or an obstacle or a story device or a cheap laugh. Even thechildren and teens. Even side characters with one line (e.g., teenage kid whoexpresses his heartfelt compassion for Matt at a gathering). Tremendous human dignityhere.

I completely forgot who the director was till the credits,and I see ALEXANDER PAYNE (UCLA grad, I might add, my screenwriting almamater). He did “Election,” “About Schmidt,” “Sideways.” I had been thinking: “Who the heck is doingall these unblinking-but-not-uncomfortable, exact, exact, precise, precise,impeccable scenes?” And I just broke out in this big smile because ALEXANDERPAYNE HAS ARRIVED! He has a much brighter view of humanity now! But he hasretained all his dark humor and distinct style. Maybe he was “practicing” withall those other films, just like I believe Terrence Malick was “practicing” for“Tree of Life.”

In conclusion? Give this movie all the Oscars you want.

OTHER STUFF:

--I have so much more to say about this film (and no time towrite it)! Always the sign of a worthwhile film.

--Left theater uplifted.

--Massive, unartful, necessary and droning narration at thevery beginning (Matt) and then he pretty much shuts up.

--“Descendants” takes its time in a very, very good way.

--Super-duper art direction.

--Alexandra’s boyfriend is one of the FUNNIEST characters I’veseen in a long time. And the grandfather. I LAUGHED ALOUD. HARD.

--Undertheme: sale of a huge plot of land in Hawaii. But it’snot a simplistic “those evil developers” situation.

--We always hurt the ones welove.

--Lovely scene on beachwhere Dad is telling stories about Mom.

--NOT a lot of technology,cellphones, media. Perhaps even unrealistically so?

--Only a family can hate like that.

--Family: the good, the bad, the funny, the heart-wrenching.

--Clooney at his serious/comedic BEST.

--But of course, if Payne wants to show us the darkunderbelly of human nature in those other movies: Go for it. Evil doesn’t justreside in the Hitlers of this world. Ordinary people can be little Hitlers,too. And Mother Teresas.

--Pretty much: No. False. Notes.

--Infidelity can be “smelled.” Physically and spiritually.

--We are “entrusted” with land and things and people.

--Real people! Acne, Alzheimers, imperfect teeth.

--GREAT LINE: “What makes the women in my life want to destroythemselves?”

--GREAT DIALOGUE: Matt: “Nothing ‘just happens.’” Brian:“Everything ‘just happens.’”

--Some of the close-ups of Matt are reminiscent of “ThePassion of Joan of Arc.” I’m not kidding. Would NOT be surprised if that’s whatPayne was going for.

--Luscious Hawaiian backdrop (that digital just can’tcapture, sorrrrrrry!!!!), BUT the soft Hawaiian guitar and singing is anelegant accompaniment.

--Every single actor deserves an Oscar.

BEST CATHOLIC NEWS SOURCES

2012-01-21T01:10:00.001-06:00

Why keep up with "Catholic news" from (trusted, authentic) Catholic sources? Why also get "secular" news from a (trusted, authentic) Catholic perspective? (If you're reading a Catholic blog, I'm probably LITERALLY preaching to the choir, but here goes.

1. There's a lot going on in the Church and in the world today, good and bad. We just can't afford not to know. Ignorance is not bliss, it's blindness. It's not knowing where we're going or why. Lack of knowledge leaves us open to be easily manipulated, misled, disillusioned.

2. There's a lot going on in the intersection of the Church and the world today, good and bad.

3. If we don't keep up, we'll drift from our Faith and suddenly be surprised by developments and not comprehend them. Because we weren't keeping up. If we love something, we want to know it always better and keep pace with it. If we love Jesus' Church, we'll do the same.

4. We need knowledge first and then wisdom to understand the times we're living in and the challenges and opportunities for the Faith.

"The sons of Issachar, who were men that had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do...." 1 Chronicles 12:32

5. Jesus admonished those who couldn't "read the signs of the times."

What are some top sources for Catholic news? Here are my picks in order of my preference. (I checked with two mainstream Catholic news radio personalities, a Catholic newspaper editor and young adult Catholic journalist to get their input as well.)

These are not just websites, but can be followed/subscribed to on both Twitter and Facebook (you can usually just go to the site and sign up from there, as well as follow by email: they'll send updates into your email inbox).

www.Twitter.com is my #1 source of breaking Catholic news. Wanna get started on Twitter? It's pathetically simple to sign up. Then just "follow" me: @SrHelenaBurns and click on "Lists" at the top of my Twitter page. I only have one list: "news-secular-and-Catholic." Click on it and voila! You are instantly following 150 top Catholic (and secular news sites), as well as some very informed individual Catholics (including bloggers) who will keep YOU informed. I don't agree with ALL the sources/folks on that list, just so you know. I personally read "everything." However, the following sources are vetted, and I recommend 'em:
www.CatholicWorldReport.com (from Ignatius Press--thoughtful in-depth articles about stuff I promise you you didn't know and need to. They JUST discontinued their fine, fine print magazine which was my all-time favorite Catholic periodical.) (can subscribe via email) See also: www.IgnatiusInsight.com

www.RelevantRadio.com (Listen online!) Hi-quality 24hr Catholic radio station mostly in Chicago & Midwest. Constant secular and Catholic news updates as well as in-depth instruction, talk shows and news analysis from Emmy-winning journalist, Sheila Liaugminas (show: "A Closer Look"). Check out her blog: www.inforumblog.com

www.EWTN.com Global Catholic TV and radio network. Multimedia, tons of resources, streaming online. Also in Spanish. (Full disclosure: I'm on their Sonrise Morning Show once a month--radio.)

www.NCRegister.com National Catholic Register (can subscribe via email) print edition also available

www.Zenit.org (daily headlines from Vatican--unofficial, but quick & easy way to get Vatican news)

www.News.VA/en The new, revamped Vatican media site!!! Includes the official Vatican Newspaper (L'Osservatore Romano), Vatican Information Service, Fides New Agency, Vatican Radio, etc.

Blessed James Alberione reading his favorite newspaper:
L'Osservatore Romano (with Bro. Silvio de Blasio, SSP)

Below is L'Osservatore Romano (the official Vatican Newspaper, I believe it's weekly in English). Print edition is well worth the subscription price. It was printed in English in the USA (for USA and Canada) for a little while, but is now mailed directly from the Vatican. Full texts of Holy Father's talks and doings and other important stuff from the Vatican Offices.

L'Osservatore Romano

Via del Pellegrino
00120 Vatican City
Tel. +39 06 698.99484 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting +39 06 698.99484 end_of_the_skype_highlighting begin_of_the_skype_highlighting +39 06 698.99484 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting +39 06 698.99484 end_of_the_skype_highlighting end_of_the_skype_highlighting
Fax. +39 06 698.85164
Email. subscriptions@ossrom.va

www.CatholicNewWorld.com This is Chicago's Archdiocesan newspaper. Subscribe to your own diocese's! You'll get international, national and local Catholic news. (Full disclosure: I'm the movie reviewer for Catholic New World.)

www.OriginsOnline.com Weekly news from the U.S. Bishops (important statements from Bishops individually and as a whole). Pricey, but worth it. Print or online.

www.CatholicNews.com This is the user-friendly news service of the U.S. Bishops. This website compiles a lot of news resources, including movie reviews (which are short, dry and focus mostly on what is appropriate for children or family viewing). It includes links to top news stories from Origins and international Church news. See at bottom of website: www.InterMirifica.net --a int'l Catholic multimedia directory!

www.LifeSiteNews.com A lot of my trusted Catholic sources think this site is a little radical, sensational and inaccurate, but boy does LifeSiteNews crank out pro-life news in a constant, exciting fashion. They REALLY know how to use new media and graphic arts. I often hear about important life issues news from them first. Perhaps they're just moving so fast they're not fact checking. Which, of course, is no excuse. :]

www.CatholicNewsAgency.com (top stories) (can subscribe via email--it's at bottom R of website)

www.MarsHillAudio.org This is a monthly NPR-style audio magazine (CD or mp3-download subscription, well worth the shekels, about $40 a year) that keeps you up on the latest books (often by Christians) examining our culture under many different aspects. Like, they interview the authors. MHA is not Catholic, but very Catholic friendly.

www.EnvoyMagazine.com Wicked fun, non-highbrow Apologetics. Gorgeous graphic design.

www.MercatorNet.com Weird title, good info. Dedicated to any issue dealing with human dignity. In-depth and thoughtful digest.

www.LumenChristi.org Like Philosophy? Me, too!!! Watch world-class Catholic (and other) philosophers on video. This amazing Institute (set up by Cardinal George at the University of Chicago, his alma mater) is revitalizing Catholic philosophy. Kind of a think tank. If you live in Chicago you can go to these talks in person. FREE.

www.BooksandCulture.com Just like it says. It's a Christian review from www.IntervarsityPress.com Not high-brow, but definitely meant for ministry and often examining intersection of pop culture and faith. You can get their e-newsletter or print edition. Or both.

www.OSV.com (Our Sunday Visitor) Weekly online and print. Looking for a FUN, positive, family-oriented, EASY-READ-but-still-informative Catholic news source? Look no further. Best of its kind.

www.GetReligion.org One of my consultants swears by this site. It's where religion journalists and editors go to vent. And analyze religious stories in the news.

www.CatholicCulture.org (top stories) (I've never used it, by all 4 of my "consultants" do)

www.CatholicTV.com (out of Boston) 24 hr, streaming online.

www.NETTV.net (out of Brooklyn) 24 hr, streaming online.

www.CatholicVote.org

www.CatholicExchange.com Jam-packed with Catholic stuff. (Full disclosure: they post my movie reviews.)

Oh yes, and a last-but-not-least reason to keep up with Catholic news:
Papa B is asking us to be "an engaged, articulate and well-informed Catholic laity"
specifically in the United States! He said this to a group of U.S. Bishops on their ad limina visit (Jan. 2012)
because of how religious freedom is being threatened in this country.

For another time: RECOMMENDED CATHOLIC BLOGGERS!!!

MARK WAHLBERG ON FAITH AND PRAYER

2012-01-17T00:16:00.000-06:00

Nice--but dude, where is the ACCENT???
(I should talk. I've lost mine.)

THEOLOGY OF THE BODY. HE SAW THE LIGHT.

2012-01-13T22:38:00.000-06:00

Strongly dislike this guy's other 16,000,000 hits "Yes2Jesus No2Religion" video, but love this one (Theology of the Body):

MODERN ANNUNCIATION BY GOTTFRIED HELNWEIN

2012-01-13T16:34:00.000-06:00

MOVIES: "MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE--GHOST PROTOCOL"

2012-01-08T13:17:00.000-06:00

“Mission: Impossible--Ghost Protocol” is a perfect action-thriller flick. A. It’s slaying at the box office, too, which shows that audiences are paying attention. Tom Cruise is back, he’s still got it (in spades), and really pulls and keeps the whole project together. He doesn’t swagger, but he leads his MI team with “hunches,” bravery and physical prowess. There’s something still very youthful about Cruise, even though he’s starting to imitate Wise Mark Harmon Facial Expressions and “eye acting.”

The premise: The MI team, while trying to prevent rogue terrorists (wait, aren’t they all rogue?)…. Let me rephrase. The MI team, while trying to prevent individual terrorists (as opposed to terrorist States) from sparking nuclear war, is intercepted by said individual terrorists who blow up part of the Kremlin. The upshot is that the Russians think the Americans did it. Ah, yes. We miss those Cold War days, don’t we? We were just so well matched: the Russkies and the Yanks. What a clever way to revive the old enmity--although the film is careful to say several times that there’s been a BIG mistake: “We are NOT enemies.”Are we listening, Mr. Putin?

The MI team consists of Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise), William Brandt (Jeremy Renner, whose acting falters a bit: too casual, too flip for the part), Jane Carter (a tough but feminine, convincing, best-actor-of-the-bunch Paula Patton), and Brit Benji Dunn (Simon Pegg, who plays a hilarious, somewhat cowardly geek, glued to his computer).The story is set in Budapest, Moscow, Dubai and Mumbai. The pacing is perfect. Perfect and seamless from the winsome prison bust that springs Ethan and his lovable oaf friend, Bogdan (Frank Sinatra is key to these scenes), to the heart-stopping human fly maneuvers Ethan must perform on the outside of the world’s tallest building, Burj Khalifa, in Dubai.

Nothing seems ridiculous or over the top in MIGP. There is a calm groundedness, humanity and humility pervading the excitement. And when Cruise explains it all to us with his intense, commanding presence, we just go with it. Women will love MIGP because of the LACK of gratuitous, mindless explosions and chases. There ARE explosions and chases (very cool ones, I might add, one involving the device of a sandstorm) but they MAKE SENSE. I wouldn’t doubt that J. J. Abrams’ (Bad Robot Productions) genius may be at work here. Even when things get a little overblown (I’m no spoiler!), you really won’t care because you’ve suspended your disbelief permanently in these expert filmmakers’ hands.

And it’s FUNNY. I mean, really funny. In all the right places. The agents fail a lot in MIGP. Things do NOT go smoothly at any point. Sometimes they lose nerve. They’re humans, not machines. This is such a welcome change in action movies! There’s an earnest, average Joe, underdog aura here.

OTHER STUFF:

--The gadgets are cooler than Bond’s.

--A lot of the fun is in the little details.

--See Tom run. And run and run and run and run and run.

--Um, I did not count ONE swear word. Not even “damn” or “hell.” And swearing would have been mighty appropriate in even one of these sticky situations. AND the name of the Lord was NOT taken in vain! Whoop! (When good men lead—including in Hollywood—good things happen. Thanks, guys. I also think family men are more sensitive about these things—directors like Abrams, Nolan, Spielberg, etc.) Also, very little boobs and gore. Pretty “family-friendly” action film.

--Very creative predicaments.

--Budapest, Moscow, Dubai, Mumbai: beautiful cities!

--Most unnecessary line of dialogue: “I. Need. That. Briefcase.”

--Best use of a car’s air bag in a film. Ever.

--Too bad Oscar doesn’t care about action-thrillers. Sigh.

--Dos Equis! Dos Equis!

--Love the old-time “Mission Impossible” music, graphics and cinematography at beginning….

--MIGP: brains and brawn.

--Catch the long DEAD SILENCE scene. Awesome.

--“Our media is no more truthful than yours.” –Russian to Tom Cruise.

--Good cat fight with unexpected ending.

--Is that how people park their cars in Mumbai?

--Moreau looks like a 14-year-old baby doll assassin.

--MIGP is devoid of snarky one-liners! MIGP is simply devoid of snark all together! Hip, hip hooray!

--The amazing Brad Bird directs (who woulda thunk it?)—yes, Brad Bird of stellar animated films fame: (“The Incredibles,” “Up,” “Ratatouille”). I guess a good story teller is a good story teller is a good story teller.

--Agent Jane Carter actually takes off her high heels to run! What a concept!

--Did anyone else think of Steve Jobs seeing Tom in the dark hoodie?

--The very end is lame and tame, opening the way for a sequel, but after such a sharp film, couldn’t it have been a little more snappy?

2012-01-05T00:02:00.000-06:00

"COURAGEOUS" DVD AVAILABLE JANUARY 17!

2012-01-03T12:26:00.001-06:00

What is "Courageous"? Only THE most Theology of the Body movie for guys EVER....

For more information on the movie, please visit

http://www.providentfilms.org/courageous/

http://www.courageousthemovie.com/

http://www.courageousCATHOLICresources.com/

WHO ARE THE DAUGHTERS OF ST. PAUL?

2012-01-01T01:36:00.002-06:00

MOST IMPORTANT INFO YOU COULD EVER GIVE A TEEN

2011-12-27T01:27:00.001-06:00

(also available as print magazine)

"For Guys/Girls"
100% pro-life & according to Catholic Church teaching.
Includes latest scientific data.

http://www.humanlife.org/Resources/J4G/J4G%20WEB.pdf

SANTA'S A CANADIAN

2011-12-23T12:38:00.001-06:00

MOVIES: "THE MUPPETS"

2011-12-20T18:26:00.000-06:00

Everyone (who hasn’t seen the movie and loves the Muppets) wants to know: Is “The Muppets” movie any good? Well, I think so. Not outstanding, but good enough. For those of us who grew up with the Muppets, they are magical—a part of our shared pop culture memory bank. They burst on the scene with “Sesame Street” (which my friends and I were too old for by then, and which, OF COURSE, we didn’t watch secretly just to see Kermit and friends). The Muppets also had brilliant specials like “The Frog Prince.”

Then, lo and behold, they got their own prime time show (“The Muppet Show” 1976-1981) which would guest star all the 70’s biggest celebs. But we didn’t care about the human characters, we only cared about the endearing, guilelessly clever FELT personalities: Animal, the Swedish Chef, Pigs in Space, Gonzo, Beaker, the irrepressible Miss (“moi”) Piggy, Fozzie Bear, and the list goes on and on. It was incredibly good, clean fun. (Some have—admiringly--talked about the Muppets “adult” subversiveness. Um, no. It wasn’t there. Not in the 70’s anyway.)

When Jim Henson, the Muppets’ inventor, died at the young age of fifty-four in 1990, he signed over his creations to Disney, believing they were the company that could preserve and continue the legacy. Disney proved their mettle by releasing “The Muppets Christmas Carol “(based on Dickens) musical in 1992. I’ve seen ALL the “Christmas Carols” except Jim Carrey’s and I love the Muppets’ the best. I dare you not to bawl when Tiny Tim (Kermit’s [as Bob Cratchit] frog progeny) starts singing.

Disney released 2011’s “The Muppets,” due to the instigation of Jason Segel (TV’s “How I Met Your Mother,” and the big screen’s “Forgetting Sarah Marshall”), who is a life-long Muppet fan and general puppet aficionado. When Segel first pitched his idea for a Muppet movie comeback of sorts, the execs at Disney thought he was joking. But he persisted and not only wrote the script, but starred in it as Gary, (along with fellow Homo sapiens Amy Adams, perfectly cast as his girlfriend, and Chris Cooper, perfectly cast as Tex, an evil oil baron—“maniacal laugh, maniacal laugh”).

The story is precisely a “comeback” story. The Muppets have been forgotten by the public and are estranged from each other. They are all doing rather likely (and a few unlikely) jobs (Gonzo is a toilet magnate), suited to their characters. But the old Muppet studios are in disrepair and about to be demolished by Tex. Gary and his bland little Muppet brother, Walter (yes, they are an interspecies family), set out to save the theater by reuniting the Muppets and organizing a telethon.The jokes are pretty funny, the Muppets are truly themselves, but the story is rather predictable, and at times, boring. However, there are some delightful surprises along the way and at the end. Miss Piggy towers over the rest of Muppetdom, as usual, and is riveting as always. Is there a hint of “Brady-Bunch-Movie-in-the-Grungy-90’s” cynicism? Maybe, but I don’t think so. The movie actually seemed to be directed towards kids, to tell you the truth!

The bizarre story of human Gary and Muppet Walter didn’t cut it for me and something seemed distinctly out of whack with it and unsatisfying from a storytelling point of view, but I can’t quite put my finger on what was amiss. It seemed like we didn’t need Gary AND Walter. Just one of them.The songs (some are old Muppet classics) are fantastic and Muppety. There’s a certain plaintive innocence and hopefulness and melancholy and bittersweet sanguinity and utter sincerity to a Muppet song. They must be very difficult to write/compose. (And not to be missed is Chris Cooper’s brief rap song—but I really don’t want to give too much away.) Oh, and don’t miss the bajillions of cameos (several uncredited). Did you catch David Grohl???The far out 60’s psychedelic tie-dye band was a fun throwback with all those good vibrations.

But you know what occurred to me VERY strongly while watching “The Muppets”? No, you don’t. So here goes: Nostalgia is NOT Christian. We Christians are people of the present and future with a very healthy “hermeneutic of continuity” with tradition/Tradition, the past and history, but we are not nostalgic. Nostalgia is a strictly “worldly” sentiment like John the Beloved describes:

“For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.” –John 2:16-17

This is NOT the Bible passage I was looking for. I can’t find it. Hey, I’m Catholic. It’s something about wasting our time pining away for bygone illusions or something. That’s what I mean by “nostalgia.”I'll bet Pope Benedict said something about "nostalgia" and that he agrees with me. Yeah.

And I just want to go on record to say that the dancing in the streets finale was WAAAAAAY better than “Slumdog Millionaire,” “T-mobile,” or ANY other train station dancing flashmob, with, PERHAPS, the exception of “The Fisher Prince.” But only PERHAPS, because the dance number at end of “Muppets” continued and completed the story sooooo well and left us on such a high note.

Someone once said that Jim Henson’s genius was to “make the good guy interesting.”

My question is: Did a new generation of potential Muppet fanboys and fangirls LIKE the movie? GET the movie? Fall in LOVE with the Muppets BECAUSE of the movie? In a way, that’s all that matters.

OTHER STUFF:

--The evil “Moopets” tribute band! “The Moopets are a hard, cynical act for a hard, cynical age!” --Tex

--There’s a fun, non-sardonic self-consciousness that they are all IN a movie. Like, they talk about the budget and montages. Ha ha ha.

--“Growing up is about becoming who you want to be.”

--“Life’s a better song with someone to sing along.”

