September 30th: Remembering James Dean 57 Years Later

 September 30th: Remembering James Dean 57 Years Later

 

The 30^th of September, 1955, will forever be remembered as the day cinema lost one of its most prodigal stars in James Dean, who tragically perished in a car crash 28 miles northeast of Paso Robles, California. It was approximately 5.45 pm on a Friday evening, when the star’s newly acquired Porsche 500 Spyder that he nicknamed ‘The Little Bastard’ cannoned into a 1950 Ford Sedan, driven by college student Donald Gene Turnupseed, who only saw Dean’s car at the last second at the junction of US 466 and Highway 41.
Dean was only 24 years of age, his climb to stardom just beginning after three successful ventures, East of Eden (1955), Rebel Without A Cause (1955), and Giant (1956). It was Nicholas Ray’s Rebel, the story of disaffected youth Jim Stark that made the young Dean a cultural icon, but East of Eden is widely considered to be the picture that truly displayed his tenuous, tortured approach to the craft of acting.
Born at 2am in Byron Indiana, on February 8^th, Dean was an only child who, without the company of another sibling at home, began to develop a vivid imagination from an early age, his mind providing him with the playmate a young child yearns for in their tender years. He was very close to his mother, Mildred Wilson, who was said to be “the only person capable of understanding him”. Harrowingly for the fledgling Dean, Mildred died of cancer on July 14, 1940, when he was just 9 years old. Tragedies such as these are frequent occurrences in the lives of those who operate in the acting circle, and the anguish Dean suffered was undoubtedly one of the reasons why he gravitated towards acting, giving him the opportunity to purge himself of the pain he must have suffered daily, if only for a little while.





During his childhood Dean’s family had moved to Santa Monica, California when his father, Winton Dean, left his job as a farmer to become a dental technician, and it was at UCLA where he got his first real taste of theatre where he studied drama for one semester, appearing in a production of William Shakespeare’s Macbeth during his brief period of study. The adolescent Dean was never much of a scholar, possibly down to his lack of concentration on the theoretical aspects involved, another common trait of talented actors, who are compelled to be proactive psychophysically. Dean quit college to pursue acting full time and was soon taken on by an agent named Isabelle Draesmer, who secured Dean’s first television appearance in a Pepsi advert in 1950. The initial taste of exposure invigorated the aspiring actor, and in October 1951 he moved to New York City in the hope of realising his dreams.
New York City, with its towering skyscrapers, winding streets, and array of bright lights, promised to be a huge test of Dean’s nerve, and one that many a young dreamer had surrendered to at the first hurdle, but Dean’s character proved to be tough enough in his first tentative steps towards the big time, for his ambitions were as strong as oak. After a few television appearances, he was accepted into the world famous Actor’s Studio to study Method acting under the guidance of the legendary practitioner Lee Strasberg. Such a privilege was bestowed on only a small minority, and the Studio has a near impeccable reputation for producing some of the finest actors in history, Marlon Brando and Paul Newman to name but a few. Realising his fortune, Dean once referred to the institution as “the greatest school of the theatre”. After honing his craft, what followed is known by all those who have become arrested by the legend of James Dean, a man who lead a wild, fast life abounding with controversy, romance, and more importantly, personal acclaim.





Even today, 57 years after his demise, hordes of young people in many corners of civilisation still hold a candle to the actor, bound together by a powerful reverence to their hero, frozen in time in his Harrington jacket, stonewashed Levi’s, and dusty engineer boots with the glimmering silver buckle. In his lifetime he divided opinion, particularly amongst his colleagues, with Rock Hudson referring to him in less than flattering tones; “…he was a prick…he was selfish and petulant, and believed his own press releases.” On the other hand, Lee Strasberg highlighted his sadness at the passing of his student during a lecture at the Studio; “If there is anything in the theatre which I respond to more than anything else…it is the waste in the theatre, the talent that gets up and the work that goes into getting it up and getting it where it should be. And then when it gets there, what the hell happens with it? The senseless destruction, the senseless waste, the waste of talent…the waste of your lives…” Talent is the word which should always follow the memory of James Dean for eternity; it is the single most crucial thing that a performer should be remembered for in the hearts and minds of their fans, for men like James Dean gave so much of themselves to the lens of the camera, offering all the contortions and all the beauty they could muster for our entertainment. James Dean could have given so much more, and unfortunately it was the contribution of his mortality that was all he had left on that fatal day in 1955.

Former abortion clinic workers detail conversion stories

Former abortion clinic workers detail conversion stories

By Michelle Bauman

Ann Scheidler and Dr. John Bruchalski.

Washington D.C., Sep 29, 2012 / 05:03 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- At a recent conference in Illinois, former abortion workers told the stories of the work that they once thought was helping women, and how they were converted to the pro-life position.

“We wanted to better understand the mindset of people who work in the abortion industry,” said conference planner Ann Scheidler, who serves as the vice president of the Pro-Life Action League.

She told CNA that the purpose of the “CONVERTED: From Abortion Provider to Pro-Life Activist” conference was to hear what former abortion workers had to say about why they entered the abortion industry and what led them to leave it.

While abortion doctors and clinic workers are sometimes viewed as heartless by pro-lifers, some are actually “extremely compassionate people” who are misguided and believe that they are “helping women,” she explained.

“It’s very good for us to understand where these people are coming from,” she said.

The Sept. 22 conference was held Crowne Plaza O’Hare Hotel in Rosemont, Ill., and featured eight former abortion workers who told their personal stories of conversion.

Scheidler said that each one had a different story, but they shared the experience of realizing, “This isn’t what I thought.”

The decision to leave can be “difficult,” she continued. They often find that “everybody they know is pro-abortion,” so leaving their job means finding an entirely new community and peer group.

“That’s asking a lot,” she said. “That’s hard to do.”

While the lack of resources has made this transition especially difficult in the past, a new ministry by former Planned Parenthood director Abby Johnson is now helping those who wish to leave the abortion industry but are struggling in their decision to do so.

Johnson spoke about her ministry, And Then There Were None, which has had contact with 30 abortion workers in recent months.

Drawing about 100 attendees, primarily pro-life advocates who talk to women outside abortion clinics and sometimes speak with clinic workers, the conference was deemed a success by organizers.

One presenter, Dr. John Bruchalski, is currently a pro-life OB/GYN in northern Virginia. However, he performed abortions during his first two years of residency.

Although Bruchalski grew up in a Catholic household, he lost his faith in the 1970s and '80s. Wanting to be a “great” doctor, he felt that he needed to perform abortions, which he believed would help women to be “happier” and “healthier.”

It was a combination of factors that changed his mind, he told CNA. Part of it was the experience of performing abortions.

“As you do the procedure, you begin to kill another human being up close,” he said, describing the experience of watching “the life drain from them” from just inches away.

“That reality goes through your hand and into your heart,” he reflected.

Performing abortions “hardens your heart every time,” because you have to continually justify your actions to yourself, he explained.

In addition, he said that there was more and more emerging data showing that abortion and contraception were not healthy for women, but had some “pretty significant side effects,” both physically and psychologically.

There was also a relational aspect to his conversion, as a neonatologist whom he worked with challenge him to re-think his ideas.

Finally, he said that he experienced a spiritual renewal, brought about in part by two pilgrimages he attended.

“All those pieces came together in 1989,” he said, explaining that he was forced to “adjust my heart and my whole outlook.”

Now, he tries to witness to others, helping them to see the reality of abortion. In 1994, he founded Tepeyac Family Center, a pro-life practice in Fairfax, Va.

“If it’s so darn good, why do so few doctors perform abortions?” he asks medical students when he gives talks.

Bruchalski said that he knows other former abortion doctors who have converted, and each has a different story. He believes that God speaks to each person in his or her own way.

“He spoke to me in a language that I intrinsically understood,” he said.

