St. Andrew Novena Begins Today - 2024

     

Much of what is below is a repost from years earlier.

I think about St. Andrew quite a bit.  He was one of the first four called by Christ.  It was James, John, Andrew and Andrew's brother Peter.  But of that quartet, only the trio of Peter, James, and John ended up being Jesus' closest friends.

I wonder if Andrew was like us and got jealous.  According to the Gospel of John, it was Andrew who brought Peter to the Lord, and the Lord seemed to like Peter better.  How often have we introduced a sibling or friend to our inner circle only to have them become more popular or have a greater aptitude for what you enjoy?

But I bet that Andrew was better than most of us.  He was probably a model of humility.  I like to imagine that he was happy for his brother and he was content to have others loved and esteemed more than himself.

My favorite story is about when he died.  They tied him to the cross, but for days and days he preached non-stop to the point where the officials realized it was doing them more harm than good.

But when they came to take him down, Andrew looked at Jesus and told him he was tired and he just wanted to go home to heaven and be with Him.  So the soldiers were unable to take him down and Andrew finally went home to the Jesus and his brother Peter on November 30th 60 AD.


Today is the feast of St. Andrew.  And there is a special novena prayer that is prayed between now and Christmas.  It goes as follows:

St. Andrew Christmas Novena

Hail and blessed be the hour and moment in which the Son of God was born Of the most pure Virgin Mary, at midnight, in Bethlehem, in the piercing cold. In that hour vouchsafe, I beseech Thee, O my God, to hear my prayer and grant my desires through the merits of Our Savior Jesus Christ, and of His blessed Mother. Amen.

That prayer is prayed 15 times a day until the ends.  My wife and I pray this together every year and have found many graces through the intercession of St. Andrew.  I pray that all of you do as well.

God Bless.

Thanks for Nothing (repost 2024)

   

 I am very grateful for all of the wonderfully positive feedback on this essay, so I thought I would share it again.

While the challenges of every day life don't stop coming, it can be so easy to get lost in the daily work.  So often we "just get through" the day, but when we do that, we don't pay attention to all the blessings that the day is providing.  

Over this past year I've tired to be more aware of those blessings as they are happening so that I can be more present to God and others.  I don't know how successful I have been, but on a day like today, I will redouble my efforts.

With that in mind, please enjoy this repost.

Happy Thanksgiving!

(originally published November 22, 2012)

Thanks For Nothing

When I was 15-years-old, I got a little sick.  In what was obviously an over-reaction on his part, my dad took me to the Emergency Room.  As it turned out, I had pneumonia and my blood oxygen level was down to about 50%.  If he had waited much longer to take me I might have died.

I share this with you so that you will understand why I am a little bit of a hypochondriac now.  I don't freak out at every sneeze or obsessively lather myself in Purell.  But whenever I have chronic problem, I begin to have a persistent fear of the worst.

For the past 4 weeks I've had a persistent cough.  I cannot remember having one that has lasted this long.  So of course, my mind helplessly gravitated to the worst case scenarios, despite the constant assurances from my long-suffering wife.  After weeks of fretting, I went yesterday morning for a chest X-ray.

After they were taken, I was asked to wait for a moment alone in the exam room.  I stood there for 5 minutes in that room with its claustrophobic white walls and antiseptic smell and thought about all those people who came to that room and got bad news that resulted in a lot more time between claustrophobic white walls and antiseptic smells.

Finally, after hours of fretting (and trying to distract myself with a viewing of Wreck-It Ralph) we got the results.

And what did they find?

Nothing.

They found nothing.  I was worried about nothing.

I was put on some new medication and I've been feeling a bit better.

I didn't realize how much the storm clouds had been hovering over me until today.  I was walking around, doing chores and errands with such a light heart.  It was because I knew that my cough, though a bit annoying, was ultimately nothing.

Nothing.

Today is Thanksgiving.  It has always been one of my favorite holidays, and not because I eat enough turkey to put a man twice my size into a literal coma (although that is a plus).  I love that we take time out of our year to appreciate the blessings of life and give thanks to our Provider.

My boss, a man I greatly admire, once said to me that you cannot be truly happy unless you are truly thankful.  Happiness only comes when you acknowledge that everything thing you have is a gift from God.

I have tried to take those words to heart and be thankful for everything I have.  I have an holy wife, a loving family, loyal friends, a fulfilling job, and more action figures than you can shake a stick at (if that's your idea of a good time).  Bing Crosby sang that we should count our blessings instead of sheep.  But I never get to the end of count because God has been so very generous to me.

