Posted on 04/01/2011 8:14:14 AM PDT by NYer
Pierce Brosnan admits that he might not have learned all he needed to know about math from the Christian Brothers in Ireland, but the teachers imparted one thing that has stayed with him to this day – his Catholic faith.
In an interesting new interview with RTE.ie to promote his patronage of the new Irish dramatic art academy The Lir, which will debut this fall at Trinity College in Dublin, Brosnan credits the power of prayer with guiding him through life’s ups and downs.
"(Prayer) helped me with the loss of my wife to cancer and with a child who had fallen on tough times. Now prayer helps me to be a father, to be an actor and to be a man,” Brosnan told the Irish website.
“It always helps to have a bit of prayer in your back pocket. At the end of the day, you have to have something and for me that is God, Jesus, my Catholic upbringing, my faith.”
Pierce’s first wife, Cassandra Harris, died of ovarian cancer 20 years ago. The son they had together, Sean, was in a serious car crash a few years back in California, but luckily he survived and is thriving again.
Brosnan and his mother left his hometown of Navan, Co. Meath in 1964, when he was 12 years old, for greener pastures in London. His father left the family when he was only two, so times were tough.
"In a way (my life) all leads back to a little boy in Navan, my home town on the banks of the Boyne.
Sometimes, it has been painted in melodramatic tones but it was a fantastic way to be brought up. The Catholicism and the Christian brothers, those are deep-rooted images and the foundation for a person of some acting skill,” he says.
"God has been good to me. My faith has been good to me in the moments of deepest suffering, doubt and fear. It is a constant, the language of prayer … I might not have got my sums right from the Christian Brothers or might not have got the greatest learning of literature from them but I certainly got a strapping amount of faith."
Brosnan also feels that faith will help the Irish people escape the gloom and doom of recession.
"But there is one thing that the people of Ireland know how to do and that is to survive. You have to keep your faith and stay optimistic,” he feels.
Brosnan spent a good chunk of time in New York in January filming his co-starring part in I Don’t Know How She Does It with Sarah Jessica Parker. It’s due for a September 16 release, courtesy of the Weinstein Company.
It works both ways. Keely Shaye Smith had no business bearing the children of a man to whom she was not married. You may find the story of St. Margaret of Cortona interesting.
Soon Margaret found herself installed in the castle, not as her master's wife, for convention would never allow that, but as his mistress, which was more easily condoned. Some day, he had promised her, they would be married, but the day never came. A child was born, and with that Margaret settled down to the situation.
Refreshing news from an actor
No, from what I remember reading, it’s that he felt in his Catholicism, he was still married to his first (deceased) wife, and that his faith would not allow him to remarry (but apparently the fornication part was OK). I can’t tell you what I had for breakfast, but this is just one of those stories I will never forget, because unlike most “baby mamas”, this woman really wanted to marry the father, and as I wrote earlier, she was devastated over his refusal to marry at the time.
It was at a time when I questioned my own Catholic faith, and his logic made no sense - he somehow felt he was not able to remarry (even after the death of his spouse), but the sex outside of marriage thing was OK?
But their official reasoning for delaying the marriage was not for waiting for an annullment, but out of “convenience”, I guess. Certainly a delay over the son’s car accident is justified, but the other reasons? I would think a pregnancy would be a reason to marry, not a reason to delay:
“After postponing their wedding three times, Pierce and Keely were married on August 4, 2001 in Ireland. Their reasons to postpone the ceremony included schedule conflicts with Pierce’s career, son Sean’s serious injuries from a car accident, and Keely’s second pregnancy.”
http://marriage.about.com/od/entertainmen1/a/piercebrosnan.htm
By today’s standards, Hollywood people having children out of wedlock is the norm and barely worth a comment. But I just don’t see how this long-time “good Catholic” can justify having two kids out of wedlock, over a period of five years! He can do whatever he wants, but I don’t think he and his faith are worth the adoration that is shown on this post.
“I know he’s pro-whale.”
Oh, that’s a low blow-hole!
I went to google myself to see how she's been.
Was a bit disappointed....
Totally agree.
:)
Two summers ago my GF noticed a boy at the bottom of the 10 foot section of a camping ground swimming pool.
She jumped a fence like lightspeed, dove in and saved the kid.
not only was he unsupervised he was semi-retarded as well.
She recieved hero letters from both the fire and police departments but never got even a thank you from the boys family.
I meant the SJP comment from the perspective of his being a man of deep abiding religious faith and her as the poster girl for shallow secularism, not just another horse face ;)
I understand. I just don't let anyone else's practice of their faith undermine my own faith. I know how a Catholic is supposed to live, so I try to live my life that way, and teach my kids the right way.
I don’t know any of those circumstances, just don’t know who’s with whom in that celeb culture. I do, however, have little sympathy for a grown woman who allows herself to become pregnant by a man to whom she’s not married, and equally little sympathy for a man who impregnates a woman he is not willing and anxious to marry. They’re both very selfish and foolish
I believe that Brosnan is up to his eyeballs in Planned Barrenhood which seems unlikely in a devout Catholic.
You would never get a similar statement out of me without mentioning BVM and graces mediated through her somehow. Is this guy still actually involved in Catholicism or just carries around his "Catholic upbringing" in a knapsack. I have never heard of him, actually. How ANY real Catholic could be an actor in general mainstream entertainment I have no idea.
Agreed.
And a NEW CAR FOR YOU!
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LOL!
That is a silverbirch Aston Martin V12 Vanquish - as used in “DIE ANOTHER DAY”
Pierce Brosnan owns an aluminum body/frame silverbirch Aston Martin Vanquish - or DB9 - I have seen a photo of him with his British Hot Wheels car -
Aston Martin races a white factory DB9R in Euro GT3 and it runs right up front in GT3 with the Corvette Z1R, Maserati MC12, and the Lamborghini Murcielago LP640
At LeMans, Sebring, and Daytona Aston Martin raced a Lola-Aston Martin LMP1 V12 - one is numbered 007 - of course
A red 1957 Corvette! Neat animation!
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Leave it to you to notice the car Garfield is driving, I didn’t pay attention!! It is cute.
Pierce Brosnan has actually been in more things and won more awards than I knew about.
Thanks for the ping. I didn’t know anything about him.
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LOL!
Brosnan was in a remake of:
“THE THOMAS CROWN AFFAIR”
The original starred Steve McQueen
TMI !!!
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