List of ten Curch buzzwords that should be banned

List of ten Curch buzzwords that should be banned

The English language is not a walled garden, but rather a trampled field over which many passers through have left their mark. The French language has an academy to protect it, which can ban certain words and which has the legal power to enforce its will. But on this side of the Channel, if you use a new word or phrase, as long as it sticks, that word or phrase may well find its way into the next edition of the Oxford English Dictionary.
Some of these neologisms have a certain charm or energy to them. Others are ugly, lazy or debased and come, all too often, from America. (Britain has a tendency only to take the worst of American neologisms, rarely the best.) But there is another community of speakers who seem to enjoy scraping the marble cladding off the language of Shakespeare and reducing it to brick. I mean, of course, the Catholic Church. This is one Romanist conspiracy that is sadly
all too real.
Here are 10 examples of Catholic-speak that should be banned.
1) Formation. This word has nothing to do with making things out of clay or Plasticine. Rather, you will encounter it in the following setting: “religious formation” or “clergy formation”. It means something wider than mere education or studies, and is supposed to cover all those activities that go on in seminaries. Sometimes a priest may ask another priest: “Where did you do your formation?” The word comes to us from Italian (formazione) but what the priest really should be saying is: “Where did you do your training?”
2) Robes. Those things you see your priest wearing at the altar? They are not robes. They are vestments. A robe is what you wear on your way to the bathroom. Judges wear robes, but priests vest. Priestly vestments are distinct and important. Robes sound like what they wore in Star Wars.
3) Share. As in “thank you for sharing”. The only possible legitimate use of the word “share”, this side of California, is in the context of the stock market. So, instead of inviting people to share at the next meeting of the parish council, just turn and say: “So, what do you think?”
4) Delicate. This is another import from Italian. Italians use the word delicato where we might use the words “awkward” or “embarrassing”. You are told that the situation in the parish is “delicate”. This means that everyone should bury their heads in the sand, because they are too embarrassed to mention some elephant in the room. Go ahead: mention it and see what happens. And while on that topic…
5) Elephant in the room. This phrase should never be used. Instead, try saying the following: “Major infraction of canon law, which is clear for all to see, but which we are all pretending does not exist.”
6) Leadership Conference of Women Religious. Just ban it. Now. Never let these words be mentioned together again. Ever.
7) Outreach. It seems like a good idea to reach out to people, but why this involves the invention of a new word, I am not sure. What happened to “mission”, a word good enough for the Church’s founder?
8) Guideline. As in “only a guideline”. This is a favourite of those who fear they may be on the wrong side of canon law. It isn’t a guideline, it’s a law. So deal with it.
9) Ongoing. This is a great favourite, especially when nothing is in fact going on. “Our investigations are ongoing” translates as: “We are doing nothing about it at present, except fob you off with words.” This is often found with the first example, as in “ongoing formation” (outside the Church, what is called in-service training), another form of words that masks a lacuna of activity.
10) I know you are very busy right now, Father. Well, he might be or there again, he might not be. But whichever way, he was ordained to minister to the people of God, so speak to him. But whatever you say, do not use any of the words and phrases outlined above.
The 10 words that I have nominated for banishment could perhaps be joined by many others. Every Catholic will have his or her own list. This is mine.
But there is a serious point behind all this. The new translation of the Roman liturgy, and all the talk of a new evangelisation, rest on the concept of communicating timeless truth is a way that is attractive and even enticing. The words and phrase above are either ugly or obfuscating, or both.
We need to tell it like it is, to use one American phrase which is good, direct and powerful. Throwing away the jargon is one small, but necessary, step towards this.

Today is the feast of three archangels: MICHAEL, GABRIEL and RAPHAEL

Today is the feast of three archangels: MICHAEL, GABRIEL and RAPHAEL    The Church liturgy celebrates the feast of these three archangels who are venerated in the tradition of the Church. Michael (Who is like God?) was the archangel who fought against Satan and all his evil angels, defending all the friends of God. He is the protector of all humanity from the snares of the devil. Gabriel (Strength of God) announced to Zachariah the forthcoming birth of John the Baptist, and to Mary, the birth of Jesus. His greeting to the Virgin, "Hail, full of grace," is one of the most familiar and frequent prayers of the Christian people. Raphael (Medicine of God) is the archangel who took care of Tobias on his journey.

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The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches us that, "[T]he existence of the spiritual, non-corporeal beings that Sacred Scripture usually calls "angels" is a truth of faith. The witness of Scripture is as clear as the unanimity of Tradition." Angels are pure, created spirits. The name angel means servant or messenger of God. Angels are celestial or heavenly beings, on a higher order than human beings. Angels have no bodies and do not depend on matter for their existence or activity. They are distinct from saints, which men can become. Angels have intellect and will, and are immortal. They are a vast multitude, but each is an individual person. Archangels are one of the nine choirs of angels listed in the Bible. In ascending order, the choirs or classes are 1) Angels, 2) Archangels, 3) Principalities, 4) Powers, 5) Virtues, 6) Dominations, 7) Thrones, 8) Cherubim, and 9) Seraphim.

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St. Michael
The name of the archangel Michael means, in Hebrew, who is like unto God? and he is also known as "the prince of the heavenly host." He is usually pictured as a strong warrior, dressed in armor and wearing sandals. His name appears in Scripture four times, twice in the Book of Daniel, and once each in the Epistle of St. Jude and the Book of Revelation. From Revelation we learn of the battle in heaven, with St. Michael and his angels combatting Lucifer and the other fallen angels (or devils). We invoke St. Michael to help us in our fight against Satan; to rescue souls from Satan, especially at the hour of death; to be the champion of the Jews in the Old Testament and now Christians; and to bring souls to judgment. This day is referred to as "Michaelmas" in many countries and is also one of the harvest feast days. In England this is one of the "quarter days", which was marked by hiring servants, electing magistrates, and beginning of legal and university terms. This day also marks the opening of the deer and other large game hunting season. In some parts of Europe, especially Germany, Denmark, and Austria, a special wine called "Saint Michael's Love" (Michelsminne) is drunk on this day. The foods for this day vary depending on nationality. In the British Isles, for example, goose was the traditional meal for Michaelmas, eaten for prosperity, France has waffles or Gaufres and the traditional fare in Scotland used to be St. Michael's Bannock (Struan Micheil) — a large, scone-like cake. In Italy, gnocchi is the traditional fare. Patron: Against temptations; against powers of evil; artists; bakers; bankers; battle; boatmen; cemeteries; coopers; endangered children; dying; Emergency Medical Technicians; fencing; grocers; hatmakers; holy death; knights; mariners; mountaineers; paramedics; paratroopers; police officers; radiologists; sailors; the sick; security forces; soldiers; against storms at sea; swordsmiths; those in need of protection; Brussels, Belgium; Caltanissett, Sicily; Cornwall, England; Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee Florida; England; Germany; Archdiocese of Mobile, Alabama; Papua, New Guinea; Puebla, Mexico; San Miguel de Allende, Mexico; Sibenik, Croatia; Archdiocese of Seattle, Washington; Diocese of Springfield, Massachusetts. Symbols: Angel with wings; dressed in armour; lance and shield; scales; shown weighing souls; millstone; piercing dragon or devil; banner charged with a dove; symbolic colors orange or gold.

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St. Gabriel
St. Gabriel's name means "God is my strength". Biblically he appears three times as a messenger. He had been sent to Daniel to explain a vision concerning the Messiah. He appeared to Zachary when he was offering incense in the Temple, to foretell the birth of his son, St. John the Baptist. St. Gabriel is most known as the angel chosen by God to be the messenger of the Annunciation, to announce to mankind the mystery of the Incarnation. The angel's salutation to our Lady, so simple and yet so full of meaning, Hail Mary, full of grace, has become the constant and familiar prayer of all Christian people. Patron: Ambassadors; broadcasting; childbirth; clergy; communications; diplomats; messengers; philatelists; postal workers; public relations; radio workers; secular clergy; stamp collectors; telecommunications; Portugal; Archdiocese of Seattle, Washington. Symbols: Archangel; sceptre and lily; MR or AM shield; lantern; mirror; olive branch; scroll with words Ave Maria Gratia Plena; Resurrection trumpet; shield; spear; lily; symbolic colors, silver or blue.

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St. Raphael
Our knowledge of the Archangel Raphael comes to us from the book of Tobit. His mission as wonderful healer and fellow traveller with the youthful Tobias has caused him to be invoked for journeys and at critical moments in life. Tradition also holds that Raphael is the angel that stirred the waters at the healing sheep pool in Bethesda. His name means "God has healed". Patron: Blind; bodily ills; counselors; druggists; eye problems; guardian angels; happy meetings; healers; health inspectors; health technicians; love; lovers; mental illness; nurses; pharmacists; physicians; shepherds; against sickness; therapists; travellers; young people; young people leaving home for the first time; Archdiocese of Dubuque, Iowa; Archdiocese of Seattle, Washington. Symbols: Staff; wallet and fish; staff and gourd; archangel; young man carrying a staff; young man carrying a fish; walking with Tobias; holding a bottle or flask; symbolic colors, gray or yellow.

Trouble at my Alma Mater it seems...

Top historian criticises St Mary’s for ‘grotesque’ treatment of professor

By Madeleine Teahan on Tuesday, 25 September 2012

A leading Catholic historian has denounced events at St Mary’s College Twickenham as “grotesque” and resigned as an honorary fellow.

Professor Eamon Duffy, in a resignation letter to Principal Philip Esler of St Mary’s University, expressed his dismay at the suspension of a member of staff and raised concerns about its Catholic and Christian ethos.

In a letter dated September 18, referring to the suspension of Dr Anthony Towey, head of the School of Theology, Philosophy and History, Professor Duffy wrote: “The grotesque incident yesterday, when a senior member of staff was interrupted in the course of a lecture and forcibly escorted from the premises, is for me a decisive sign that things have gone badly amiss with the Christian and Catholic ethos of St Mary’s.”

