tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34308062011-04-28T22:07:38.659-04:00WitnessFrank GibbonsFrankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11380890150024151570noreply@blogger.comBlogger331100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3430806.post-1098227744020233962004-10-19T19:14:00.000-04:002004-10-19T19:15:44.020-04:00This is the first time I've blogged in several years. I'm trying to see why my comments won't work.Frankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11380890150024151570noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3430806.post-809691952002-08-31T17:27:00.000-04:002002-09-07T09:43:11.000-04:00I am currently reading Ulysses. I read it in 1977 for an Irish Literature course and I'm finding it a much easier read this time around. In fact, I've read whole sections as if they were the latest page-turner. The book is often hilarious and it is always deeply compasionate. Ulysses is not that daunting to read if you give yourself over to it. In between Ulysses I've been reading a lot of Frankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11380890150024151570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3430806.post-801562662002-08-12T17:57:00.000-04:002002-08-12T17:57:38.306-04:00Black Robe
Black Robe is a very moving film about the clash of two radically different cultures. The young Jesuit priest, Father LaForgue, although very rigid in his belief system, sincerely wants to help the Native Americans by bringing them the Truth. But his message of paradise has no meaning for the Alogonquins, Hurons, and other tribes that he comes into contact with. They cannot understandFrankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11380890150024151570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3430806.post-801155702002-08-11T20:34:00.000-04:002002-08-11T23:42:39.000-04:00Wallace Stevens
Yesterday, I posted the following document concerning Wallace Stevens' alleged deathbed conversion on All But Dissertation's blogspot.
For those of you who are not familiar with Stevens, he was one of the great poets of the 20th century. He actually made his living as a vice-president of the Hartford Insurance Company. Years ago, in a prayer meeting(!), a friend of mine who Frankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11380890150024151570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3430806.post-800766682002-08-10T17:18:00.000-04:002002-08-10T17:19:55.000-04:00A Novel of Restoration Intrigue
An Instance of the Fingerpost by Iain Pears is a wonderful book that will please readers who love mysteries, historical fiction, or novels that are chock full of erudition. Set in England during the Restoration, the first 100 pages are somewhat pedestrian as the first (and most balanced) of the 4 narrators sets the stage for the wilder musings of the latter 3 Frankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11380890150024151570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3430806.post-797577252002-08-02T21:55:00.000-04:002002-08-12T12:36:49.000-04:00M. Night Shyamalan's Signs
I just returned form seeing M. Night Shyamalan's Signs. I was somewhat disappointed in the film because I don't think all of the scenes work dramatically. I also found the pacing to be uneven and perhaps too slow. It's not that I'm against slowness in a movie -- Hichcock's Vertigo is my favorite film and it moves like creeping paralysis. But every scene in VertigoFrankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11380890150024151570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3430806.post-795718892002-07-29T20:50:00.000-04:002002-08-05T21:29:10.000-04:00Two From Michael D. O'Brien's Children of the Last Days Series
Can it happen here? Can a totalitarian state run by liberals, feminists, and new-agers take hold in North America? According to Nathaniel Delaney, the protaganist of "Plague Journal", it already has and if you don't conform to the new orthodoxies, you're quite expendable. While "Plague Journal" is a paranoid Christian polemic, it is Frankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11380890150024151570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3430806.post-795707792002-07-29T20:14:00.000-04:002002-08-05T21:32:57.000-04:00An Underrated Film
"King of Kings", directed by Nicholas Ray ("Rebel Without a Cause"), is an underrated film that is marked by some dazzling cinematic moments (Pompey's desecration of the Temple, the death of Herod, and an extended Sermon on the Mount). Miklos Rozsa ("Ben Hur") is responsible for the moving score and Orson Welles provides some tasteful narration at the film's beginning. JefferyFrankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11380890150024151570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3430806.post-794732022002-07-27T09:21:00.000-04:002002-07-27T09:24:02.000-04:00Bigotry and propaganda from rich Hollywood thought police.
The Contender is so offensive and tendentious that it can be considered neither entertainment or art. Even Gary Oldman complained bitterly about the lack of balance that marked the Contender. It is a bigoted anti-religious screed. Early on when Senator Laine Hanson's six-year-old son mentions that the 'baby Jesus' created 'top-spin', Frankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11380890150024151570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3430806.post-792827532002-07-22T22:34:00.000-04:002002-07-22T22:40:09.000-04:00Some words of advice from the Immortal Bard
The quality of mercy is not strain'd,
It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven
Upon the place beneath: it is twice blest;
It blesseth him that gives and him that takes:
'Tis mightiest in the mightiest: it becomes
The throned monarch better than his crown;
His sceptre shows the force of temporal power,
The attribute to awe and majesty,
Wherein doth Frankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11380890150024151570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3430806.post-791928332002-07-20T13:59:00.000-04:002002-07-20T14:04:53.000-04:00The next time you feel like poking fun at one of those radio evangelists....