WHY WE LOVE THE MUPPETS

2011-12-19T21:45:00.000-06:00

MOVIES: "HUGO"

2011-12-08T00:56:00.004-06:00

"Hugo" is Martin Scorsese's engaging adaptation of the children's book by the same name. What's it about? Get this: It's an elaborate introduction to a slice of film history. Yup.

The book was written by Brian Selznick—no doubt to pass on his own love of film history to a new generation. http://theinventionofhugocabret.com/about_brian_bio.htm It’s interesting to note that Selznick has written other children’s books, including a book about Houdini (you’ll get the connection if you see “Hugo.”)

The threads in “Hugo” are: tinkering with machines, fixing things, everything having a purpose, magician’s tricks, dreams, imagination, film. I would say that another theme is that of children coming too soon and unbeckoned into our lives to mess up our tidy little frameworks, neat little plans. To pry into our secrets and closed boxes and expose us. And in doing so, they save us.

The all-British cast plays out the story set in a 1930’s train station in Paris. At first, the story seems to be a misfortunate orphan-urchin tale in the line of “Oliver,” but we can’t help noting this is no ordinary orphan. Hugo is very good at fixing things because his deceased father was a watch/clockmaker (horologist) and taught Hugo the tricks of the trade. Hugo lives in the train station unbeknownst to anyone and keeps all its clocks running like, well, clockwork. “Hugo” is a total nod to steampunk. There are puffing trains, vents, pipes, chimneys, sewers, as well as plenty of ticking and undulating gears in almost every shot. Even things like a mechanical toy store and live musicians with their instruments play into the “moving parts” theme. Bygones such as horses and (quel horreur!) mounds of hardcover books seem to be meant to make us yearn for a return to them.

Steampunk (see also the newest “Sherlock Holmes” movies) is a movement that celebrates the mechanical age of actual, physical, clanking, whirring parts—hardware—that kept everything going, as opposed to our digital world of software and intangible “cloud computing.” The iPod is the ultimate anti-steampunk: impossible to break into, take apart and put together again, mysterious, internal, unseen.

Hugo (Asa Butterfield) has an unpleasant run-in with a bitter old toy shop keeper (Ben Kingsley) who recognizes the boy’s genius and eventually takes him under his wing, but Hugo doesn’t seem to be able to keep himself from unintentionally betraying and hurting the already-wounded man. Isabelle (Chloe Grace Moretz) is the shopkeeper’s goddaughter—also an orphan—who befriends Hugo.

There are some interesting but inchoate thoughts (Robin Hood, “time is all we have,” Hugo and Isabelle’s parents, etc.) that could have been continued or woven in to the story more. There are quick breaks from one action to another to move the story ahead, without each reveal and development flowing out of/being the outcome of another action (bad screen-storytelling).

The editing (Scorsese’s long time editor, Thelma Schoonmaker) really needed to be tighter and faster-paced (with a few disjointed scene-cuts sticking out like sore thumbs). There could have been more camera angles and cuts in general, but on the whole, it’s an eminently watchable film, especially when the film history is delved into and recreated.

Strong THEOLOGY OF THE BODY theme: “Everything has a purpose, even a machine. They do what they’re meant to do.” “If you lose your purpose, you’re broken.” “When something can’t do its work, it’s sad.” (Hugo and Isabelle wonder out loud what THEIR purpose is. Being young, they realize they haven’t found it yet. Isabelle wonders if she WOULD know what her purpose is if she had known her parents!)

OTHER STUFF:

--For the first time in my life, the 3D glasses worked! I wonder why. Usually they do nothing—I put them on and see them same blurry mess as without. I actually loved the use of 3D for real human beings (rather than animation). It was like Ben Kingsley was hovering over our seats in the middle of the cinema like a hologram. Kewl.

--The usually crude Sacha Baron Cohen does an amazing job playing a bumbling station inspector who has a particular dislike of little orphan-urchin types. I would love to see him in more performances like this. He seizes the role in a very alive and generous way, twinkling with kid-friendly mischief.

--Great film-within-a film.

--Great build-up to the film-within-a-film!

--I gasped aloud in the theater when they told the fate of certain precious old celluloid films (among the first films in the world)! You will too, I hope!

THEOLOGY OF THE BODY: TEEN TESTIMONIES!

2011-12-03T21:10:00.001-06:00

MOVIES: "THE TWILIGHT SAGA: BREAKING DAWN--PART I"

2011-11-21T16:50:00.013-06:00

PLEASE SEE A VERY DIFFERING VIEW AT THE VERY END OF MY REVIEW! IT ALSO MAKES SENSE!

“The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn—Part I” (the third movie in the “Twilight” series) is a very pro-life, very Theology of the Body movie. I know there are other opinions rolling around from high-profile Catholics, but I really think they’re reading it wrong.

Here’s the storyline (not a total spoiler) for anyone who has managed to escape familiarity with this phenomenon. Bella (human, Kristen Stewart) marries Edward (vampire, Robert Pattinson). Bella could “turn” immortal vampire if Edward bites her, but so far she has not opted to go that route. On their prolonged honeymoon Bella gets pregnant (something that Edward and Bella thought impossible). The pregnancy is very difficult and seems sure to kill Bella.

Jacob (werewolf, Taylor Lautner) who also loved Bella and had hoped to marry her is exceedingly angry about this situation and blames Edward (vampires and werewolves are also sworn enemies).

Bella, from the get-go, although she is scared, loves her baby (even though exactly WHAT the baby is is not even known) and refuses to abort it. (The word “abortion” is not used, but “getting rid” of “it” and other phrases are.) At a certain point, it becomes almost definite that either mother or baby can be saved, but not both. But Bella is steadfast in her St. Gianna Molla-esque decision, which leads to a transformation and change of heart in those around her.

Objectionable parts of the movie would be the sex scenes (even though Edward and Bella are now married). Are we really supposed to watch people making love? Ever? Bella is often scantily-clad, also. The birth scene is kind of violent and bloody, but, um, isn’t the pain and peril of real-life childbirth?

A strange feature (or at least the way the movie portrayed it), is Bella’s continuing, demonstrative affection for Jacob. It’s almost like she has two husbands sometimes.

“Twilight” is pure female fantasy. Obsessive female fantasy. Two men adore one woman. But, you know what? It’s about time. 98% of what Hollywood produces is male-conceived, male-written, male-directed, male-driven, male-marketed, male-consumed.

How does Theology of the Body play out in the “Twilight” series? First of all, a chaste relationship because an honorable man takes the lead. (Good things happen when good men lead.) Second, Bella is truly the “bride,” whom the men in her life (OK, vampire and werewolf) will lay down their lives for. As Christopher West says: “It’s all about you, ladies,” (just as Jesus did everything He did FOR His Bride, the Church). And third, Bella is not a selfish prima donna. She returns “the gift” and is self-sacrificing in her love also.

The theme of immortality and “forever” is so strong in “Twilight.” Echoes of the unending heavenly marriage feast that awaits us.

Jacob’s role at the end of the film is pretty incredible. A beautiful resolution. I left the theater soaring.

OTHER STUFF:

--Do NOT look for good filmmaking or dialogue or acting or anything. This is camp. And it knows it. It’s like a soupy, sappy, tragic romantic comic book brought to the screen in slow motion. (My audience members—mostly young adults—laughed at the jokes in the movie AND at the most serious, melodramatic moments, which is pretty much the whole film.)

--This is a movie that girlfriends drag their boyfriends to. Overheard in line: Boyfriend: “Why am I here again?” Girlfriend: “Because I HAVE to see what happens!”

--So, could this female fantasy give young (and not so young women) the wrong idea about true love? Yes, BUT I really think that female romantic fantasies are closer to the truth about love, and not as potentially harmful as male fantasies.

FEMALE FANTASIES:

• He really listens to me!
• He knows what I like!
• He wants to be with me all the time!
• He thinks about me all the time!
• He likes to cuddle!
• He tells me I’m beautiful!
• He likes to surprise me!
• He’s gentle with me and doesn’t treat me like one of the guys!

--www.decentfilms.com movie reviewer, Steven Greydanus, did an excellent in-depth article in Catholic World Report not long ago about the massive appeal of the “Twilight” series. He ends it by saying that maybe if guys were more romantic, women wouldn’t have to escape into vampire fantasies. Guys: Look at the bullet points above. That’s all we want! It’s not that hard! Sometimes I think guys DON'T do the above simple things because they don't FEEL it and don't want to be hypocritical or insincere. But it's when you DON'T feel it and you do it anyway that it's selfless, pure love! All you need to know is that it means ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING to us, so just DO IT if you really love us! You don't have to FEEL it. We get that you don't feel it. WE feel it. We need it. Desperately. I've heard it said (by a woman) that women are like flowers that need watering and care every day or else we'll wither. OK--maybe the "thinks about me all the time" is asking a bit much.

--Stephenie Meyer (author of the “Twilight” books) is a good little mythmaker.

--The human blood Bella has to drink could be synthetic, yes?

--Who "created" Edward and why?

--Does Bella's family know anything about the vampires and werewolves?

--What did Edward bite with his teeth during the birth?

--Full disclosure: I haven't read the books. Only saw movie #1 and #2.

--No media tech. One cell phone. Just people and face time. And wolves howling communications and some vampiric telepathic communication.

--Bella and the Cullens (Edward's family) are definitely people of leisure. They have nothing much to do. They just sit around staring at each other and dealing with their supernatural problems.

--Bella gets married at 18. Like everyone used to. We need to rethink the possibility of getting married younger again.

--Soundtrack pop song: “I find strength in your fragile heart.” Nice. “In weakness, power reaches perfection.”

--For those still fretting that this may actually be an anti-life film in disguise, consider this: Catholics (some of whom I consider to be literalists and alarmists) are condemning it, AS WELL AS super-secular sources like the Huffington Post (who are even warning parents)! What is the “anything goes” HP worried about? The realities of childbirth, for one. Another criticism I heard is that it glorifies violent sex (Edward is super-strong and Bella wakes up slightly bruised on her arms and shoulders). But Edward is horrified and vows never to touch Bella again. Are characters pro-abortion (at first)? Yes! Characters! Not the whole film and not the heroine, Bella! And Bella prevails! What is the problem here?

--Dr. Michael Waldstein (who found the Polish original of Theology of the Body and wrote the extensive Introduction to it) says that we need to get away from the language of “rights” when it comes to pregnancy, even “the right to life,” because we immediately set up an opposition between mother and baby (of course, this can be a dire move just to save a baby’s life). I did a week of studies with him and he talked so much about our “NON-COMPETITIVE GOD,” not competitive within the Trinity and not competitive with His Creation. It just blew all our minds.

--Isn't "intermarriage" historically what always brings about peace? In Theology of the Body, all differences (starting with the sexual difference of male and female) are a call to communion, not strife.

--While everyone around Bella talks about “choice,” “choice,” “choice,” Bella just loves.

--Puts a whole new spin on “the first year of marriage is the hardest.” :]

--Right across from the cinema when I stepped outside was the store: “XXI Forever.” :]

--The only thing wrong with the “Twilight” series is that Bella is married to the wrong guy. :]

--Here are some insightful FB posts from a young Mom:

• Christina Yep Hi Sr Helena! Haven't seen movie yet either and I can see how some people would draw this articles' conclusions, but I think with guidance, today's teens can see through the negative messages and pull out the positive. In fact, this movie raises some of those more intimate "mom questions" that they deal with every day - the question of saving oneself til marriage, marriage itself, who to choose (baby or mother) in extreme pregnancies. Bella and Edward might seem entirely too obssessed with sex, but as with the best of us, their love matures over the course of their relationship and the message that they wait until they are married is pivotal for them.
Saturday at 3:36am • Like
•
Christina Yep Regarding Edward hurting Bella...it needs to be put in context, which books do well but movies generally don't. He has been living an extreme self-control of both his passions for blood and to make love to Bella for years at this point, and has preserved both their innocence intact, so when at last they do try on their honeymoon, the appropriate time, it's hard for him to maintain that self-control. This seems so realistic to the pure married relationship to me! And when they get pregnant, like with a human pregnancy, he doesn't have a bond with his baby yet...all he sees is his wife slowly being killed before his eyes by this creature he doesn't yet love. This too seems so realistic to the human experience of fathers who struggle as a child seems to come between him and his love.
Saturday at 3:41am • Like
•
Christina Yep It's the powerful love of the mother, Bella, who seems to mature overnight with the presence of Renesmee inside her, and who opts for the same type of sacrifice evidenced by St Gianna Beretta Molla, that is the most beautiful of all... When I read the books and having been through 2 pregnancies myself, my first though was, of course Edward tries to force Bella to an abortion! He's losing his wife. In the end, he's not trying to get her to abort...he feels powerless to alleviate her suffering and grasps at the only solution he can reason. The fact that Bella chooses LIFE despite attacks from within and from without is a heroic example, and her reward is both her child and her living. The child herself (half human half vampire) turns out to be a brilliant, sweet prodigy of a girl who demonstrates extreme virtue and love to all those around.
Saturday at 3:50am • Like
•
Christina Yep Perhaps they didn't intend to get pregnant but it wasn't because they weren't "open" to life, they just thought they couldn't. In the end, the book tells me a few messages: 1 save yourself for marriage; 2 who doesn't want that type of passionate married love with their husband? this is possible; 3 no matter how difficult the pregnancy and no matter how many "extenuating circumstances" and how many people pressure you to abort, it's always better to "choose life", or your baby's life to be specific, and God will bless you.
Saturday at 3:53am • Like
•
Christina Yep Sorry, this got really long!!! So of course, watching the movie...these questions are going to be raised and lets hope Mom and Dad are there to counsel teens with some solid answers. It's much harder to transmit a complete message by film. God bless, Sister!
Saturday at 3:55am • Like
•
Christina Yep Oh, one more thing...someone mentioned the Bella-Edward relationship not being ideal. Well-said. I think teens struggle with being objective already and it's hard for them to take a step back from the emotional attraction to a passionate relationship and realize how, yes, we can all identify with elements of their relationship, but mostly it's not a very realistic relationship. The LOVE and PASSION is possible...but the strange plot and predicaments...not so much. A good story only. And the characters themselves are very flawed...but I guess the hope is that aren't we all...and despite that, love and happiness are eventually possible.
Saturday at 4:00am • Like • 1
•
Cynthia Morales I haven't read any of the books and I don't plan to see the movie, but I did read a review in the Chicago Tribune that described the series as "anti-abortion" and "pro-abstinence." Go figure.

________

BUT GET A LOAD OF THIS VERY DARK AND MENACING READ ON THE "TWILIGHT SERIES." (NOT ABOUT THE OCCULT, BUT PEDOPHILIA!)

SPOILER ALERT: THE ORIGINAL QUESTION ON FACEBOOK WAS ABOUT JACOB--A YOUNG ADULT, "IMPRINTING" (KINDA LIKE ARRANGED MARRIAGE) ON BELLA'S BABY GIRL (IN ORDER TO SAVE HER).

ME: Kinda like Benjamin Button. Aren't vampires and werewolves kinda ageless/timeless? Of course he's gonna hafta wait for her as in the vision AND i hope no one reads this cuz it's a big fat spoiler!!!!

JEN: thanks for your take ...you can delete my post sister .. though I can't imagine anyone who is interested who doesn't already know anything we could spoil - but maybe someone has been hiding under a rock and it will spoil it :o) personally ... it's a bit too pedophilia -ish for me. Benjamin Button was a little different because they were actually the same age ... This part of the Breaking Dawn story reminds me of Lewis Caroll and his feelings for Alice Liddle ... sick. I know it is rationalized in the story as "it's not sexual - it's imprinting" and "she's not like a normal human child" ... I know it's fiction ...but fiction reflects and shapes the mind of society... and these sort of arguments are arguments that adults who abuse children make in the real world.

The prolife vs prochoice conversation in Breaking Dawn is interesting enough but it should not be the primary controversy surrounding this story ... there are so many darker deeper sicker issues in Breaking Dawn. Pedophilia is threaded throughout the entire series.

Edward is hundreds of years older than Bella - who is an immature teen... but okay .. there's no story without it ... but once we accept that story line the slide into blatant pedophilia is swift. Meyer teaches young girls that love is obsessive - that young girls are to be possessed by men ( who look like boys) and that age and experience are inconsequential. She started with the Bella and Edward relationship and continues it in increasingly disgusting ways.

Claire is imprinted by Quil ( if I remember rightly) as a fully human child at 2 years of age - at 16 she will be imprinted to him like it or not. Then Jacob imprints with a newborn. Sorry if that's a spoiler - but educating people about the evil of child abuse is more important than whether or not someones surprise is ruined. This is not just an innocent story - it like many stories has a cultural impact - more so than others considering the record breaking opening box offices.

Our stories become our schemas. We create scripts for living and social interaction largely based on the stories that we step into. This story has many misguided notions about what sexuality should be - physical violence, abuse, obsession - are not elements of healthy relationships. Being willing to damn your eternal soul for a man is not good for a young woman but it's a choice - the pedophilia portrayed in this story on the other hand is not a choice.

Jacob and Nessie are obviously eventually intended to have a sexual relationship sometime in the future. Earlier in the story ...Jacob imagines being the father of Bellas children ...and likewise she imagines the same. Jacob is going to be intimately involved in raising her. She is going to be raised by the pack - he's to be her father, sibling , uncle, moms former paramour and eventually her own lover - no conflicts there. The argument that she develops faster and will be an adult by age 7 ...is a common argument from pro pedophiles ... people develop and mature at different rates - so chronological age doesn't make a difference. Nessie may develop physically mentally faster than the rest of us - but with this situation of being raised by the man she's expected to mate with - she is bound to develop into a truly messed up person - she'll just do it quicker than most abuse victims. Similarly Quil is called Claires "best big brother" - a brother who she is expected to start mating with at 16.

This notion that somehow a child victim can be developed enough to be a willing participant is why we end up with real world situations like the Penn state situation - in which ( according the the grand jury report) on at least two occasions adult men walked in on another adult man abusing boys 10 and younger - and walked away without removing the child from danger - as if they had walked in on two consenting adults.

Although Meyers sets up the canon that the male imprints - later she seems to want to imply that the baby imprinted on Jacob first ...this is why Bella wants to to be around him and such. This is a common pedophile mindset - it is the victims fault .. he is helpless over his need. This reversal of victim hood - the idea that the victim exerts more control over the abuser than he does over the victim - is extraordinarily common. We don't like to admit it but we live in a blame the victim world.

The imprinting seems to have left Nessie with no free will. Another common thought process of abusers - the victims will doesn't matter.

Jacob gives her a token of his promise to force him to be his forever ..and were supposed to think this is sweet? BTW he gave a similar bracelet token to her mother - who he was passionate about and abusive towards ...when he can not have the mother the way he wants - when the mother does not adore him - he takes the child. This is unfortunately an all too true reality for many real world daughters.

And as happens all too often in the real world the child's parents do not protect her. Edward and Bella shrug it off.Edward even calls him "my son" ... the whole thing is pretty sick and not very TOB at all.

ME: Wow! Thanks for this in-depth read. It makes sense. Isn't it interesting how something can be superficially one thing (OK) and at a slightly deeper level--not OK at all. Jacob does it because it's "the only thing that can save her," (but, yikes! Doesn't that sound like a pedophile's argument, too?) I'm going to take this into serious consideration. Thanks so much!

FEAST OF BLESSED JAMES ALBERIONE, MEDIA APOSTLE, NOVEMBER 26!

2011-11-18T21:59:00.005-06:00

Join us for a unique Novena leading up the Feast of Blessed James Alberione, www.MediaApostle.com, November 26! Blessed James Alberione is the Founder of the Daughters of St. Paul and the other 9 congregations and institutes of the Pauline Family.

In this Novena, you'll get a sneak peak at what the Church is saying about the New Evangelization (the program for the upcoming Synod on the New Evangelization--see www.vatican.va), as well as Father Alberione's always awesome, cogent and inspiring quotes about media!

Novena in Honor of Blessed James Alberione

Nov. 17

The greatest of saints today would stay by the microphone in order to proclaim their message of truth, justice and peace. It is impossible not to think of the command of Jesus Christ, “Preach the Gospel to all creation.” The love for the Gospel is the sign and characteristic of persons whom God designates for great enterprises. --ALBERIONE

Introduction

Today we begin the novena in honor of Blessed James Alberione, whom John Paul II called “the first apostle of the new evangelization.” In gratitude we thank the Lord for raising him up—for our sake and that of our world. We thank him for having answered the Master’s call, as the first Apostles did. In this Morning Prayer, we ask him to help us open ourselves to the Spirit, who continually evangelizes us and draws us to follow in the footsteps of Jesus, the Apostle of the Father.

Readings

* Christian Prayer, p. 623,

* Liturgy of the Pauline Family, p. 179

* The following text: In John Paul II’s words, Blessed James Alberione is “the first apostle of the new evangelization.” Not only because he used modern media to proclaim the Gospel, but because, like Paul at the dawn of Christianity, he heralded in his person and his message the central call of the Gospel: total configuration with Christ the Master, a personal, life-changing, lifelong encounter with Christ. His reference was always the Gospel and he insisted that everyone of us read it in order to live it—a novelty at the turn of the last century. His lodestar was the primacy of Christ. His journey was a personal relationship with Christ and a burning desire that the whole world would join him on that journey.