The letter continued: “When I was made an honorary fellow of the college in 2003 I was delighted to be associated with a distinguished Catholic institution which for over a century and a half had contributed so much to Christian education in this country, and which seemed to be adapting to changing circumstances with fidelity and imagination. In the face of recent events in the College I no longer feel that confidence, and I therefore ask you to take whatever steps are necessary to remove my name from the list of honorary fellows of St Mary’s.”

Professor Duffy was also critical of the plans to merge the School of Theology, Philosophy and History with the School of Communication, Culture and Creative Arts. He wrote: “I have been unable to see how the demotion of one of the most successful and prestigious of the college’s schools can be justified on any but the bleakest financial grounds, all the more so because the high profile of theology in the college has been a signal to the outside world of its continuing commitment to the historic mission of St Mary’s in promoting Christian education.

He continued: “That the merger has been pressed on at great speed in the face of so much strong opposition from staff, students and informed commentators has been for me a cause of growing disquiet.”

Dr Robin Gibbons, who lectures in theology at the college, has also resigned following the controversy. Dr Gibbons said that he was resigning from St Mary’s College “on the grounds of conscience.”

Dr Anthony Towey, meanwhile, issued a statement this afternoon through his lawyers. Steel and Shamash Solicitors said: “Our client, Dr Towey, is dismayed and disappointed at the action taken by St Mary’s University College in suspending him and the public statements issued by St Mary’s following his suspension as Head of the School of Theology, Philosophy and History.
“Our client believes that he has been suspended unfairly, that he has been victimised and that his academic reputation gained over 25 years has been publicly damaged. In addition, there appears to have been a failure of due process.
“Through us, Dr Towey is exploring all the legal avenues that are open to him in order to seek the appropriate redress. Dr Towey has the full support of his union.”

Following the suspension of Dr Anthony Towey, St Mary’s College released a statement which said: “We can confirm that Dr Anthony Towey, head of the School of Theology, Philosophy and History, was suspended yesterday pending investigations into a very serious disciplinary matter and a grave breach of his professional duties at the University College.

“This action was taken fully in accordance with our internal human resource procedures and with written, external legal advice. Arrangements are being put in place to ensure that all programmes and teaching will be fully covered.”
It has since emerged that the serious “disciplinary matter” was an email that Dr Towey sent to students in August but which senior management did not find out about until last week.

The email from Dr Towey expressed concern about plans to merge the School of Theology, Philosophy and History with the School of Communication, Culture and Creative Arts and stated: “Since the principal specifically invites comment…it may be appropriate to raise any concerns with him or with Bishop Richard Moth, the chair of Governors. As an inter-disciplinary team, no school has worked harder to create a sense of learning camaraderie where staff and students ‘know each other by name’. It is a tremendous sadness that this sense of community is being dismantled.”

Following a board of governors meeting on Thursday evening, Bishop Moth released a statement endorsing the college’s plans to merge departments. He said: “At a meeting of St Mary’s University College Governors last evening it was decided to go ahead with the establishment of a Centre for the Study of Catholic Theology and to implement the merger of the Schools of Communication, Culture and Creative Arts and Theology, Philosophy and History into a new School of Arts and Humanities.

He continued: “The governors expressed regret over the actions of certain individuals, both those associated with this institution and those whose identity remains unknown, who have been maintaining a campaign of misinformation leading to a distorted picture of recent events.
“St Mary’s continues to be committed to providing research-based high-quality teaching in theology and religious studies. This is reflected in buoyant student recruitment in this area and across St Mary’s. Our relationships with collaborative partners are very important to the life of St Mary’s and our long tradition of service to the Church will continue to be at the heart of all we do.”
A group of students has also mobilised to voice their opposition to the merger and has organised a petition which carries over 200 signatures.

About 50 students attempted to hold a peaceful protest outside the board of governors meeting on Thursday evening.

Why did the butler do it?

Vatileaks trial: Paoletto repents

 

It’s the defence’s new strategy: Paolo Gabriele is no longer a scapegoat or a pawn but a guilty man, eager to make amends. His family is hoping for a pardon from the Pope

giacomo galeazzivatican city


From “scapegoat” to a repentant worker who regrets his infidelity to his employer and is concerned for his children. There has been a drastic change in the image of Paolo Gabriele being filtered out through the media.  The new picture being painted of the poison pen letter writer is one of “repentance and redemption” amidst an atmosphere of “tension and hope.” After his confession, Gabriele’s non-involvement in the notified facts is no longer being upheld and he is no longer treated as the innocent pawn in a game that is greater than him. He has gone from being a mere instrument, to a guilty man who is eager to make amends for his wrongdoing. The image being painted of the Pope’s former butler appearing before the judge, is a defence strategy that aims to show Gabriele is claiming responsibility for his acts and to secure the Pope’s pardon.

The butler’s blatant violation of his oath of confidentiality, is being downgraded to an “emergency action” taken whilst in a state of serious mental stress. A milder portrayal then, compared to the initial condemnation of the conspiracy against the weakest link in the chain: “Right now Paolo is mentally worn out because as the date of the trial nears he is becoming increasingly aware of how his actions have dragged his whole family into it and it is now paying the consequences in human terms,” people close to Paolo Gabriele’s family told ANSA news agency, describing the mental state of the Pope’s former butler whose trial begins Saturday. “Paolo’s main concern at the moment are his children. He is particularly worried about the upheaval media coverage of the case will bring to their lives.” They said the Gabrieles have spoke to their children and have tried to explain what is happening, but of course, it is “impossible” to fully shield them from an event that has had such enormous repercussions.
 
According to the same sources, tension in the family has been increasing since the date of the first hearing was announced. It is true that Paolo was aware of the risks he faced when he did what he did but finding himself in court for is something else altogether. Now he has really become aware of the full extent of his actions. But his family remains hopeful that the trial will not drag on for too long and that after the verdict is given the Pope will grant him a pardon.
 
On Saturday, the Pope’s former butler will appear in court before Judge Giuseppe Dalla Torre (President of the Tribunal of Vatican City State) to respond to the accusations of aggravated theft. What all Paolo Gabriele’s friends and the people close to him have in common to some extent is the hope that the trial will finally bring to light the real reasons behind his actions. The general feeling is that for Gabriele to do what he did, he must have witnessed something very serious going on around the Pope. Otherwise, “we” cannot explain how “the Paolo Gabriele we know” could have acted the way he did.

Times are a changing for the Vatican

The Vatican's official newspaper has given a glowing review to Bob Dylan's new album, in the latest attempt to broaden its appeal beyond the rarefied confines of the Holy See.

The newspaper, which counts cardinals and clerics among its readers, devoted two articles to the album, which was released earlier this month.  

L’Osservatore Romano said that listening to the tracks on Tempest was like “biting into a cake made from the finest pastry”. The newspaper, which counts cardinals and clerics among its readers, devoted two articles to the album, which was released earlier this month.

Dylan’s voice remains “unmistakable”, despite the fact that his career spans nearly half a century and he turned 71 in May.

The paper’s reviewer reserved particular praise for a track about the sinking of the Titanic, called “Sad, sad story”.

“The Titanic went down, (but) Bob Dylan absolutely has not,” the review said.

Once a dry-as-dust paper of record, L’Osservatore Romano has ventured into popular culture in the last few years under a new editor, commenting on everything from The Beatles and The Blues Brothers to the blockbuster film Avatar and the Harry Potter books and films.

In 2010 the newspaper declared that Homer Simpson was a true Catholic and that the long-running cartoon series explored issues such as family, community and religion in a way that few other popular television programmes could match.
The newspaper acknowledged that Homer snores through the sermons of the Reverend Lovejoy and inflicts “never-ending humiliation” on his evangelical neighbour, Ned Flanders.
But in an article headlined “Homer and Bart are Catholics”, it said: “The Simpsons are among the few TV programmes for children in which Christian faith, religion, and questions about God are recurrent themes.”
Dylan was born Robert Allen Zimmerman to a Jewish family, but in later life dabbled with Christianity.
He has since said that he subscribes to no individual religion but finds spiritual inspiration through his music.
He told Newsweek in 1997: “Here’s the thing with me and the religious thing. This is the flat-out truth: I find the religiosity and philosophy in the music. I don’t find it anywhere else. I don’t adhere to rabbis, preachers, evangelists, all of that.”

