Posted on 07/09/2011 11:50:48 AM PDT by NYer
The remarkable film Of Gods and Men is out on Netflix, and if you haven’t seen it yet, I urge you to put it on your queue and move it to the top. It is one of the best films I seen in years — gripping, moving, enlightening and insightful. I can’t think of a film in recent memory that so truly and respectfully portrays the life of faith, the religious life, and most especially the value, use and meaning of liturgical prayer and the sacramental, Holy Mass — how these enhance the life of faith, deepens its roots so that it may withstand the storms that come.
If it begins a little slow for some, especially in our age of shoot-em-ups, stick with it. This is lovely, simple, lyrical and true:
First of all, it is a realistic portrayal of the life of faith. The monks are not perfect; no saint, or martyr, is. Holiness always makes its home in humanity. Occasionally the monks are impatient, tetchy, or short with one another. (“He’s tired,” says an older monk after a younger one has spoken to him sharply while cleaning up after a meal.) One of them thinks wistfully of the life that he might have had “on the outside.” Moreover, the group struggles mightily with the idea that they might be “called” to be martyrs, indeed resisting it until almost the last minute. As anyone would. The life of the believer often involves uncertainty, doubt, and confusion. Two of them are seen, quite distinctly, as “avoiding” their fate. But all try to grapple with what God seems to be asking of them, strange and frightening as it may seem to them.
Second, the movie does not stint—at all—on the religious underpinnings of their actions and choices. Too often in contemporary cinema, producers or directors indicate by their own choices that audiences will not understand people who talk about God in a serious way. And so we see (and hear) the monks chanting their prayers, celebrating Mass, preparing for Christmas. In this way the movie was reminiscent of another recent film on the monastic life, the documentary Into Great Silence. We hear the words of their prayers, too; and we are privy to their conversations with one another about God, and often with God. God is real to them; and God’s effect on their lives is made real to the viewer.
You’ll want to read that whole review, and I agree that the “last supper” scene was spine-tingling and moving in a remarkable way, but the whole film is full of moments of almost sublime sweetness intermingled with moments of terror, hopelessness, fear, doubt, and pleading prayer – “help me, help me, oh, help me.” 
The director makes his points without hammering us over the head — when the Abbot, Brother Christian, is simply walking through the fields, along with sheep, you understand what he is thinking, and why he cannot leave to save himself. When he is marveling at the circumference of a tree that must be thousands of years old, you understand that he is thinking that it has been there long before he existed, will be there long after he has died. Its roots are deep. And Jesus hung upon such wood.
A scene I found almost unspeakably beautiful involved Vespers. Knowing that at any moment their humble monastery may be invaded by murderous extremists, the brothers hear a chopper come near. Perhaps this is the moment of their martyrdom, and while they by no means seek death, they cannot be anything but who and what they are: monks. As per the Rule of St. Benedict (which Trappists follow) “nothing is to be preferred to the Divine Office,” and so they draw together in their very humble choir, facing the stained glass window outside of which the menacing chopper hovers, and they put their arms about each other’s shoulders — true brothers — and sing all the louder, in beautiful harmony, in defiance, and in joy.
The “last supper” scene truly is astonishing. A confrontation with mystery. Understanding that this may be their last meal together — that they have made an irrevocable decision that will likely mean their deaths — they fill their glasses with the best wine, and instead of a reading, they listen to Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake. As the music plays, they share a wordless conversation about love. Here is Love; they are confronting its depths and it sacrifice, it’s ache and confusion and its powerful relation to Truth. The Gospel notes are there: that they have saved the best wine for last speaks to the beginning of Christ’s ministry, and Mary’s words, “do whatever he tells you,” a scene which launched the world’s exposure to Jesus of Nazareth and speaks to the truth that to know him and follow him involves continual rediscoveries that hone new depths. We see that all of their pursuit of Christ has brought them to this self-knowing surrender to Providence. Watching this scene, the beginning of Psalm 133 came to me:
How good and how pleasant it is,
when brothers live in unity!
It is like precious oil upon the head
running down upon the beard,
Christ is all over this moment. Later, when the monks are taken prisoner, and the oldest has managed to evade capture, his silent grief at not being with his brothers, not surrendering that final bit of himself, is so sad and affecting, and yet ultimately this film is about freedom and victory.
The monks, living and dying in Christ, were true victors. I love the conversation between Brother Christian and Brother Luc, where they discuss their decisions to remain at the monastery: “to leave is to die,” Luc had said earlier. Now he ponders all he has seen in his life, including Nazi’s, and acknolwedges that he is not afraid of death — that his freedom has always been Christ-centered. As the bell rings, calling them to prayer, they prepare to exit the small office, and Luc jokes to Christian, “let the free man go through.”