This is the meaning of the new evangelization, outlined in the lineamenta for next year’s Synod of Bishops. With this novena, we are in a way initiating our own community’s preparation for that event. We entrust to Primo Maestro our own desire to witness to the saving love and truth of Jesus Christ with what the lineamenta calls new “ardour, methods, and expression.”

Yes, in the words of our founder that we just read, “The love for the Gospel is the sign and characteristic of persons whom God designates for great enterprises.”

Canticle of Zechariah

Antiphon: LPF, p. 184

Concluding Prayer: LPF, p. 183

Nov. 18—Dedication of the Churches of Sts. Peter and Paul

Jesus Christ has taught us not to wait for people, but to go in search of them. Like the Master, the apostle should spread the divine word in cities, villages and homes, even the remotest ones. The press, the cinema, the radio and the television constitute today the most urgent, the fastest and the most efficacious work of the Catholic apostolate. --ALBERIONE

Readings

Christian Prayer, p. 1346

LPF, p. 180

Lineamenta: The New Evangelization for the Transmission of the Christian Faith, n. 6:

“The new evangelization is a frame of mind, a courageous manner of acting and Christianity’s capacity to know how to read and interpret the new situations in human history which, in recent decades, have become the places to proclaim and witness to the Gospel….These sectors concern society, cultures, economics, civic life, and religion….

“…Our third great sector…[is] the means of social communications, which, while today providing great possibilities for the Church, also represents one of her greatest challenges….In this sector, the new evangelization means that Christians need to show boldness in these ‘new aeropaghi,’ where they live everyday, and find the means and approaches to ensure that the Church’s patrimony in education and knowledge, safeguarded by the Christian tradition, has a part to play in these ultra-modern places.”

Canticle of Zechariah

Antiphon: LPF, p. 184

Concluding Prayer: LPF, p. 183

Nov. 19

The machine, the microphone, the screen are our pulpit; the press, the production room, the screening hall and the transmission center are like our church. The temptations are many, but we shall make ours the words of Paul, “I do all things for the Gospel." --ALBERIONE

Readings

Christian Prayer, p. 655

Liturgy of the Pauline Family, p. 180

Lineamenta, n. 6:

“The first sector calling for the new evangelization is culture. In our times we find ourselves in an era of a profound secularism….in which God is completely or partially left out of life and human consciousness…. [This] can be seen in the daily lives of many Christians, who are oftentimes influenced, if not completely conditioned, by the culture of images with its models and opposing forces. Temptations to superficiality and self-centredness, arising from a predominating hedonistic and consumer-oriented mentality, are not easily overcome. The “death of God” announced decades ago by so many intellectuals has given way to an unproductive cult of the individual….

“At the same time, some regions of the world are showing signs of a promising religious reawakening.”

Canticle of Zechariah

Antiphon: LPF, p. 184

Concluding Prayer: LPF, p. 183

Nov. 20—Solemnity of Christ the King

Christian Prayer, p. 523

Let there be the persuasion that in these forms of apostolate a greater spirit of sacrifice and a more profound piety are required. Saints are needed, who lead us in these ways. Prayer before all, above all, the life of all. To leave out prayer in order to do more work is a ruinous way out. --ALBERIONE

Readings

Christian Prayer, p. 524

Liturgy of the Pauline Family, p. 180

Lineamenta, n. 15, 22:

“The agent for transmitting the faith is the entire Church which manifests itself in the local Churches, where proclamation, transmission and the lived experience of the Gospel are realized…. The Spirit gathers believers into communities that fervently live their faith, a faith which is nourished through listening to the teaching of the apostles, through the Eucharist and through the communities’ life of unselfish service to proclaiming the Kingdom of God…. In these communities, the faithful are gathered together by the preaching of the Gospel of Christ, and the celebration of the mystery of the Lord's Supper, so that ‘by the food and blood of the Lord's body the whole brotherhood may be joined together’.”

“The new evangelization, then, which is primarily a task to be done and a spiritual challenge, is the responsibility of all Christians who are in serious pursuit of holiness.”

Canticle of Zechariah

Antiphon: LPF, p. 184

Intercessions

Add the following:

“In thanksgiving for the life of Sr. Mary Aparecida on this, her anniversary. May she rest in the kingdom of light and peace.”

Concluding Prayer: LPF, p. 183

Nov. 21—Presentation of Mary (optional memorial)

Christian Prayer, p. 686

We should always lead people to paradise, but we have to lead there not those who lived ten centuries ago, but those who live today. In order to do good today, we have to take the world and the people as they are today. Stretch forward. Always keep in mind what is wanting in us. There is no time to congratulate ourselves on the past.--ALBERIONE

Readings

Christian Prayer, p. 690

Liturgy of the Pauline Family, p. 180

Lineamenta, n. 13, 23:

“The synod fathers gave particular attention to proclaiming the Word of God to future generations. ‘Often we encounter in them a spontaneous openness to hearing the Word of God and a sincere desire to know Jesus....Concern for young people calls for courage and clarity in the message we proclaim…witnesses and teachers who can walk with them,.…[and] approaches to Christian initiation which, through listening to the Word, celebrating the Eucharist and the communal living of love and fellowship, will lead to a growth in faith.’”

“The first evangelization began on the day of Pentecost, when the Apostles, gathered together in prayer with the Mother of Christ, received the Holy Spirit. In this way, Mary, who according to the words of the Archangel is "full of grace", was present during apostolic evangelization and continues to be present in those places where the successors of the Apostles strive to proclaim the Gospel.”

Canticle of Zechariah

Antiphon: LPF, p. 184

Concluding Prayer: LPF, p. 183

Nov. 22—St. Cecilia (Memorial)

The apostle is one who carries God in one’s soul and radiates him around oneself. The apostle is a saint who accumulates divine treasures and shares the surplus with others. Sanctity is the stubbornness in fulfilling the will of God, always, in spite of any difficulty whatever.--ALBERIONE

Readings

Christian Prayer, p. 706

Liturgy of the Pauline Family, p. 181

Lineamenta, n. 7:

“Reread the present moment in light of the Christian gift of hope. Relearning the meaning of hope leads Christians to discover what they can offer in their world of encounters, experiences and dialoguing with others, what they can share in the process and how they can better express this hope which leads to perseverance. The new sectors which call us into dialogue require turning a critical eye towards our manner of life, our thinking, our values and our means of communication. At the same time, the occasion must also serve as a self-evaluation of Christianity today, which must repeatedly learn to understand itself, beginning from its roots.”

Canticle of Zechariah

Antiphon: LPF, p. 184

Concluding Prayer: LPF, p. 183

Nov. 23

God himself works for those who work for him. We must therefore be always disposed to do everything as if everything depended on us, and to pray as if everything depended on him. Our prayer is not genuine if our hands do not agree wit it. Hence: pray and work. Every action of ours should proceed from prayer.--ALBERIONE

Readings

Christian Prayer, p. 723

Liturgy of the Pauline Family, p. 181

Lineamenta, n. 11:

“St. Paul the Apostle presents himself as an ‘apostle set apart for the Gospel of God’ (Rom 1:1; 1 Cor 1:17)…. In referring to the Gospel, we must not think of it only as a book or a set of teachings. The Gospel is much more; it is a living and efficacious Word, which accomplishes what it says. It is not so much a system of articles of faith and moral precepts, much less a political programme, but a person: Jesus Christ, the definitive Word of God, who became man. The Gospel is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. However, not only does the Gospel have Jesus Christ as its content; but even more, through the Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ is also the promoter and the centre of its proclamation and transmission. Consequently, the goal of the transmission of the faith is the realization of a personal encounter with Jesus Christ, in the Spirit, thereby leading to an experiencing of his Father and our Father.”

Canticle of Zechariah

Antiphon: LPF, p. 184

Concluding Prayer: LPF, p. 183

Nov. 24

Let us make ourselves the pen and the mouth of God, for Jesus Christ, our Master. The whole man in Jesus Christ, for a total love of God: intelligence, will, heart, physical forces. All: nature, grace, vocation and apostolate. A cart that runs on four wheels: sanctity, study, apostolate and poverty.--ALBERIONE

Nov. 25

If St. Paul were living today, he would ascend the most elevated pulpits, and he would multiply his words through the means of current progress. The Pauline Family has been raised up by St. Paul to continue hiw work; it is in fact St. Paul, living and made up of so many members.--ALBERIONE

Use as an introduction to prayer: Liturgy of the Pauline Family, p. 182

Readings

Christian Prayer, p. 758

Lineamenta, nn. 6, 13:

Through migration “our societies are experiencing an unprecedented encounter and mixing of cultures….In such a situation, the new evangelization can provide the opportunity no longer to perceive the Church's mission as a north-south or west-east dynamic but one which transcends the geographic confines of past missionary activity. Today, all five continents are fields of missionary activity. We must also seek to understand the sectors and places in life where faith is absent, not simply as a result of drifting from the faith but from never having encountered it. Transcending the geographic confines of former missionary activity means having the capacity to raise the question of God at every moment in the encounters created by the mixing and rebuilding of the fabric of society….”

“Migrants must not simply be evangelized but be trained themselves to be evangelizing agents.”

Canticle of Zechariah

Antiphon: LPF, p. 184

Concluding Prayer: LPF, p. 183

Canticle of the Media of Social Communication

Response: Blessed by the Lord our God.

Blessed be the Lord our God, for our sister, the printed word, food for the intellect and light for the soul. R

We pray to you, Lord, for all the journalists of the world, cartoon and poster designers, publicity artists. R

Fill with the light of your wisdom writers, printers, distributors, and readers; keep them in your love and at the humble service of truth. R.

Praise be to you, O Lord, for our brother Cinema and his dynamic story-telling. He has the fascinating power of dialogue, drama, music and visual. R.

Guide, O Lord, producers, directors, actors and audiences towards all that is true and good, all that celebrated life and love of God. R.

Blessed be the Lord our God for our sister Radio who walks on the wings of the wine and makes the earth seem small. R.

We pray for all radio stations and transmitters; may this gift of God and work of humans be used for the freedom and growth and brotherhood of all your children. R.

Praise be to you, O Lord, for Television. May this pulpit in the heart of every home not disturb but increase harmony in family and prepare a people guided by Gospel values. R.

Praise be to you, Lord God, for email and internet, CD, FAX, cell-phone, social media and all the powerful means for the service of communication in the world and your Kingdom. May they sing your praise and glory. Amen. R.

To the Trinity

Most holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, we thank you in union with the whole Church and in Jesus Master the Way, the Truth and the Life for the gift of sanctity, light and grace bestowed on your faithful servant James Alberione, the untiring apostle of the Gospel to the whole world. Grant that we may follow his example with complete fidelity to his spirit. May he be a guide and protector of all those who work for the coming of the Kingdom of God through the means of social communication. May he be to us light, guide and support in our work of sanctification and in our apostolate. Through his intercession grant us the graces we need. Mary, Queen of the Apostles, and St. Paul the Apostle, graciously support our petitions with your intercession. Amen.

Responsory

Liturgist: Jesus Master, we praise and thank you for the gift of James Alberione,

Response: our father and model in sanctity and apostolate. Amen.

WIN A FREE DVD: "LOVE BEGINS"!

2011-11-17T14:03:00.004-06:00

"LOVE BEGINS" stars MY awesome nephew, JERE BURNS (my half-brother's son), as the awesome sheriff.

In "LOVE BEGINS," Clark Davis is faced with the decision to follow his dreams of adventure or stay in the town where love begins. If given the choice between adventure and true love, which would you choose and why?

Oh yes, and it stars MY awesome nephew, JERE BURNS.

Submit your answer to lovebeginschicago@gmail.com to enter for your chance to win one of three copies of Fox Home Entertainment’s LOVE BEGINS DVD, inspired by the best-selling series from Janette Oke.

Contest ends next Tuesday, November 22 (the DVD’s release date). Winners will be notified by email.

Did I mention my awesome nephew, JERE BURNS, is in it?

NATIONAL CATHOLIC SINGLES--DENVER--JAN 27-29, 2012

2011-11-17T00:56:00.004-06:00

In the spirit of Theology of the Body!
http://www.nationalcatholicsingles.com/denver2012/

MOVIES: "TOWER HEIST"

2011-11-13T23:29:00.006-06:00

“Tower Heist” is one of those “almost” movies. It’s “almost” a good movie that “almost” achieved what it was going for. First of all, it’s difficult to define the genre: A satire? A comedy? A dramedy? Don’t be fooled by the Eddie Murphy billing. This is Ben Stiller’s film. But a rather serious Ben Stiller. Eddie Murphy comes into the picture far too late (I expected the audience in my cinema to start chanting “Eddie!” “Eddie!” while awaiting his delayed appearance. I almost started it myself.) Then, when he finally shows up, the missing-in-action-at-the-movies-for-far-too-long Eddie Murphy, the funniest guy in the room, spends much of his time standing around silentely like chopped liver in this semi-ensemble flick. Tres disappointing.

Ben Stiller (consistently fabulous) plays Josh Kovacs, an upright, conscientious building manager of an upscale apartment in New York City--a whiz at his job and someone who has a heart for all the “little people,” the domestic staff. Arthur Shaw (a very effectively heartless, soul-less, icy-eyed Alan Alda) is a Bernie Madoff-type who lives in the building and is indicted for securities fraud—if only the FBI can prove it—that directly effects Josh and the building staff who trusted Shaw with their money and pensions. Eddie Murphy is Slide, a petty criminal who lives near Josh and whom Josh eventually enlists to help get his and his staff’s vanished money back.

The rest of the cast is truly star-studded: Matthew Broderick, Casey Affleck, Gabourey Sidibe, Judd Hirsch, and Tea Leoni who gives a show-stealing performance as an unlikely FBI agent.

The story-line hangs together very well, albeit at a slow pace that never quite revs up. The tee-hees are sparsely spaced. In the end, the whole point of “Heist” seems to be a kind of revenge fantasy in the spirit of Occupy Wall Street. The soundtrack is a monotonous super-cool, bass-driven loop.

There is an interminable sequence that takes up a good portion of the second half of the film involving a very expensive sports car and the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade. (What is it with filmmakers and iconic parades?)

Unfortunately, this PG-13 film is littered with frequent, graphic, offensive and over-the-top sex banter that really crosses the line for a PG-13.

“Tower Heist” is illustrative of the Gospel for the Thirty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time: “He who is faithful in little things will be faithful in greater,” both in a positive dimension (Josh Kovacs) and a negative dimension (Arthur Shaw).

The great lesson to be learned from “Heist” is that the underdog can fight back and win, but there will be a price to pay. This was so well executed that the folks in my cinema clapped at the end of the film—I could actually feel the applause coming—not so much for the film, but for the righteous point made.

OTHER STUFF:

--Why don't male Hollywood actors DYE their graying hair? They would look soooo much younger. This means YOU, Denzel, Ben Stiller, Matthew Broderick, (Clooney, you're OK). Alda and Hirsch--it doesn't even matter.

--Casey Affleck rocks, but this part was below him and he knew it.

--"What's Code Black?" ha ha

--"Heist" needed way more funny. But the funny was funny.

--A few "Jesus Christs." Even one is too many. ESPECIALLY in a comedy.

ONE YEAR OLD GETS FRUSTRATED WITH PRINT MAGS THAT AREN'T LIKE iPAD

2011-11-09T23:58:00.001-06:00

MOVIE: "180 MOVIE"--PRO-ABORT YOUTH CHANGE THEIR MINDS ON THE SPOT

2011-10-31T23:53:00.003-05:00

CHICAGO--ADVENT WOMEN'S RETREAT!

2011-10-29T22:10:00.001-05:00

MOVIES: "IN TIME"

2011-10-29T17:09:00.005-05:00

“In Time” is a sci-fi thriller set in a dystopian world (i.e., Los Angeles) with a fascinating premise: The new currency is not money but time. Everyone has a glowing green digital display clock on the underside of their forearm (reminding one of concentration camps) that ticks off the years, days, minutes and seconds. Poor people of the “ghetto” time zone have a short life expectancy and live from time-payment to time-payment. Rich people, who live in their own time zone (filled with “Surrogates”-perfect people), may have centuries. Or more. But everyone looks young because people are genetically engineered to live to twenty-five years old, and then they literally drop dead in one more year unless they can somehow get more time (often by fighting or gambling). Time can be “given” to another by a handclasp. (The concept of “In Time” is from the brilliant mind of Philip Dick who also inspired the films: “Blade Runner,” “Minority Report,” “A Scanner Darkly,” “The Adjustment Bureau.”)

“In Time” was written, directed and produced by Andrew Niccol--who wrote the excellent “Truman Show,” and amazing “Gattaca”—however, he flounders with “In Time.” Justin Timberlake (a solid actor) is Will, a scrappy ghetto-dweller who is given a huge gift of time by a stranger. However, the ever-watching “timekeepers” (the new police) begin tracking Will as he heads to the rich people’s time zone for some payback (the rich have an economic system that trades off the backs of the poor). “In Time” is rather “timely” given today’s economic woes and ever-widening gap between rich and poor.

Will gets close to the uber-time-wealthy Weis family and falls in love with their coddled and sheltered daughter, Sylvia (Amanda Seyfried). The head timekeeper (the ever-mesmerizing Cillian Murphy who could be the next Al Pacino) picks up Will for questioning while revealing secrets to Will about his deceased father. But Will escapes the timekeeper’s clutches, dragging Sylvia along with him both as intermittent hostage and love interest. They return to the ghetto where Sylvia learns how the “other half” lives and is moved to some compassion.

SPOILER ALERT: Will and Sylvia become both Bonnie and Clyde time-bank robbers as well as Robin Hood and Maid Marian stealers from the rich who give to the poor—with the justification: “If it’s already stolen, is it stealing?” (Which slogan, I was thinking, could start a real-life anarchical class warfare revolution of gargantuan magnitude, so I’m hoping the Occupy Everywhere people don’t see this movie.) The End.

The movie fails as a movie in many ways, and EVERYTHING needed to be shored up: directing, editing, acting (Amanda Seyfried—surprisingly—breaks NO emotional sweat whatsoever and makes her character and the whole story verrrry unbelievable. And she runs and runs and runs and runs and jumps out of buildings and from roof to roof in tiny dresses and 6-inch inverted ice cream cone-shaped heels).

There are constant breaks in the action/tension and lots of small, unnecessary, repetitive scenes that bore us to death. The story/dialogue is completely linear and often laughably simplistic. The dialogue does not “cut deep” into the world we’re introduced to—the characters always sound like they are explaining something to US. (To quote “The Truman Show”: “Who are you talking to???” It also imitates one weakness of “The Truman Show”: someone raised in a totally rarified environment immediately adjusts to a completely foreign world.)

The three twentysomething gals in front of me in the theater were NOT buying any of this movie (and it seemed like they were genuinely looking forward to this film as I was). We are simply used to much more sophistication in films these days. This might have cut it 10 years ago, but not today.

The music is nothing special and the set direction is truly horrid and fake. The “ghetto” is just too clean and nice, and if you simply look to the periphery of the action, everything screams “this is a set!” (Along with the fact that there are very few extras, so there’s never the feeling of a crowd or a multitude.)

Multiple Oscar-winning costume designer Colleen Atwood made unfathomable choices: the ghetto people are all snazzy dressers who look like they just came from an upscale nightclub. Um, I think Hollywood doesn’t always know how to do truly “shabby.” Case in point: Another recent film had a lower middle-class character complaining about the “small hovel” he was living in. What??? With a huge kitchen lined with glass-windowed cabinets and an immense free-standing island with a granite counter-top? Hollywood just doesn’t get it.

And yet, for all my criticisms, this is not one of the worst movies I’ve ever seen. The premise is still solid and the concept of giving freely of the most precious things in life in a cutthroat culture that doesn’t understand the concept of “gift” or charity is well portrayed.

There’s some great soul-searching about whether or not it’s right to want to live forever here on earth (especially at the expense of others): “For a few to be mortal, many must die.” Some of the wiser heads see an innate, existential need for death. Others, a practical need: “If everyone lived forever, where would we put everyone?” Or, to paraphrase Steve Jobs: “Death sweeps out the old to make room for the new.”

There is also—yay!—an explicit condemnation of applying Darwinian notions of natural selection and survival of the fittest to capitalism and human beings—double yay!

In actuality, time IS the only “good,” the only “currency” we have. We just can’t know how much of it we actually have on this earth by simply glancing down at our arm every few minutes. Unfortunately, we Catholics don’t seem to emphasize the preciousness of time very much any more (or our eternal destiny and the eternal consequences of our use of time). Recommended reading: “The Last Things,” by Fr. James Alberione.

OTHER STUFF:

--The citizens of the world of “In Time” were genetically manufactured, and the poor are cogs in factories. New York City’s Cardinal O’Connor warned of a possible future where humans would be created in laboratories for just such types of “menial” tasks. And as zombie-like soldiers for wars.

--Only Olivia Wilde’s character made us feel how scary it is to only have hours at a time left on your clock.

--Everyone is just way too calm.

--Lulls.

--Information/exposition repeated.

--Big “fight” scene foreshadowed in detail so that when it actually happened, audience groaned: knowing exactly what they would have to sit through.