Don't contradict the armed wing of the ME brigade

Don't contradict the armed wing of the ME brigade

By Damian Thompson Health and lifestyle Last updated: September 28th, 2012

From Saturday's Daily Telegraph


The article you’re about to read will almost certainly be referred to the Press Complaints Commission. I’ll explain why later. Anyway, here goes.
This week I noticed that the Telegraph’s medical columnist, Dr Max Pemberton, was being horribly slagged off on Twitter. His crime? He’d commented on the fact that scientists at Columbia University had found no evidence that two specific viruses were linked to ME, which Max described (choosing his words carefully) as “the condition characterised by extreme fatigue and muscle pain”.
The Columbia finding was a terrible blow to many ME sufferers, who hoped that these viruses were the Holy Grail of a biological cause for their illness. But, as Max explained, it wasn’t widely reported because medical journalists are frightened of the militant wing of the ME lobby.
The previous time Max wrote about ME, presenting the majority view of scientists who think the condition has a psychological component, he was targeted by people displaying what he calls “an astounding degree of paranoia and obsession”. Every article about ME provokes complaints to the PCC, but in his case those were just the start. Sinister threats and photos of Max’s home were posted online.
This is a tricky subject for me, because a colleague has been diagnosed with ME. He’s seriously ill: the breakdown of one part of his body after another cannot be explained by psychosomatic fatigue. On the other hand, I suspect that his condition has only been described as ME because doctors haven’t pinned down what’s going on.
In contrast, medical science has no great difficulty explaining what’s wrong with most people diagnosed, or self-diagnosed, with ME. Their brains create a debilitating fatigue and pain that often correlates with certain personality traits. For example, there’s an overlap between ME and eating disorders.
Once you start talking about overlaps you’re in dangerous territory. In 1997, the feminist historian Elaine Showalter wrote a brave and brilliant book called Hystories: Hysterical Epidemics and Modern Culture. She suggested that “psychogenic diseases” such as ME and Gulf War Syndrome had something in common with the confabulated memories of “Ritual Satanic Abuse” and alien abduction.
Showalter was vilified for joining the dots between mysterious spasms of anxiety – but imagine the vicious treatment she’d receive if she’d written Hystories in the age of Twitter. As the internet sceptic Evgeny Morozov argues, social media have “overmobilised” lobby groups, whether they’re Russian neofascists, climate change activists or medical conspiracy theorists.
You might say that the internet is simply enabling the free association of like-minded people. But ask yourself what like-minded people do when they connect online. They gang up on “the enemy”, whether it be a scientist exploding the myths of homeopathy or supporters of a rival football team.
In other words, much of the Twitter “conversation” is more concerned with shouting people down than opening up debate. Also, a lot of that shouting-down is organised and coordinated with an eye to twisting politicians’ arms and feeding narratives to right-on media.
We’ll see how this plays out. But overmobilising is already damaging the very people it’s meant to help. Doctors used to regard chronic fatigue as an exciting field of research. No longer. Why? Because, to quote one of them, “it’s safer to insult the Prophet Mohammed than to contradict the armed wing of the ME brigade”.

The Vatican rocks as it simultaneously gives a thumbs up and thumbs down to Bob Dylan’s album ‘Tempest’

The Vatican rocks as it simultaneously gives a thumbs up and thumbs down to Bob Dylan’s album ‘Tempest’

 The Vat­ican news­pa­per L’Osservatore Romano, has given a rave review of Bob Dylan’s latest album ‘Tem­pest’. But in a very Italian way, it has also given the album a bad review. Two con­trast­ing opin­ions side by side.

Giulia Galeotti says:

It’s like bit­ing into a cake at the best pastry shop. The first bite is already prom­ising, yet doesn’t give everything away, but bit­ing on through the lay­ers dif­fer­ent fla­vours are dis­covered, the sub­tle­ness of the ingredi­ents. The same goes for Bob Dylan’s work. With ‘Tem­pest’ there’s imme­di­ately a desire to dig below the surface…

The album, which shot straight to num­ber three on the Bill­board 200, con­tains a 14-minute song about the Titanic called Sad, Sad Story.

The folk bal­lad of almost 14 minutes on the sad, sad story of the great ship engulfed by seas sharp and clear, is an instant, and is infin­ite. The Titanic sank. Bob Dylan, abso­lutely not.

Col­league Giuseppe Fiorentino has other ideas:

He might not have sunk like the Titanic, but he can barely keep afloat, and is nav­ig­at­ing blind­folded. When a song inspired by the wreck, repeats the same unchan­ging pro­gres­sion of notes for almost four­teen minutes, how could it be otherwise?
…But Dylan has a is so wor­shipped by crit­ics and fans that this disc will surely acquire a cult fol­low­ing. In fair­ness, it should be said that like oth­ers of his gen­er­a­tion, Dylan still strives to pro­duce new work. But his  intense, mature and dra­matic voice could have been put to bet­ter use at the ser­vice of richer musical content.

Letture parallele e contrapposte dell’ultimo disco di Bob Dylan

Come leggere la tempesta?

Con l'ultimo album, è affondato solo il Titanic o anche Bob Dylan? In modo opposto rispondono Giulia Galeotti e Giuseppe Fiorentino.
Secondo Galeotti, "è come addentare una torta farcita di ottima pasticceria. Il primo morso promette già, senza però rivelare tutto: lentamente l’immersione nella fetta richiama le note dei diversi sapori, le sfumature degli ingredienti, gli amalgami della cottura. Lo stesso vale per gran parte dei lavori di Bob Dylan. Avvicinandoci a Tempest, il desiderio è di scavare sotto il manto di ciò che appare. E ancora una volta setacciando i brani, l’inconfondibile voce spalmata si insinua sorniona, materializzando davanti al nostro orecchio scene, inquadrature ed emozioni terribilmente reali. E se il desiderio è appagato, è solo perché dall’altra parte c’è un artista settantunenne capace ancora di dire qualcosa di nuovo palleggiando con il vecchio. Dallo swing, nuovo e antico insieme, che apre l’album in poi, è un viaggio tra racconto e strumenti (superbo il banjo di Scarlett Town), di un Dylan storico (nel senso che indossa i panni dello storico) dei fatti e delle emozioni. L’orizzonte non promette molto, ma l’incedere è mai solo disperazione, è il refrain sotto testo. La ballata folk di quasi 14 minuti sulla sad, sad story della grande nave inghiottita da mari sharp and clear, è un attimo, ed è infinita (la sorella piccola dell’epica storia del pugile condannato ingiustamente). Il Titanic è affondato. Bob Dylan assolutamente no".
"Se non è ancora affondato come il Titanic – risponde Fiorentino – Dylan riesce appena a rimanere a galla, senza peraltro evitare i rischi di una navigazione a vista. E come potrebbe essere diverso quando una canzone, quella appunto ispirata dal naufragio, ripete la stessa immutabile progressione di note per quasi quattordici minuti? Se, accompagnati da questa ballata, ci si volesse sostituire a Kate Winslet nella celeberrima e stucchevole scena del film di Cameron, si rischierebbe di precipitare in mare, storditi dall’ossessivo e inesorabile rollio del brano. Ma Dylan gode di un credito smisurato da parte di critica ed estimatori, e c’è da scommettere che, anche questa volta, il disco diventerà oggetto di culto. A onor del vero c’è da sottolineare come, a differenza di altri autori della sua generazione, Dylan si sforzi ancora di produrre cose nuove. Però la sua voce intensa, matura e drammatica avrebbe potuto essere messa al servizio di contenuti musicali più ricchi. Che succede quando splendide parole non vengono sostenute da una base musicale altrettanto efficace? Nella peggiore delle ipotesi, si rischia di essere considerati noiosi. Se va meglio, si viene annoverati, come accade al signor Zimmerman, tra i grandi poeti del secolo e inseriti ogni anno nella lista dei candidati al Nobel per la letteratura. Che con la musica ha ben poco a che vedere".

 

28 settembre 2012

[parola chiave: Musica]

Damian Thompson

 

Wagner is more important than the wretched Lib Dems ... and so say all of us!

Richard Wagner: you have to do your homework

How refreshing that George Osborne, Michael Gove and Ed Vaizey managed to slip away at 4 pm – yup, four in the afternoon – to watch Wagner's Die Walküre at Covent Garden yesterday, thus putting into proper perspective the comic-opera histrionics of the Lib Dem conference.
The second instalment of the Ring Cycle is enormously long, so I'm assuming that all three men are genuine aficionados. Here's the thing about the Ring: the leitmotifs (of which there are more than 200) really matter; if you don't recognise the snatches of melody representing the gold, Wotan's spear, Valhalla etc, then you're missing essential elements in the story – the argument that makes psychological sense of the fantasy. If you don't do your homework, you're lost.


Personally, I'd like to drag the entire Cabinet to the Ring Cycle. It would provide pleasure for those very few members who appreciate classical music, and exquisite torment for the cloth-eared majority. We all know that Hitler adored Wagner; what's less well known is that his lieutenants tended to be abject philistines. Perhaps the only amusing thing the Führer did in his life was to force them to sit through endless five-hour performances of Parsifal – and pretend to like it.

MEDJUGORJE VISIONARY: Life on earth can be like purgatory...

MEDJUGORJE VISIONARY: Life on earth can be like purgatory

Medjugorje Visionary Marija Pavlovic-Lunetti marked the Virgin Mary’s repeated calls to live for Heaven by saying that, after seeing it, life on earth feels like Purgatory. We visionaries hope to attain the Paradise we have seen, but even we are in need of conversion, she told in passing on recent message.

