Bishop Robert Baron on Punishment and Gift

I occasionally catch up on Bishop Robert Baron's Word on Fire videos, my nearest attempt to keeping up with popular culture. His commentaries generally start with a current event and connect it with other current events, philosophical thinkers, ecclesial teaching, etc., so I generally find them interesting.

This particular video was fascinating to me. It explores the connection of American comedian Stephen Colbert to J.R.R. Tolkien and John Henry Cardinal Newman.

The historical connection of providence is interesting, but in particular the Tolkien quote that prompted his reflection struck me.

 "Are not all of God's punishments also gifts?"

I noticed this partly because of my own experience and partly because of my Old Testament Narratives course, in which a major focus is the Babylonian Exile and post-exilic period in which the Jewish people had to reexamine their past and relationship to God in light of a traumatic experience.

From the very beginning of human experience when man sinned, God gave punishments not for despair but for hope. Work could be man's burden but also a source of his dignity; childbearing would be painful but also how God himself would enter the world in the most intimate way; the relationships of men and women would be plagued by misunderstanding and strife, but a constant reminder that their search for fulfillment is ultimately a search for God and not each other.

For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope. Then when you call upon me and come and pray to me, I will hear you. When you search for me, you will find me if you seek me with all your heart.         Jeremiah 29:11-13

God has allowed trials and suffering in my life. Often I do not want to reflect on it and speak to God about my experience; often I just want to cry out for relief from pain. 

And how do I see my suffering? Is it a poison or a medicine? 

Jesus entered into the world of suffering and pain not as a teacher but as a priest and victim to make us an offering to God (cf. Friday vespers responsory). He sanctified suffering beyond what God decreed in the Protoevangelium (Genesis 3:15) so that it is no longer simply a spur to rouse us from complacency and reveal our need for God but actually a way to encounter him in our brokenness. 

Nowhere is this more explicit than the message of Divine Mercy. 

I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners (Luke 5:32).

The greater the sinner, the greater the right he has to My mercy (Divine Mercy in My Soul, 723).

My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9).

The icon of this Mercy is Blood and Water flowing from the pierced side of Christ, the grace he pours out in Sacraments to fill suffering sinners beginning at the points of greatest brokenness and pain in our life. 

This means opening the wounds, allowing the dead tissue to be removed and the salve to be applied, which is scary! It demands deep trust, but there is only One who heals the broken hearted and binds up their wounds (Psalm 147:3). 

Novice Life: Novitiate Movies

Our novitiate includes a great reduction in exposure to media, especially digital media, in order to preserve a spirit of silence and recollection in our daily rhythm of life. We do not listen to music, we do not use the internet without special permission, we do not watch television, and we watch few films outside of educational programming. The films we do watch are mostly for the value of spiritual edification: the lives of saints, documentaries, and rarely an action movie that includes moral dilemmas ;)

This weekend a couple of us decided to check out YouTube, which is a surprisingly good resource for feature-length films spanning a range from well-known to obscure.

I selected The Song of Bernadette, a classic and Oscar-winning film from 1943. It had been a long time since I had seen it and I wanted to share some of my insights that have been shaped by the history studies in novitiate, particularly relating to the post-enlightenment intellectual mind and European politics in the eighteenth, nineteenth, and twentieth centuries. 

The town officials of Lourdes, portrayed by Vincent Price et al., are depicted as maniacally bent on preventing the populace from following Bernadette Soubirous and believing that she experienced apparitions. In some scenes the scripting is a little on the nose, but even aside from that they seem to be presented as caricatures, so antagonistic that they become protagonists in harassing a young girl and her family to intimidate them into silence. Whether or not this was intended by the film's producers and based on the factual evidence I cannot say, but from what I have learned of European politics during the period it is actually quite accurate.

During the French Revolution and extending through the Napoleonic Era, the ideas of the Enlightenment became instituted in European politics, slowly at first and then almost universally. Government was seized by intellectuals hostile to the Christianity in general and to the Catholic Church in particular, which in their minds represented an obstacle to progress and social development. It began in France and then spread throughout Europe, with revolutions, coups d'etat, and appointments bringing to power totalitarian rulers who were determined to reconfigure society according to the Enlightenment model. Emperor Joseph II of Austria-Hungary was a pioneer in suppressing contemplative religious orders that "provided no tangible benefits to society." Napoleon became notorious for ignoring the concordat he had made with the Church; property was seized, religious orders were suppressed, Church appointments and administration were interfered with; he had participated in the abduction and imprisonment of Pope Pius VI as a commander in the Republican army in 1796, and as Emperor he kept Pope Pius VII prisoner in Rome.