--“Are you insane?” is asked by characters of different characters about 14 times.

--The failures of “In Time” remind me of the failures of “Hotel Rwanda”: a completely tense set-up…and hardly any felt tension, with lots of little bouts of characters relaxing in between where there should have been no let-up.

--Awesome old cars. Awesome! Were those Caddinentals???

MOVIES: "SNOWMEN" DVD

2011-10-23T22:57:00.002-05:00

Yes. You wanna see this. If you liked "Diary of a Wimpy Kid," you'll love this. Teaches kids (and everyone else) what's important in our celebrity, "be seen" culture. Also stares death in the face. It goes there. Slightly reminiscent of "Letters to God," also.

MOVIES: "THE MIGHTY MACS"

2011-10-18T16:50:00.004-05:00

“The Mighty Macs” is based on the true story of the underdog Immaculata (thus “Macs”) College women’s basketball team in Philadelphia in 1971-1972. The college is run by the Immaculate Heart of Mary Sisters. In the film, Mother St. John (Ellen Burstyn) is a rather severe but dedicated college head, trying to keep her school afloat. Her goals are very different from her school’s young upstart basketball coach, Cathy Rush (Carla Gugino), who is determined to get her ragtag basketball team to their first national championship. Cathy is newly married to her husband, Ed (David Boreanaz), and friction is created by her going against the expected cultural grain and not staying at home, but giving much of her time and energy to basketball.

Everything in the film is tenuous: the school’s solvency and future, the basketball coach’s job, and the very members of the basketball team—many of whom have pressing reasons not to stay on the team. A young Sister Sunday (Marley Shelton)—much to Mother St. John’s chagrin—gets over-involved with the basketball team, causing even more tension.

In 1972, the famous Title IX was being enacted. It was an educational amendment to the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and wasn’t specifically about sports, but ended up greatly impacting women’s sports, stating that any activity receiving federal funds couldn’t discriminate on the basis of sex.

There is a gradual build up and transformation of the team from raw talent to honed skills, in great part because of Cathy’s confidence-building.

In the end, the entire convent becomes the team’s biggest boosters and unofficial cheering squad.

Like the movies “Bend It Like Beckham” and “Soul Surfer,” this is a girls’ sports film, but with a Catholic twist. Tim Chambers, the writer-director, is from Philadelphia, and was taught by the IHMs himself. His intention in bringing “Mighty Macs” to the screen was to tell Catholic stories and portray Catholics from a Catholic point of view. Some concessions with Hollywood had to be made in order to make that happen (for example, some of the prayer was removed), because Hollywood thought the movie was “too Catholic.” (Are Woody Allen’s films “too Jewish”?) Um, the movie is about nuns, for Pete’s sake! The real heroes, however, are the young basketball coach and her team. Mother St. John and Sr. Sunday end up being rather one-dimensional and stereotypical (the stern Mother Superior and the scared rabbit younger sister), but otherwise, it’s a great slice of history. We can easily forget that opportunities for women were once much more limited, not so long ago.

HOW'S "COURAGEOUS" DOING AT THE BOX OFFICE?

2011-10-03T22:35:00.001-05:00

As you no doubt know, a little Christian-based film opened this weekend at #4 in the nation, and as the top new film, sharing the thin air with DOLPHIN TALE, MONEYBALL, and THE LION KING.

A few highlights:

1) Ranking. COURAGEOUS was the #4 movie in the country, though it opened against six other movies with almost three times as many screens. It was the #1 new movie of the weekend!

2) Audience. More than 1 million people saw COURAGEOUS this weekend.

3) Box office. Total box-office was $9 million, $2.2 million more than FIREPROOF on opening weekend.

4) Per-screen. Per-screen, COURAGEOUS averaged $7752, almost doubling everyone else.
5) CinemaScore. COURAGEOUS received a rare A+ CinemaScore, a signal to expect strong word-of-mouth in coming weeks.

6) Mainstream press response. Most general entertainment press and reporting outlets were surprised by COURAGEOUS. A couple of early excerpts before the actuals were in:

Variety
"Time and again, the pic effectively emphasizes how the deputies are reminded on a daily basis what eventually can happen to at-risk children who don't have fathers involved in their lives. Little wonder, then, that they're moved to ask God's help to hone their own paternal skills."

Box Office Mojo
"Sherwood Pictures' COURAGEOUS scored $8.8 million from just 1,161 theaters for a strong per-theater average of $7,580. . . The opening ranks fifth all-time for a Christian movie, and only trails THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST and the three NARNIA movies." . . . "Made outside of Hollywood without any major stars, COURAGEOUS managed to fly under most radars (including my own) until very recently. It's unfair to ignore the vast majority of church-going Americans for whom typical Hollywood fare isn't of great interest, though, and Sherwood Pictures has impressively found a way to mobilize this subset of the population."

Time
(Best Title Award): Surprise! Dolphins and Jesus Beat Cancer and Dead Kids!“Like the Christian-themed SOUL SURFER, the Kendrick's holy-cop film (with a $1-million budget) was pitched to the faithful, who came out fervently this weekend and gave it an A-plus CinemaScore. Opening in just 1,161 theaters, COURAGEOUS had the top per-screen average of any movie in the top 25. Even an agnostic would call that heavenly.”

7) Other indicators. Sales of books and resources supporting film's message—The Resolution books and others—reflect the movie’s spreading influence. Kerusso, maker of t-shirts, reports five times as many COURAGEOUS t-shirts sold as for FIREPROOF. Meanwhile, Facebook fans count on the COURAGEOUS fan page has leapt in a few days from 224,000 to 247,000.

Sherwood Church and its national field of supporters have long prayed for God to do “exceedingly, abundantly more than we could ever ask or imagine,” and He’s doing it.

Learn more:
CourageoustheMovie.com

Join COURAGEOUS on Facebook:
Facebook.com/CourageoustheMovie

Follow COURAGEOUS on Twitter:
Twitter.com/#!/CourageousMovie

Press material:
CourageoustheMovie.com/pressroom

FREE PASSES TO "THE WAY" IN SKOKIE, IL--OCTOBER 5

2011-10-03T20:46:00.003-05:00

So, you want to go to a free screening of "The Way" on October 5 in Skokie? Click on link (you can get 2 free passes!)

http://www.gofobo.com/rsvp/promotion/a809913f2fa7584a2130e48016fc3e50

MOVIES: "THE WAY"

2011-10-02T00:50:00.002-05:00

For anyone who has walked “The Camino”—the ancient pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela, this film will be a treat as you relive your trek. For anyone who has not—this is your video travelogue, and much more! “The Way” is a journey film (physical and spiritual) and it’s a WALKING journey film.

Written and directed by Emilio Estevez--who also acts in it with his father, Martin Sheen—it’s a moving and all-too-common scenario of an estranged father-son relationship. Martin Sheen is the main character—a stubborn codger who winds up on “El Camino” with three aging Gen-Xers (one of whom dubs him “Boomer”). Boomer’s traveling companions are (successively): an hilarious, portly Dutchman (think John Candy in “Planes, Trains and Automobiles”), a chain-smoking Canadian gal, and an Irishman with writer’s block. They all have their issues to work out, but “The Way” pretty much avoids heavy-handed clichés in this regard.

This was a VERY difficult film to make. Think about it. Four strangers walking. For the entire film. But it holds your attention and interest the entire time. There are tiny suspenses, and a certain tongue-in-cheek, amiable self-consciousness of what a BIG METAPHOR FOR LIFE it all is. And we can see ourselves in this motley crew. The film totally works, totally comes together.

I don’t want to give too much away of the simple but rich storyline by telling you more of what happens, only that this film is a “sit back, relax and enjoy it” film. We are not given any beautiful countryside landscapes, even though we subtly note the changing seasons, because the film is shot in lots of tight medium range shots. This is squarely a film about people, not about breathtaking nature, and not about people being enthralled by breathtaking nature. But we WILL experience all the human customs, hospitalities and tropes along the Camino.

The lesson of the Camino seems to be that we’re all on it, whether we want to be or not. Whether we’re in Spain or not. And as the tagline of the film says: “Life is too big to walk it alone.”

“The Way” is as open ended as life. We have no idea what’s going to happen along the way. And opting out is really bad form.

“The Way” goes to great pains to make sure we understand that none of these “pilgrims” are doing it for religious reasons. I think at least one of them could have been. Hey, trillions of people from time immemorial have been earnest religionists. Why can’t we see that on the big screen (or any screen)? It almost felt MORE insincere to leave the believers out! It seemed to be a carefully-studied areligiosity. Any true acts of faith and devotion belong to those outside our little cadre. But of course, the reality is that many, many who take up the sojourn are NOT there for religious reasons. To each his own. And I guess it IS more reflective of our postmodern world where belief in God and expressing that belief through the practice of religion is something that is declining in the West.

Buen Camino!

OTHER STUFF:

--Smart and funny.

--"The Way" is a filmic journey not to be missed.

--Just as "life is too big to walk it alone," so "The Way" is too good to watch it alone!

--This film totally makes you want to go do the Camino or get out and hike with others…and Him.

--I think my favorite part was the Gypsy sequence. It’s another mini father-son story (there are MANY in the film)! But it’s tied as my favorite with the swanky hotel scene where they all start off in separate rooms….

--Martin Sheen plays a father’s grief so well. He also plays his terse, tight-lipped role so well.

--There’s a book about the Camino called “Walk in a Relaxed Manner.” “The Way” nails this pace, and maintains it consistently. Again, I think it must have been very difficult and very crucial to nail the right pace in a walking film! AND it’s NOT episodic, another huge would-be pitfall of this movie.

--Frequent fun mis-en-scenes of the four travelers.

--Pope Benedict calls the Catholic Church in Spain “creative.” You’ll see why.

--All I can say about the incense thurible at the end: “W-H-O-A.” Pretty wicked awesome. At a screening, Martin Sheen said that in the old days, it was actually used as AIR FRESHENER for stinky pilgrims! Flying Febreze!

--Very funny how Americans are perceived in Europe and the rest of the world.

--There’s a certain amount of philosophizing, as one would expect along the Camino, but it’s not tedious.

--A short but beautiful cremation scene. I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a thing in a film.

--The soundtrack is mostly lovely light rock and folk rock. But light rock with teeth. And a very fitting Alanis Morissette ballad. Sometimes the walking is just silent. But the audio always always feels natural and right on the money.

--Martin Sheen looks like he’s in VERY good shape. It’s hard to even think of him as “Boomer.” Isn’t he the President of the United States of America? “The Way” could have devolved into “Grumpy Old Man on the Camino,” but Sheen is just too classy for that.

--At the very end, Martin Sheen’s character should have “littered.” Because of the wind blowing in the wrong direction. You’ll know what I mean when you see it.

--The only few false notes for me were the Canadian woman’s initial “introductory” speech as well as the Irishman’s. Both of them were a little too theatrical. Also, the Gen-Xers looked more like Baby Boomers.

--I don’t know if I like the movie poster. It looks like: 1/3 Abbey Road, 1/3 the famous evolutionary progression chart, and 1/3 the Jesus Freaks’ “One Way” symbol. But maybe it’s supposed to!

--Great Lenten film. Great film about community. Four seekers who still need community. Who still need to be “alone together.”

--We meet A LOT of people along the way, but it doesn’t feel like too much. Just like all the people we meet in our own lives.

--There’s lots of WINE on the Camino. :]

--Shot with Red??? The background was often in focus with the foreground!

--Why are we afraid to show MORE Western religion (Christianity) in films? While we can.

--Hmmmm: were the precious (various) guidebooks a BIG METAPHOR as well? Of course.

--“The Way” is screaming for a group-discussion booklet or guide book component of its own!

MOVIES: "COURAGEOUS" (SHORT REVIEW)

2011-10-02T00:44:00.003-05:00

You can search for my longer review AND review of the screening on my blog!

“Courageous” is the much-anticipated movie on fatherhood by the same people who gave us “Fireproof.” (“Fireproof” is the story of a fireman whose marriage is on the rocks, in part due to his internet porn use, and what happens from there. It was the #1 independent film of 2008. With its tie-in printed resource components like “The Love Dare Book,” the film impacted thousands of real life marriages.) “Courageous” was well worth the wait, and will doubtless do the same to strengthen fathers in their oh-so-vital vocation.

“Sherwood Pictures” (a ministry of Sherwood Baptist Church in Albany, Georgia) is behind these two great films. They are two of the most “Theology of the Body” films out there, and I’m sure Blessed John Paul II the Great is smiling on them from glory.
“Courageous” is about four policemen, their families, and what being a father means.

“Honor begins at home” is the film’s short, sweet and apt tagline. Cops are about serving, protecting, honoring, right? Guys are about serving, protecting, honoring, right? And there’s lots of wonderful and needed ways they do that outside the home, often for the sake of home, but there’s no place like home to do it. So many things pull men away from home: work, demanding work, overtime work, wars, travel, hobbies, volunteer/charitable work, even church work. So many men are tempted to measure their worth and success by the external benchmarks, accolades, promotions and achievements outside the home, but, really? A man’s home is his castle. Everyone’s first vocation is to love their families. Our greatest bragging rights should always be about our particular vocation to love, our particular way of loving (married, single, priesthood, religious life). When people ask us what we “do,” we should talk about our vocations, our families first, what we “are,” before what we “do.”

The stories, struggles, tragedies and joys in “Courageous” ring true, and the acting is superb. Sherwood Pictures also has a way with tense action scenes. There’s just enough about and for women in “Courageous” as well. Young single men leaving screenings of “Courageous” have written on their surveys that they never really thought seriously about fatherhood before, but now they are looking forward to being good fathers! Sherwood Pictures doesn’t call their films “message” films (a Hollywood no-no) but “take action” films. Hear, hear!

“Courageous” asks the question: “How do we do fatherhood? Who are our role models for it?” Here’s another possible tagline for “Courageous”: “Think fathers are important? So does ‘Courageous.’”

CHICAGO! WE'VE GOT FREE SCREENING PASSES!

2011-09-29T15:28:00.008-05:00

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 5, 7PM, LOEWS THEATER 600 N. MICHIGAN AVE. PICK-UP PASSES (WHILE THEY LAST) AT PAULINE BOOKS & MEDIA 172 N. MICHIGAN AVE. CHICAGO 312-346-4228

http://www.theway-themovie.com/

THE WAY is a powerful and inspirational story about family, friends, and the challenges we face while navigating this ever changing and complicated world. Martin Sheen plays Tom, an irascible American doctor who comes to St. Jean Pied de Port, France to collect the remains of his adult son (played by Emilio Estevez), killed in the Pyrenees in a storm while walking The Camino de Santiago, also known as The Way of Saint James. Rather than return home, Tom decides embark on the historical pilgrimage to honor his son's desire to finish the journey. What Tom doesn't plan on, is the profound impact the journey will have on him and his "California Bubble Life".

Inexperienced as a trekker, Tom soon discovers that he will not be alone on this journey. On "The Way," Tom meets other pilgrims from around the world, each with their own "issues" and looking for greater meaning in their lives: a Dutchman (Yorick van Wageningen) a Canadian (Deborah Kara Unger) and an Irish writer (James Nesbitt) who is suffering from a bout of "writer's block."

From the unexpected and oftentimes, amusing experiences along "The Way," this unlikely quartet of misfits create an everlasting bond and Tom begins to learn what it means to be a citizen of the world again. Through Tom's unresolved relationship with his son, he discovers the difference between "the life we live and the life we choose.”

Distributor: Producers Distribution Agency & Arc Entertainment

Written & Directed by: Emilio Estevez

Produced by: Emilio Estevez & David Alexanian

Cast: Martin Sheen, Yorick can Wageningen, Deborah Kara Unger, James Nesbitt

"MACHINE GUN PREACHER" IS UNDER FIRE

2011-09-27T14:36:00.006-05:00

Article in "Christianity Today":

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2011/septemberweb-only/machinegunpreacher.html

(My previous review--which I still stand behind as regards the movie itself and sometimes using violence to protect the defenseless: http://hellburns.blogspot.com/2011/09/movies-machine-gun-preacher.html ) Should the unsavory allegations prove to be true, and the movie prove to be more fictitious than true, well, then, it's just a shame all around. A well-done fictional tale, a tragedy in real life.

DVDS: "CATHOLICISM PROJECT"

2011-09-16T11:03:00.001-05:00

MOVIE TRAILER: "THE WAY"

2011-09-16T01:20:00.001-05:00

GREAT trailer for a GREAT movie! Go. See. It. (But not alone.)

MOVIE SCREENING: "THE WAY"

2011-09-16T01:05:00.003-05:00

Got to meet Martin Sheen and Emilio Estevez tonight at screening of their new movie: "The Way"! GO. SEE. IT. (About four people on the "Camino," in Spain, the ancient pilgrimage to Santiago de Campostela.) This is their tour bus.

Opens October 7 in Chicago. I'm allowed to post my review October 1.

MOVIES: "MACHINE GUN PREACHER"

2011-09-12T12:30:00.003-05:00

FOLKS, THE MOVIE IS WAAAAAY BETTER THAN THIS TRAILER.

THIS JUST IN (SEPTEMBER 27, 2011): VERACITY OF MGP QUESTIONED
IN "CHRISTIANITY TODAY" ARTICLE:
http://hellburns.blogspot.com/2011/09/machine-gun-preacher-is-under-fire.html

(I still stand by my review below as regards the movie as a movie. My question now is: what "methods" exactly did Childers employ--beyond what is depicted in the movie? Methods DO matter! The ends don't justify the means. And what do the South Sudanese have to say about his tactics? Although I'm sure they are divided on that and it will depend on whom you talk to. There is also the question of what is happening at his orphanage now.)

Sounds like a badass film, doesn’t it? Only the irresistible (and accurate) title is badass. Otherwise, this is a story about a badass guy (NOT portrayed as attractive or without consequences) who becomes a goodass and begins saving children in Sudan from becoming child-soldiers in the vicious LRA (Lord’s Resistance Army)—and worse.

Sam Childers (a thoroughly winning and Sam-Childers-approved Gerard Butler) was a violent drug dealer and biker in hillbilly Pennsylvania in his younger life. He got saved, became a Reverend and went to the Sudan to do volunteer construction work. But in Africa, he saw way more than he bargained for and wound up taking up arms to save children and innocent villagers from kidnapping, maiming, atrocities and slaughter.

As Sam gets more and more caught up in saving families in the Sudan, he starts to neglect his own family. His ever-supportive wife (Michelle Monaghan)—supportive in a tough Christian woman o’ God way; sometimes even more supportive of Sam’s mission than he is--reminds him that although he is “all those kids over there got,” he’s also “all we’ve got here.” Childers’ must deal with his outrage and anger that is consuming him both at home and in Sudan.

We are shown just enough of the grisly and cruel nature of the civil war in the Sudan to be incensed and horrified. “Machine Gun Preacher” is definitely not for the little ones. This action-packed, somewhat shoot-em-up (but NEVER gratuitous) film, all based on true incidents in Childers’ life, is a must-see of 2011. Will it garner any Oscar noms? It deserves to—but even if it doesn’t, audiences will certainly recognize its worth.

What really makes the movie is the way the depth of Sam Childers’ character is fleshed out. There’s a wonderful, slow transformation of Childer from an unconscionable, selfish brute, who then brings his gung-ho spirit to everything else he does for the Kingdom of God and others. His renewed relationship with his wife and daughter is beautifully dramatized by a tornado scene (Childers uses his ever-present gun to create a safe haven for them in the crawl space beneath their mobile home while he covers the opening with his body).

Childers’ role in the Sudan is not just some American DIY cowboy or do-gooder. He is a man with the call of a warrior on his spirit who feels deeply obligated to do something, to not let evil have its way, to rescue the helpless. It doesn’t hurt that he loves guns and is proficient with them, either. The Sudanese are also fully-developed characters, not just passive recipients of Childers’ gallant assistance. The children will steal your heart.

My question is: Why aren’t there more Sam Childers?

Sam’s organization: http://www.angelsofeastafrica.org/

OTHER STUFF:

--2011 is “The Year of the God Film.” The best films this year—IMHO—have been the God films: “Of Gods and Men,” “Soul Surfer,” “Tree of Life,” “Courageous,” “Machine Gun Preacher.”

--Well-written, well-acted, well-shot, well-edited!!!

--I remember at World Youth Day—Rome 2000, some Sudanese youth got up at the mic at our English-speaking catechetical site and told us they may get killed when they return home.

--The actress who played Childers’ daughter should have been younger or else the part was mis-written for a much younger child. (The going-to-bed games felt age-inappropriate.)

--I absolutely love the old, toupéed, whiter-than-white Protestant pastors on fire with the Word of God, and the starched old prim church ladies who can still love and reach out to the outlaws. And the outlaws respond. And there’s this weird understanding between them: polyester meets leather. The real deal meets the real deal.

--Unfortunately (or fortunately) I think it takes a good ole boy from the U. S. of A. inserted into a story for some of us to grasp what is going on in countries like the Sudan…to understand that they are people just like us. It brings it home. It makes it personal, comprehensible. Anyhoo, it’s very effective.

--GREAT LINE: “Jesus doesn’t want asleep sheep! He wants wolves with teeth who will rip out the heart of evil! It’s in our ACTIONS that we serve Our Lord. He wants your blood and sweat. ” –Gerard Butler as Sam Childers

--“Machine Gun Preacher” is a great THEOLOGY OF THE BODY movie for men.