It is a lovely moment, and when I watched it I could not help but think of the video I had watched a few hours previous, and which I found alternately ridiculous and profoundly sad.
“Let the free man go through,” said the martyred monk, Brother Luc. When he said it, with a wry grin, he seemed to me to be much more free than John Corapi, and when I said my prayers before sleep, I thanked God for his martyrs, but the bulk of my prayers were for Corapi, who seems to be in terrible trouble. As I texted to my Li’l Bro Thom, “He never looks directly at the camera, and when he looked away at the video’s end, all I saw was self loathing and imprisonment. I am watching Of God’s and Men right now, and those trapped martyrs were more free than that poor soul. It’s too sad.”
Thom’s response touched on what he understands of addictive personalities and compulsive disorders — all of it very enlightening, of course, but my head was swimming with images from the film and I couldn’t help thinking that Corapi’s desire to live a life without confreres, without accountability, without hearing, “no” once in a while or having to confer with a community rather than calling all of his own shots — and with the sacramental life of his priesthood taking a backseat to the preaching — I don’t think it served him well. I don’t think he was ever as free as these stable, committed monks, and frankly, I felt heartbroken for him.
Let us give thanks to God for the witness of his martyrs, who demonstrate to us so clearly that a life of simplicity, stability, prayer and togetherness — all rooted in the love of Jesus Christ, who is the All-in-All — brings forth the depth of reality that is within the mystery, and reveals God to us in myriad ways as we learn what it is to be free.
And let us sincerely pray for John Corapi, who truly seems imprisoned by that rather creepy-eyed creature at the base of his video, and who needs to find that freedom.
More on Of Gods and Men, and Stablity at Sister Laurel’s page
Also, I think I now must get to know these monks better, through this book
UPDATED:
In his homily for this week, Deacon Greg finds stability in the seed-sowing parable
It happens again and again in our history – from St. Paul to St. Augustine to St. Ignatius to Dorothy Day and beyond. The soil they sprang from wasn’t always ideal. We are a church of rocks, and thorns, besieged by birds – and yet, amid this vast and surprising garden, God’s smallest seeds find fertile ground. His Word takes root.
Which brings me to one other significant point in this parable. It bears remembering.
In this story, the sower doesn’t change. The seed doesn’t change.
What changes is the soil.
What changes are the conditions that allow the seed to be planted.
What changes is the environment that lets the seed bear fruit.
What changes, in fact…is us.And we may never know where, or how, it will happen.
Christ does not change, but we do. God is not finished with any of us, yet.
Prayers continue for this priest.
I don’t know if new look scares me (kind of does)..but the whole thing makes me sad ..what has happened to Fr Corapi? I pray for him and all priests..
When you persistently attack the prince of darkness through books, videos and conferences, the prince fights back. Pray .... very hard ... for Fr. Corapi and all priests. Pray too for those who have been rocked and scandalized by this turn of events. Never underestimate the power of the enemy.
I noticed in a description of the film, it said that it’s “loosely based” on the the lives of the monks.
What’s ‘loose’ about it?
I don’t know. It seemed pretty accurate to me, from what I knew about them. They lived an authentic Trappist life, although in the Charles de Foucauld mold, that is, trying to convert the Muslims silently, through their charity and witness.
Perhaps it simply means that nobody knows what their last days or hours were like and therefore it can’t be said to be totally historically accurate.
“When you persistently attack the prince of darkness through books, videos and conferences, the prince fights back. Pray .... very hard ... for Fr. Corapi and all priests. Pray too for those who have been rocked and scandalized by this turn of events. Never underestimate the power of the enemy.”
Very good post.
Hence the prayer, “Keep me humble Lord, keep me small and hide me within your Sacred Heart.”
The moment any one of us, and especially those who have been given a great calling by God, step outside that protection, we are vulnerable.
Pray for Fr. Corapi.
I just got this movie in the mail. I’ll be watching it tonight.
Still not to late for him to submit to authority and lead a life of quiet prayer. He, like many addictive personalities, needs structure for his own good. He needs spiritual and psychiatric help. I hope he gets both.
“As one poster to Corapi’s video commented: “Father or should I call you that, since you left the priesthood. Your new look scares me.” Prayers continue for this priest”
Yes, it’s a painful, gruesome display. He seems to be shutting out the Lord and the Blessed Mother (maybe can’t bear to think of them while continuing on this sorry path).
Prayers for Fr. Corapi.