The main impetus behind the French Republic's conquest had been to extend the government of the Enlightenment across Europe, and although the state itself failed, it proved largely successful in its goal. The Congress of Vienna (1814-15) introduced the Restoration period with the reinstitution of monarchies and the Church, but decades of French influence had deeply affected the continent. Within several years, most countries were experiencing upheaval again, this time from within. The mid 19th century witnessed bloody revolutions and overthrown monarchies all over Europe in the name of liberalism and progress in states of all sizes. 

The Church was tolerated because it was either impossible to seize control of it entirely or it provided an effective means to pacify the populace. Secular clergy were especially protected because of strong historical ties that existed between local dioceses and governments. Religious orders were targeted for suppression and eviction because central organization beyond the reach of civil government made them difficult to control. Those of apostolic life in education and nursing were tolerated to the extent they were needed; those of contemplative life were not tolerated at all. Some civil leaders were indifferent to the Church, but many were openly hostile because of Freemasonry or intellectual opposition and they gained a monopoly on civil power (cf. Mexican governments of the 20th century and Cristiada). 

So, rather than viewing the villains of The Song of Bernadette as caricatures, I think the portrayal of self-styled intellectuals laboring to disabuse the peasantry of superstitions by any means at their disposal is probably fairly accurate, whether it was intended or not.

We also recently watched another film I can recommend as excellent: the life of Saint Charbel (in Arabic with English subtitles). It is well-written, well-acted, and presents the biography of a hermit in a compelling way with little elaboration. I would rate it as a top quality film if not for the unfortunate flaw of terrible costume beards.

The Blogging Principle

What blogging principle do I mean, you may ask; the simple inverse relation that the more happens, the less time there is to write about it and the more compressed everything becomes in less frequent posts. This becomes manifestly evident as midterm examinations approach ominously and craziness continues as usual in Boston.

So, in today's news...

Today (observed yesterday) is the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, commemorating the Battle of Lepanto in which the Turks were miraculously defeated. Hooray!

There are two new Doctors of the Church as of today: St. Hildegard of Bingen and St. John of Avila. Now that you know, you can look them up if you are interested in knowing more about them. St. Hildegard in particular is outstanding for many reasons, not the least of which is she is the only Saint to have her revelations declared to be of universal significance (as opposed to personal revelations) since the canon of Scripture was closed.

On the local front...

I promised a film review of Restless Heart, the new drama about the life and times of St. Augustine that I attended last weekend. (Spoiler alert: Augustine becomes a Christian).

The story is good; you can't go wrong with the lives of the Saints unless it is totally misinterpreted or altered, so no problem there. My criticism for the writing is that they tried to cover his entire life in 120 minutes and so many details were glossed over, particularly in his conversion. If you have read The Confessions, you know how richly he describes his experience, and I thought that would make an excellent film segment especially since the conflict he suffers is thoroughly modern and relatable to the post-modern and angst- ridden, but while there was a portrayal of his experience under the fig tree there was little/nothing of internal conflict portrayed. (I was later told that the original film was actually in Italian and more than 3 hours long by a classmate who saw it, so much was edited out from the English version for some reason).

As far as the acting, the principle parts were fairly good but there was something to be desired in the presentation overall; it struck me that they were doing more telling than showing conflict and drama.

As for everything else, I was confused by the use of CGI; there was a scene of migrating storks that was just distractingly fake, so I'm not sure why they could not have just found some stock footage of storks to solve that problem. Then, towards the end of the film, Hippo fell to a horde of 50-100 Vandals, so they really could have used some computer wizardry there to make the invasion a little more credible. The sound mixing also left something to be desired; the soundtrack was much too loud at some points to the extent of overpowering the dialogue.

Rating: 3/5 stars

The most exciting news is last: I had lunch with Jim Caviezel today! I guess he has been in Boston several times before and attended mass at St. Francis Chapel (which is staffed by the OMVs as you doubtless recall from previous posts). Today, he was visiting a friend in Boston who is a benefactor of the Oblates and attends Mass at the Shrine every Sunday. He was taking Jim to the Patriots game today and invited a couple of the Oblate priests to go, so they cam to Mass this morning and joined us for lunch in the refectory afterward. Jim was interested in all the seminarians and asked each of us for a brief account of our vocation story. We also got to hear from him about his life, his call to be an actor, personal and professional struggles, and anecdotes from filming The Passion, his other films, and Medjugorje.

What Do Doozers Do?

