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.
This part of the passage at that link really got to me:
‘Furthermore, Luther himself writes (in his treatise against “The Mass and the Ordination of Priests”) of a midnight encounter with Lucifer where “the devil spoke against the Mass, and Mary and the Saints,” but gave him “the most unqualified approval of his doctrine on justification by faith alone.” ‘
Luther received an ample warning that what he was doing was pleasing to Satan. Red flag! The devil spoke against Christ’s most powerful tools: the Mass, Mary, and the Saints. Red flag! He should have run straight back into the Church’s arms. Look at the damage he’s done because he barreled ahead in his pride.
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Having watched the movie I re-read the article above and agree with it. I probably should have read it more closely the first time. The movie is VERY quiet, maybe one of the sparsest movies I have ever seen. Do not expect ANY “action”. At first this was disappointing but now that I have mentally digested it I can see why it was made this way.
Despite what I had read previously this movie is not about the abduction and assassination of the monks (this happens only in the final few minutes) but rather about the period preceding that. It is fascinating to watch the evolution of the monks throughout the film. They gradually accept that the terrorist are coming for them and then gradually accept their unwilling martyrdom.
I haven’t seen “Into Great Silence” but I may now. I was fascinated by the portrayal of these men leaving a quiet life in a backwater of the world. Seeing them living such a constrained life only for God, their brothers and the surrounding village is remarkable.
It’s definitely worth watching. I look forward to hearing what other Freepers think.
Indeed! That all comes from the book “Luther” that Tom (the author of the post and my husband) read. There’s also a part in the book where it tells that Luther depicted the pope as being born from a she-devil’s a**hole. Nice diagram, eh? My husband said in regard to one of our good friends who was a Lutheran Sunday School teacher, “I bet Caroline never told her charges about that one.” Ha!
I had three teenage daughters at once. It is a nightmare. Psychologically, it is actually healthy for teens to assert their independence, though they do it in painful ways. Now in their mid twenties, my daughters are close to me again and are fine women.
Once your teens are out on their own for a few years, they will wax nostalgic about their fine childhood and all the wonderful ways you took care of them. They will see you with new eyes and be very appreciative of the way you nurtured them.
Be not afraid. All the seeds you planted in their minds and hearts are still in there waiting to bloom.
Unnngh!
I had a few "alligators in a pit" years with my oldest daughter, but now that she is twenty and has been on her own a couple of years, she's a fine adult and a tolerable guest. Even when we weren't speaking in Real Life (sometimes for weeks ;-) we still got along on FR; how's that for weird?
The two teenage boys (17 and 14) are our present struggle, but I have faith that we will all get through it.
Jvette, i love your posts, they are always so right on, to the point and very insightful. Thank you for that.
We do need to storm heaven for him... and fast.
Jvette, i love your posts, they are always so right on, to the point and very insightful. Thank you for that.
We do need to storm heaven for him... and fast.
He ends that post with these words: Please find it in your hearts to pray, daily and often, for priests. We need to heed that request!
This bears repeating!
Oh you have to see “Into Great Silence”! It is wonderful!
Just watching these monks live the way they do will be calming to you spiritually. I needed that and I have to say that the movie did calm me and even center me a little bit more.
I've been thinking about this a lot lately and believe i may have come up with an explanation that makes some sense of this very bizarre situation.
In one of his talks a few years back he mentioned that when the pedophile priest scandals started coming out (2000? 2001?) it really shook him and he even contemplated leaving the priesthood. He went on to tell how a woman came up to him in an airport and spat at him because she was so upset about the scandals (incidentally he also tells of being spat upon after returning from Vietnam, which seems rather like being hit by lightning twice).
In any event i think the scandals really affected him profoundly and that much of his subsequent actions were as a result of trying to distance himself from the scandals. My theory is that he himself became disillusioned with the priesthood around that time, was disgusted by the scandals, perhaps even lost his faith to some extent, but he was getting old and would have to start all over again from scratch if he left.
So instead he decided to continue on as a priest but came to treat it as a business, as a career, rather than as a calling. And i believe it was around this time, sometime in the early 2000's, that he started repackaging himself as manly man, as a macho priest. Unfortunately it appears that to do this he felt it necessary to exaggerate his military past, saying that he had gone through Special Forces training before a helicopter injury forced him to serve as a clerk in Germany instead. It now appears none of that was true except for his serving as a clerk in Germany. This would come back to dog him in a big way later on.