Marija Pavlovic-Lunetti

Paradise exists, the Medjugorje visionaries tell they all saw it in the 1980s, but a conscious decision for God while on earth is needed to get there.

These were the main themes when visionary Marija Pavlovic-Lunetti delivered the Virgin Mary’s monthly message on Radio Maria on September 25:

“Dear children! When in nature you look at the richness of the colors which the Most High gives to you, open your heart and pray with gratitude for all the good that you have and say: ‘I am here created for eternity’ – and yearn for heavenly things because God loves you with immeasurable love. This is why He also gave me to you to tell you: ‘Only in God is your peace and hope, dear children’. Thank you for having responded to my call.”

Fr. Livio Fanzaga, director of Radio Maria

“I don’t know if you have noticed that in Our Lady’s messages of this year, we are reminded of Eternity, Heaven. Do you suppose it is because we don’t think enough about that?” Radio Maria director Fr. Livio Fanzaga opened his talk with the seer.

“True. I think she wants to “stick to that subject” because the world is too attached to earthly things, and she is back to a theme of the early years: “Me instead of Thee.” [Io & Dio rhyme in Italian, ed.]. She repeats “place God before everything”, and it can seem like telling a story at times because we might not be living our faith with an open heart and sincerity” Marija replied.

Heaven or Hell – or Purgatory in between the two? Through how he lives his life on earth, each human being decides his fate after death and, ultimately, his eternity, the Virgin Mary reaffirmed Catholic teaching in the earliest days of her apparitions in Medjugorje

“Daily life can seem to be removed from – or another world when compared to – living your faith but Our Lady wants us to combine the two, by saying “Dear children you cannot go on in this way.” Many times she has repeated to us that without God you have neither a future nor eternal life. She repeats it, and we repeat it. Today the focus is on worldly values.”

- The visionaries have seen Paradise, some even in their body. Do you feel nostalgic towards it?

“Yes, and in a big way. The five minutes with her make us want to have God in our hearts to carry us the entire day, at that point we have Paradise in our hearts. Our Lady would like us to do everything in God; we might still think of “apparition time” or “Mass time” or “time to eat” or “sleep time.”

- Marija, I am thinking about this: You have seen Paradise, but when you have been with her five minutes, you have been in Paradise again. Our Lady is Paradise that comes down to Earth. After you have seen Our Lady, how do you feel about returning here?

“Like I am in Purgatory, Father Livio. Nothing less because as you say we feel nostalgic towards Paradise. We hope to attain Paradise even here and now, but we are distant; even we need conversion”.

Marija during a previous appearance on Radio Maria

- We don’t see her, but when she comes through a visionary, we are reminded that our goal is Paradise, and she brings a bit of it down, but I have noticed many times that Our Lady has had us find the presence of God by looking at nature. In particular she recalls this by the colors of flowers or those of nature. She invites us to read nature in a mystical way, like St Francis.

“Yes, probably because in nature our heart is closer to God. We are marveled by the colors and such. Even this evening she said “Say: I was created for eternity” and “yearn for the heavenly things.” Think about God, think about the love of God that there is for us.”

The prayer of the Rosary has been at the forefront of the Medjugorje message ever since the Virgin Mary’s apparitions began. This one was made of stones from Apparition Hill

Month of the Rosary

At this point Fr. Livio Fanzaga looked ahead into October, the month dedicated to the prayer of the Rosary, and as such a month especially devoted to a most integral part of the Medjugorje message:

- I would like to ask one last question. We are about to start the month of October, the month of the Rosary. Our Lady has asked for it, daily and all the mysteries.

“True, she has asked for the Rosary as her preferred prayer, and she calls for it daily. Not only the Rosary, but that our life becomes a prayer. Through it we open our hearts to her, and she said through it she can intercede to God for us, because our heart opens.”

Marija surrounded by priests in Cassola, Italy, on September 22

“Some object to the Rosary as repetitious, but Our Lady replies that if you love someone you say one-thousand times “I love you.” Through the Rosary we give our litany in our own small way.”

- Our Lady has insisted on the Rosary within the family.

“She says if a family prays, it is holy – if it does not, it is far from God. She asks us to make prayer the central point of our daily life. A family that is in God goes forward. If not we have no future perspectives.”

- You have four boys. Is it hard for you to have the Rosary said in your family?

“When they were smaller it was simpler. I have to thank God that even today they gladly pray. I hope it always grows. I also hope so through my example and my life.”



Antonio Miraldi transcribed and translated from Italian

Commemoration of England's Marian Apparition: Our Lady of Walsingham

 September 25th

 Commemoration of England's Marian Apparition: Our Lady of Walsingham

 

Our Lady of Walsingham - England's Apparition of Mary

Most Catholics know of France's famous Marian apparitions, such as those at Lourdes and Rue du Bac, and also the greater Marian apparition sites such as the one at Fatima, Portugal or Guadalupe, Mexico.

England's once famous shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham is not as well known due to the onset of Protestantism in the 1500s. Thankfully, the apparition is receiving greater devotion due to the efforts of Catholics and Anglicans with a love for the Blessed Virgin.

The tradition of Our Lady of Walsingham began with an apparition of the Immaculate Mother of God to Richeldis de Faverches, a Catholic English noblewoman, in 1061 in the village of Walsingham in Norfolk, England.

The Mother of God revealed the archetectural plans of the Holy House of the Holy Family in Nazareth and she asked Lady Richeldis to build the house as a shrine and place of pilgrimage.

The Holy House of Walsingham was an exact copy of of the home in which the Annunciation occurred. The chapel was founded in the time of Edward the Confessor, about 1053, the earliest deeds naming Richeldis, the mother of Geoffrey of Favraches as the founder. In 1169, Geoffrey granted 'to God and St. Mary and to Edwy his clerk the chapel of our Lady' which his mother had founded at Walsingham with the intention that Edwy should found a priory. These gifts were, shortly afterwards, confirmed to the Austin Canons of Walsingham by Robert de Brucurt and Roger, earl of Clare.

By 1500, Our Lady of Walsingham had become one of the greatest religious centres in England, and Europe, together with Glastonbury and Canterbury. It became the third most popular place of pilgrimage next to Rome and Compostella, Spain.

The suppression of Walsingham came late in 1538. The Protestant bishop Latimer wrote of the image of Mary that "She hath been the Devil's instrument, I fear, to bring many to eternal fire; now she herself with her older sister of Walsingham, her younger sister of Ipswich, and their two sisters of Doncaster and Penrhys will make a jolly muster in Smithfield. They would not be all day in burning". Horrid words that reveal the hate of early Anglicans for images and for the Blessed Virgin.

King Henry VIII approved for the image of Our Lady of Walsingham to be burned. This confirms that Henry VIII was an impious and perfidious tyrant. Those who claim that Henry VIII remained Catholic "in his heart" are deceived. He was a murderous and adulterous man who mocked the papacy.

"It was the month of July, the images of Our Lady of Walsingham and Ipswich were brought up to London with all the jewels that hung around them, at the King's commandment, and divers other images, both in England and Wales, that were used for common pilgrimage...and they were burnt at Chelsea by my Lord Privy Seal".

In 1897 Pope Leo XIII re-established the restored 14th century Slipper Chapel as a Roman Catholic shrine, now the centre of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham. The Holy House had been rebuilt at the Church of the Annunciation at King's Lynn.

There is a prophecy that when England returns to Our Lady of Walsingham, Our Lady will return to England. It seems, then, that this Marian shrine is intimately associated with the spiritual health of Merry Ol' England.

Our Lady of Walsingham, pray for us.

SAINT THERESE OF LISIEUX OFFICIAL WEBSITE

SAINT THERESE OF LISIEUX OFFICIAL WEBSITE


http://www.sttherese.com/





Sculpture of St Therese in Westminster Cathedral by  Giacomo Manzu

Pew survey: Catholics favor Obama by 15-point margin ... disturbing!

Pew survey: Catholics favor Obama by 15-point margin   ...   disturbing!

From Our Store: Liturgical Year 2011-2012, ol. 6: Ordinary Time Completed (eBook)

President Barack Obama holds a 54%-39% advantage over Mitt Romney among Catholics, according to the latest voter survey conducted by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press.  Among Catholics who attend Mass at least weekly, Romney holds a 51%-42% lead. Catholics who attend Mass “monthly” or “yearly” favor Obama by a 53%-39% advantage, while Catholics who attend Mass “seldom” or “never” back Obama by a 61%-32% margin. The survey also found that white Catholics favor Obama by a 47%-46% margin. Protestants favor Romney by a 50%-42% margin; among white evangelical Protestants, the pro-Romney advantage is 74%-19%, while the two candidates are in a 46%-46% dead heat among mainline Protestants. Black Protestants favor Obama by an overwhelming 95%-2% margin. The Pew survey, conducted September 16, found that Obama holds a 51%-42% lead among all registered voters—a significantly larger lead than the 3.7% advantage Obama currently holds in the RealClearPolitics.com average of surveys.