--We really feel Sam’s pain and powerlessness when he is not able to help each and every child. He doesn’t want to lose even one.

--I love that Childers doesn’t try to move these children out of the Sudan to safety. He is protecting them right there in the midst of their own country.

--Sam said the hardest part of the movie for him to watch is the beginning, which shows what a not-nice person he used to be.

--Sam calls himself a “freedom fighter.” He says that he chooses to follow Christ and he would love for you too, also, but if you don’t, he’ll fight for your right to worship however you choose.

--Sam: “The Bible says to count the cost, but that’s only when we’re first setting out, deciding to serve Christ. After that, we can’t because then we’ll never do anything.” “Never start with a budget. Just do it.” “Some people say I’m not doing much, but at least I’m doing something.” “I never give up hope because there are always problems in life, and all we have to do it TRY to do something.”

--I met Sam Childers at the screening (Gerard Butler and Jason Keller, the screenwriter were also present for the Q & A)! You’d think Sam would be frustrated with all us basically lethargic and apathetic fatcats back in the USA. He’s not. He loves everyone.

Here’s the email I sent him:

“Dear Sam,

Great to meet you last night, and what an awesome film! 5 stars.

But above all, thank you for saving all those children.

All my life I've been about non-violent action, but for the first time, you've really helped me see that sometimes defensive, protective, retaliatory violence is one of the only ways to go. I mean, how else could those children (and innocent villagers) be protected? How else could that kind of evil be pushed back? Kony is worse than Hitler in some ways. Hitler didn't think of having little Jewish children kill their parents.

We all say: "Why doesn't someone do something?" (OK, what?) And then when someone does something we complain. From our armchairs. Like the Sudanese gentleman said at the screening--when you live in a war zone, it's about survival.

You asked at the end of your film: "Does it matter how I bring home your kidnapped family members?" Yes, I think it does. BUT perhaps what you're doing is the only thing that CAN be done, and is therefore ethical. And, if you subscribe to the "just war theory," what could be more just than this cause???

You are standing up and saying: "No." You are doing what Adam did not do in the Garden: protecting the garden and Eve (and his future children) from Satan and evil. Sometimes spiritual warfare has to manifest itself in physical warfare (especially when enemies have determined that’s the arena). "Praise be to the LORD my Rock, who trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle." Psalm 144:1

I'm beginning to believe (as my macho priest friend says ) that there is a vocation/call to be a warrior (for just causes). I LOVE Joan of Arc, but I don't understand her or her calling. I think you've helped me to. And I love your "Ishmael" spirit, and you DO look like a pastor. But what you really have is a "father" spirit. We have to help men (starting young) acknowledge and unleash their "father" spirit.

God love you--I know He already does. A lot!

Sr. Helena Burns, fsp”

THEOLOGY OF THE BODY STUDY GROUP

2011-09-11T00:43:00.004-05:00

THEOLOGY OF THE BODY – FR. THOMAS LOYA – SEPTEMBER 10, 2011

“LOVE AND RESPONSIBILITY” by Karol Wojtyla

[intrusive comments by Sr. Helena in brackets]

p. 174—“The Metaphysics of Shame”—We want to grasp at things we love, at things that promise us satisfaction, etc. We want them immediately. It’s only natural because we are made in the image of God and we tend toward God. The highest understanding of the concept of “eros” is our striving for God Himself.

Although masculinity and femininity are found outside of human persons, it is not in any way as highly “developed” as it is in human persons.

Q: Can we even SAY that animals have “masculinity and femininity” or only maleness and femaleness?

There is one fundamental reality of all reality: the spousal mystery—God going out of Himself to all Creation.

So many faithful Catholics can’t bear to think/speak of God or divine things in terms of SPOUSALITY. [We are DEEPLY, DEEPLY CONVINCED THAT SEX IS DIRTY, UNHOLY AND WE’RE SO USED TO THE TWO THINGS BEING SEPARATED IN OUR CULTURE. Satan divides. Satan has convinced us that sex is HIS. Why wouldn’t he confuse us about the MOST important thing of all? Why wouldn’t he appropriate to himself the MOST vital thing of all?]

Abstract art, rock music, etc., is minimalizing/reducing everything down to its raw materials and treating those raw materials as though they were the thing itself, the end/goal/ultimate. [There’s nothing more.]

A “contraceptive mentality” is actually a “contraceptive worldview” about EVERYTHING.

p. 88 BJP2G explains “sympathy”—“experiencing together,” mutuality

“friendship”—sharing life together

“goodwill”—(we should do this to everyone and for everyone) couples need to always treat each other this way—it’s a basic level. IF WE DO WHAT’S BEST FOR THE OTHER, IT’S ALWAYS THE BEST FOR ME, TOO. Is this one-sided? What if the other person isn’t doing what’s best for me? It doesn’t mean that you’re a victim, because letting someone abuse you IS NOT GOOD FOR THE OTHER PERSON! Enabling others in their bad habits, evil behavior, etc., is never a good thing. [So, it’s kind of foolproof: If you are truly doing what’s good for the other person, you are helping them become a better person, which MEANS FOR THEM TO PRACTICE GOODWILL TOWARD YOU ALSO.]

THE SEVEN STAGES OF TRUE LOVE

1. Attraction
2. Desire
3. Sympathy
4. Friendship
5. Goodwill
6. True Love
7. Betrothed Love

“Betrothed love”—is totally integrated love (body and soul). It is the highest form of love. It is the highest virtue, lived according to the primary elements of the human spirit: freedom and truth.

[Cohabitating couples STILL NEED to CONSUMMATE their MARRIAGE once they get married!! (No matter how much sex they’ve already had.) It IS new for them. It is ontologically different. This is a way to put it in a positive light!]

Living together is NOT a total gift. [I think those living together would be the first to admit this, also.] Living together is often out of fear of wanting to forecast the future. There is no way to “try” marriage. [No test drive! You “buy the car” sight unseen.] Young people actually think they are being responsible by “trying” marriage, because we have given them nothing else, no religious instruction on this issue at all.

[There are now “stayovers”—just living together 3 or 4 days a week because the “couple” still wants their solitude, their own apartments, bank accounts, “separate life,” and are not necessarily heading toward living together or marriage at all.]

In the media, the steamiest, most enjoyable sex scenes are almost always between non-married people. We have to make MARRIAGE attractive and desirable (as it is)—it’s just not easy!!!

Women accept all this stuff more than men because they know they will benefit the most!!! Unless they have bought the lie that to benefit the most they must be like a man. OR take care of themselves without any reference to any man. But both men and women are interdependent.

Why did Satan go for woman? Our receptivity, our centrality to love and life. [And our lust for male power. “Eve saw that the fruit was beautiful and good for knowledge.”]

Satan inseminated Eve with bad seed.

SHAME can actually be a positive thing because is protects what is most precious.

p. 175—BJP2G talks about cultures that go about almost naked (but have no shame about it). But they would have shame in other contexts regarding their bodies. European cultures have come in to these cultures and told them they were bad to show their bodies, to put on more clothes, which caused a whole new set of problems.

Our culture today could never go around naked because we are so lustful (not because our BODIES THEMSELVES are actually bad)! We do not encounter sexual shame in children because their minds have not grasped sexual values yet. They develop (healthy) sexual shame as part of their developing personality. They realize these body parts are special, they watch how people react, they are taught to protect themselves.

p. 176 Women need to realize that men are hard-wired to visual sensuality. Women are more hard-wired to emotionality.

HOW DOES BJP2G know MORE about sexuality than those who are sexually active? Because sex is of God and he was a man of God. AND a mystic. AND he counseled young married couples (his students/friends)! AND he had a body. AND an imagination. AND he was an actor, a poet, a writer. He was immersed in life, in the human drama. [There’s a great saying: “I am human, and nothing human is truly foreign to me.” Humans have the great ability of vicariousness.]

p. 177 “THE EVOLUTION OF MODESTY IN A WOMAN REQUIRES SOME INSIGHT INTO MALE PSYCHOLOGY.” --BJP2G We’re different.

Fr. David Knight—for women to dress provocatively is like a reverse rape. You entered into his psyche uninvited and now he has to deal with it.

[Men could tell women: “help us (help you).” OR women could insist on dressing any way they want (and be unfair to men and tempt men to abuse them or worse). A man can NEVER excuse himself that he was provoked if he abuses a woman, but women are playing a dangerous game, putting themselves in danger if they DO provoke.]

[ “SURE, YOU CAN DRESS ANY WAY YOU WANT, BUT YOU SHOULDN’T.” –This was said by a French man to a sweatsuited American woman on the streets of Paris. The French ALWAYS dress up when they go out. The men for the women and the women for the men. It’s like a courtesy.]

“The future of civilization depends on what he will be for her, and what she will be for him.”
--BJP2G

JOIN US FOR TOB ONLINE EVERY 2ND SATURDAY!

2011-09-08T01:05:00.002-05:00

BOOK YOUR OWN SCREENING OF NEW OUR LADY OF KIBEHO FILM!

2011-09-05T23:13:00.001-05:00

MOVIES: "THE DEBT"

2011-09-02T18:24:00.004-05:00

“The Debt” is a Nazi-hunter caper. It isn’t getting consistently rave reviews, but I thought it was a quite engaging and worthy vehicle. Just when you think you know what the ending will be, you really, really don’t. Trust me. And the ending takes many twists and turns. You will simply never guess the end, or even really know when you’re at the end. A definite “keep you guessing” movie.

The acting is beyond superb: Rachel (Helen Mirren/Jessica Chastain), Stephan (Tom Wilkinson/Marton Csokas) and David (Ciaran Hinds/Sam Worthington) are Mossad (Israeli) operatives who, in 1965, are on a mission to capture infamous Nazi experimental doctor-butcher, Dr. Vogel, “the surgeon of Birkenau,” (Jesper Christensen) who is a practicing OB/GYN in East Germany. Guess which one of the three gets to pose as a patient? Yeah, it’s that tense. Their plan is to take him back to Israel to stand trial and expose his crimes to the world.

We flash back and forth between the now-aged heroes in 1997 (Rachel’s daughter has written a book about her mother’s exploits) and what actually happened. It’s not all as simple as it first appears. Great storytelling! There are secrets seeded all along the way. Plans don’t go as planned.

We were taught at UCLA that a love story in war trumps all other stories (and did WWII ever really end for the Jews?), and that one woman between two men is the best love story. “The Debt” has all this.

The character of the Nazi monster is truly chilling in his calm, (ir)rational, clinical, evil hubris and hatred of the Jews. The ever-lingering questions are brought up: “What, were we all insane, then?” asks Dr. Vogel.

It’s a truly great and needed service to all of humanity that the Jews continue to tell many and varied stories of their Holocaust experience, horrific as they may be. The attempted extermination of the Jews is not “their” story, it’s “our” story. We must never forget. Each new generation must understand the cruelty that human beings are capable of, in order to do everything in our power to ward it off and stand guard against it.

Although David, as a young Israeli agent, says there is “no answer” to Nazi evil, it simply must be brought to justice, I think we do well to study it. A “recipe for disaster” existed in 1) German national humiliation after WWI 2) Godless science 3) stirring up a fanatical, outsized patriotism 4) a potent philosophy of power 5) just enough madmen as leaders and foot soldiers 6) and never to be underestimated: the Hitler Youth. One generation of indoctrination was enough to clinch the deal—“Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it” (Prv. 22:6 KJB).

My one beef with the movie is that the dialogue is a little too on-the-nose. Sometimes it’s just a matter of an extra sentence that could have been left out. Characters frequently commit one of the arch-sins of screenwriting by telling each other what they both already know. “Hey, audience! Here’s some INFORMATION for you, or rather, we just want to make sure you were paying attention the FIRST time we said it! And, did you get that THIS HERE PIECE OF INFORMATION is related to that OTHER SCENE WE JUST SHOWED YOU? Just checking! Just want to make it ABUNDANTLY OBVIOUS even though we don’t doubt your intelligence for a second!”

Most unfortunately, “The Debt” is another film that’s rated “R,” that could easily be PG-13, in order for young people to learn some history through film.

The question of “The Debt” is: the truth. Do we ALWAYS tell the truth? Will ALWAYS telling the truth do more damage than good? What is a true hero? Do heroes ALWAYS tell the truth? Can people still be proud of us when the truth isn’t as heroic as we’d like it to be? Is the truth a “luxury” sometimes? If we DON’T tell the truth, do we become like our enemies (if we’re “the good guys”)?

OTHER STUFF:

--Helen Mirren is sooooo beautiful.

--Weird seeing Helen Mirren in a SERIOUS spy flick after “Red.”

--Jessica Chastain’s acting abilities on display here. (Anyone could have played the mother in “Tree of Life.”)

--Sam Worthington says so much with his eyes.

--You will HATE actor Jesper Christensen (Dr. Vogel).

--Some excellent use of handheld filming!

--There are so many more cautionary and heroic tales to be told of the suffering under the Nazis and Soviets. By telling non-Jewish stories, I think it might actually validate the telling and re-telling of the Jewish experience for those, who, very shortsightedly are “tired” of hearing about the Holocaust. (See? They were not the only targets! See? Evil is never satisfied with just one victim. See? We’re all in this together. Or, to paraphrase Bonhoeffer, I think: “I didn’t speak out when they came for the Jews. I didn’t speak out when they came for the gypsies. I didn’t speak out when they came for the handicapped. I didn’t speak out when they came for the retarded, the homosexuals and the dissidents. And then they came for me.”)

--The fine movie about Cold War East Germany’s ubiquitous and paranoid surveillance, “The Lives of Others,” is excellent except for one point. A statement is made that a particular man can’t be a bad man because he liked a certain piece of classical music. Um, the Nazis had very refined tastes. The ability to appreciate beauty (and rape, plunder and pillage the art and other treasures of humanity for one’s own enjoyment) is indicative of nothing in one’s character, really.

--A must-see documentary is “The Eichmann Trial”—live footage of the Jerusalem trial of Hitler’s designer of the “Ultimate Solution” (strategy/logistics for how to exterminate the Jews). Eichmann was eventually hanged in Jerusalem.

--The Nazis created hell on earth.

--The three are not supposed to “listen or talk to” the Nazi “doctor” while he’s in captivity. Why? Because, like the devil, he is utterly cunning.

--Life is ALWAYS a spiritual (at least) battle. We are ALL God’s secret agents for the good.

--Watch Ben Stein’s “Expelled” to see how the Nazis used Godless Darwinian evolutionary theories (not all evolutionary theories are Godless). See also “Theology of the Body and Evolution,” DVD by Dr. Richard Sternberg www.ofwcmedia.com

DAUGHTERS CHRISTMAS BLOOPERS 2

2011-09-02T11:28:00.000-05:00

CHRISTMAS IN AUGUST! DAUGHTERS OF ST. PAUL CHOIR VIDEO SHOOT AT BOSTON MOTHERHOUSE

2011-08-29T14:58:00.003-05:00

Christmas in August! Totally fake! Even the audience faked it with us! Air conditioner in the Motherhouse chapel in Boston was on 50F! The swinging jib camera arm thingy knocked over the decorative burning candle on the altar rail, and clocked the same lady in the head twice. Otherwise--no casualties.

The music doesn't match what we're singing because we could only use the Christmas music we already have on iTunes right now for this YouTube.

The REAL video that will be created from this filming session will air on Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn's NET TV channel this Christmas and DVD will be available!

Daughters of St. Paul Christmas Concert Tour locations to be announced. Will include: Boston, NYC, Virginia and Cleveland....

CHICAGO: ST. MIKE'S OUTDOOR FILM FESTIVAL, FRIDAY, AUGUST 26

2011-08-20T16:26:00.003-05:00

http://www.st-mikes.org/film-fest.html
Director, Charles Kinnane, will be present!

CHICAGO--ST. MIKE'S OUTDOOR FILM FEST: FRIDAY, AUGUST 19

2011-08-17T23:23:00.004-05:00

http://www.st-mikes.org/film-fest.html

MOVIES: "RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES"

2011-08-17T16:34:00.005-05:00

For those of us decrepit enough to remember the original 1968* movie “Planet of the Apes” with Charlton Heston (human) and Roddy McDowell** (ape), (or the 1974 TV series with McDowell but not Heston), “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” is a high-tech, far cry from the DISCOUNT HALLOWEEN COSTUME STORE RUBBER-MASKED primate sci-fi drama. It’s about Big Pharma and Big Research and Big Greed and Tortured Lab Animals and Wouldn’t It Be Nice If We Would Just Hand Earth Over to the Animals Because They’re Generally Better People Than We Are.

Will Rodman (a mediocre James Franco—sorry!) is a scientist who dreams of curing Alzheimer’s. It’s also personal because his Dad (John Lithgow) suffers from the disease. Will works for a lab that dreams of making lots of money off Will’s experiments on apes. There is great promise in a serum injected in the animals, but things go off track and the whole experiment is shut down and the apes put down. Will adopts the infant (whom his Dad names “Caesar”—played by Andy Serkis) of one of the euthanized chimps and raises him at home. It turns out Caesar was positively enhanced by the serum injected in his mother, so Will injects it into his Dad. When Caesar attacks someone in the neighborhood (defending Will’s Dad) he is court-ordered to a primate refuge, much to the chagrin of Will and Caesar.

Caroline (Freida Pinto, “Slumdog Millionaire,” good actress!) is a veterinarian who becomes Will’s love interest, but doesn’t influence the story much at all.

The end of “Rise” is a long chase/escape/battle of the apes breaking free from imprisonment and humans trying to stop them.

“Rise” is a bit cloying in its use of the ape’s facial expressions and human-like qualities. But, of course, we have to be invested in Caesar who is a non-human main character. However, even though these are fictional, enhanced, higher-intelligence apes, people today are a bit confused about the actual place in Creation of animals in relationship to humans. There are statements in the film like: “They’re not people, you know,” and you get the feeling that we, the audience, are supposed to be saying under our breath: “Oh, yes they are!”

There is not much of a take-away here. No memorable dialogue or lessons to be learned. Sheer entertainment.

I think the impulse and insight (of the nature/animal lover) that nature/animals are good and innocent should be affirmed. But too often, humans are seen as bad and corrupt, and therefore nature/animals are necessarily better/higher. (When you think about it, this is a Protestant view of humans!) I totally get this because that’s where I was at before I met God.

Those who LOVE nature/animals inordinately (or over-against humans) and those who ABUSE nature/animals are actually cut from the same cloth. NEITHER see humans as PART of nature, but standing outside it. For the nature/animal lovers, humans are aliens who do not belong here and have no right to the Earth which belongs rightly to nature/animals. For the nature/animals abusers, they see humans as above nature/animals which are simply things to be utilized with impunity.

Only God gives the proper context for and perspective on nature/animals. All Creation, including humans, belong to God. Humans/nature/animals are all God’s. God has entrusted humans to care for HIS Creation—the way that He Himself would/does. We should do so with love and gratitude and humility and reverence and awe and mercy and justice and kindness.

_____________________
*OK—I just want to make it clear that I saw RERUNS of the 1968 movie on television in the 70’s. Hopefully this lessens my decrepitude quotient.

**We DID love Roddy, didn’t we? His warmth came right through his mask. There’s even a nod to him in “Rise.” We see the NICE ape cage attendant, “Rodney,” watching Roddy on TV.

OTHER STUFF:

--I wonder if “Rise” means sequels. The parting shot of the film is open to that….

--Some physics-defying CGI movement in the beginning when Caesar is little and swinging around Will’s house.

--A lot of movies today about wonder drugs. Drugs that make you really smart.

--The tree of knowledge of good and evil in the Garden of Eden was really about deciding for OURSELVES what is good and evil, right and wrong.

--It’s amazing what we can’t see when we can’t see.

--Can monkeys really use sign language to communicate with each other?

--Without God, we become control freaks. Of necessity. It's hard enough not to be one WITH God.

--Without a God-context, there’s really nothing to stop us from doing whatever we want for whatever personal reasons we want. We could choose to follow nature’s good plans, or we could choose reasonableness because we have good will and we’re nice people, but good may appear to us as evil and evil as good, and…I hate to say this but, without God, we can all be our own little Nazis (whether we realize it or not).

--Andy Serkis also played Gollum in LOTR!

--Brian Cox is a great actor. Would love to see more of him.

--Quite a few story unbelievability “REALLY??” moments.

PAULINE BOOKS & MEDIA--CHICAGO

2011-08-17T09:52:00.002-05:00

MEDIA LITERACY EDUCATION & PHILOSOPHY

2011-08-14T20:38:00.002-05:00

DVDs: "OUT OF THE DARKNESS"

2011-08-12T00:58:00.004-05:00

"Out of the Darkness" is a new DVD on porn featuring an ex-porn actress and now Christian who helps others out of the porn industry: Shelley Lubben; the founder of www.thekingsmen.us : Mark Houck; an Alfred Kinsey expert: Dr. Judith Reisman; and a psychiatrist: Dr. Richard Fitzgibbons.