Sorry for not posting last week, but it has been pretty busy. It seems there has yet to be a quiet, 'normal' week of postulancy; maybe there never will be!
Last week was the farewell dinner for our beloved Brother Luigi, who has been transferred to a quieter assignment after many years at St. Clement's. He has been an institution since the Oblates took over the shrine in 1976, so it really is the end of an era. I often met Br. Lou in the mornings while preparing breakfast and always enjoyed his wry humor, and I will miss him a lot. It was also the end of the conferences for which the Rector Major and many Oblates from overseas were visiting, so there were more farewell dinners and gatherings.

Today was the installation of Msgr. Moroney as the new Rector of St. John's Seminary, so we all went there for mass with Cardinal O'Malley which ended up being a lengthy affair because of pomp, family day at SJS, and excessive traffic due to bicycle races and a Red Sox game, but things will mostly return to normal this week.

However, I have yet to define what 'normal' is for a week of postulancy and talk about what it is I do all day anyway, so here is a week in my life now:



Monday-Friday
   5:30 am- Rise
   6:00 am- Morning holy hour, Office of
           Readings
   6:30 am- Lauds
   7:00 am- Mass
   7:30 am- Breakfast
   8:00 am-11:44 am- Daily responsibilities                      (class, study, apostolates, etc.)
   11:45 am- Eucharistic adoration, Divine Mercy
           Chaplet
   12:00 pm- Angelus, lunch
                                                                                       1:00 pm- 4:59 pm- Daily responsibilities
                                                                                       5:00 pm- Rosary, evening holy hour
                                                                                       5:45 pm- Vespers
                                                                                       6:00 pm- Dinner
                                                                                       7:00 pm- Community recreation (usually gym
                                                                                             time, sports, card games, etc.)         
                                                                                       8:00 pm (9:00 pm Fridays)- Study
                                                                                      10:00 pm- Compline and Great Silence


Saturday
   7:30 am- Lauds
   8:00 am- Breakfast
   9:00 am- Cleaning common areas
   11:00 am- Mass
   12:00 pm- 5:00 pm- Apostolate work in Boston
           or free time
   5:00 pm- Rosary, holy hour
   5:30 pm- Grand Vespers and Benediction
   6:00 pm- Dinner
   7:15 pm- Community recreation (movie night)
   11:00 pm- Great Silence

Sunday

   9:00 am- Matins, Lauds     

  10:00 am- Choir practice

  11:00 am- Mass

  12:15 pm- Lunch

  1:30 pm- Free time

  5:45 pm- Vespers

  10:00 pm- Great Silence 

In addition to the daily structure and classes, apostolates, etc., postulants have a number of other responsibilities assigned. All postulants are responsible for washing dishes and cleaning the kitchen after meals, and there is a weekly rotation for the following tasks: cantor for the Divine Office (also gets to choose the Saturday night movie), altar server for all masses, lector for masses and the Office, and cooking weekend dinners.

In addition to this are personal assignments that last all year, including an assignment for cleaning common areas of the seminary (I am the Dust Buster). Everyone is also responsible for doing their own laundry and keeping their cell neat (surprise inspections!). Postulants are also able to structure their own free time in the daily schedule between duties and studies for gym time, personal communication, personal prayer, and spiritual or recreational reading.

My personal assignment is to be one of the two sacristans: I am responsible for taking care of the sacred vessels (making sure they are purified, polishing, setting out the chalice and paten for whichever priest has the next Mass, etc.); purifying, laundering, and ironing purificators and corporals (and occasionally cassocks and surplices); measuring out wine, water, and altar bread for each Mass; making sure the correct propers are marked in the Sacramentary; checking that the correct vestment colors are used for feast days and solemnities; keeping four sanctuary lamps burning at all times; cleaning candle holders, incense thuribles, and tapers; doing any set up in the sanctuary, stripping the altar, moving candlesticks, etc.; and taking care of any other miscellanies around the sanctuary and sacristy.

My formation director who is also the choirmaster and usual piano accompanist for the Office, started having me playing piano for Grand Vespers on weekends.

So, if idleness was ever a vice it is no longer! Saturdays and Sundays are a little more flexible. Some of you have asked how available I am if you visit, and the answer it that it varies: I can be excused from community functions to spend time with out of town guests and can get other postulants to cover my responsibilities, so I can pretty much be free all weekend.  

There are also other outings and events interspersed in the weekly schedule; this is Boston, after all, and there is always plenty to do. Tonight we are all going to SJS for a special dinner and lecture on St. Augustine followed by a screening of the new biographical film Restless Heart at Boston College.