Cyrano

The Broadway revival of Rostand's Cyrano de Bergerac, one of my favorite dramas, sounds wonderful. It stars Kevin Kline in the title role, with Jennifer Garner as Lady Roxane. According to The Washington Post:

Kline, we were sure, could hold it together on a stage. Garner, not so much. Known for her TV dramas ("Alias"), action movies ("Elektra") and husband (Ben Affleck), she seemed a sales-driven and potentially plastic choice for the role of a 17th-century Gallic damsel who falls wrongly and rightly for a man with a sword in his scabbard and a rhyme on his lips.

Well, vive la fleur-de-lis and whistle "La Marseillaise"! Garner is a poised, vivacious and plucky Roxane -- just the sort of woman to whom a lovesick poet might scribble quatrains. Playing off Kline's warmly embraceable idea of Cyrano as a hero of leonine forbearance, Garner adds her own grace notes -- as well as finely tuned antennae for comedy.

If a measure of relief seasons a theatergoer's appreciation of Garner, there is nothing but pure admiration for Kline, whose autumnal air is the dominant spirit of this appealing revival, which opened last night at the Richard Rodgers Theatre.

Share

A Priest Forever

Terry Nelson has a poignant post which expresses the feelings many of us may have over the latest fiasco. To quote:

My first temptation is to think, “What’s the use? Why try to be holy?” If a priest can leave his vocation behind, why do I feel so guilty about some stupid every-day failure in virtue? I quickly recover my senses and realize we are all human, we all make mistakes, we are all weak, we all fall - I know all of that. But I still feel like I got the wind knocked out of me. I still feel as if I’ve been cheated out of a priest, or worse, his vocation was somehow just a sham. And once again, my better judgment kicks in and I realize something just went wrong - that’s all. Stuff happens.

It is like a divorce - although not nearly as common. Divorce harms a family though. Even amicable divorces do harm, causing mistrust, insecurities, disruption of values and lifestyle, and so on. In a way, a priest who abandons his vocation seems like a dad leaving his wife and kids. It hurts the family.

Dymphna offers some practical advice. If women would take such advice, there would be fewer laicized priests. She says:

Don't get into the habit of hanging out at the rectory, no matter how legit your business there is. Whatever you need to see Father about can be taken care of in the office. Do not get into the habit of traveling alone with him, even if it's giving him a ride to the Catholic Family conference in the next county. People WILL talk and it could be an occasion for temptation--- yours, his, whatever.

Do not invite him to your house for "counseling". See him in the confessional or across a table in the office. Do not invite him to your house, PERIOD, if you are single or if you are alone in the house. People will talk.

Do not call his personal number unless it is for a genuine reason. Arranging a time for confession or checking to see what time he needs your husband to come by with the chain saw to clear the brush around the parish playground or asking a theological question is fine. Calling him just to say "hi" is flirting and darn if you don't know that deep down inside.

If you are afraid of sex and prefer to hang out with men who are unavailable go see a good Catholic therapist. Do it right now. Do not hug Father, especially if you are the type who tends to do the grinding bosom thing when you embrace someone. Do not ask him to be a dad figure to your son. That's asking too much and if he's at your house all the time people will talk and temptation might arise. Do not dress provocatively around Father because you assume he' s above all that and you can go all wild thing with him without any complications. Do not flirt with Father on ANY level.

If you have a crush on Father, take a deep breath, grow up and get over it. If you have to join a different parish, then do it.

Fr Mark has a beautiful prayer for priests. I think some of us need to start saying it on a regular basis.

Share

Marie-Antoinette's Birthday

November 2 is the birthday of Marie-Antoinette of Lorraine-Austria, Queen of France. Here is an account of her birth. Laudem Gloriae has a post about the requiem Mass recently said on the spot in Paris where the queen died, the Place de la Concorde.