But why did he go to such an extreme? Why did he feel the need to surround himself with the aura of the Special Forces? In my opinion he was rebelling against the increasingly common and unfortunate stereotype about most priests either being pedophiles or homosexuals or both. He wanted to make sure no one would have any doubts about his manliness. And it worked. Big time. No one doubted him in that regard.
But at the same time if the allegations are true that he became involved again with women my guess is that too may have reverberated from the scandals, in the sense that he probably justified his actions by thinking that compared to what some of his fellow priests were doing he was golden.
Eventually though the stories started catching up to him. Ex military were beginning to question his statements. Word was getting out. Doubts were being raised. This was several years ago and not long afterwards it came out that he was suffering from some mysterious illness and was having to suspend his public appearances for an indefinite period while he sought treatment. It is now hard to say whether the illness was legitimate or whether he simply wanted an excuse to lay low for a while (it is hard to know what is true and what is not in his life anymore). Either way he was certainly going through a stressful time and i think that led to his recent drastic changes in appearance.
Regardless of how it all happened, it is a sad situation. He needs prayers and support but at the same time it's hard to forget that he apparently made a lot of money off of people who thought their money was going toward pious use rather than helping pay for fancy cars and expensive real estate.
the whole situation is sad...
I pray for Fr Corapi often ..other priests and religious as well..
thanks for response
That's the most disappointing part. The Father Corapi that everyone thought they knew from his talks was one who you were certain would be completely forthcoming even when it might prove personally painful to himself to do so. With just about anyone else these evasive maneuvers that we've seen (shifting blame to others, making himself out to be the victim, giving lawyerly non-responsive responses to SOLT) wouldn't be all that surprising, but coming from him it seems so out of character from the character that he once presented on tv.
I like your Facebook idea. Looking at the pictures at the top of the page really brings home how much he has changed. It is still shocking to see the transformation even though it's been i think over a year now. I'm sorry but i can't help but wonder if anyone really prefers the new look over the old one...
(Incidentally, the first time i saw him with the dyed beard i immediately thought of Tony Snow and how after chemo his hair turned brown again for a while. I kept waiting for a similar explanation, remembering that Fr Corapi was said to have been very unwell for a while, but as with seemingly everything else about Corapi lately no answers were forthcoming and instead you're left wondering what's really going on with him.)
If i were a member of Facebook i would drop by and post, but i’m not and have always felt disinclined to sign on to any of the social network sites — perhaps mostly because i know i would soon become too addicted and being addicted to FR is sometimes too much for me as it is :)). Feel free though to make use any of my postings here if you like.
I read through most of the Bishop’s commentary that you linked to. And yes, lol, i see what you mean about a wee bit of irony there. He does bring up some good points though, a good spirited defense, and he sounds like the kind of guy you’d want to have with you in a foxhole (as Fr Corapi might have put it); but at the same time one is left wondering why Corapi himself hasn’t made a similar defense. In fact, his response to the SOLT press release comes off, in comparison to the Bishop’s, as halfhearted at best. As though he simply felt the need to put something out there but mostly just wanted to put the situation behind him as soon as possible. Therefore it doesn’t come as much of a surprise that a few days later he says he wants to move on(ward).
That i think is what has many of his fans, or former fans, shaking their heads, wondering why he seems to be content to simply walk away — from both the priesthood and the allegations — instead of making a strong stand and shouting his innocence from the rooftops over and over again. After all, the Fr Corapi we’ve watched on tv all these years was not one to sit back and let others fight his fights. Or at least that was the perception that he had always given. But more and more it appears that the Fr Corapi as portrayed on EWTN and John Corapi the BSD are not even closely related to one another, much less the same person.
And yet those aware of the military brouhaha probably weren’t all that surprised by how this has played out. For how did he respond way back then (starting in 2007 or thereabouts) to charges that he had stolen the valor of the Special Forces by pretending to have been in training to become a Green Beret before sidelined by an injury?
There were no denials, no apologies, simply a removal of those questionable parts from his product blurbs and website bios. Just hoping things would die down. And at the same time some of his supporters were busy making passionate defenses on his behalf. Not unlike the present situation with the Bishop and others like him.
(As i wrote in another thread, perhaps that is why he felt the need for bodyguards, fearing that a retired SF guy might come looking for him).
Thanks for the video....did you spot Fr. Corapi in it? I skimmed through (admittedly rather quickly) but no one stood out to me as possibly being him unless it was the gentleman with a white beard; however he seemed too old, the beard a little too white for what i imagine Corapi would have had back then. Thought i recognized Fr. Z though.
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