Filmed in an up-to-the-minute documentary style (heavy on interviews), "Out of the Darkness" is neither visually graphic nor verbally explicit. It's pretty much a must-see. Shelley's entire life story is very enlightening. Mark Houck, addicted to porn as a young man, sought help and founded an organization to help others of of porn, and to fight porn. Dr. Judith has spent her life trying to publicize a very important piece of the history of the sexual revolution in the USA (namely the architect of it all: Alfred Kinsey--who was undeniably a pedophile and sexual pervert). Dr. Richard Fitzgibbons diagnoses some of the ills of the generations growing up with "porn as normal," and speaks about the antitode to porn: Theology of the Body.

There is frequent use of "old time" stock film footage and home movies* (sometimes repeated) and a little bit of a re-enactment (also repeated). The repetition gets old fast. There's a large black border around some of the old footage, but I'm assuming that's more because of the quality/dimensions of the footage than a stylistic choice. It doesn't bother me, and is almost a welcome change up.

A pleasing, but sometimes uneven technique is to have the camera angled in several different ways to really capture the emotions, moods (mostly reflective, but sometimes smiling) and facial expressions of the four interviewees (these four were a great choice). The camera catches what the words WEREN'T saying or COULDN'T say.

I would have prefered everyone to have the same color background rather than at least three different colors. Dr. Judith's black is super dramatic, Shelley's bright orange matches her sunny personality, Dr. Fitzgibbons' white is kind of neutral-feeling, and I don't remember what Mark's was. It jarred me a bit going from one to the other. I wouldn't have minded the technique of the interviewee's voice over their video when they weren't actually speaking used more or as a lead-in to the interviews.

The message of "Out of the Darkness" is dire and urgent, but it's also very much "all hope is not lost." "There's ALWAYS a way out."

Winner for Best Director, John Paul II Film Festival, Miami, 2011
www.jp2filmfestival.com

Order from: www.anteroompictures.com , 80 min.
________
*perhaps royalty free?

"ROLLING THUNDER" BIKERS SUPPORT ALBERIONE FILM!

2011-08-11T22:38:00.002-05:00

"Rolling Thunder" bikers help support the Alberione Film!

Pauline Faithways: Partying with St. Paul

DIGITAL DINOSAURS

2011-08-08T23:34:00.000-05:00

CHICAGO: ST. MICHAEL'S FILM FEST, FRIDAY AUGUST 12

2011-08-08T21:21:00.004-05:00

http://www.st-mikes.org/film-fest.html

THEOLOGY OF THE BODY APOLOGETICS

2011-08-08T21:20:00.000-05:00

Gotta love the fig leaf bikini

FR. ALBERIONE'S HOLY FAMILY INSTITUTE

2011-08-08T15:52:00.001-05:00

Check out Sr. Margaret Joseph's blog post on the recent Holy Family Conference in Ohio!

Pauline Faithways: In It Together

CHICAGO: ST. MICHAEL'S OUTDOOR FILM FEST--EVERY FRI NITE OF AUGUST--FREE ADMISSION!

2011-08-01T23:45:00.004-05:00

St. Michael's Church in Old Town
http://www.st-mikes.org/film-fest.html

AUGUST 5 -- Actress (Mother) Dolores Hart in person!

AUGUST 8 --(Monday) Play: "Sister Calling My Name" at St. John Cantius Church

AUGUST 12 -- "THE FALL"

AUGUST 19 -- "THE STONING OF SORAYA M"

AUGUST 26--"THE HUMAN EXPERIENCE"

MOVIES: "ANOTHER EARTH'

2011-07-31T23:43:00.008-05:00

This is the movie poster.

This should have been the movie poster.

Lest the dreamy title throw you, this is not a dreamy film. The title means, quite literally, that in this film there is another Earth dangling above us, quite visibly. But the film is not really sci-fi. It’s a drama. A tad existential, but for those of you who did NOT appreciate “Tree of Life,” “Another Earth” is linear and very easy to follow.

“Another Earth” is a young film—its writers/director hovering around 30 years old. I have found that this generation of filmmakers tells stories very succinctly (perhaps also because they are used to online short form video?) We are out of the gates in the least amount of time possible and have just a ton of information in the first few minutes. Without the exposition being crammed, we know everything we need to know and are propelled very quickly into the action and the heart of the story.

A young woman with her whole life ahead of her—just accepted into MIT—is driving and staring up at “Earth 2” when she plows into a minivan, killing the driver’s little son and pregnant wife. The driver survives. The film then takes on a silent, but not somber tone. After serving time in prison, the young woman adopts a penitential lifestyle which eventually leads her to the man whose family she wiped out.

Much of the film has an air of quietude. There is very little talking except for radio, TV and other devices keeping us abreast of the news after the appearance of “Earth 2.” However, there is plenty of story development, all told visually—as a film should be! In fact, the audio of the film becomes so nonexistent at certain points that you can hear people munching their popcorn. The young adults in my theater (there were only young adults) squirmed a little at first, cleared throats, but then bought fully into the experience of silence and actually imitated it. Nobody stirred during the quietest on-screen moments. After a while, “Another Earth” becomes mesmerizing. Even when the young woman begins to talk again, the economical tale-telling, consistent pace and precise camera angles (with a generous amount of handheld) have locked us in.

The story is strong and suspenseful. When the judiciously-utilized music isn’t percussive, it’s a lone piano or violin (the soundtrack is by musicmakers “Fall on Your Sword”—how tragically romantic is that?) There is a noticeable lack of music-video-like sequences or even contemporary rock or hip-hop. The color palette is blue and brown, the visual style is simple but not minimalistic. The acting is naked, exposed and very good, shot in a kind of neo-realism. There are really only two main characters, but it doesn’t feel sparse.

The main question posed seems to be (since everyone has a double on “Earth 2”): “What would you do if you could meet yourself? What would you say? What would you see?” I’m not sure this is a worthy, serious question to form a whole movie around, but I can’t stop thinking about it.

OTHER STUFF:

--THEOLOGY OF THE BODY: This is a great male/female collaboration. Kudos to Brit Marling and Mike Cahill.

--This film only cost $500,000 to make! It can be done, people!

--I have, like, NO interest whatsoever in space travel.

--I always ask myself about a film: What’s the takeaway? What’s MY takeaway? What (if anything) will I remember about this film a year from now, six months from now, 3 weeks from now? I think I’ll remember the stellar acting (especially the cosmonaut joke scene), and just how this young woman handled an “unforgivable” tragedy that she was responsible for.

--If this IS sci-fi, it’s Ray Bradbury-style: a little outlandishness for the sake of reflecting on some profound moral truth. However, Mike Cahill, the filmmaker, is actually very, very excited about planets. AND the ending actually doesn’t make sense WITHOUT the parallel Earth, so maybe it’s more sci-fi than it seems at first.

--Not fond of the movie poster. Doesn’t say anything. Made me not want to see the film.

--Great awkward moments.

--Subtle metaphors everywhere.

--Incredibly sharp verbal audio.

--This style of indie film reminds me of how 90’s grunge music wanted to dress down the over-the-top 80’s hair bands. Nirvana thought even their drum kits were ridiculous and just pared everything down to “melody.” I think this has been achieved in the realm of film by “Another Earth.”

--You realize just how well-made the film was AFTER you leave the theater. Very well-thought out and executed story. Brilliant exposition. There’s a studied ordinariness to everything in the film that rings true and makes you comfortable at the same time.

--Seriously? It made me think of the many times I could have killed somebody because of my carelessness in a car!

--VERY little technology-use by characters in the film. The young woman is also a reader. I wonder if there is a contingent of the younger generation that yearns for less technology use in daily life. Or perhaps just a simpler life.

--I think there is an obvious redemption theme here AND a less obvious one.

--Why are we so obsessed with "out there"? Is it:

a) longing for the transcendent?
b) "because it's there" (like Everest)?
c) escapism?
d) we don't want to deal with "here"? (but the young woman DID deal with "here")
e) it's the only way we can bear to look at ourselves?
f) all of the above?

At least in "Another Earth," I think the answer is "in order to understand." To gain understanding. I think Jesus approves because He said: "Seek and you shall find. Knock and the door will be opened to you."

DVDS: "IF ONLY WE HAD LISTENED"

2011-07-26T21:00:00.009-05:00

On Friday, July 22, I attended a screening at the Wit Hotel in Chicago's Loop of "If Only We Had Listened"--a new documentary by Immaculee Ilibagiza and Sean Bloomfield (available at
www.kibeho.net ) who were both present for the evening. Immaculee Ilibagiza is a Rwandan genocide survivor who lost most of her family in the massacres, but managed to escape by hiding in a tiny bathroom with several other women for three months. Her story is movingly told in her book, "Left to Tell."

This fine documentary is a combination history of the genocide, Immaculee's story and return to Rwanda today, as well as a chronicling of the Vatican-approved apparitions of Our Lady at Kibeho, Rwanda. Our Lady began appearing in Rwanda in 1981 (the same year as Medjugorje), calling herself "Mother of the Word," and warning of the horrors to come. (The visionaries saw visions of rivers flowing with human blood--which came to pass during the murders of over 1,000,000 people in a country of 7.5 million.) Immaculee's narration fills in many details about this furiously short but horribly dark period of recent history.

There is something very alive about this documentary. I was already very familiar with what transpired during the genocide (having followed it in the news as it unfolded in the 90's). I was familiar with Immaculee's story (having read her book). But I was not familiar with the aftermath of Rwanda's unspeakable anguish. Due in part to finally heeding Our Lady of Kibeho's message to "turn back to God, pray, forgive, love each other," Rwandans have reached down deep into their hearts and forgiven those (often their own neighbors) who slaughtered their families. While many of the killers are in jail, others have already been freed. The cases of revenge have been few.

But Our Lady of Kibeho's messages were not just for Rwanda. She warned of a "world running to its destruction, running to the fire." She tells us to "pray without hypocrisy." She urges us to "resist with all your might the temptations of Satan which lead away from God's light and into darkness." These messages--and others put forth in the documentary--are still ringing in my ears. I feel like she is saying them to me, personally! Kibeho is slowly becoming a place of pilgrimage, peace and reconciliation for Rwanda, other parts of Africa, and the whole world.

The documentary moves along at a rhythmic clip, carried by an undercurrent of African dancing, joyful songs of praise in glorious harmony, bright colors, drumbeats and lush Rwandan landscapes. Actual footage of the visionaries witnessing Our Lady's visits is a highlight. Scenes of dead bodies are tactfully done, often in black and white or with muted effects, but without diminishing the tragedy. We witness Immaculee forgiving and comforting the man who killed her family. Out of all of her and Rwanda's unimaginable pain, rises hope. Immaculee tells us (as we witness carefree Rwandan children at play): "Maybe we suffered so they don't have to." Today, Rwanda is one of Africa's most peaceful countries.

Only once the documentary lagged for me: when Immaculee visited her old house and reminisced at length about her childhood. I also wanted to hear more about her process of forgiveness (starting from rage and a desire for revenge). However, these are extremely minor flaws, and all pertinent bases are covered at least briefly in this film that will leave you wanting to know more about this both scarred and blessed land, these blighted and blessed events.

At first, I didn't like the title: "If Only We Had Listened." To me, it sounded like Rwandans were bad people being punished, while in reality the historical roots of the genocide are to be found in the "divide and conquer" tactics of foreign colonists, knowingly pitting tribes against each other. But I came to realize that the title was a taking responsibility for one's actions, the actions of one's country, in order to move ahead. It's also a warning to the rest of us to listen to God, to listen to His Mother, because what happened in Rwanda could happen anywhere. Immaculee cautions: "Don't play with hatred because it is a terrible thing." Undoubtedly, there was also something diabolic afoot in Rwanda during the genocide, as eyewitnesses attest. What I learned from the documentary, is that for Immaculee, the viciousness and magnitude of the genocide calls for a lasting spiritual and divine solution, not a tenuous human or political one. She puts everything firmly on the grounds of faith, as have many of her countrymen, and they have been proved right. Love, forgiveness and non-violence WORKS.

I believe this documentary will do great good. I love all of Our Lady's apparitions, but right now, Our Lady of Kibeho is speaking to me loudly and clearly. I'm not someone who struggles with the need to forgive, but it's more Our Lady's call to get my own spiritual house and relationships in order that touches me. (Immaculee has also written a book called: "Our Lady of Kibeho: Mary Speaks to the World from the Heart of Africa.")

For media relations, screenings, distributions and wholesale DVDs, please contact Royce Hood: royce@kibeho.net

"Don't wear your faith like a coat you take on and off during life. That won't save you when you die." --Our Lady of Kibeho

"This is not your home. You are temporary travelers here." --Our Lady of Kibeho

MOVIES: "CAPTAIN AMERICA"

2011-07-22T16:01:00.008-05:00

“Captain America” is yet another superhero movie in what an “Entertainment Weekly” columnist calls a “glut” of superhero movies. What makes “Captain America” different from the others? It’s a period-piece (WWII), it takes a profound look at the very specific nature of Nazi evil, has visual effects and action scenes to give Michael Bay a run for his money, and has miles and miles of heart.

There are several poignant, small, quiet, touching scenes in the beginning of the film that set-up Captain America’s inner self. Captain America is actually Steve Rogers (Chris Evans), a slight little guy from Brooklyn who never backs down from a fight, and who is desperately trying to enlist in the military but keeps getting rejected because of his size and health. An Einstein-like doctor (Stanley Tucci)—before transforming Rogers into Captain America (also Chris Evans)—gives him advice about not changing from the good man he is after he gains his mighty new powers. He also tells him: “Strong men don’t value strength, they take it for granted, but a weak man values strength…and compassion.” Rogers takes this advice, and in a biblical-style showdown with evil he readily admits to his “nothingness,” wherein lies his strength.

Eviler-than-thou Johann Schmidt aka “The Red Skull” (alter egos abound!) is Captain America’s nemesis. In a fresh antagonist-twist, Schmidt decides he’s greater than Hitler and quests after his own world domination. Schmidt is played to the teeth (he has great teeth) by Hugo Weaving (remember creepy Agent Smith in “The Matrix”? He’s also “V”--whose face we never see--in “V is for Vendetta,” AND the voice of Megatron in “Transformers”!)

For all the red, white, and blue splattered everywhere, and the moniker “Captain America,” the “rah, rah, USA!” factor is played way down. The war effort is clearly an international affair with Brits and Frenchmen, and the Americans include various nationalities, with a special nod to Japanese-Americans.

“Captain America” is a lush, all-stops-pulled-out, old-fashioned, movie-going extravaganza experience. So even if you don’t like comic book culture or wham-bang action/explosion movies, you’ll probably enjoy “Captain America,” which leaves plenty of room to breathe between shoot-‘em-up scenes, developing some surprisingly finessed dramatic storytelling along the way.

The philosophical/occult roots of Nazi science-meets-mythology ambitions are well portrayed.

Captain America is a great “David and Goliath” story, really. Brains and guts win the day. Steve Rogers is not a lover of violence. When asked if he wants to kill Nazis he says: “I don’t want to kill anybody, I just don’t like bullies.”

OTHER STUFF:

--How did they make Chris Evans so skinny as Steve Rogers?

--Chris Evans is from Massachusetts. He turned down the role several times before signing on. The studio was totally justified in waiting for him.

--Kudos to director Joe Johnston and cinematographer Shelly Johnson (a dude) who hadn’t really done anything spectacular until CA!

--Marvel Comics has a very cool video-logo of actual comic pages scrolling in a whizzing-filmstrip fashion.

--(The philosophical/occult roots of Nazi science-meets-mythology ambitions are well portrayed.) Nieztsche’s “superman” is called “strongman.”

--Stan Lee’s comic book debut was in 1941 with issue #3 of “Captain America.”

--Norway is the fitting locale for the secret hiding place of a powerful force (riffing off nuclear power, no doubt). In reality, during WWII, the Nazis were trying to develop an atomic bomb in Norway. Of course, it takes time, and they were at the heavy water stage or something, but it was foiled by some heroic Norwegians, several of whom lost their lives in the process, first by breaking into Nazi labs, and then by sinking a ferry containing important bomb-making components, forcing the Nazis to scrap the whole program as their fortunes turned in the War.

--The screenwriters did their historical homework.

--Checkout the loooooong list of credits for “Visual Effects” on www.imdb.com. Wowza.

--So grand to see Tommy Lee Jones in a made-for-Tommy-Lee-Jones role!

--Stunning art direction, framing, mise-en-scene.

--Prediction: Chris Evans shall go places. He has that “stillness” that is needed in actors (as opposed to “twitchy”). I get the feeling he’s just at the beginning of his range of what he can do. He didn’t overreach in this movie, which I think was wise. There’s a vulnerability/humility to his acting and to the way he portrayed Rogers/Captain America that is endearing. Unlike "actor" Daniel Craig who is just ALL smug swagger and he has nothing to be smug about because he is NOT an actor and besmirches the profession. I just had to say that because I just saw him in a preview.

--There can never be too many movies about Nazis. We really need to be reminded of the whole scope of what happened there.

--Sweet love story between Steve Rogers and a female officer of higher rank.

--Strong bookends and ending that segues us for the sequel(s).

--“Stay a good man.” Isn’t that the conundrum of every soldier? But often they can wind up simply trying to “preserve their own humanity.” Of course, the big picture of WWII was so much more clear-cut than other modern wars as far as good vs. pretty pure, unadulterated evil.

--The hands-down BEST Holocaust movie for kids is “The Boy in the Striped Pajamas.”

--There’s still that “invincible American” feel to the movie, AND defying authority/orders and then being rewarded for it. However, there are lots of battles where CA is fighting alongside others, so he’s not quite the “lone ranger.”

--Science enables brute power. Brute power enables science. Watch out for those little bespectacled guys scurrying around with briefcases full of equations. They’re just as dangerous as the brawn.

--Red Skull thinks he’s the man of the future and Captain America is just in denial. Captain America simply says: “Not my future.” That’s right, folks! We don’t have to buy into any evil future we don’t want to!

MOVIES: "MIDNIGHT IN PARIS"

2011-07-21T00:42:00.004-05:00

Can you say "best movie poster of 2011"? VERY smart to only have ONE poster for a movie to "brand" it! (Especially when it's this good and says everything about the movie in a nutshell.) Not only is it totally eye-catching (especially if you like Van Gogh, which I pretty much do), but it's truly evocative of the story.

"Midnight in Paris" is being called by some "Woody Allen's best." Only having seen a handful of Allen's movies, I wouldn't be a good judge, but "MIP" is enjoyable, even with its kind of low-tech, simple 70's-style cinematography (whether intended or not, I don't know). And Owen Wilson proves his mettle by pulling off an act that maybe only Owen Wilson could. The part he plays is deceptively difficult, because it seems like he's actually playing the part Woody would play: a funny, neurotic mess. As someone said: "This is Woody's best because he wrote it, directed it and stayed out of it."

I don't think I'm giving too much away when I say "Midnight in Paris" involves time travel. Another feat for Wilson. It also involves the literary/artistic past, but you don't have to be an effete snob to know who Hemingway or Picasso is. OK, I was a little shaky on Gertrude Stein, but I just went with it and got it from the context, OK? "MIP" is laugh-out-loud funny. One woman in my theater laughed out loud at all the NON-funny obscure literary/artistic references just so we'd all know she got it.

Being incredibly cultured myself (except for Gertrude Stein), which means I was forced to read "The Old Man and the Sea" in high school, I got into a fit of laughter when Hemingway starts TALKING LIKE HE WRITES, which you--being equally cultured--know is short, bold, staccato sentences. Hemingway is played by Corey Stoll--who outshines every other minor character in the movie. Adrien Brody is a close second as Salvador Dali (but he should have had a longer, twirly moustache), and Carla Bruni (France's first lady) comes in third as an understated, lowly tour guide.

Indubitably, Woody Allen had his actors ad-lib in that wonderful, overlapping, realistic, interrupting, Jewish kind of way. Wilson was frighteningly superb here, whereas Rachel McAdams seemed to be striving to keep up. Lots of funny two-ring circuses going on in backgrounds....

My one big gripe with the film is what my screenwriting professor at UCLA, Hal Ackerman, called "the blurt." Where you just spill your guts and tell us exactly what we're supposed to know with no artistry or hidden exposition. It happens at the end of "MIP." Owen Wilson and the Marion Cotillard character just start disgorging themselves (to us) as to what the whole movie is about. We get it! We get it! A million times over: We get it!

OTHER STUFF:

--Great Woody Allen "old time music" soundtrack

--Should have kept to the "bells tolling at midnight" trope for Cotillard's time travel!

--No one from yesteryear seems to notice or mentions how weirdly they're dressed. That didn't ring true.

--Great audio-only lead-in at beginning of film, setting the scene.

--"Nostalgia is denial of the painful present."

--"The present is a little unsatisfying because life is a little unsatisfying."

--Absolute funniest time-travel line from a hypochondriac: "They don't even have antibiotics."

--I was asking myself why these particular writers'/artists' art has endured.

--A lot of butt-focused shots. Of the female variety. A lot.

--It's interesting that the French (as many cultures today) have separated love from life (including infidelity, contraception), but they make it LOOK like they have all the trappings of love. Tres interessant: the visceral reaction of French women to the IMF's Strauss-Kahn rape accusation. The "dirty little secret" is that sexy, enlightened, liberated French women feel...wait for it...used and abused??!!