A good friend of mine, who I have known for eighteen years, had a radical conversion experience over twenty years ago. He was, in his words, "a wise-guy, an alcoholic, and a drug addict". As a young man he was drinking a fifth of scotch a day and had to consume a half-pint of brandy upon waking every morning. He had Frankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11380890150024151570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3430806.post-791563522002-07-19T13:18:00.000-04:002002-07-21T19:29:22.000-04:00Some people misunderstand the former tagline I had on my humble blog site, "The problem with a zeal for orthodoxoy is that it can become just another carnal aesthetic". It's not that I'm against orthodoxy or even against a passion for it. But I learned through the school of bitter wisdom that one can adhere to the tenets of orthodoxy and sing its praises while not being a holy person or a person Frankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11380890150024151570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3430806.post-790694272002-07-17T12:38:00.000-04:002002-07-17T12:38:14.476-04:00Vanity of vanities...
Do not store up for yourselves treasures in your 401k plan....Frankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11380890150024151570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3430806.post-790691072002-07-17T12:29:00.000-04:002002-07-17T12:30:57.000-04:00Ted Williams' son obviously isn't familiar with this bit of wisdom:
Many are cold but few are frozen.
Frankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11380890150024151570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3430806.post-789414812002-07-14T14:47:00.000-04:002002-07-21T19:02:35.000-04:00The Road to Perdition opens with a joyless Irish Wake that promises that there will be no "Finn Again" after this affair. In fact, as a result of mouthing off at the wake, a character named Finn McGovern (an allusion to Joyce?) will be sent to the nether world. The movie proceeds with a dull torpor and a funereal sense pervades the whole film. There's plenty of Catholic imagery but, as Peter Frankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11380890150024151570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3430806.post-789246902002-07-14T00:36:00.000-04:002002-07-14T00:41:22.000-04:00Blogging - the way of all flesh.
I was praying before the Eucharist today and caught myself thinking about what I was going to blog about later in the evening. Mea Maxima Culpa!Frankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11380890150024151570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3430806.post-789017782002-07-13T09:01:00.000-04:002002-07-13T09:02:36.000-04:00Why does the National Catholic Register's pep talk to "go on offense" remind me of the harried Father Lamont (Richard Burton) in the execrable Exorcist II?
The Cardinal: Perhaps you should take a retreat.
Father Lamont: A retreat? Why not an advance? Frankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11380890150024151570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3430806.post-788828202002-07-12T19:13:00.000-04:002002-07-12T19:31:05.000-04:00Michael Bronsky, writing in the Boston Phoenix, give us the poop on Padre Pio and explains to us why John Paul II is making so many saints. Bronsky is the author of Sex, Backlash, and the Struggle for Gay Freedom. Like I say, I only provide the links.Frankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11380890150024151570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3430806.post-788448532002-07-11T22:16:00.000-04:002002-07-11T22:21:01.000-04:00I left Ben Hur off of the list of quality films that had Christian themes in them (see post below). I guess one could add it to the list. Although it won eleven Academy Awards, I don't think it's a 'great' film. The chariot race is spectacular and it was awesome to see it as a boy on a big screen. Maybe I subconsciously left it off because I knew that the ever snide Gore Vidal wrote the Frankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11380890150024151570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3430806.post-787535012002-07-09T20:37:00.000-04:002002-07-09T20:45:57.000-04:00Was an instance of grace ever captured better on film than when Ethan Edwards (John Wayne) lifts his niece (Natalie Wood) in the air and says "Let's go home, Debby"? The New Wave film maker, Jean-Luc Goddard, says he weeps every times he watches this scene from The Searchers. Stephen Spielberg says there are four films he always brings with him when he's on location and The Searchers is one ofFrankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11380890150024151570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3430806.post-787058372002-07-08T19:42:00.000-04:002002-07-08T19:42:23.000-04:00After reading this article in today's Boston Herald, I don't feel so bad about providing the link below.Frankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11380890150024151570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3430806.post-787002162002-07-08T16:44:00.000-04:002002-07-08T17:14:43.000-04:00Christopher Hitchens comments on the situation. Hey, I'm only providing the link.
Frankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11380890150024151570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3430806.post-786656672002-07-07T21:08:00.000-04:002002-07-07T21:08:59.000-04:00Walking on water wasn't built in a day.
Jack KerouacFrankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11380890150024151570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3430806.post-786656172002-07-07T21:07:00.000-04:002002-07-07T21:07:08.666-04:00
I viewed the gangster film Mean Streets again recently. It's not Scorcese's first film but it's certainly his break out film. As many know, it is suffused with images of Catholicism. Charlie, the main character, prays and goes to confession. When he dresses to go out, it's like watching a priest vest himself before a liturgy. There's a beautiful long shot of a statue of Christ watching over the Frankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11380890150024151570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3430806.post-786646392002-07-07T20:35:00.000-04:002002-07-07T20:38:33.000-04:00Some sage advice:
I remember a film clip that showed Letty at a religious service
in the prison chapel, rising from her knees from in front of the cross,
her clapsed hands extended high above her head in a histrionic
portrayal of prayer. It was almost embarrasing to watch.
But I learned long ago that unless you've had your own
ticket punched in the Garden of Gethsemene, you
shouldn't judge Frankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11380890150024151570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3430806.post-785843792002-07-05T09:41:00.000-04:002002-07-21T19:43:11.000-04:00A novel that prophesied the demise of main-line Protestantism and the emerging power of American Catholics.
Appointment in Samarra by John O'Hara is a great novel. I was led to it by an article in the Atlantic Monthly that lamented the pretentiousness of much of contemporary writing. Not only is the writing pretentious, but it doesn't say anything intelligible. 'Appointment in Sammara', by Frankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11380890150024151570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3430806.post-785268222002-07-03T19:07:00.000-04:002002-07-03T19:07:48.746-04:00I visited Holy Cross and Boston College with two of my daughters over the last two days. Both schools are very, very expensive (Holy Cross is $33K; BC is $35-36K). Both are also very selective in their admisssions process. It's ironic that B.C. was founded because the Irish immigrants weren't being allowed into other area schools. For years it was a commuter college. Our tour guide (the bestFrankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11380890150024151570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3430806.post-784845652002-07-02T20:04:00.000-04:002002-07-06T20:03:03.000-04:00Lying Awake is the most sublime and beautiful contemporary novel that I have read in years. It poses one of the most essential theological issues that a person can face - how can we know when we have truly encountered the living God? Sister John of the Cross is a discalced Carmelite nun who lives the contemplative life in community with a small group of other sisters. After a hard childhood, Frankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11380890150024151570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3430806.post-784817642002-07-02T18:37:00.000-04:002002-07-02T20:24:08.000-04:00Relapsed Catholic's blog site had the following quote from a L.A. Times article: "There have been zillions of Christian movies, and they have all been terrible." I thought I was up against the hauteur of some snotty film critic, when, lo and behold, I find that my foil is the Pentecostal novelist Frank Peretti. Peretti instructs us that when Christians stop trying to make movies with agendas, Frankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11380890150024151570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3430806.post-769620392002-05-25T12:47:00.000-04:002002-05-25T12:47:41.983-04:00The problem with a zeal for orthodoxy is that is can become just another carnal aesthetic.Frankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11380890150024151570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3430806.post-756321022002-04-20T19:01:00.000-04:002002-04-20T19:01:14.980-04:00One of the most devastating things that can happen to a boy is to lose his father through suicide. The psychological and spiritual scars are overwhelming. Read John Berryman's "Dream Songs" to see what I mean. For John Geoghan to search out a boy whose father recently killed himself and to then molest that child is satanic. We're dealing with pure evil here. May Jesus help that boy who is nowFrankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11380890150024151570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3430806.post-756204132002-04-20T11:18:00.000-04:002002-04-20T18:54:19.000-04:00It's disconcerting that in all of the statements made by the hierarchy, by media professionals, and by individual Catholics (both liberal and conservative) concerning molestation by priests, that no one is mentioning the spiritual nature of this scandal. No one has suggested that demonic elements may have at least a part in this mess. Similarly, no one has called for a radical conversion to JesusFrankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11380890150024151570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3430806.post-751115572002-04-06T15:46:00.000-05:002002-04-06T15:46:42.033-05:00The Catholic Church needs to passionately preach the need for individuals to have intimacy with Jesus Christ. The Church needs to emphasize the importance of personal prayer, meditating on Scripture, and relying on the power of the Holy Spirit. Frankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11380890150024151570noreply@blogger.com0