But all this time I have been overlooking something else to be thankful for.

Nothing.

I wrote earlier about how much I have come to realize what a blessing it is to feel normal.  But I did not take it the necessary step further.

There is nothing wrong with my lungs.  But it could have been something.  And that something could have been not-so-bad to catastrophic.  But God, in His goodness, gave me nothing.

About 2 years ago I was on the highway on my way to work in the middle of winter.  I was in the left lane when I noticed a car had skidded off the road.  I tried to get a better look, but I must have not been paying attention to the road.  Because I then hit a patch of ice and my car spun out and did a 180 degree turn that hurled me across the other lane.  And do you know what I hit?

Nothing.

For one of the only times I can remember, there were no cars around me on that part of the road.  I skidded off to the right embankment facing the opposite direction.  But I was fine.  Nothing happened.

A few weeks ago during Hurricane Sandy, the wind was so strong it blew down a tree in my back yard.  What did it hit?

Nothing.

A little to right and it would have destroyed my shed.  If it fell in the opposite direction it would have caved in the roof and crushed my wife and I.  But instead, nothing happened.

This world is so full of darkness and danger, disease and disaster.  Some of it falls on us.  But a lot of it doesn't.

So today I'm going to give thanks not only for the all of the things God has given me this past year, but I'll also praise Him for the "nothings" too.

No sudden falls down the stairs that break a limb.  No food poisoning from that new restaurant.  No angry student deciding to respond to his detention with his fist.  No home burglary in the middle of the night.  No careless accident to hurt anyone I love.

I do have my share of crosses, many of them of my own making, but I have not been crushed by them. And I am not saying that any of the aforementioned catastrophes won't one day be mine to bear.  One day, an X-ray may find something.

But not today.

Today, I am thankful for nothing.

Film Review: Wicked Part One

 

Sexuality/Nudity Acceptable

Violence Acceptable

Vulgarity Acceptable

Anti-Catholic Philosophy Acceptable

Casting can make or break a movie.  In the case of Wicked, one bad casting decision almost destroys the entire movie.

Wicked Part One is an adaptation of the first act of the hit Broadway musical of the same name.  The story is a prequel of sorts to The Wizard of Oz which imagines that the Wicked Witch of the West, also known as Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) as the misunderstood hero.  Because she is born green and with magical powers, she is shunned.  She accompanies her disabled sister Nessarose (Marissa Bode) to settle her in to Shiz University in Oz.  But when Elphaba displays her powers, she catches the eye of Madame Morrible (Michelle Yeoh) and takes her under her wing to study.  Morrible also has Elphaba room with the spoiled Galinda (Ariana Grande), who could only be described as "toxically feminine."  The two develop a rivalry that slowly blossoms into a friendship.  Along the way they encounter others like the clutzy munchkin Boq (Ethan Slater), the dashing Fiyero (Jonathan Bailey), the goat professor Dr. Dillamond (Peter Dinklage), and eventually the Wizard of Oz himself (Jeff Goldblum).  This is a journey of discovery that tests loyalty and friendship.

I have never seen the stage version, but I know the music.  And I have to say that the execution of the musical numbers is top notch.  Music is all about your emotional reaction and I could not help constantly getting chills by the beautiful melodies.  Part of me is a bit cautious here because the music goes past the rational and can color my impressions.  This is why for a year I actually thought the that show Glee was good: the music cast a spell on my until the overwhelming weight of its own incompetence broke that spell.  

Does Wicked cast a musical spell?  

The answer is yes.  But it also has some other things going for it.

The production value on this movie is fantastic.  While there are some clear green-screen moments, most of the sets are actual, physical sets.  I'm not someone who is a purist who is against the use of CGI, but having a concrete enviornment like in this movie, makes the magical world feel all the more tangible, as if you could turn the corner and accidentally end up in the fairy tale.  The production designers do a good job of matching the style of this movie to that of the classic Wizard of Oz without being too slavish.  The costumes and sets feel like they are in the same style without being copies.  

Director Jon M. Chu knows how to shoot this musical so that you get the maximum effect.  He marries the music to the visuals in a way that doesn't feel like he is cutting together a music video.  Instead, he captures the grandeur and drama of the moments.  When Elphaba hits a powerful note, he pulls the camera back so that you can feel how her voice fills up the environment with this strength.  When Fiyero dances through the library, the camera dances with him to make the entire scene feel like it is dancing.  The choreography is wonderful and eye-popping in a way that enhances the emotion of the scenes.