--Hemingway's (good) advice to writers: "A writer needs time to write." "You don't want the opinion of another writer: writers are competitive." "You'll never write well if you're afraid of death."

--My mother sez halfway through the movie: "This is fun!"

--"MIP" is a great concept. Feels like there could be lots of spin-offs!

2011-07-20T13:36:00.000-05:00

MOVIES: "TRANSFORMERS 3--DARK OF THE MOON"

2011-07-08T23:39:00.004-05:00

Um, everyone seems to be trashing “Transformers 3” as badly as Michael Bay trashed the city of Chicago, but I thought the story-line was great, and of course, Bay is THE master of non-stop, can’t-look-away, how-did-they-film-that action films. A true master of an art can make even the uninterested interested in their craft or genre. Even me, who doesn’t care for rock ‘em, sock ‘em Big Violence Fantasy Wars and Explosions. Bay has a way of keeping the camera in motion, the undulating action on screen in synch with the human eye in a most pleasing fashion. I think he’s following some law of physics. Even the slo-mo ever-falling debris while Chicago is under siege from the sky is not only realistic and detailed, but provides a fascinating backdrop. There’s also an eye-popping scene when a building is cracking in two and the building becomes one great big slide for the characters.

The dialogue is far more sophisticated and quirky than most comic book flicks with their obvious, over-the-top declarations and lingo. But it still maintains and masters the non-realistic comic book campiness. In contrast, in “T3,” the emotional tenor of each scene truly varies (it’s not just all tension and “let’s get the bad guys”). Most of the scenes had more going for them, and more nuance than movies I’ve seen that had no special effects, and were SUPPOSED to be pure dramas!
In installation “3” of “Transformers” (“Transformers—Dark of the Moon”), Optimus Prime and the Autobots, who lost the war against the Decepticons, have stayed on Earth to save humans from destroying themselves. But they’re not finished with their nemeses yet! The war isn’t over, it’s just been moved to Earth!

“Transformers 3” is phenomenally well-cast (all except for military dude Josh Duhamel who looks like he skipped Basic Training and isn’t sure what he’s supposed to be doing). Shia LaBeouf (Sam) proves himself a solid actor once again and is required to express quite a range of emotions. British import (and Victoria’s Secret model) Rosie Huntington-Whiteley (Carly), Megan Fox’s replacement, isn’t just a pretty face, but holds her own as a thesp. John Malkovich is just delightful as Sam’s bizarro boss. Frances McDormand plays the no-nonsense, “don’t call me ma’am,” head of some kind of National Security. Ubiquitous character actor, John Turturro, also has a leading role. Patrick Dempsey is winning as the villain.

Bay’s action scenes always maintain their humanity. To me, this is what makes his movies so watchable. They’re not just big, dumb plot points and special effects. Human touches, conversation, personalities, virtues, rich character choices and development abound throughout the action. Just when you think an interminable sequence of chases and battles (often reaching from outer space to Earth) is never going to end, there’s a change of pace, an actor’s moment to shine, a close-up, an unusual situation we’ve never seen before. (How about that Jerry Wang? The Russians?)

I loved the beginning set-up of the 1969 moon landing. Real news footage interwoven with simulated footage. Some reviewers/moviegoers think Bay has sort of plundered American history or something by doing this. I think it’s right in keeping with comic book lore! Comic books often use actual historical cities and events (how many use Nazi themes?) In actuality, this and Chernobyl are the only two historical events “plundered.” Sam starts of in D.C., so we see the landmarks there (very cool—in a bad way—what happens to the Lincoln Memorial), and then we move to Chicago. That’s about all the plundering.

OTHER STUFF:

--Way to use the planet as an arena for a great comic book/sci-fi saga, Michael Bay! Not even African wildlife are safe from Megatron! Bay must have so much fun shooting his epics. He spent way more time in Chicago than he was supposed to because he "fell in love with the city and was finding any excuse to stay."

--“T3” is FUNNY.

--Bay got his Megan Fox digs in in one of the first scenes. The scraggly little comic-relief Autobots talk about how they didn’t like “the other girl.” “Yeah, she was mean.” I like these little guys and wish we saw more of them, and wish they had even funnier lines/parts.

--Lots and lots of adrenaline-inducing aerial shots. Take your Dramamine.

--I would have a lot more nice things to say about “T3,” but for the first time in my life, in a super-dark theater in Burlington, Massachusetts, I took 7 pages of notes with a dried-up ballpoint. Yup. Not a word came out! A movie reviewer’s NIGHTMARE!!!

--Product placement: RED TWIZZLERS, of course. Note that they always EAT them, too. It seems that the GIRL always eats them. Gonna check on that in the future. LENOVO computers, and….TRANSFORMERS! Opening credits: “Made in collaboration with Hasbro.”

--I can’t even begin to imagine what one little part of one scene’s storyboard must look like! The thing about a Michael Bay movie is, you’d think it would take 10 years to make. But it doesn’t.

--What age is “Transformers 3” appropriate for? Lots of machine on machine violence, (the sparks do fly) and the occasional human on human. A few quick racy shots/conversations involving Rosie’s long legs and Sam’s matchmaking mother, but both may be lost on children. If your kids are enured to comic book/fantasy violence, “T3” probably won’t harm them. The most violent scene, IMHO, was when a nasty Decepticon in a spaceship zaps some teens and kids running away in the streets and they instantly become skulls and bones. Again, a quick shot.

--Guys must love the concept of talking to their cars. And they talk back. But even better than Herbie—they can fight and stuff.

--What was real and what was CGI? I can speak for the city of Chicago which Bay and his army of Hollywood crews took over for a good chunk of the summer! We didn’t see any Transformers, of course, but all the piled-up cars, broken pavement, explosions, fires burning and rubble were ALL OVER the city. The base-jumping off the Trump Tower was also real (of course they didn’t zoom around the city like they had jet packs on). Our back alley was the scene of the Parking Garage and school bus with Shia and Rosie and the rebel Decepticon. They were filming there for over a week and we got to meet Shia and Rosie. Michael Bay is known for filming as much as he possibly can LIVE and leaving what he can’t film to CGI. It really makes a difference in the realism, but the CGI is so well blended, it’s hard to tell what’s what.

--Most of the soundtrack is typical symphonic stuff, but every so often there’s a full, emotional , ballad-y song with words. An upbeat sung anthem plays while the credits roll.

--There’s a certain sense of patriotism throughout: young men rally to defend their country, the Earth, “freedom is for everyone,” taking sides and allegiances.

--There are some great—mistaken—philosophical/political bromides bandied about (and proven wrong): “You have to choose the winning side to have a place in history.” “We have to do what the majority wants, not the minority.” “We had to cut a deal.”

--Yay, Optimus Prime! He’s just so noble. For a robot (that used to be a “god” on his planet, yadda, yadda), he has such a great voice, that narrates the beginning and end of the film.

--Here are my blog posts from when “T3” was shooting in our back alley:

1. http://hellburns.blogspot.com/2010/08/transformers-3-filming-in-our-back.html

2. http://hellburns.blogspot.com/2010/08/more-transformers-3.html

FATHER ALBERIONE'S SPIRITUAL PLAN FOR FILM

2011-07-06T23:31:00.003-05:00

In 1947, Fr. Alberione wrote to Don Cordero (the SSP's first director-priest): "This morning the Lord answered me that the mission of the film is serious….and those who want to heal the cinema are still so poor in virtue, faith, and grace!…Success depends on three points:

a) great purity of heart, intentions, and works (single-heartedness);

b) to live the “without me you can do nothing” from real sacrifice and a crusade of prayer;

c) to set out with small steps, humbly, constantly toward the great goal…God wills it.”

“For your apostolate, so broad and urgent, no human restrictions or insurmountable bounds. The means, the instruments, the commitment are to be in proportion to the needs of humanity. Difficult and complex duties await you, that require boldness and specialized skills, in a society undergoing rapid progress, as is the press, the image, sound, and electronics. God wills it! It is necessary to begin!”

As early as 1939, the Founder had already prepared the Daughters of St. Paul for the film apostolate by asking them to place the intention for the film apostolate in their hour of adoration. Meanwhile, Mother Thecla Merlo absorbed the Founder’s personal spiritual formation for the project—discipline, sacrifice and the apostolic spirit—and guided the FSP in that same way according to three fundamental values:

¨ clear principles (broad vision),

¨ ardent desires (God’s glory and peace to humankind),

¨ and intense commitment to the interior life (humility and trust).

Mother Thecla herself worked IN the film apostolate. (No wonder she's helping us with film now!) One of the Daughters who spent most of her life working in the film apostolate, Sr. Luigina Borrano, fsp, called it a "martyrdom."

BOOKS: "THE CHURCH AND NEW MEDIA"

2011-07-06T20:11:00.002-05:00

MOVIES: "PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN 4"

2011-07-04T22:21:00.007-05:00

Not bad! I was pleasantly surprised and caught off-guard! My 8-year-old nephew rates it: "medium." (He needed a little help following the plot.) His favorite line: When Cap'n Jack Sparrow calls the King "His Hiney" instead of "His Highness."

"Pirates" 4 starts off without any belabored "catch ups" from the previous installations--a welcome relief. It's just all Johnny Depp all the time which is the whole reason we go to see "Pirates" anyway, right? Lots of chases and swashbuckling.

Penelope Cruz is Jack Sparrow's new love interest which is fitting because "Angelina" is supposed to be from Spain. Ian Mcshane is a fantastic, heartless Black Beard (or "Mr. Beard," as Jack Sparrow addresses him). There are cameos by Keith Richards and Judy Dench.

Geoffrey Rush reprises the role of the

(peg-legged) Captain Barbossa. (He's the only one that does convincing ARRRGGG pirate-speak.)

There is a prominent role for religion(!) in this "Pirates."

The absolute coolest introduction is the MERMAIDS. They're a little on the vampire side (you'll see). A mermaid's tear (how cool is that?) is needed for a ritual, so one mermaid is captured for the sake of a fresh tear. The mermaids may have shown a little too much skin(?), but I would need a man's honest opinion on this. Sometimes they had scales covering them up to the collarbone, sometimes the scales were only to the waist (with their long hair cascading strategically). Methinks they should have been consistently to the collarbone. Of course, it's not only a man's opinion that needs to weigh in here. Females need to reflect on how they're portrayed and how that makes them feel/act/react/try to imitate.

Astrid Berges-Frisbey (also a Spaniard!) plays Syrena, the captured mermaid. She manages to create this ethereal, other-worldly character so astonishingly well that she has set the new standard for cinematic mermaids (all apologies to Daryl Hannah), and there will be an outcry to see lots more of her (and mermaids in general) in the future.

I've only seen "Pirates" 1 and 4 and should probably backtrack to 2 and 3, because Angelina screams at the end to Jack Sparrow: "This isn't over yet!!!" which, of course, means there will be a "Pirates" 5.

THIS TOTALLY FITS WITH MY MEDIA LITERACY EDUCATION MASTERS...

2011-06-28T23:35:00.003-05:00

...if you think education is simply for data input....

POPE TWEETS ON VIGIL OF FEAST OF STS. PETER & PAUL

2011-06-28T19:16:00.002-05:00

For Catholics who worry about whether or not to use new media:

Cyberpriests already complaining that mobile version of new Vatican news site is needed. :]

SUMMER SALE @ PAULINE BOOKS & MEDIA!

2011-06-21T22:41:00.006-05:00

40% OFF 100 select titles, including some Daughters of St. Paul Choir CDs!

Click through titles http://tinyurl.com/PBMSummerSale

and order from Pauline Books & Media--Chicago! 312-346-4228

or stop in:

Pauline Books & Media

172 N. Michigan Ave.

Chicago, IL 60601

for hours, map and directions:

http://pauline.org/Locations/ChicagoIL/tabid/214/Default.aspx

MOVIES: "SUPER 8"

2011-06-21T16:54:00.006-05:00

“Super 8,” written and directed by the prolific TV/movie guru, J.J. Abrams (“Alias,” “Lost,” “Star Trek ” prequel, “Cloverfield”), is a collaboration with his hero, Steven Spielberg (who similarly started very young shooting “movies”). Actually, Abrams has known Spielberg since he was 15, but that’s another story.

“Super 8” is a semi-autobiographical story—set in 1979--about a bunch of middle-school friends who set out to shoot a zombie movie when they witness (and get on their Super 8 camera) a train crash involving the paranormal.

Charles (Riley Griffiths) is the demanding and overbearing natural-born director who uses big words and proper film terminology (and who also uses an unnecessary amount of profanity and blasphemy: “God,” and “Jesus” are every other word). I know that’s supposed to be his schtick, but it’s ugly, especially out of the mouth of such a young dude. “God” is bad enough, but I cringe every time I hear “the only name by which we may be saved” taken in vain. The Holy Name Society encourages us to whisper (or shout if you like) “…may He always be praised,” whenever we hear His name slandered. Hey, it’s giving us the opportunity to praise!

Joe (Joel Courtney) is the main character, and he’s, well, luminous. Kind of looks like and reminds me of the kid in “Almost Famous.” He has a crush on the female lead, Alice.

Cary (Ryan Lee) is the natural-born camera/SPFX guy (or maybe just a pyro) who looks like a little Tom Petty and provides comic relief and fireworks on call.

Martin (Gabriel Basso) is the male lead and a big chicken.

Alice (Elle Fanning) is the scrumptious female lead and natural-born actress. There are two wonderful scenes where she dazzles and enchants the guys with her ability to emote. Her character is sweet, sensitive, strong, reserved, and, at times, uncertain. Quite the age-appropriate.

“Super 8” is extremely reminiscent of “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” the wind, the night skies, the shining lights, the alien presence, the supernatural abductions, take-over of cars/electricity/energy sources, the pregnant silences followed by sudden jolts. It actually feels more Spielbergian than Abramsian! However the “monster” is pure Abrams, extremely reminiscent of “Cloverfield,” especially the slow reveals and the noises IT makes.

The middle-schoolers are truly middle-schoolers with a certain innocence to them. Middle-schoolers should LOVE this film of which they are the stars as well as the stars of the film-within-the-film (make sure to stay for the credits to watch the kids’ finished zombie film). “Super 8” is especially pertinent today with virtually every young person shooting video from their childhood on, on inexpensive, high-quality video phones and other handheld devices. The child actors are pros, and the story is truly told from a tween POV by filmmakers who are still in touch with their own youth.

THEOLOGY OF THE BODY: Joe and Alice have both lost their mothers and have rocky relationships with their Dads. The lack of the feminine/motherliness in both their lives (and that of their fathers) leaves a gaping hole. This is portrayed in a true-to-life way, and I believe that Spielberg and Abrams (both good, wholesome family men), really believe in this ying-yang, but I have to say that it does feel like our emotional buttons are being very deliberately pushed here. (Which I never mind, but other movie-goers may. I’m a big fan of emotions.) The MOST Theology of the Body scenes for me are Alice’s acting and the guys’ reactions, and another lovely scene where Joe watches a home movie of his deceased mother with himself as a baby and says: She always looked at me like I mattered, like I existed.

The 1970’s era is captured well with lots of great artifacts: macramé owl wall-hanging, TAB, Soviet scare, “Keep on Truckin’,” CBs, dial-phones (OMGosh how did we STAND that?!), Pillsbury foodsticks.

The plot is very familiar, but enjoyable. I left the theater smiling. Broadly.

OTHER STUFF:

--A small, select, solid choice of 1979 songs.

--The unknown actors (except for Kyle Chandler as Joe’s Dad) really works well—gets us focusing on the story.

--We didn’t say “awesome” or “dork” in the 70’s. We didn’t.

--Those red Twizzlers again.

--Lots of “historical” guffaws: “There is no overnight developing of film.” The first cassette Walkman: “a slippery slope.”

--Spielberg loves TV! He always has TVs going in the background in people’s homes and we can always catch what they’re saying….

--Lots of great, continuous realistic dialogue and chatter.

--Good “drugs are bad” lesson. Older teen misses all the fun and is useless because he’s stoned.

--“Super 8” was edited by two women.

--No super-long chases. They’re very short-spurt-chases. Sr. Helena likes this better than long, boring chases. But she does like long, exciting chases (like in “The Island” on a SoCal freeway).

JUNE 21--JUNE 29: NOVENA TO ST. PAUL--JOIN US!

2011-06-21T00:21:00.003-05:00

St. Paul has his own feastday on June 30....without that other guy.

MOVIES: "COURAGEOUS" (OPENS SEPTEMBER 30)

2011-06-19T13:59:00.003-05:00

2011 is the “Year of the God Film”: “Soul Surfer,” “Tree of Life,” and now “Courageous.”

“Courageous” is the much-anticipated movie on fatherhood by the same people who gave us “Fireproof.” (“Fireproof” is the story of a fireman whose marriage is on the rocks, in part due to his internet porn use, and what happens from there. It was the #1 independent film of 2008. With its tie-in printed resource components like “The Love Dare Book,” the film impacted thousands of real-life marriages.) “Courageous” was well worth the wait, and will doubtless do the same to strengthen fathers in their oh-so-vital vocation.

“Sherwood Pictures” (a ministry of Sherwood Baptist Church in Albany, Georgia) is behind these two great films. They are THE most “Theology of the Body” films out there, and I’m sure Blessed John Paul II the Great is smiling on them from glory.

“Courageous” is about four policemen, their families, and what being a father means. “Honor begins at home” is the film’s short, sweet and apt tagline. Cops are about serving, protecting, honoring, right? Guys are about serving, protecting, honoring, right? And there’s lots of wonderful and needed ways they do that outside the home, often for the sake of home, but there’s no place like home to do it. So many things pull men away from home: work, demanding work, overtime work, wars, travel, hobbies, volunteer/charitable work, even church work. So many men are tempted to measure their worth and success by the external benchmarks, accolades, promotions and achievements outside the home, but, really? A man’s home is his castle. Everyone’s first vocation is to love their families. Our greatest bragging rights should always be about our particular vocation to love, our particular way of loving (married, single, priesthood, religious life). When people ask us what we “do,” we should talk about our vocations, our families first, the people in our lives, what we “are,” before what we “do.”

The stories, struggles, tragedies and joys in “Courageous” ring true, and the acting is superb. Sherwood Pictures also has a way with tense action scenes. There’s just enough about and for women in “Courageous” as well. Young single men leaving screenings of “Courageous” have written on their surveys that they never really thought seriously about fatherhood before, but now they are looking forward to being good fathers! Sherwood Pictures doesn’t call their films “message” films (a Hollywood no-no) but “take action” films. Hear, hear!

“Courageous” asks the question: “How DO we do fatherhood? Who are our role models for it?” Here’s another possible tagline for “Courageous”: “Think fathers are important? So does ‘Courageous.’”

OTHER STUFF:

--There’s a slow-mo scene where a beautiful little girl is saved from harm’s way by the cops (the word “princess” comes to mind), and it seems like a random thing, but the more you gaze, the more you wordlessly realize: it’s all about us women, it’s all for us women, it’s all for the bride.
I’m not a fan of constant close-ups, but it seems to be the trend in movies these days. There’s a lot of close-ups, especially in the beginning.

--I think the hard thing for men AND women is not to lead a double life. As I watched the lives of these fictitious characters trying to be righteous, I thought: Yes—most of us want to be good, want to be good people, live good lives…BUT we also dissemble. We also want “something on the side.” I had a teenage boy in a youth group (where I was teaching 'em Theology of the Body) tell me only half-jokingly that he wanted to get married, but have “something on the side,” too. I asked him if he wanted to be a hero or a tool all his life. And there’s the rub. Our sins of whatever kind are ALWAYS a double-life, and sometimes we have a very developed double life. It’s so hard not to lead a double life. And then I got to hang out with "Courageous" actor, Ken Bevel—(I don’t mean to namedrop here)—who, I’ll bet, really walks the talk, and really is the strong, peace-filled, humble, Spirit-filled man of God he seems to be.

--The Latino couple who were introduced as sort-of main characters a bit later in the film detracted from the film for me. As soon as I “met” them, I didn’t buy anything about their lives. (And these were professional actors, as opposed to the many non-actors in the film! Their home set-up is very hokey: a cinematic light shines on a cross on the wall. A little blackboard in the kitchen says: “Jesus Loves You.” Nothing feels authentic. Even their accents sounded fake.) I know they were primarily supposed to be the comic relief, but it was rather corny (except for a few truly hilarious scenes where Javier, the husband, is interacting with his cop friends). There is one whole utterly-predictable sequence with the Latino couple toward the end of the film that really needed to be cut right out since he was really a minor character. Almost the exact same plot point was repeated back-to-back with it, involving one of the four policemen we are really invested in. Removing this scene would have really shored up the movie.

--One of the most important scenes in the film is when the policeman/father played by Ken Bevel (my new best Hollywood-South friend) takes his teen daughter out to a swanky restaurant almost as a passage into womanhood. Ken told me that he felt so much spiritual warfare during this scene and he kept on messing up his lines. What he tells her is what every daughter, every young woman needs to hear from her father.

--LADIES! Listen up! “Courageous” is NOT a date movie. Do NOT bring your husband/boyfriend and tell them: “This is what you’re supposed to be!” Uh-uh. Men need to go to this together. They’ll know what to do.

--The gang-actors are fabulous. The point is: gang-father fills in when there’s no father. Gang=family.