SHORT BIOGRAPHY OF ST THERESE OF LISIEUX

The Life of Saint Thérèse of Lisieux THÉRÈSE MARTIN was born at Alençon, France on 2 January 1873. Two days later, she was baptized Marie Frances Thérèse at Notre Dame Church. Her parents were Louis Martin and Zélie Guérin. After the death of her mother on 28 August 1877, Thérèse and her family moved to Lisieux. Towards the end of 1879, she went to confession for the first time. On the Feast of Pentecost 1883, she received the singular grace of being healed from a serious illness through the intercession of Our Lady of Victories. Taught by the Benedictine Nuns of Lisieux and after an intense immediate preparation culminating in a vivid experience of intimate union with Christ, she received First Holy Communion on 8 May 1884. Some weeks later, on 14 June of the same year, she received the Sacrament of Confirmation, fully aware of accepting the gift of the Holy Spirit as a personal participation in the grace of Pentecost. She wished to embrace the contemplative life, as her sisters Pauline and Marie had done in the Carmel of Lisieux, but was prevented from doing so by her young age. On a visit to Italy, after having visited the House of Loreto and the holy places of the Eternal City, during an audience granted by Pope Leo XIII to the pilgrims from Lisieux on 20 November 1887, she asked the Holy Father with childlike audacity to be able to enter the Carmel at the age of fifteen. On 9 April 1888 she entered the Carmel of Lisieux. She received the habit on 10 January of the following year, and made her religious profession on 8 September 1890 on the Feast of the Birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary. In Carmel she embraced the way of perfection outlined by the Foundress, Saint Teresa of Jesus, fulfilling with genuine fervour and fidelity the various community responsibilities entrusted to her. Her faith was tested by the sickness of her beloved father, Louis Martin, who died on 29 July 1894. Thérèse nevertheless grew in sanctity, enlightened by the Word of God and inspired by the Gospel to place love at the centre of everything. In her autobiographical manuscripts she left us not only her recollections of childhood and adolescence but also a portrait of her soul, the description of her most intimate experiences. She discovered the little way of spiritual childhood and taught it to the novices entrusted to her care. She considered it a special gift to receive the charge of accompanying two "missionary brothers" with prayer and sacrifice. Seized by the love of Christ, her only Spouse, she penetrated ever more deeply into the mystery of the Church and became increasingly aware of her apostolic and missionary vocation to draw everyone in her path. On 9 June 1895, on the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, she offered herself as a sacrificial victim to the merciful Love of God. At this time, she wrote her first autobiographical manuscript, which she presented to Mother Agnes for her birthday on 21 January 1896. Several months later, on 3 April, in the night between Holy Thursday and Good Friday, she suffered a haemoptysis, the first sign of the illness which would lead to her death; she welcomed this event as a mysterious visitation of the Divine Spouse. From this point forward, she entered a trial of faith which would last until her death; she gives overwhelming testimony to this in her writings. In September, she completed Manuscript B; this text gives striking evidence of the spiritual maturity which she had attained, particularly the discovery of her vocation in the heart of the Church. While her health declined and the time of trial continued, she began work in the month of June on Manuscript C, dedicated to Mother Marie de Gonzague. New graces led her to higher perfection and she discovered fresh insights for the diffusion of her message in the Church, for the benefit of souls who would follow her way. She was transferred to the infirmary on 8 July. Her sisters and other religious women collected her sayings. Meanwhile her sufferings and trials intensified. She accepted them with patience up to the moment of her death in the afternoon of 30 September 1897. "I am not dying, I am entering life", she wrote to her missionary spiritual brother, Father M. Bellier. Her final words, "My God..., I love you!", seal a life which was extinguished on earth at the age of twenty-four; thus began, as was her desire, a new phase of apostolic presence on behalf of souls in the Communion of Saints, in order to shower a rain of roses upon the world. She was canonized by Pope Pius XI on 17 May 1925. The same Pope proclaimed her Universal Patron of the Missions, alongside Saint Francis Xavier, on 14 December 1927. Her teaching and example of holiness has been received with great enthusiasm by all sectors of the faithful during this century, as well as by people outside the Catholic Church and outside Christianity. On the occasion of the centenary of her death, many Episcopal Conferences have asked the Pope to declare her a Doctor of the Church, in view of the soundness of her spiritual wisdom inspired by the Gospel, the originality of her theological intuitions filled with sublime teaching, and the universal acceptance of her spiritual message, which has been welcomed throughout the world and spread by the translation of her works into over fifty languages. Mindful of these requests, His Holiness Pope John Paul II asked the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, which has competence in this area, in consultation with the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith with regard to her exalted teaching, to study the suitability of proclaiming her a Doctor of the Church. On 24 August, at the close of the Eucharistic Celebration at the Twelfth World Youth Day in Paris, in the presence of hundreds of bishops and before an immense crowd of young people from the whole world, Pope John Paul II announced his intention to proclaim Thérèse of the Child Jesus and of the Holy Face a Doctor of the Universal Church on World Mission Sunday, 19 October 1997.

THE FEAST DAY OF SAINT THERESE OF LISIEUX IS COMING UP...

Over the next week GENE'S MUSINGS will feature several items about this remarkable young woman. In the meantine I recommend the following scholarly work about this saint:

Light of the Night: Last Eighteen Months in the Life of Therese of Lisieux [Paperback]

Jean Francois Six (Author), John Bowden (Translator)

King Lear taught me a lesson in mortality

.

 

Damian Thompson

How King Lear taught me a lesson in mortality

By Damian Thompson  Language   Last updated: September 21st, 201

 

A lesson in mortality: Jonathan Pryce as Lear

From Saturday's Daily Telegraph


In 1980, as a sixth former, I saw one of the great Hamlets: Jonathan Pryce, possessed by his dead father and speaking the ghost’s lines in a voice so unlike his own that you’d think a ventriloquist was hiding in the wings. (You can find a short extract of it on YouTube.)
We were taken to the Royal Court by Mr Pegnall, a mischievous genius of a teacher who never fitted comfortably into our staid and now defunct Catholic grammar school. (He once shocked a troublemaker into silence by telling him, with a languorously raised eyebrow, to f––– off. We liked him so much that no one mentioned it outside the classroom.)
The problem was that only Mr Pegnall could make me love Shakespeare. Once I left school, intellectual laziness reasserted itself. I remember a bad amateur production of Twelfth Night in my twenties, not being able to follow the plot, and deciding that the Bard wasn’t for me.
As a result, I didn’t even bother to read or watch King Lear. Then, a few weeks ago, I read that Jonathan Pryce was tackling the part at the Almeida. Here, at last, was an unmissable opportunity to discover a mighty landmark of English literature. But would I be able to follow the play, to absorb its dense imagery, without my old teacher helpfully untangling it for me?
So I took no chances. After a gap of 32 years, I resumed my English lessons with Mr Pegnall – or Peter, as I am now allowed to call him – and last week we went to see Lear.
Peter long ago gave up full-time teaching to concentrate on a second career as a much-praised poet. (His next collection is entitled Howl: the Silent Movie.) We held our lessons in the café at the Telegraph. It was reassuring that he has changed so little physically: there are a few more lines on the face, the thick hair is now grey, but the sonic boom of his voice still carries.
I’ve stayed in touch with Peter ever since leaving school, but our conversations have been mostly gossip, banter and a sharing of woes. I can’t tell you how exhilarating it was to be taught by him once again – to have him tune my tin ear until I could hear the passion and nastiness in a speech that previously lay dead on the page.
By the time the lights dimmed at the Almeida, Peter had primed me with questions: “How crazed is Lear in the first scenes? And, consequently, how culpable in his treatment of Cordelia? Do the actresses playing the 'ugly sisters’ bring a humanity that the words don’t accommodate? Does the Fool’s doggerel bite?”
I’m glad to say that Pryce made a deeply satisfying Lear: this was a finely honed chamber performance rather than grand opera. Michael Attenborough’s production was “absorbing and distressing”, according to the FT. True, and I felt some of that distress, since bittersweet memories of 1980 kept intruding.
If Pryce was the right age to play Hamlet then and is the right age to play Lear now, then it goes without saying that the nights are drawing in for me, too. Freud thought the play was all about the need to “make friends with the necessity of dying”. Maybe so. But in asking my schoolmaster to teach me the play in 2012 was I trying to brush aside mortality by turning back the clock? Or was the whole exercise, as Peter suggested, the perfect way to mark the passage of time – actor, teacher and pupil growing old together?
Either way, my fear of Shakespeare has been well and truly overcome. I’m now so obsessed with King Lear that I listen to it on my iPod. So my message to Peter is: thank you, sir. And sorry about only getting a B in the A-level.