The real stand-out, though, is Erivo herself.  In the lead up to the movie, she was posting snarky things about fans of the musical.  Having never seen her perform, I was a little off-put by her.  But I have to say that her performance is quite incredible.  She is full of charisma and is able to convey Elphaba's emotional journey with impact and honesty.  She makes you feel all of the things Elphaba does on her emotional journey in a way that does not feel forced only by the music.  But her voice was beautiful and it packs a wallop.  One of the best things about her performance is that she does not portray her like a misunderstood saint.  Instead, Elphaba has a giant chip on her shoulder that in many ways justifies the prickly reception she sometimes receives.  Erivo owns both sides of the character and draws you in completely.

This brings us to the worst part of the movie: Ariana Grande.

In my reviews, I try not to be too targeted at individuals.  But Grande is so mind-bogglingly awful in this movie that it gnaws at me.  Her presence is like diced onion in your ice cream sundae.  She is a spray-bottle of water to the face.  She is out-shined, out-classed, and out-acted in every scene.

Her body language, dancing, and singing are fine.  But her acting is some of the worst I have seen in a movie.  She is completely dead-behind-the-eyes.  Perhaps that's what she was going for with playing Galinda as vacuous and vapid.  But all of that artificiality is supposed to cover a real beating heart, which isn't there.  It's like everyone else is making a movie and she is filming a music video: everything is all surface.  Take a look at the moment she finds out she is rooming with Elphaba.  When I saw that, all I could think of was Quint from Jaws: she's "got lifeless eyes, like a doll's eyes..."  Contrast her performance with Margot Robbie's in Barbie.  In that film, Robbie was playing a literal doll, but she still managed to infuse her with way more depth and humanity that any single moment from Grande.

Honestly, Grande almost ruins the movie.  But Erivo so knocks it out of the park that she keeps the movie going.  Grande's broad, empty performance actually fits into the first third of the movie's tone.  Most of the students at Shiz University feel like flat stereotypes.  You can see this in Bowen Yang's equally horrible performance.  Granted that I enjoy stories that go from the light and fun to the deep and tragic, but if it wasn't for Erivo, I think I may have tuned out the entire first third of the movie.

The rest of the cast is decent.  Bailey acts as a wonderful counter-weight to Erivo's personality and he plays it with incredible charm and charisma.  Slater also brings a goofy charm and has good chemistry with Bode.  Yeoh is decent, but she feels a bit out of place.  I was surprised by how much I enjoyed Goldblum's performance.  In the original Wizard of Oz, I never liked the Wizard and found him to be more sophist than philosopher.  Goldblum plays the part of the flim-flam man with charm and menace.

There are a few engaging themes in the movie.  One of them is about cliques and judgment.  This movie could have devolved into allegory, but it wisely makes the theme applicable enough to any situtation of unjust hatred.  Dillamond is subject to prejudice because he is a talking animal.  Rather than this feeling like a preachy lesson about a current social issue, it felt like it was getting more to the heart of the ugliness of prejudice in general.

One of the best things about the movie is how it portrays female friendship.  Women can be devastating in emotional attacks and reputation destruction.  And you see that play out in the movie.  But there is an openness to emotional connection.  The moment Galinda and Elhpaba actually connect is wordless and powerful.  The movie also shows how things look different through the lens of friendship. Soon after their friendship begins, Galinda still behaves in a superficial and shallow way.  But instead of rolling her eyes, Elphaba simply smiles at it.  There is a great truth that many of us don't own up to: most of our affection is a choice.  Once we decide we like someone, the things that would have annoyed us are winked at because we know the person inside.  This is an important lesson for Catholics who struggle with people they don't like.  If you treat someone as if you like them, your affections will change.

And while the idea of seeing a classic story from the villain's perspective feels a bit worn out now, Wicked makes it feel fresh.  As someone I listened to recently pointed out, Wicked was one of the first stories to do this in the pop culture.  Because of that, it understood that it had a huge obstacle to overcome in rehabilitating Elphaba so it used all of its power to do so.

If you are a fan of big, bold, theatrical musicals and you can overlook the charisma vacuum that is Ariana Grande, then you should also enjoy Wicked Part One.

Film Review: Here

 

Sexuality/Nudity Mature

Violence Acceptable

Vulgarity Mature

Anti-Catholic Philosophy Mature

This is one of those movies where the filmmakers have a really original idea but its success can only be found in the execution.