Share

Piety vs Weirdness

Many Catholics now-a-days seem to confuse piety with weirdness. It is common for people new to the faith, or for young people, to have problems with scruples and the like. I am thinking of those who have been Catholics their entire lives and should know better. They seem to think that being "holy" dispenses them from basic kindness and courtesy. They are so holy they can violate the rubrics prescribed by the Church for the worship of God. They do not need Church documents because they are so "holy." They can indulge in lies and calumny but because they go to Mass everyday, it's alright.

Yes, we all have our sins, faults, and eccentricities. Being devout, however, is not equivalent to being an unsocialized crank. Holy feelings do not make a saint; sanctity is won by taking up the Cross. We are commanded to love, and to show love even to those whom we despise or who despise us. We are commanded to forgive injuries. The saints give so many examples of this; the Savior, of course, is the greatest example of all. Share

I hoped I was imagining things....

But I was not. Last night, I was watching EWTN. "Life on the Rock" came on. Fr. Anthony read a letter from Fr. Francis, the host of the show. Apparently, Fr. Francis has found love with a widow whom he was helping, and he is going on a leave of absence from the active ministry. I googled him this morning and found that others saw the same program. There is some interesting commentary here. Let us pray for Father as he discerns.

We need to pray much harder for our priests. I really wish that certain women who become infatuated with priests would not lure them from their active ministry and into the secular state. It seems to me that if you really love someone, you want them to be happy. No man is happy unless he is fulfilling his vocation. If a woman seduces a priest from his vocation, he will never really belong to her, because he belonged to God first. Oh, yes, there are probably many spiritual conversations involved in such a relationship, all very sublime and lofty. No doubt there is a connection of souls. But to entice a priest away from his commitment to God and His people is a serious matter. To do it in the name of love is to violate love, for true love wants the spiritual good of the beloved. Otherwise, it is selfishness and lust masquerading as love.

Repentance is not merely an option. Repentance is a necessity for one's eternal salvation. God is not mocked. Share

All Souls Day, November 2

"It is a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they might be loosed from their sins." (2 Machabees 12: 46) These words reflect the Jewish origins of the practice of praying for the dead, a practice continued by the Church. On All Souls Day, every priest has the privilege of celebrating three Masses. A full plenary indulgence can be gained for a soul of the faithful departed on November 2 and on everyday of the week that follows, by fulfilling the usual conditions.

However, it is not only on All Souls Day but on every day of the year that Holy Mother Church prays for her departed children. Every Mass is offered for both the living and the dead. According to the Council of Trent, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is the chief means of bringing succor to the souls in Purgatory.

The prayers and good works of the faithful can also benefit the dead. St. Teresa of Avila had a great love for the suffering souls, a love that was willing to bear the vicissitudes of life in order to aid them.

Purgatory is not inevitable, but we can undergo our purgation here on earth by our patient endurance of trials. It is not the intensity of the trial itself that expiates sin; rather it is the intensity of the love for God with which the trial is accepted. Love is what matters most. Share

General Grant's Anti-Semitism

I did not know anything about this, but now I do, thanks to Fr. Jim Tucker. To quote:

We sometimes forget that the Old South was remarkably cosmopolitan for the time and that the Confederacy had Jews, Catholics, immigrants, and Indians among its supporters. I touched on Dixie's forgotten multi-culturalism in this old post.

Share

Who are the saints?

We are God's children now. Father Raniero Cantalamessa, the Pontifical Household preacher, elaborates on some simple but powerful truths.

We are like the embryo in the womb of a mother yearning to be born. The saints have been "born" (the liturgy refers to the day of death as "the day of birth," "dies natalis.") To contemplate the saints is to contemplate our destiny. All around us, nature strips itself and the leaves fall, but meanwhile, the feast of the saints invites us to gaze on high; it reminds us that we are not destined to wither on this earth forever, like the leaves.

Share

Democracy in Africa

Why has it failed?

Pure democracy is a system that works well in particular cultures, and not all cultures are equally capable of building harmonious democratic societies.

Share