--GREAT LINES: Dad to teen daughter: “Any time a boy asks you to go anywhere , it’s a date.”

--“Courageous” is WELL-LIT. Sr. Helena LIKES WELL-LIT SETS. They are hard to find these days.

--Best relationship portrayal: Cop-father and his teenage son. (This is when I cried.)

--Best actor: Ken Bevel. I know him.

--MORE GREAT LINES: “I have to learn to do the hard things [in fathering].” “There is so much in Scripture about being a father.”

--DAUGHTERS NEED DADS, TOO! Thank you, “Courageous”!!!!

--I remember when I was growing up in the 19___’s, and my friend’s mother (a very intelligent woman) shocked me by saying emphatically—as she was watching some soap opera awards on her kitchen TV—“These actors show us how to solve our problems!” So why CAN’T we have some positive Christian films that show us how it’s done? If families aren’t staying together and working things out, why not use art and entertainment to show us how to do it? And millions of people DO live the way portrayed in "Courageous." “Courageous” is no less real than all the hopeless family stories we see constantly. But there is a huge segment of the “tragically hip” youth population who simply will not give films like “Courageous” a chance. It has to be younger, cooler, edgier, harder, or they will not even give it a look-see. Perhaps there is some deep dark truth to their cynicism. Perhaps we don’t know how much they have already suffered in their families in their young lives. Even though there is plenty of familial suffering in “Courageous,” it may not be of their harsher garden variety. And so it will be up to a younger generation of filmmakers to make “their” films. It’s kind of sad, though, to only be open to what one already knows.

WHEN MY FRIENDS AND ME WERE YOUNG (Yessss! I have finally reached old fartdom!) we were open to absolutely everything—old, boring, fresh, shabbily-presented, historical, new, whatever: we didn’t want to feel like we were missing out on ANYTHING, we wanted to know something about everything, we wanted to know everything our parents knew and then some. We prided ourselves on the breadth and depth of our interests. But perhaps there was much, much, much less to process—certainly less pop culture/media artifacts (good grief—3 TV channels, no internet), and perhaps we had more hope or a different kind of hope. It’s time for another generation to find their way. But “Courageous” could help. It really could.

--Yeah, it’s a little slow and Southern like “Fireproof.” So what?

--“As the family goes, so goes society.” –BJP2G

--“If you really want to understand all of reality, understand the rejection of the Fatherhood of God in the Garden of Eden.” –BJP2G

--The “Resolution” ritual: “Every girl crazy ‘bout a sharp-dressed man.”

--These words blew my mind in the father's "Resolution" ritual: “I will lay down my life, as Jesus did for me.” Usually, in TOB, we say, the husband lays down his life as Jesus laid down His life for His Bride, the Church. But it really starts with and includes what Jesus did for the husband (who is also the Bride, the Church), doesn’t it?

--Since “Courageous” is not Catholic, I did feel the lack of the Mass, sacraments and Catholic prayer-forms to keep the men strong in their “Resolution.” But hey, adapt it to yo’self if you is Catholic!

--“Prisons are full of men and women who were fatherless children. Single mothers are doing a great job, but they were never intended to carry the weight alone.”

--“Courageous” is not a tearjerker, but you WILL cry unless you’re a stone. That goes for you, too, guys—think “Toy Story 3.” We know you cried.

--Men leave “Courageous” convicted.

--Courageous was screened at NASCAR races.

--Ken (Bevel, that is) and I came to great agreement that MOVIEMAKING is one of the most important ministries in the Church today. It’s a VISUAL STORYTELLING WORLD.

--“Courageous”: Something to say and sayin’ it well.

For a "review" of my screening experience (when I met actor, Ken Bevel):

http://hellburns.blogspot.com/2011/05/movies-courageous-part-1.html

DOCUMENTARY: "CHAMPIONS OF FAITH--BASEBALL"

2011-06-19T13:42:00.005-05:00

SUPER-LOW RES TRAILER

Amazing storytelling! These are baseball stars who are also men of tremendous faith!

HIGHLIGHTS:

--I loved that they talked about and SHOWED their failures

--some INCREDIBLE stories/highlights: (Mike Sweeney fight, Sweeney's Dad giving up his baseball career for his family, "the chicken runs at midnight," St. Therese, Piazza & Clemmons, Piazza meeting the pope, etc.)

--real NICE short cuts

--wasn't much about the families/wives, but that's not what this documentary is about--it's about the individual man's struggle to achieve dreams and how that's best done with GOD

--great how these guys could really ARTICULATE not just a simple faith, but a total spiritual strategy for their lives, how it effects everything they do

--how WINNING is not everything in the end, it's being humble and grateful for all the good things that come your way

--ECKSTEIN not even seeing his injury as a bad thing

--"If you put God first in your life, He'll put you first."

--I loved the Latino guys: Ozzie (White Sox!), and Ivan and how religion is just like breathing to them, you just would never think of leaving God out of your life

--great shots of the guys at Mass, praying, etc.

--the father of "the chicken runs at midnite" girl talking about negative peer pressure....

--these guys expressed, in very unique ways, what faith means to them, nothing cliche(!), that I've never heard before, gave me a lot to think about

--Blessed James Alberione said: "God speaks to the soul after Communion" (Sweeney says sometimes he feels an intense burning in his heart after Communion)--I've never experienced this, so maybe it's a guy thing! ha ha

--tears! (real men cry!)

--SPORTSMANSHIP, forgiving on and off the field, setting a good example

--showing kids playing baseball a lot and how they aspire to be great someday, too

--I'm NOT a baseball lover at all, but it really made me feel the excitement of the game

--loved those CRACKS of the bat one right after the other at the end

Awesome job, great juxtaposition of visuals.

AVAILABLE ON NETFLIX!

FATHER ALBERIONE STATUE IS HERE!

2011-06-17T10:57:00.001-05:00

BOOKS BY BLESSED JAMES ALBERIONE IN ENGLISH--READ 'EM ONLINE!

2011-06-15T21:30:00.009-05:00

GOT ALBERIONE?

ALBERIONE'S AUTOBIOGRAPHY
(he writes in 3rd person: "he"):
"ABUNDANTES DIVITIAE GRATIAE SUAE"--"HOW RICH GOD IS IN GRACE"
http://www.alberione.org/operaomnia/download/pdf/ad_eng.pdf

ALBERIONE'S TRINITARIAN SPIRITUALITY:
"DONEC FORMETUR CHRISTUS IN VOBIS"--"UNTIL CHRIST BE FORMED IN YOU"
http://www.alberione.org/operaomnia/download/pdf/df_eng.pdf

ALBERIONE'S NOTES FOR SEMINARIANS:
"NOTES IN PASTORAL THEOLOGY" (1913)
http://www.alberione.org/operaomnia/download/pdf/atp_eng.pdf

ALBERIONE ON ST. PAUL:
"ST. PAUL, INSPIRATION AND MODEL"
(A Month with St. Paul, prayers to St. Paul, etc.)
http://www.alberione.org/operaomnia/download/pdf/APim_eng.pdf

ALBERIONE'S 10 HOURS OF ADORATION ON THE HOLY BIBLE:
"READ THE SACRED SCRIPTURES--THEY SPEAK TO YOU OF JESUS CHRIST" (1933)
http://www.alberione.org/operaomnia/download/pdf/ls_eng.pdf

ALBERIONE'S THOUGHT ON MEDIA:
(also: formation for Catholics in media, includes film, radio, etc.)
"THE PUBLISHING APOSTOLATE"
http://www.alberione.org/operaomnia/download/pdf/ae_eng.pdf

ALBERIONE'S EARLY THOUGHT ON WOMEN AND EVANGELIZATION:
"WOMAN ASSOCIATED WITH PRIESTLY ZEAL" (1910)
http://www.alberione.org/operaomnia/download/pdf/da_eng.pdf

ALBERIONE TO HIS LITURGICAL / CONTEMPLATIVE / ARTIST SISTERS:
"TO THE PIOUS (SISTER) DISCIPLES OF THE DIVINE MASTER" (1946)
http://www.alberione.org/operaomnia/download/pdf/apd46-47_eng.pdf

ALBERIONE TO HIS LITURGICAL / CONTEMPLATIVE / ARTIST SISTERS:
"TO THE PIOUS (SISTER) DISCIPLES OF THE DIVINE MASTER" (1947)
http://www.alberione.org/operaomnia/download/pdf/apd46-47_eng.pdf

FR. ALBERIONE'S BOOK ON MEDIA--READ ONLINE!

2011-06-15T14:23:00.006-05:00

It's called "The Publishing Apostolate," but it includes lots of other media. He wrote it in the 40's and 50's as a formation manual for Catholics in media!
http://www.alberione.org/operaomnia/download/pdf/ae_eng.pdf

Look for other "ENG" books by Alberione at http://www.alberione.org/operaomnia

MOVIES: "THE HUMAN EXPERIENCE"

2011-06-13T21:52:00.007-05:00

In case you haven't seen this film--released in April 2010, do. It's coming from a very unique (and good) place: a bunch of young guys from New York City with tough family backgrounds set out to make a film on the meaning of life as they travel around the world. Or rather, they set out to find the meaning of life. (The finished product is interspersed with interview-wisdom from pundits.) There are also well-spaced quotes from the likes of Viktor Frankl and Martin Luther King, Jr. If young people aren't reading as much these days, this is a great, visual way to pass on these legacies!

Everyone they meet along their gets their say in the film, too.

Don't be fooled by the quick-review-of-every-disaster-known-to-modern-man* at beginning of the trailer (and film)--my least favorite part of the film--because this film is deeply personal.

It takes on a sweeping breadth, but eventually achieves pinpoint focus.

In some ways, this is "Tree of Life" before "Tree of Life": The micro-macro beautiful shots of nature, the supremacy of family--particularly the father, the "cancer spores" and cosmos shots, opera soundtrack to ordinary life. How to explain this? When I was in film school, we asked our professors how Hollywood does it: a film comes out first and then the event actually happens in real life. The answer came back that artists are tapped into the zeitgeist (perhaps the Holy Spirit: zeitGeist), and are just prescient and pick up on these things! Terrence Malick's "Tree of Life" was thirteen years in the making, so it certainly predates "Human Experience." So maybe Malick and Grassroots Films were on the same wavelength, and it's also not impossible that Malick saw "The Human Experience," perhaps as it toured film festivals.

"Human Experience" gets off to a slowish start but not for long.

It's a very self-conscious film. But it's meant to be. And don't forget that this is the generation who has been filmed at birth, and then every minute following. They are very comfortable on camera. Too comfortable? If a tree falls in the forest, and no one is there to film it, did it really fall? The camera is their confessional and sometimes they seem like the real incidents and episodes of their lives--large and small--are there specifically for them to act in, and create a living memory of. On film. And they do it well. Very well.

I happened to know that these guys are religious. Catholic. But the film takes a phenomenological approach and starts with/sticks with "the human." I honestly can't remember if and when the "God parts" are because there's a seamlessness to it all. We are examining "the spirit" of man, as well as our existence in the physical world, but the film has a distinctly "spiritual" feel. But integrated: physical and spiritual. Am I making any sense?

The film eventually answers its own question: What does it mean to be human? What is the meaning of life? One interviewee says: "The more mature person is the one who doesn't have all the answers, but enters more deeply into the mystery."

www.grassrootsfilms.com/thehumanexperience

INSIDE SCOOP: Just spoke with Joe Campo, producer of "Human Experience." He said that the guys thought THEY were making the movie, but he told them the movie was really going to be about THEM and their reactions to what they were filming, more of a behind-the-scenes story. They had to agree to being on film at all times, and they did. Sometimes the young men said: "No, no, turn the camera off!" But Joe reminded them of their deal and kept the cameras running. So, for me, it's good to know that even the camera-happy twentysomethings of today have moments that they just want to be off camera.

-----
*(This tactic, used in other films, can feel like a ravaging of these experiences, a cheapening and desensitizing to these experiences. For me: it's too much. Go ahead and show wars and unrest to get your point across, but not the iconic, "branded" shots of 9/11, Tieneman Square, etc.)

ST. LOUIS EUCHARISTIC CONGRESS JUNE 24-26

2011-06-12T16:59:00.001-05:00

THEOLOGY OF THE BODY: "LOVE & RESPONSIBILITY"

2011-06-11T14:57:00.005-05:00

FR. THOMAS LOYA – “LOVE AND RESPONSIBILITY” –CHAPTER 3—

“THE PERSON & CHASTITY”
JUNE 11, 2011
[indispensable comments by Sr. Helena in brackets]

(going back a little): P. 138—Lust wants to take over a person to use them. Love wants to create happiness and the other person’s good. “Happiness” isn’t like what we normally think of as happiness. It isn’t that one person is making the other person happy in the moment so that that person’s happiness relies on the other person. It’s willing/working toward the ultimate good of the other. And it has to be “reciprocal”—BJP2G’s concept of “reciprocity.” We have to will GOD for the other person because only God can truly fulfill us. “Only people of faith can state quite clearly that the ultimate good is God.” –BJP2G

Couples need to will getting to heaven for each other!

It’s the awareness of a person’s total value—not just their sexual value. Love is the highest of values, but one needs to know how to transfer that to everyday life. It’s called “the education to love.” Love is a task, it’s not just a given. Love never “is,” it’s always a becoming and depends on the depth of the commitment of the persons involved.

Emotion, sensual desire, attraction is not wrong! It’s the raw material! You MUST have it! We should be attracted, aroused, inspired by the opposite sex, but not just by the visible, but the whole body-person! The invisible as well as the visible dimension of the person. This is very important because there’s a lot of misunderstanding about TOB here. [Like some Muslims think it’s wrong to have any reaction at all to a woman, so she needs to put a bag over her head.] There’s an error being made here. The desire is not wrong in itself. It is good. [It’s what you do with it.] The WILL must take that raw material and develop it into love of the whole person in an integrated way. The task! [The raw material is a starting point!] I choose to love ALL of you and will the good for all of you. Most of our culture just stops at he /sensual and leaves it there. This can fool a couple into thinking they actually LOVE each other. That’s why the relationship sours. There is so much MISSING in the relationship. [Society probably helped the love-task-process by making sexual relations outside of marriage taboo, so they HAD to get to know each other first before any physical relationship, and then, in marriage.] Premature physical relationships confuse, cloud and blind the person as to where the relationship should or should not go. They are no longer free or free to truly choose and choose well. CHASTITY is good for practical reasons because it helps us to perceive, see clearly and be truly free.

Movie “SPANGLISH”—is a good illustration because the couple goes to the brink, but they knew it wasn’t right, right for them (it would have been adulterous), and don’t go any further.

CHAPTER 3—p. 143
“Chastity” is resented because of weakness of will. It demands a higher resolution of will. The Catholic Church, by saying “no” to the wrong and “yes” to the good, becomes the conscience of the world. We all absolutely RESENT saying “no” to ourselves. The Catholic Church is one of the singular voices in the world that knows and sticks to the truth.

When Clinton got into sexual trouble, it was like permission for the rest of us. Someone in this lofty position came down, so that means we don’t have to “go up.” Chastity/virginity is even seen as an evil! Do NOT discount “sloth”! M. Scott Peck’s take on original sin was that it was “sloth,” Adam and Eve didn’t make the effort, they took a shortcut. [All 7 capital sins are connected, superimposed on each other!] Aquinas defines sloth (acedia) as a sadness that the good is so difficult!

Emotions can conceal the lack of true love or egoism even.

[We need to tell people: JUST KEEP GOING in their relationships! Affirm their feelings! But tell them they can have SO MUCH MORE! It can be SO MUCH BETTER! Isn’t that what we all want?]

Father wants a billboard to help people: “To hell with your feelings!” (Our feelings can be leading us to hell, too!) Feelings are like indicators on our dashboard. The greater reality is WHAT they’re indicating. “I feel angry!” Why? Because of thought processes and convictions you have.
In the sexual revolution, people actually thought they WERE being HONEST by FOLLOWING THEIR FEELINGS outside of chastity, outside of marriage, leading them out of religious life/priesthood. [Blessed James Alberione’s JESUS TRUTH, WAY, LIFE spirituality is about developing MIND, WILL, HEART equally. Wow. I never thought of applying his spirituality to TOB!]

We need to tell same-sex attracted people: We’re not denying what you FEEL [it’s real], but what are you going to do with it?

Egoism precludes LOVE and any shared/common good. Concupiscence is the habit of seeing people only sexually. It’s the constant temptation of humans to INVERT the order of values! [It doesn’t mean the spiritual is higher than the physical, it means that because we don’t SEE RIGHTLY, we keep separating out values that belong together: e.g., sexual pleasure and a person’s character. What we should be seeing, the real value, the highest value is the TOTAL INTEGRATED BODY-PERSON.

Neither sensuality or carnal desire is a sin. It’s just the raw material for sin or grace! Wojtyla is careful to base all this stuff on Aquinas, “Captain Catholic” himself! It BECOMES sin when YOU IN YOUR MIND [it’s not the other person’s body out there that’s at fault/to blame!!] DISINTEGRATE the body-person. It starts inside. [And that’s why Jesus said you can commit adultery in your heart.]

P. 162
PROCESS:
I see something…

I have a non-sinful reaction…

and then I either feel shame (but don’t need to!) OR I give in to lust (by willing the arousal to be an end itself—and usually it will be outside the context of a loving marriage!)…

and because I want to be justified/refuse to admit I’m not perfect/I’m proud, not humble…
I wallow in shame/guilt OR I blame the person/image/thing outside of me…

and

become discouraged/despair OR give up trying OR live in denial/double-life OR affirm sin as good
(see p. 170!—results: hypocrisy, unchastity!)
INSTEAD: WE HAVE TO ADMIT THAT WE ARE ALL SCREWED UP. NOT BECAUSE I’M SUCH A BAD PERSON, BUT BECAUSE OF THE FALL. THE WHOLE HUMAN RACE IS SCREWED UP.
WELCOME TO THE HUMAN RACE.
BUT WE ARE ALSO REDEEMED. WE CAN OVERCOME LUST WITH THE GRACE OF GOD.
BUT IT’S NOT EASY. LIFE-LONG TASK/CHALLENGE/BATTLE.

[We have to realize that our interior life is sooo important. Everything starts there. We need purity of heart. We need to will what God wills. Love what God wills. Monica Ashour, TOB evangelizer, puts it this way: We need to work on our purity of heart and then figure out how we will express that through our bodies.]

p. 162—Even if we strongly will not to lust, we CAN’T will not to feel!! And the body will RESIST your attempts to quell/channel arousal!

Being ASEXUAL is NOT purity of heart! We ARE sexual beings, and it’s good and it’s the way we’re made and what God wants for us. It’s how we “are,” how we “be.”

Women tend to put the emotional feelings first. But feelings CAN even be INIMICAL to truth in behavior. “What is pleasant must always be good” is not true! Is your will intent on unconditional pleasure? What’s your goal?
[So what should we be pursuing? Truth, Goodness, Beauty: JESUS TRUTH, WAY, LIFE.]

p. 170--“To be chaste means having a transparent attitude toward the person of the other sex.” “Chastity is often understood as blind inhibition of sex….so we push sex drive down into the subconscious where it’s going to EXPLODE.” –BJP2G (BJP2G uses the word "explode" and "explosion" TWICE.)

“This is when we see chastity as primarily negative! But it’s primarily a positive YES of which some ‘no’s’ are a consequence.” “Sex alone is allowed to reign supreme as the highest value.”

“Chastity is a long term integration of, not denial, of body-sex.”

Chastity=integration of body and soul.
Purity=seeing the glory of God in the human body.

In Eastern Church, they pray over and over during the marriage ceremony for “a chaste marriage.” What this means is: see each other as persons always!!!

[70-year-old woman in class: “But our lives our wasted now! I’m so jealous of these younger people! I can’t create a beautiful marriage!” Everyone encouraged her that she always has her interior life, is heading to the heavenly marriage, can pray for younger people, help them with TOB now.]

Men can get very frustrated by provocatively-dressed women. They are being “sexually assaulted” visually. It can be a form of “reverse rape.” Men are trying to respect women or they wouldn’t be angry about provocatively-dressed women. Women sometimes want that power over men to make them lust, make them fall, even though they deny it. Why make it harder for men to respect you? Why put men “in the occasions of sin”? Many women are also just clueless or in denial about the effect that the sight of women’s bodies have on men.

Comedian David Chappelle said: When women dress provocatively but pretend they don’t want men to look at them or say anything to them or approach them, it’s like dressing up like a cop and then telling people when they come to you for help: “Oh, but I’m not a cop.”

Q: Does virtue get easier?
A: There should be less effort of the will, but there’s always new levels and challenges, and we can’t let our guard down. But it all starts with understanding what’s happening (TRUTH) and willing (WAY) our goal (LIFE)!

The New Evangelization is telling people who they are, what God wants to give them, what He is giving them, what they can have, what God wants them to have AND HOW TO GET THERE.

PICKING UP SECOND SATURDAY IN SEPTEMBER: page 174

FEAST OF MARY, QUEEN OF APOSTLES--SATURDAY BEFORE PENTECOST

2011-06-10T22:43:00.003-05:00

Mary, Queen of Apostles is the Madonna of the Pauline Family.

Basilica of Queen of Apostles in Rome, built by Blessed James Alberione