Here is a movie where the main conceit is that the entire film takes place in one location with one single camera angle.  Throughout the movie, we see several events that happen in this location over time, starting with the destruction of the dinosaurs through the ice age until we get to humanity.  Most of the movie takes place inside this one specific angle looking at the living room of a house built in the early 1900's.  As we hop around in time, we spend most of our time with the Young family.  Their story here begins after WWII.  Al (Paul Bettany) returns from the war and purchases this too-expensive house with his wife Rose (Kelly Reily).  However, post war life is stressful for Al and success seems to elude him as he turns to alcohol for relief.  In this environment, they raise three children, one of whom is the artistic Richard (Tom Hanks) who falls in love with law student Margaret (Robin Wright).  Their whirlwind romance leads to a hasty marriage and both of them feel like they have to constantly make sacrifices while living in Richard's childhood home with his parents.  As the years go by, life catches up with them very quickly.

There are other families that we encounter, but honestly, they feel like distractions from the main story with the Youngs.  This is also one of the weaknesses of the story: there doesn't seem to be enough narrative of the Youngs to fill up an entire movie so it feels padded with unrelated and less consequential stories.  For example, the owner is a man named John Harter (Gwilym Lee). who is obsessed with flying airplanes.  This storyline spends so much time on this idea but it never pays off in a significant way.  There is something to be said about how so many different types of lives can take place in the same location over time.  But their lack of connection makes the time jumps more jarring.  Whenever we left the Young family, it felt like going to a commercial break until the story started up again.

One of the things that struck me was that despite having a stellar cast, the performances were generally very poor.  This is especially the case with Bettany, but everyone seems to be going just a little too over-the-top and giving performances that lack the realism that this movie needs.  I found this very odd considering the fact that most of the actors are skilled veterans.  My guess would be that because the camera never moves, so much of the movie lacks close-ups.  As a result the actors resorted to more theatrical performances, where they played their words and actions bigger as if they were on stage.  Unfortunately, this does not translate onto film.

The other big problem that the movie has is that there is no one to root for.  Al is a jerk for most of the film and feels very one-dimensional.  Richard is snarky and full of resentment because he had to give up his artistic dreams to get a job and provide for his family.  But even before this, he was a self-centered snot.  In one scene the roof begins to leak and instead of helping his father, he stands away from him sketching his torment as he tries to fix the room.  But the worst is Margaret.  Not only is she also resentful for having left school to raise her family, she is someone with no appreciation for all of the good things in her life.  She does not appreciate that Richard gave up on his dreams for her.  She constantly complains about the fact that they have to live with her in-laws rent-free for decades.  And at one point in the movie, she finds out that she and Richard are going to be given that house for free.  Her response is so awful, I had trouble understanding it.  Later when she starts going through her mid-life crisis, all she can do is focus on herself.  Richard throws her a surprise 50th birthday party.  When it comes time to blow out her candles, she goes on a rant about how she hasn't gotten what she wanted out of life.  I could not help but feel the utter humiliation that she puts Richard through in front of all their friends and family, but she is completely oblivious.  This feels like what would have happened if Jenny had lived long enough to make married life with Forrest miserable.

As I said, the concept was interesting enough to want me to see how it ended.  The movie wants to say something about ordinary life.  The great play Our Town presents the reader with a vision of the beauty of our daily lives.  Here tries to do the same, but the characters are so bitter and resentful that it fills the audience more with frustration than wonder.  But I admire the fact that they are trying to help us understand that so much of our lives, so many of the moments that matter, take place in our simple, ordinary homes.  But the writing never lives up to this premise.  It feels very shallow and flat.  At one point we see an officer tell continental soldiers that the Revolutionary War is over.  The response of one soldier is "Now what?"  This felt more like some kind of commentary about modern wars and felt very alien to how people of the day would speak.  The dialogue often feels forced and expository.  At one point, for no real reason, Al tells his teenage son that he cheated on their mother.  It seems so forced and artificial.  Instead of elevating ordinary life, it seems to drag it through the mud.

The other thing that keeps this film from being a total disaster is that director Robert Zemeckis is still a master of the craft.  It is an incredible directing challenge to be locked in to a single camera angle.  One of the main principles of cinematography is that you have to keep the image in motion.  The way that he does the transitions from timeline to timeline forces your eyes to dart around the screen in a way that gives the scene a dynamism without any camera movement.  The production design is also fantastic so that every era feels very distinct and authentic to when it moves through time, you are very quickly able to orient yourself as to which timeline you are in.  MILD SPOILER AHEAD, SKIP PARAGRAPH IF YOU DON'T WISH TO READ IT.  And at the very end of the movie, Zemeckis begins to slowly move the camera forward.  This simple motion actually almost made me gasp.  Zemeckis understood that by keeping the camera so still, any motion would result in maximum emotional effect.