Today, 23rd September, is the Feast Day Of Saint Padre Pio

Today, 23rd September, is the Feast Day Of Saint Padre Pio






PADRE PIO HAD A SPECIAL MISSION TO LIVE THE WISDOM OF THE CROSS

A multitude of devoted

1. A well-known writer said, "If there was an Oscar of popularity for saints, Padre Pio would win hands down. Rarely has there been a religious so widely loved and celebrated. His popularity rating has reached stardom, and not only among believers" (R. Allegri in P. Pio Immagini di santità, Mondadori 1999, p. 9).

This may be a captivating piece of journalism, but it is theologically flawed. Indeed, with regard to saints, it is not so much their approval by men and women that counts but rather the favour they find with God, and here no classifications or grades are valid. All the attempts to compile hit parades have bordered on the ridiculous. Every day, when the Church lives the summit of Eucharistic faith, speaking of the saints, the faithful say these words: "with all the saints who have done your will throughout the ages" (Eucharistic Prayer II).

So saints, as such, please God before they please men. However, we cannot fail to note that the devotion for Padre Pio has grown out of all proportion among people from all walks of life. A true "world clientele", as Paul VI said (Audience of 20 February, 1971).

It has rightly been said that Blessed Padre Pio is the "people's saint", perhaps unconsciously highlighting once again, with his forthcoming Canonization, the charism of the Capuchin Franciscans to be close to the people.

The purpose of this reflection is to seek the foundation of the message of "this humble Capuchin friar", as the Pope said in his homiIy at the Mass in St Peter's Square for the Beatification of Padre Pio who "by his life ... astonished the world" (cf. L'Osservatore Romano, n. 3; ORE, 5 May 1999, p. 1), and to highlight this message's urgency and timeliness. It is certainly not out of place to explain the attraction to Padre Pio felt by multitudes as a response to the "hunger for transcendence", to the need for the supernatural which still grips human beings even at the beginning of the third millennium, through the singular and evident mystical phenomena.

An altar on the world

2. "'How often', Jesus said to me just now, 'would you have abandoned me, my son, if I had not crucified you ... ?'" (Padre Pio, La croce sempre pronta, Città Nuova, 2002, p. 3).

Thus to try to understand Padre Pio is not so easy, despite his simplicity, because it is necessary to go far beyond appearances. The Blessed even said as much, speaking of himself: "What can I tell you about me? I am a mystery to myself" (Epistolario, I, p. 800. The Epistolario is the collection in four volumes of Padre Pio's correspondence, edited by Fr Gerardo di Flumeri).

If it is true, that every man and woman is born with a mission that Providence entrusts to each one to carry out during his/her earthly life, what was the special mission of the Blessed "stigmatic" from Gargano?

During the ad limina visit in April 1947, Pope Pius XII asked Bishop Andrea Cesarano of Manfredonia: "What does Padre Pio do?". The Bishop gave the clear, concise answer: "Your Holiness, he takes away the sins of the world" (cf. P. Pio, Immagini di Santità, Mondadori, 1999, p. 74).

Francesco Forgione made a constant offering of himself as a victim of love on the altar, where he lived Christ's Passion, and in the confessional, where actually he lived compassion with the sinner. He became one with Christ in the Eucharistic immolation and with the penitent in the confessional to reconcile souls with God.

Padre Pio was a great apostle of the confessional. He exercised this ministry for 58 years, giving hours and hours, morning and evening, to those who came to him from near and far: men and women, sick and healthy, rich and poor, clergy and lay people. In his cause for canonization this is certainly his major claim to glory, the test of his holiness and the brightest example he left priests throughout the world, of this century and of the centuries to come (ibid.).

He told his confreres in confidence: "Souls are not given as a gift: they are bought. Don't you know what they cost Jesus? They must be paid for with the same coin" (ibid.).

The man who knew suffering

3. Referring to his entry into the Order of Capuchin Franciscans in November 1922, he wrote: "O God ... from that moment you entrusted a very important mission to your son. A mission known to you and me alone.... O God ... I hear a voice deep within me saying: sanctify yourself and sanctify others" (Epistolario, III, p. 1010). Sanctifying is not only meant in the moral, but also in the sacrificial sense, for the sanctification and salvation of souls.

He was aware he had been chosen by God as a collaborator in the redemptive work of Christ, through love and the Cross.

Crucified with Christ, it was no longer he who lived, but Christ who lived in him, as with the Apostle Paul (cf. Gal 2,19). Padre Pio chose the Cross, convinced that his whole life, like that of his Master, would be "a martyrdom". In June 1913, he wrote to Fr Benedetto, his spiritual director: "The Lord shows me, as in a mirror, that my whole future will be nothing but martyrdom" (Epistolario, I, p. 368).

However, this clear vision of his uncertain and tormented future neither troubled nor discouraged him. Indeed, in the depths of his soul he rejoiced in having been called to cooperate in the salvation of souls through suffering, which draws value and effectiveness from real participation in the Cross of Jesus (Epistolario, I, p. 303).

Consequently, Padre Pio willingly and joyfully accepted from the Lord all the suffering of body and soul he experienced and heard God's voice in his heart calling him more and more insistently to sacrifice and to immolate himself for his brethren (cf. Epistolario, I, p. 328f.).

Most people are probably unaware of this aspect. Other things about Padre Pio are emphasized which are easier to understand and accept, but if the reality of the Cross were removed from Padre Pio's life and spirituality, he would be emptied of holiness. The Cross for him was not a single episode but a whole outlook on life, for he lived his entire life in the shadow of the Cross for the glory of God, his personal sanctification and the salvation of his brethren. He learned entirely and always at the school of Christ the Master, who freely and lovingly accepted the Father's will: "Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body have you prepared for me.... Then I said, 'Lo I have come to do your will, O God"' (Heb 10,5).

The two most important biographies of Padre Pio (by Fr Fernando da Riese Pio X, Padre Pio da Pietrelcina, Crocifisso senza croce, San Giovanni Rotondo 1974; Alessandro da Ripabottoni, Padre Pio da Pietrelcina il Cireneo di tutti, San Giovanni Rotondo 1994) have as subtitles respectively "Crocifisso senza croce" and "il Cireneo di tutti" (Crucified without the Cross; The Cyrenian for Everyone): two emphases intended to highlight the essential aspect of his spirituality. Indeed, after the example of Christ, Padre Pio lived as one crucified from 1910 to 1968, carrying both his cross and the cross of the suffering human beings who turned to him.

In March 1948, the Padre wrote to a Discalced Carmelite: "One day, when we are granted to see the full noon-day light, we will recognize and value, how great is the treasure, that we earned from our earthly sufferings for the homeland that will have no end. From generous souls and from those in love, God expects acts of heroism and fidelity so that, after the ascent of Calvary, they may reach Mount Tabor".

These words sum up the thrust of a spiritual programme centred on the mystery of the Passion and Death of Jesus and learned from him as he taught them "at the school of suffering" (Fr Gerardo di Flumeri, Epist. II, p. 453) "of sacrifice" (Epist. III, p. 106), and "of the cross, through which alone our souls can be made holy", as is explained time and again in the Epistolario.

Padre Pio was able to demonstrate his unmistakeable gifts as a true spiritual teacher; he succeeded in forming "generous souls in love with God", nourished by the wisdom of the Cross and whom he bound to follow the teachings of this "school" by his example and his words.

Perhaps in no other area of his ascetical and mystical teaching did he reach such lofty heights. According to Melchiorre da Pobladura (Alla scuola spirituale di Padre Pio da Pietrelcina, San Giovanni Rotondo, 1978), this special and most characteristic aspect of

his has three dimensions: the spirituality of the cross; the content of the cross; and the methodology he used in forming and guiding the souls entrusted to his care.

The spirituality of the cross

4. The doctrine of suffering that purifies and the theology of pain that saves is the basic theme of Bl. Padre Pio's teaching in spiritual direction and also constitutes his personal commitment in the ascetical path toward holiness. He lived and proposed this programme because it is rooted in the Gospel and reflected in Christ's life and doctrine.

Padre Pio's exterior stigmata make a deep impression on the superficial observer. However, they are not important from the theological viewpoint of their clinical aspect but rather for what they demonstrate: his total transfiguration to the crucified and risen Christ. These visible wounds are a manifestation of what St Gregory of Nyssa calls "spiritual wounds", which procure an agonizing love that assimilates him to the beloved. Padre Pio's experience was exalating even if tragic (Epist. I, pp. 300, 522...).

The Cross, whatever name people may give it, whatever painful aspect it manifests, has a central place in the life of Christians. The man with the stigmata from Gargano understood it, lived it and proposed it. He did not offer a scientifically worked-out programme but he had crystal clear ideas on God's saving plan, that developed round the Cross of Christ the Redeemer. He deeply penetrated the riches of the mystery of the cross, "folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God" (I Cor 1, 18).

