The Blast Zone

This weekend, we watched "August: Osage County" starring Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts.  This does contain spoilers, so if you're interested in seeing the movie, first please reconsider.  If you still want to see the movie, stop reading.  Good acting throughout, but not a light movie.  Very dark, despite the previews.

The movie chronicles a few days in the life of an extremely dysfunctional family.  Unfortunately, "extremely dysfunctional" is an understatement.  The twists and turns of the plot reveal level after level of pain.  Just when you think it can't get any worse for the family, it does!  What I found interesting in the movie was how each character dealt with pain.  My CPE supervisor would've had a field day with this movie.

Okay, final warning about the spoilers.

You look at the events of the movie, and how tragic they are.  The drug-addicted Meryl Streep; Julia Roberts, whose husband recently left her and who can't relate to her daughter; one sister who engages in an incestuous relationship because she can't find anything else; another sister who "has everything she wants" but also has a massive front built up to shield her from the deep sadness inside her; the alcoholic husband of Meryl, who hires a cook to take care of his wife and then leaves her, only to commit suicide.  Quite literally, every character in the movie has a deeply traumatic flaw/pain/event and it all explodes in the end.

I tried to imagine real people going through that... a real family.  It would be a wonder if there weren't more suicides!  Three thoughts struck me.

First, that simple verse from the letter of James: the wages of sin are death.  Not might be death, only death if you don't psychologically process your sins well.  A very plain equation.  Sin = death.  Bringing in adultery, addictions, and other dysfunction into life?  There's only one outcome if we don't root it out of our lives.

Second, sin is not a private matter.  No matter how we try to convince ourselves to the contrary (and our culture is convinced that sins can be private), we have to go back to the previous point.  Introducing sin into our lives inevitably affects others.  In the movie, two couples' poor choices scarred their lives, all of their children (4 total), their children's spouses, and their grandchild couldn't escape, either.  At its very nature, sin is destructive--of grace, of good things, and of anything good in our lives.  Give Satan his chance and he'll make the most of it.

Third, as I had compassion on these fictional folks in the movie, I realized that the explosion of darkness and sin wasn't a sudden onset.  These poor people set the stage for this nastiness long ago.  Meryl Streep & her husband chose addictions rather than a life-giving marriage (in the opening of the movie, the husband tells the cook that he and his wife had made an arrangement long ago, not to bother each other about their respective addictions).  Meryl's sister chose to have an affair to cope with her husband's smoking habits (not cigarettes).  The mess that their families became was a direct result of those choices.  Isn't it the same with us?  Problems we have in our spiritual life don't usually come out of nowhere.

Although I was somewhat depressed after watching this movie, it was an interesting insight into human nature.  It convinced me, even more than before, of how much we're in need of a Savior.  Thank you Lord!

7 Quick Takes, Sunday Procrastinator Edition 5/18/14

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I'm amazed at how time goes by.  Christmas and the new year doesn't seem that far in the past, but it's nearly the end of May and June is a week and a half away.  There are a few things I'm really looking forward to this summer: the opening of the Volcanoes' season (short season, single-A baseball), a sacred music concert I just read about featuring "In Mulieribus", a family vacation to Utah, and lots of sun that will make our roses bloom.  

--- 2 ---

My current read is a book by Msgr. Ronald Knox, an English priest from the previous century.  In Soft Garments is a collection of his conferences to Catholic students at Oxford from 1926-1938.  They're not extremely long, they're sequential, and so far enjoyable.  I half-expected him to write like Tolkien, Lewis, or Chesterton--dense and profound, though simple.  Not so, ol' chap!  Knox is very down to earth and the lectures have a familiar, friendly tone.  

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Although I have enough books in my library to last me a while, I still drool over new titles that come out.  One is a new collection of Joseph Ratzinger/Benedict XVI's writings on the liturgy.  Yes, it's 700 pages and yes, I have a similarly-large collection of his writings on ecclesiology (from a theology class) that I have barely touched since I got it... and is it really something I would read?  (really, a silly question for a bibliophile)  It would look awfully good on my shelf.  How long until Christmas?

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Another book I'd really like to read is Jason Evert's new book on St. John Paul II.  It's easy to take someone for granted... how many of us appreciated St. JP2 while he was here on earth?  So many people have wonderful stories about him; the more I read about him, the more I come to love him.  A phenomenal pastor, holy guy, man of prayer, great love-r of the Church.

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We were blessed to have dinner with friends on two separate occasions this week.  A fantastic homemade meal and then dinner at Red Robin.  What would life be without friends to share it with?  

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There's a fundraising golf scramble coming up in August for the Fr. Bernard Youth Center, a special charity to me.  Anyone want to sponsor me?   Millionaires, how about you?  Check out FBYC!

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Baseball season means fantasy baseball in my in-laws' family.  If you've never played in a league, you'd be hard-pressed to find anything so frustrating.  Injuries are plaguing my team, not to mention a lack of power hitting.  And when do you give up on an underperforming player?  (I'm looking at you, Jose Reyes)

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

A Review of Jennifer Fulwiler's "Something Other Than God"

I've been a reader of Jennifer Fulwiler's Conversion Diary blog for a few years.  I really like her writing style--informal but articulate, substantial and light-hearted, and humorous.  Over time she'd post about a book project, until last month when the book was finally published.  Although I'm not too interested in a banana suit, I did want to enter the contest by writing a book review. 