I went to the theater to see a story that would make me see the profound depths of ordinary life.  But I did not find it in Here.

Sunday Best: Thanksgiving TV and Movies

 

 Much of this is a repost from 2021

 MOVIE 

 In terms of what is the best Thanksgiving movie, there is no contest. The winner is Planes, Trains, and Automobiles. There is no Thanksgiving movie like it. It is fully of deep belly laughs, but it also has one of the finest last scenes in movie history. What makes this a great Thanksgiving movie is that it is all about the quest to get home for the holiday. Most Thanksgiving movies focus on the chaos of family reunions. And if you only watch those, you would wonder why anyone would want to ever celebrate the holiday. But Planes, Trains, and Automobiles never questions the impulse to do whatever it takes to get home. It assumes that the holiday is so important that it MUST be celebrated with family, either those made by blood or by long, hilarious road trips. 

There is so much artistry in this film and it goes unnoticed because John Hughes covers it with very broad comedy.  It is actually a magical kind of movie in the sense of the best magic tricks.  You think that the quest is to get home for Thanksgiving.  But the real quest is to create that special home we call friendship.  The entire forward thrust of the movie is Neal (Steve Martin) doing anything and everything to get to his house while Dell (John Candy) unwittingly gets in the way.  But penultimate scene is the crux of the film.  Neal is finally on his way with no more obstacles, but then he has an epiphany about Dell.  And in that moment, the entire movie is flipped on its head and Neal leaves the pathway home and goes back to Dell.  It is one of my favorite movie friendship moments, followed by that amazing shot of Dell and Neal walking down the street carrying Dell's steamer trunk.  It is such a potent image: a friend helping another friend carry their burden as they walk side-by-side to the place they call home.

This movie reminds me on Thanksgiving that I have been blessed with friends and family who have helped me carry my burdens and walk with me on the journey home.

 TV 

 Four Thanksgiving episodes come to mind when I think of this holiday. 

 The first is the "No Fat" episode of Everybody Loves Raymond. The show would annually do a Thanksgiving episode, but this one emphasized the absurd importance of the food. Marie tries to do a fat free Thanksgiving, and the resulting chagrin by her family is hilarious. I also love the ending: 

 The second is "The One With All the Thanksgivings" from Friends. Told through a series of flashbacks, this episode shows how Thanksgiving can be both wonderful and awful throughout the years. I also enjoyed seeing how much the relationships between the friends changed over time. It is also might have the most awkwardly funny "I love you" on TV.     

The third is "The Thanksgiving Decoupling" from The Big Bang Theory.  There is an incredibly funny storyline where Penny realizes that she got married to someone else in Las Vegas.  What makes that work is how everyone else reacts to the Thanksgiving drama.  But the main reason I love this episode is the way that Bernadette's dad and Sheldon bond.  These two are so opposite and yet there is an unlikely emotional connection that is bitter sweet and at the same time incredibly funny.  

But the one I might like the most is "Pangs" from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It's Buffy's first year in college and she tries to put together a Thanksgiving for her Scoobies, including the chair-bound Spike, while the spirit of a Shumash Indian curses Xander's body. This results in extended debates about the meaning of the Holiday for both Indian and European immigrant, as well capturing the awkward frenzy of trying to have a nice meal when the world seems to be going to hell. I also got a kick out of Spike's darkly insightful take: Great final shot too.        

What are your favorite Thanksgiving pop culture moments?

Film Flash: Wicked Part One

 

15 words or less film review (full review to follow soon)

Ariana Grande throws cold water on and almost ruins a magical movie musical.

Film Flash: Gladiator II

  

15 words or less film review (full review to follow soon)

Enjoyable sword and sandal actioner, but suffers in comparison to Russell Crowe and the original.

Film Flash: Red One

 

15 words or less film review (full review to follow soon)

As if The Night the Reindeer Died became a full-length feature.  Light, fun action/comedy.

Trailer Time: MARY (Netflix)

I am very curious about this movie.  

I have heard conflicting things about it.  Some say it is very Catholic.  Others say that it is anti-Catholic.  I don't know, but I found the trailer to be very interesting.  

Interestingly, it seems to tone down the religious aspects of the story.  The angel says "All things are possible..."  But leaves out the end of the quote where he says, "...for God."  Even the reference at the end to how "Love will save the world," seems a little bit of a secularization of the story.