It was enough for him to contemplate the Cross, the way of life of Jesus, the incarnate Word and the crucified One, and make his message of salvation alive and active. For him, Jesus' Passion and Death were a historical and existential event. The straight-forward task of Christians seriously committed to achieving holiness is simply to accept that message, to put it into practice, to have a vital encounter with the crucified Christ without a lot of comment.

The content of this spirituality

5. In the present economy of grace and of salvation, the Cross was the means God chose to reconcile humanity with God the Father.

The Cross is not merely one episode in the earthly life of the incarnate Word, but an integral part of the mystery of the Incarnation. The cross, Christ proposed to and imposed on his followers, is not a mere condition for following him, but the most genuine expression of belonging to his kingdom. We are truly Christian only to the extent that we accept the Cross as the fundamental option of life.

When someone takes up his own cross, he becomes a witness of salvation among his brothers and sisters so that others may also share in this salvation, of which he is both the object and subject. With this free and generous choice, Christians become mediators and co-redeemers of their neighbour, under the influence of Christ, and dependent on him who will always be the one mediator and redeemer of humanity (cf. I Tm 2,5).

Jesus freely gave his life for all as the supreme and indisputable proof of his love for human beings, the most precious and highly esteemed gift that a man can make. Since his sacrifice, deeply religious Christians have intuited what divine love means through contemplation of the Cross under the influence of the Holy Spirit. This reality informs their spiritual life. The Cross became and becomes a magnetic pole and a centre of outreach.

"By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren" (I Jn 3,16). Clearly, Padre Pio accepted this invitation, with all its consequences, and became an apostle and teacher of this message of crucified love.

Padre Pio confided to his friend Fr Agostino: "When Jesus wants me to know that he loves me, he lets me feel in his Passion, his wounds, the thorns, the anguish.... When he wants me to rejoice, he fills my heart with that spirit that is all fire, speaks to me of his delight ... Jesus, the man of sorrows, would like all Christians to imitate him.... By comparison my poor suffering is worth nothing, yet it pleases Jesus, because on earth he loved it so much" ... (Epist. I, pp. 335-336).

It is true that today people cannot understand how a God who is said to be good and a father can permit such suffering, especially among the innocent. There is everywhere a noticeable lack of the spiritual sensitivity required to understand how necessary it is to make reparation and expiate evil.

The mystery of the Cross in the Christian's life as well as in Christ's is of central transcendent and irreplaceable importance. The disciple cannot take any other way than the one pointed out by the Master, nor can he accept any other norm of life than the one the Master proclaimed. Christ, the Master, knew well that his norm would not be easy and would not give rise to enthusiasm. Yet he proclaims it categorically, with vigour, "If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me" (Mt 16,24).

The reasons for taking up one's own cross and for teaching others how to accept theirs

6. First of all, for every person who sincerely wants to seek God in following Christ, the way of the cross is the only way to take. There are no other paths that lead to holiness and salvation. The Cross becomes the identity card of the Christian, the seal of his authenticity and his "standard" (Epist. II, p. 175).

The Cross is the one way to salvation for all; all who are called to a deeper and more perfect realization of Christ's mysteries must follow it to the very end.

This is what the Gospel teaches, according to the Blessed of Pietrelcina. "The grain of wheat does not bear fruit unless it is deposited and germinates; likewise souls need the trial of suffering in order to emerge from it purified" (Epist. II, p. 442).

The second reason why we must embrace the Cross is because Christ always carried the burden of the Cross and no one will ever be worthy of him unless he follows him and shares in his suffering. Living with Christ on the Cross is the most sublime ideal of every Christian. No one can climb alone. Christ always walks before us carrying his Cross and ours, and guiding our footsteps that often falter. Jesus will never abandon anyone who, through love of him, walks on bearing the weight of his cross, and the troubled will always find in this consoling thought the strength to persevere.

Padre Pio wrote: "Jesus is always with you, even when it seems to you that you cannot feel his presence. He is never so close to you as in spiritual struggles. He is always there, close to you, encouraging you to fight the good fight; he is there to ward off the enemies' blows so that they do not harm you" (Epist. II, p. 156).

Lastly, it should be noted that being a victim, in traditional ascetic language, means giving oneself over totally to be habitually sacrificed for love of the Lord. It presupposes a complete and definitive renunciation of all that could in any way impede the divine will. It means being able to say at every moment "I always do what is pleasing to him" (Jn 8,29).

This is the experience of Padre Pio: "Daughter, know that I am stretched out on my bed of pain, I have ascended to the altar of burnt offerings and await the fire from on high so that the victim may soon be consumed. When you pray, make the urgent request that the devouring flames come swiftly'' (Epist. III, p. 738).

To offer ourselves as victims for the salvation of souls is what Christ himself desired, not because he needs us human creatures but because in his eternal designs he preferred to make use of the members of his Mystical Body to bring about the plan of redemption.

Saint Pio encouraged souls to live this mystery and thus to complete what was lacking in Christ's sufferings for the sake of the Church (Col 1, 24).

The Way of the Cross, the way of privileged souls

7. This grace is granted to those who are called to fulfil more intimately the ideal of perfection. Those who are called to set out on this path must be convinced that God has lovingly chosen them to walk on a way that is humanly so arduous and so unappealing, as Padre Pio never fails to point out.

In his teaching, the Blessed Capuchin made no attempt to conceal or play down the difficulties of the way he had chosen. He well knew the fears, the endless hours of a struggle which the risk of defeat made all the more dangerous. He therefore strove to make others aware of the fruits of suffering accepted and shared with Christ, obeying St Paul, "Take your share in the suffering like a good soldier of Jesus Christ" (cf. II Tm 2,3).

Our Blessed found clear, pure formulas, words accessible to all, convincing tones to help others persevere on the difficult climb to Calvary to be united with Christ for ever in the glory of Tabor.

Padre Pio knew and repeated that suffering in itself is not desirable, and that human nature instinctively shuns it as alien to happiness. Christians will strive to meet it for theological and supernatural reasons. He sought to make suffering souls understand all this.

Our Blessed often used the image of Simon of Cyrene carrying the Cross of Jesus. He encouraged people to persevere on the painful way of purification and trial, offering himself to be their Cyrene, to carry the Cross with them, indeed to replace them, taking their suffering on himself and leaving them all the merit. In fact, his crucified life taught him to become the Cyrenian of all the crucified.

In Forgione's spirituality, suffering is not a punishment, but the most delicate love on God's part. What often makes moral suffering more acute, is the subtle temptation that convinces people that their sufferings are a punishment inflicted on them by God for their infidelities, and therefore a reproach for the bad state of their consciences for having strayed from the straight and narrow path of salvation and sanctification. In these cases, it is the spiritual director's task to make them understand that the state they are going through is neither a punishment for failings or infidelities, nor an expiation for their unconscious sins, nor the revenge of divine justice. On the contrary: it is a trial of special love for privileged souls chosen to share in the sorrowful mysteries of the Redeemer.

In 1918, Padre Pio remarked in a letter to Erminia Gargani: "Keep calm and be certain that these shadows and sufferings of yours are not a punishment brought on by your transgression ... ; you are one of the many chosen souls who are tried like gold in the furnace. This is the truth, and were I to say otherwise, I would lack in sincerity and do harm to the truth" (Epist. III, p. 716).

He also urged Assunta Di Tommaso: "This state is not a punishment, but love and a most refined love. Therefore bless the Lord and resign yourself to drinking the cup of Gethsemane" (Epist III, p. 441). The encouragement that Padre Pio gives Maria Gargani is likewise encouraging: "Do not fear, because the One who is keeping you nailed to the Cross loves you and is breathing into you the strength to bear the unbearable martyrdom and the love to love divine Love in bitterness" (Epist. III, p. 333). "Have great confidence in his mercy and kindness, for he will never abandon you; but this must not prevent you from closely embracing his Cross" (Epist. III, p. 935).

What has been said can bring us closer to Padre Pio as the man of the Cross. Bl. Padre Pio's important message, more than ever, introduces us to this needed feature: a theology of the Cross, enlightened by the glory of the Resurrection, without which Christianity would have no foundation. The forthcoming canonization of Bl. Padre Pio, will certainly spur us to strengthen our roots as disciples of the crucified and risen Lord. I am pleased to make my own, the epigraph that Vittorio Messori chose to sum up the biography of another blessed but which is equally applicable to Padre Pio. It is from Evagrius Ponticus and says "A theory can be countered with another theory. But who can ever confute a whole life?".

A hundred and fifteen years have passed since 25 May 1887, the day when Francesco Forgione was born in Pietrelcina, where, to comply with Crispi's decree, throughout the Kingdom of Italy, all crucifixes were to be removed, even from schools. The child, Padre Pio, born that very year, was one day to become a living crucifix (R. Camilleri, P. Pio, Piemme, p. 6). Even more effectively as a saint, he will never let the Cross be taken down not just from the walls, but from the hearts in which it has been planted to bring salvation, to the point of becoming even a boast: "Far be it from me to glory except in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ" (Gal 6,14).