St. Dominic and the Triumph of Grace
5 days ago
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Trinity Sunday
At Fatima, the angel taught the children the following invocation: "O Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, my God, my God, I adore you in the Blessed Sacrament." We can encounter the Trinity in the Blessed Eucharist, in the depths of our souls, and through devotion to the Heart of Mary who is daughter of God the Father, Mother of God the Son, and spouse of God the Holy Spirit. Share
Pinocchio
I read Carlo Collodi's Pinocchio, or "Pine-eyes," a political and social allegory disguised as a children's fairy-tale, many years ago. It must be confessed that I liked the Disney film better the classic novel, finding the book to be too dark and violent. As it turns out, Collodi (1826-1890) was a revolutionary journalist involved in the Italian unification. His real name was Carlo Lorenzini; "Collodi" was a pen name taken from the Tuscan village where he grew up. The story emphasizes the lifestyle of the peasants and workers, whom Collodi obviously saw as being lazy, superstitious and gullible, like Pinocchio. Even as the marionette learns discipline and seeks an education, so the working classes of Italy needed encouragement to seize their destiny, according to the standards of the new order.
Over the years, the tale of Pinocchio has taken on different meanings:
Critics see Pinocchio as a story rich in imagination and symbolism. They find Collodi interweaving his classical education with peasant folklore by combining mythological, psychological, and religious elements with Tuscan speech and storytelling patterns. Other commentators, such as M. L. Rosenthal (1989), read the book as a social and political allegory, pointing out Collodi's depictions of the disparities between the poor and the wealthy, his emphasis on the working class, and his parodies of the justice system. Still other critics see the book as Collodi's attempt to recover his lost childhood, or as his portrayal of a search of children for parents or of parents for children. Pointing out the numerous adaptations of the Pinocchio story throughout the years, Richard Wunderlich (1992) in particular has concentrated on how these alterations to the original text have been shaped by cultural and social forces, including prevalent educational and child-rearing philosophies. In a negative vein, some reviewers contend that Pinocchio consists merely of a weak string of escapades devised by Collodi to write a winning serial and reap financial gain. Few would quarrel with the book's enduring qualities, however, and most would agree with Benedetto Croce: "The wood out of which Pinocchio is carved is humanity itself."One scholar sees in Pinocchio the remnants of Catholic Italian peasant life and lore with which the story is suffused, intentionally or otherwise.
Disney’s version of the Blue Fairy resembles Jean Harlow, in her slinky dress and blond curls, batting her long eyelashes at Jiminy Cricket. Collodi had something quite different in mind. The girl with the blue hair, who at crucial times steps in to save and admonish the errant puppet, must surely be a representation of the Virgin Mary, her classic blue veil changed, as if from a child’s impression, into flowing blue hair. In Pinocchio, she grows from a child, a little sister, into a woman—a mother figure, just as the image of the Virgin, for Catholic children, shifts from child to adolescent to young woman to suffering mother, as they need her image to reflect different stages of their lives. The most recent film version of this Tale, Steven Spielberg’s A.I. (Artificial Intelligence), also shifts Collodi’s story toward a search for the mother; and Robert Coover’s amazing postmodern version of the tale, his 1991 novel Pinocchio in Venice (Simon & Schuster), closes on a strange scene of the old man Pinocchio’s reunion with his Mamma, the Blue Fairy. Collodi’s tale remains a search for the father, while the mother arrives when she is needed.It is interesting that an allegory of the rise of the new order essentially becomes the story of a child in search of his father. No matter how many reforms may alter the world for good or ill, parents, family roots, and faith are always necessary for obtaining happiness and equilibrium. Share
Friday, May 16, 2008
Once a King or Queen in Narnia....
I watched the film Prince Caspian with much the same sentiments as when first reading the book thirty years ago. At ten years old, I so loved The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe that, after doubting that the sequel could compare, I was surprised and delighted to find an even more mysterious and exciting story. The film digresses from the book but not in a devastating way. In fact, some of the changes enhance the plot and the characters.