Unlike myself, Jennifer posts quite a lot on her blog; sometimes three posts a week.  (?!?!?)  In a totally non-creepy way, I feel like I know her a little from her writing.  After all, she shares personal details about her life, her family, and her faith.  Reading Something Other Than God was somewhat similar, except it was a side of her that I'd forgotten about.  For years I've read her posts about Catholic this, pro-life that (except when it comes to scorpions), or her journey away from atheism.  In SOTG, it was really interesting to see Jennifer as a non-believer.  We all know folks who are non-believers to varying degrees, but we don't often get a chance to step inside their head.  SOTG is worth reading for that purpose alone!

Aside from that, here are a couple other reasons to read the book:

1) Gaining a deeper appreciation of marriage
On her blog, Jennifer's posts would allude to her husband, Joe.  I couldn't remember exactly how much he's been mentioned.  In SOTG, however, he's necessarily a big part of it.  (is it my bias, paying more attention to the role of the husband?)  There were times that he pushed her, and vice versa.  Just like I wouldn't be where/who I am without my wife, Jennifer's spiritual journey in SOTG depended in large part on the love, support, and companionship of her husband.  Thank the Lord for the spouses He blesses us with!

2) What Catholic that's even remotely humble doesn't like a good conversion story?
Faith is something easy to take for granted!  And God is so close to us that we're often blind to His handiwork.  A good conversion story like this is a great reminder of what we often forget and take for granted.  SOTG isn't a theological treatise; it's not the life of a saint.  It's the story of a real person who struggled with the same things many people struggle with.  It doesn't take place in an idyllic setting, a convent, or a monastery.  Jennifer is a laywoman, wife, and mother living in Texas.  Her ideals had to shift, not to mention her priorities and her & Joe's business aspirations.  Is God absent amidst medical issues?  Financial issues?  No way--it just takes the eyes to see it.

Check the book out, you won't regret it!

7 Quick Takes: Jen has a new book edition, 5/4/14

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Last weekend I bought my copy of Jennifer Fulwiler's new book, Something Other Than God.  You can get yours at your local Catholic bookstore (like this one!) or here.  I blew through it in about a week, and I could've finished it sooner if I could've stayed home from work a day or two.  My goal is to write a separate post about my impressions of the book... who can resist being entered into a special prize drawing?  In brief (as our friend the CCC would say), it's a great book and worth a read.  I love conversion stories and this is another good one to add to the list!

If the author saw the surroundings of her book,
I think she would be appreciative... 

--- 2 ---

I've written about homilies before, although I can't remember if I've ever put links of good ones that are online.  Today's winner: one of my old seminary friends, Fr. Nathan Siray.  He's a priest in Canada somewhere and he teamed up with two fellow priests to put a blog together.  I think they write on it more than twice a month... unlike yours truly.   All three priests post their homilies there; Fr. Nathan's was especially good today.  Check it out!  

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Today is May 4th, a.k.a. Star Wars day.  May the Force be with you!  (and with your spirit)  I grew up on those movies as a kid, and like everyone with good taste, disliked the prequel trilogy.  Quick thoughts with token hashtags: 

-Han shot first.  #badass 

-A lot of SW fans hate the ewoks and Return of the Jedi, but I was 4 years old when the movie came out.  I loved the ewoks!  I still hate the part where the ewok gets shot and sad music plays.  #scarred #howoldamiagain

-A great cast, they had.  Luke and Han as heroes, Princess Leia (#first love) holding her own until crummy writing in ROTJ set her back...  

-Must-see: George Lucas In Love (it's online somewhere, not sure legally, but it's available), the 2 Robot Chicken episodes, Fanboys, and R2-D2 Under the Dome

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The feast of St. Athanasius was on Friday, May 2nd.  Read up on him here.  When I see his name pop up in the liturgical calendar, or when someone names their baby after him (no, just kidding; no offense, St. A), I can't help but think of Bl. John Henry Newman.  Newman looked up to St. Athanasius for his commitment to the Catholic faith and to his perseverance through suffering.  We extol St. A today, and it's easy to think of him in heaven, adoring the Lord he so stoutly defended during his life.  Let's also remember that he was persecuted and exiled; so too was John Henry Newman, in persecution, at least.  Part of what made them such great men was their perseverance in the truth, no matter the suffering.    

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We have two new pope saints!!!  I was happy I got to see St. John Paul II in person, at a weekly audience and at a canonization.  How long until we can call him St. John Paul the Great?

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Mother's Day is coming up next weekend; thanks be to God for my mom and all mothers!  I've mentioned the topic of infertility on this blog before, and I'd like to add something to it.  Besides Christmas, there's no more difficult holiday for an infertile couple to deal with than Mother's Day.  Please, right now, say a quick prayer for all couples in that situation.  

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Occasionally, I get to do professional things that I'm passionate about.  Usually, they don't have anything to do with my job.  I attended a Board member retreat for the Fr. Bernard Youth Center on Friday.  A 5-hour session and it didn't feel nearly that long.  I never got bored, antsy, sleepy; I never checked the clock.  What a nice change of pace!  Need a good charity to support?  Check out FBYC!

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!