However, I am open to this being story being an avenue to meet the Netflix audience where they are.  Perhaps this is targeted at those who would normally not consume something so directly religious.  When I would work this one retreat program, the first witness would specifically never mention God.  The purpose as to ease people into the religious elements of the retreat.  Perhaps that is what is going on here.

Regardless, I thought the trailer was well made, with good production value.  I look forward to how it intends to explore Joseph's love for Mary and her holy virtue.

Thoughts?

New Evangelizers Post: Martin Luther Misunderstands Grace

      

I have a new article up at NewEvangelizers.com.  

Several hundred years ago, Martin Luther led a revolt that today we call the Protestant Reformation.

There are several areas of contention to be found between Luther and the Catholic Church. Sadly, Luther made some very astute points about corruption in the Church regarding things like the selling of indulgences. However, he did not focus only on reforming Church corruption. His theology would often be at odds with the established Catholic Faith.

One of the areas where Martin Luther broke from the Catholic Church was in his view of grace. Grace is the encounter with God and the effect that it has on us. It is something transcendent that helps us grow from where we are to where God wants us to be. His grace always comes before our response so that anything we do is a reaction to that grace.

St. Augustine understood the effect of grace in two major ways. The first was that it was a healing we receive which responds to sin and makes us whole. The second is that grace puts our loves in proper order within us. This second point is clearly seen in Augustine’s life. He loved intellectual and sensual pursuits more than God. But when he encountered His grace, Augustine was able to place the love of God first and his other loves in their proper order beneath the Divine.

St. Thomas Aquinas picks up this idea from Augustine. Thomas also emphasizes that grace does not destroy nature, but perfects it. Sometimes, we focus on human sin and frailty as the markers of our humanity. We say, “To err is human…” And in many ways, this is true. But when we err, particularly when we sin, we become less human, not more human. When Thomas says that grace “perfects” nature, he does not mean that we humans must be without flaw before we have grace. We see this reflected in the way we describe horribly violent crimes as “inhuman.” When we receive the grace of God, we do not become less human. We become more like Christ and more whom God has intended us to be. When God brings us His grace, we respond to it by accepting it and letting it transform us.

Luther looked at the tradition that was given from St. Thomas and he thought the Catholic Church was teaching that it was our human response to grace that saves us. Because of Original Sin, Luther thought we were so corrupted that there was nothing in us that was good. Catholics theology says that because of our fallen nature, we all have an attraction to sin which we call concupiscence. It is that thing in us that desires the things that we know are sinful. (Think about how people are enticed to something once they are told that it is “forbidden.”) For Luther, this concupiscence wasn’t just a predisposition or attraction to sin. For him, concupiscence was sin. Because of this, the human being is totally corrupt: we relish sin and have a nausea for the good. This is because Original Sin has completely obliterated human nature.

So for Luther, the only thing that can save us is Christ’s saving power of the cross which we receive through faith alone. None of my works have any merit, because they come from my corrupt human nature. But faith is a gift of God’s grace and it is the only thing that can lead to salvation.

But this makes grace something alien to us. To be sure, Grace comes from God alone, but in Luther’s view, grace is not something we are made for. It is the cure for our disease, which is human nature. For Luther, accepting Christ’s grace through faith makes it so that Jesus covers my sinful human nature. But at my core, I am still sinful and corrupted.

This is at odds with how Catholics view grace. Yes, we are wounded by Original Sin, but we are not beyond repair. We are not saved by faith alone. The one time accepting of Jesus as savior is only part of the process of salvation. The view of Luther is too exterior for the Catholic faith. Salvation is too much of something that happens outside of you. We are not simply covered by Christ’s grace:

We are transformed by Christ’s grace.

You can read the whole article here.

Trailer Time: Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning Teaser

I thought that Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning was the best movie of last year.  It was an exciting thrill-ride that highlighted all that was best of the franchise.

This teaser has all the earmarks of a finale to the series.  It emphasizes how Ethan goes out of his way to do anything he can not to lose anyone else he cares about, like he did in the first movie.  And over the years we've also become attached to his crew so that we also dread the thought of losing them.  The one shot of Ethan and Benji embracing made me feel very sad.

The scope of this movie looks epic and the stunts once again look amazing.  Right now there isn't a show-stopper like the motorcycle jump in the last film, but the bi-plane chase looks great.

This series has delivered more excitement and entertainment than most movie franchises and I can't wait to see it.

Thoughts?

Film Flash: Here

 

15 words or less film review (full review to follow soon)

Tries to be a modern Our Town, but bad acting and unlikable characters derail it.