Again we join Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy, also known as "the Pevensies," as they are literally swept into another dimension. The youngsters still have a great deal to learn in the land of Narnia, where they formerly ruled as kings and queens. They do not recognize their kingdom at first, so greatly has it been altered by many centuries. The realization of what has been destroyed sweeps over them as they uncover artifacts of their own past, almost like finding relics of a lost and beloved faith. It is before the broken altar of the Stone Table that the past and present merge. The four Pevensies know that they must be ready to sacrifice themselves for the Narnia; they have a bond with the land which time and space cannot erase. As C. S. Lewis wrote: "Once a king or queen in Narnia, always a king or queen in Narnia."
New friends and foes replace the old, including Prince Caspian himself, dashing, disinherited and untried. He belongs to the swarthy race of the Telmarines, descended from pirates, presumably Spanish ones, who long before stumbled into Narnia. Caspian and the Pevensies help each other not only win the freedom of Narnia, but to grow in humility and perilous self-knowledge. The rivalry between Caspian and Peter and the flicker of romance between Caspian and Susan are elements which, although not in the book, are surprisingly natural in the film. However, it was a bit odd to show a slip of a girl like Susan fighting robust, armored warriors, knocking them down.
In the book, Aslan is gradually revealed to each of the main characters according to their degree of faith. The film does not do this in the same manner so when Trumpkin the dwarf finally sees Aslan the impact is lost. Indeed, Aslan is absent from most of the film and, as in the book, the heroes and heroines feel abandoned. It is a fitting allegory for the dark night of the soul experienced by those seriously struggling along in the spiritual life. Events in Narnia spiral out of control, partly through the willful behavior of the kings, who need Susan and Lucy to remind them that Someone Else is really in charge. How often we need to be reminded of the same truth.
In Prince Caspian the kings and queens triumph over the ruthless Telmarines only by allowing humility, courage, and child-like trust to conquer pride, jealousy, and the reckless desire for revenge. In the meantime, myths spring to life as prophecy is fulfilled. The reclamation of Narnia does not happen without cost, without mistakes and death. Aslan returns, traditions are reclaimed as a new kingdom is built on the foundations of the old. In Narnia as in our own world, no matter how dark it may be, good can be brought out of anything. Share
May Crownings
The month of May is a time for honoring the Blessed Mother. May processions and crownings are beautiful traditions. A simple May altar in the home is lovely as well.
May is also a good time to make the rosary a part of one's daily devotions, if it is not already. Here are the words of St. Louis de Montfort on the history of the rosary. Here is a wonderful site which details the history of prayer beads in general and the rosary in particular.
Andrew Cusack has photos of the 2008 pilgrimage to Chartres.
Today is the feast of St. Simon Stock.
The Holy Father has recommended making a novena in honor of Our Lady Help of Christians for those suffering in China.
(Photo courtesy of The Crescat) Share
General Dumas
Author Catherine Delors has a post about the former slave and father of the great novelist Alexandre Dumas. Share
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Tarantella
In the novel Madame Royale, it is at the ball for the King and Queen of Naples at the Palais Royale that Caroline and Hector dance the tarantella, or "tarantula." They dance even as the disgruntled Parisians howl at Charles X on the balcony, heralding the fall of the dynasty. The tarantella, a traditional peasant courtship dance from the south of Italy, expressed not only Caroline and Hector's relationship at that point, but the death throes of the regime. In Sicilian lore the motions of the tarantella were supposed to act as an antidote to the poison of a spider's bite. In France in 1830, there was no warding off the political debacle which was about to explode. The love of Hector and Caroline, however, was a reality which would surpass the rise and fall of kingdoms.
The tarantella became increasingly popular in high society; many famous composers, including Chopin, Liszt, and Rossini, wrote their own renditions of the Sicilian folk dance. The dance is described thus:
The tarantella is mainly an Italian country partner dance, which features numerous twirls and spins. It was popularized as a ballroom dance by Madame Michau in the 19th century, and performed in France and England. The ballroom dance differs significantly from the country Italian dance, but it gets the main elements down. Usually music for the tarantella is in 6/8 or 3/4 time, or you may find some versions in 4/4 time with a lot of triplets. Though the dance is partnered, many of the steps are danced away from each other, and steps together are often taken with the partners side to side instead of face to face.ShareMany of the steps are in triples, like triple gallop steps to left and right. In the country dance version, women can partner with other women, but the ballroom dance features a male and female partner. The dance is always vigorous, and triumphs woman’s superiority over admiring men (at least during the dance).
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