And in my alternate reality, I'm an old maid with catz and an occasional new pair of shoes.
Every Christian vocation is simply a variant on laying down your life, over and over, for people that you really wish you didn't have to, because it's not like they'd do it for you. Yeah, it hurts ... but it's the only way.
What comes to mind is Matthew 4:8-9
Then the devil took him up to a very high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in their magnificence,
and he said to him, "All these I shall give to you, if you will prostrate yourself and worship me."
Among the lengthy list of quotes by Fr. Corapi, is this one: "The only thing satan cannot deal with is humility. It is totally against his nature." Humility is the opposite of pride. Nearly everything we have learned about the situation with Fr. Corapi over the past few weeks, points to an accumulation of wealth - cars, boats, et al. Then he explains that he wants to sue his accuser and to do so entails leaving his order and abandoning the priesthood. Is this not a manifestation of pride?!
Here is another Fr. Corapi quote: "The one who sins becomes the slave of sin." and "Sin is cancer, it eats a person up." We are all human and, as such, weak in nature. Fr. Corapi is no different. Who can ever forget hearing him describe the day of his ordination!! - at the Vatican!! - by Blessed John Paul II!! We were told that Fr. Corapi was given the gift of "Apostolic preaching" and, as such, utilized it to draw catholics deeper into a relationship with Jesus Christ and the Blessed Mother. In his video, he "prides" himself on this gift that he plans to use by exploiting the social media - Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, etc. But what will be his message? He does not reveal that. If anything, I get the impression he himself does not know. He "prides" himself on telling viewers that his autobiography is nearly finished. At this point in time, given the fact he has left the priesthood, of what value is it to a devout catholic? (I am presuming the autobiography includes his conversion story and his studies to become a priest).
This is a man very much conflicted. It is apparent from his garb and inability to look directly into the camera. He is wearing a Harley Davidson jacket. When Bishop Hubbard closed 5 of 6 parishes in a nearby community, the poorly catechized and angry catholics took shelter in a local evangelical church. Their minister also wears Harley Davidson attire.
What concerns me most about this situation, however, are those people who were drawn into the Catholic Church from watching his EWTN program on the Catechism of the Catholic Church, and those catholics, in communities such as mine that are shepherded by progressive bishops, who looked up to Fr. Corapi as the voice of orthodox teaching, calling the church's children back home. In yet another quote he says: "We don't come to you preaching worldly wisdom, we come to preach Jesus Christ and the Cross." That is the message that drew the flocks to this shepherd. What is the impact on them from his scandalous behavior? Therein lies the worst sin of all!
I will end this post with another quote from Fr. Corapi: "St. Francis said to the sinful priest, after kissing his feet, "All I know is that your hands bring me Jesus Christ, I know nothing else."" Please remember this priest in your daily prayers!
I will confess to anger over his antics since he moved to Montana, now I would really plead with him to humble himself under the merciful hand of God and repent. He is set up to lead souls astray.
good post ..explains a lot...
I pray for Fr C and all priests and religious..
We are all sad, for him, for ourselves and for the Church.
Our Blessed Mother saved him once before and now we must follow her call to pray, pray, pray.
May the Good Lord bring him home again.
I hope those who are still blindly defending him come to realize they are causing him grave harm. They are reminding me of some sort of cult and it isn’t healthy.
Lack of humility explains it all. The Devil like a roaring lion...
People who do not have the protection of an authority structure or something that keeps them humble are virtually bound to fall.
The Church stopped providing the authority structure back in the 1970s, and it’s been bad news since then.
The other problem is that with the increasing Protestantization of the Catholic Church, the faithful have been taught to look to individual preachers rather than to the body of doctrine and faith and history that is the Church.
This could be a perfect moment to fight back. Opus Dei priests are very good at rejecting the cult of personality, and perhaps we need to consult with el Opus to find out how to deal with this. They are very devout and very popular, but they never set themselves up individually as something people should follow after. The whole focus is on Christ.
This was how it used to be in the Church. I think one of the first celebrity priests was Thomas Merton, whose order gave him all sorts of breaks and essentially let him live outside the rule and at his own whim because he brought a lot of money into the monastery. His death may or may not have been accidental, but whatever it was, his life at that point was going downhill and there are many people who thought he was going to leave the Church and strike out on his own as a sort of guru.
That’s what happens when authority and order break down. We’ve got to use this moment to bring them back.
You’re right, and I do worry about people who were converted by him. I hope they are not scandalized.
All excellent points! Thanks for the ping and post.
So do I, but we can only pray for them that their faith is solely based in Jesus, and not in the one who brought them to Him.
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