Film Review: Transformers One

 

Sexuality/Nudity No Objection

Violence Acceptable

Vulgarity No Objection

Anti-Catholic Philosophy Acceptable

This is the best Transformers movie since the 1986 animated film.

The story takes place before the great Autobot/Decepticon War.  Cybertron is being ruled by Sentinel Prime (Jon Hamm) who is leading them through the crisis of energon (the source of energy for Transformers) after a brutal war with the Quintisons that destroyed all the other Primes.  As a result, the non-transforming Cybertronians have to mine the planet for energon.  This includes the daredevil Orion Pax (Chris Hemsworth) and his cautious best friend D-16 (Brian Tyree Henry).  Orion is convinced that the Matrix of Leadership is the key to saving Cybertron but that it exists on the forbidden surface of the planet.  After circumstances thrust these two friends along with the no-nonsense Elita-1 (Scarlett Johansson) and the lonely and desperate B-127 (Keegan-Michael Key) into an adventure on the surface where they will go on a journey of discovery that will change them forever.

This movie does something that I very much enjoy, which is that it uses the comedy of the first half to emphasize the tragedy of the second half.  This is also a place where I think marketing for this movie did it a great disservice.  There is a LOT of silly, PIXAR-style humor in the first half of the film.  Most of the ads focused on this tone.  As a result, I think people felt like all of the drama from these characters was being ignored.  

Instead, the fun and friendship of the first half serves to underscore the dramatic turns.  At one point Orion and D-16 talk about how they will be friends forever.  In the theater, my wife looked at me and smiled at the sweet moment, but she told me later that she was confused because I looked so sad.  Those who know Transformers lore will understand why.

I was struck by the story parallels between this movie and Plato's Allegory of the Cave.  In this film, the people of Cybertron are literally in a cave, forbidden from going to the surface.  But when our heroes do, they see the truth about how their entire lives below have been built on lies.  For one of the characters, this enables them to take on the responsibility of saving the people.  But to the other, the information reveals an utter betrayal that shatters him.  You can see the resentment over the one who brought them out of the cave because he was happy in his illusions.  

All of this comes about successfully because the character interactions are so good.  This wouldn't work if you didn't completely invest in Orion's and D-16's friendship.  The chemistry between the other characters works well.  Elita covers her insecurity with a stern bossiness, but Orion's improvisational style helps her loosen up and helps him mature.  As annoying as B-127 is, his utter sincerity brings the characters together.  These are real, three-dimensional characters that feel like the adventure and the interactions with each other change them.  Orion and D-16 are utterly transformed (pun intended) in an incredibly cathartic and satisfying way.

Director Josh Cooley gives the whole movie a feeling of technological wonder.  The action scenes are exciting.  There is a race in the first act that is both funny and fun to watch.  Brian Tyler's score is reminiscent of Tron in the best possible way: it has a synthetic feel that feels like something mythic.  

The movie wrestles with lots of oddly complex issues like truth and lies, friendship and betrayal, good and evil.  What are the limits of retaliation against those who have done evil?  And what does that cost you in terms of your relationships and your very soul.

This was surprisingly deep for what was billed as a silly kids cartoon.  But I was invested from beginning to end.  The movie set everything up for a sequel, but I fear that the box office disappointment that resulted here will prevent that from happening.

But if you would like to experience a good, character-driven Transformers movie, then this is the One.

New Evangelizers Post: The “Messed Up” Stories of the Bible

     

I have a new article up at NewEvangelizers.com.  

I was teaching the story of Sodom and Gammorah in class last week. For those unfamiliar, two angels who look like men go to the house of Lot in the city of Sodom to see if there are at least 10 good men. If these 10 men can be found, God will not destroy the cities. However, the men of Sodom come to Lot and want to sexually assault the angels (again, who look like men). The angels knock out the men of Sodom and tell Lot to leave with his wife and two daughters, but they are not to look back. When Lot and his family get away and God destroys the cities. But Lot’s wife looks back and turns into a pillar of salt. Lot and his two adult daughters hide in nearby caves. Lot’s daughters think that the world has ended and lament that they will not have children. So they get Lot drunk and have him impregnate them.

When discussing this story with my students, one of them said, “Man, the Bible is messed up.”

I replied, “Excuse me? Did you just say that the Word of God was ‘messed up?'”

He responded, “I mean, there are so many messed up stories in the Bible.”

And on that point, my student is 100% correct.

There are many “messed up” stories in the Bible.

Besides the story of Sodom and Gammorah, here just some of the examples:

-Cain murders his brother Abel out of jealousy
-Noah gets drunk and Ham looks upon his father’s nakedness
-Abraham gives away his wife to Pharaoh
-Sarah beats and abuses the birth mother of her adopted son and eventually banishes them.
-Jacob steals from his blind father
-Onan is killed for “wasting his seed on the ground.”
-Reuben sleeps with his stepmother
-Simeon and Levi kill all the townsmen of Hamor to avenge their sister.
-Judah sleeps with his daughter-in-law who he thinks is a prostitute
-Joseph’s brothers sell him into slavery.

Those are just some of the “messed up” stories you will find. And those are all exclusive from the book of Genesis. You can find similar stories throughout the rest of the Bible.

So why does the Bible have so many “messed up” stories?

My short answer to my student is this: the Bible needs to have these “messed up” stories because the world is messed up.

The Bible is not some simplistic children’s fable. It is not Barney or Dora the Explorer. To be sure, there are some valuable lessons children can learn from these programs, they do not reflect the darkness of our world. If your house has been burglarized, I’m not sure how much help Dora will be other than to say “Swiper, no swiping!”

We live in a world that is often cruel, dark, and indifferent to suffering. Human beings inflict all kinds of senseless hurts on each other. Just turn on the news on any given day and you will see a constant stream of stories about man’s inhumanity to man.

But we don’t have to look far outside our own homes to see this darkness. In side our families there can be rivalry, jealousy, bullying, selfishness, ingratitude, resentment, and every other kind of vice. We’ve seen families torn apart by divorce, abuse, addiction, and sin.

In that way, the “messed up” stories of the Bible reflect the world we live in. If the Bible was all lollipops and lilacs, then we would dismiss it as soon as we hit adolescents (like many ignorantly do in the modern world) as another children’s tale that we outgrow. But as we grow up, we see the world the people we encounter become darker and more complicated. When we read these darker stories of Scripture, we find a resonance with the darkness found in the people there as well.

But the darkness is not the only point.

You can read the whole article here.

All Saints Day 2024

  The saints have been great friends to me throughout my life.  Today, we are reminded that our destiny is not of this world but of the next.  Failure, humiliation, loss, and suffering in this life are nothing compared to the glories that await the blessed.

It is so much easier to say it than to believe.

That is why we need the saints.  We need the concrete examples of holiness in this fallen world to help us remember that this world is not our home.

So today, I would like to share with you the litany of saints that my wife and I pray every day.  I am leaving out those who are not canonized or in the process.  There are many whose intercession I seek, like my mom and my grandparents, trusting that the love we still share will be strengthened through prayer.  But here are the saints that we turn to each day.

Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us.

St. Joseph, pray for us.

St. Gerard Majella, pray for us.

St. Padre Pio, pray for us.

Servant of God Lucia de Jesus Rosa dos Santos, pray for us.

Sts. Jacinta and Francesco Marto, pray for us.

Sts. Anne and Joachim, pray for us.

Sts. Elizabeth, Zechariah, and John the Baptist, pray for us.

Abraham, Sarah, Hannah and Rachel of the Old Testament, pray for us.

St. Gianna, pray for us.

Pope St. John Paul the Great, pray for us.

St. Teresa of Calcutta, pray for us.

St. Teresa of the Little Flower, pray for us.

St. Teresa of Avila, pray for us.

St. Catherine of Sienna, pray for us.

Bl. Miguel Pro, pray for us.

Bl. Carlo Acuits

Bl. Pierre Giorgio Frassati

St. Thomas Aquinas, pray for us.

St. Augustine, pray for us.

St. Maria Goretti, pray for us.

St. Joan of Arc, pray for us.

St. Francis of Assisi, pray for us.

St. Clare of Assisi, pray for us.

St. Anthony of Padua, pray for us.

St. Ignatius of Loyola, pray for us.

St. Dominic, pray for us.

St. Benedict, pray for us.

St. Philip Neri, pray for us.

St. Peter, pray for us.

St. Patrick, pray for us.

St. Peregrine, pray for us.

St. Paul, pray for us.

St. Jude, pray for us.

St. Stephen, pray for us.

Sts. Cosmos and Damian, pray for us.

Venerable Fulton Sheen, pray for us.

St. William of Rochester, pray for us.

Bl. Michael McGivney, pray for us.

St. Faustina Kowalska, pray for us.

St. Raphael, pray for us.

St. Gabriel, pray for us.

St. Michael, pray for us.

All holy saints and angels, pray for us.