You are braver than I. This movie came out when I was 13. I'm not sure now if my 2 kids have ever seen it but I named my son Matthew because I use to sit and look at a book with "pictures" of the 12 disciples and I loved the image of Matthew the most.
Amen brother...suspect you might've been listening more than you give yourself credit for during catechism; I was much more concerned with the penny candy I'd buy once my time was up. And, I'd always been confused by that reading and you've made it more accessible than a lifetime of homilies. You might've missed your calling.
Brilliant insight as always. You bring a spiritual dimension to your analysis which is unique and required if we are to truly grasp the nature of what we are dealing with. (Another lapsed Catholic raises hand). Your essay reminds me of one of my favorite lines from Casablanca, spoken by a young woman who, while explaining to Rick why she and her husband have to flee Romania, states "The devil has the people by the throat." Indeed we do.
I love the way you craft a story, Greg. You make it seem effortless, but I know what it takes to create that illusion. Thank you for sharing this one today.
I saw The Exorcist in the theater when it was first released. I was 19. I thought I was so cool and atheist and existentialist (via Camus) that I could handle it. After all, I'd already read the book. Well, as we know, the difference between books (imagination?) and screens (reality?) is immense and I almost did not make it home. Years later, I asked my husband, a lapsed Catholic, about the film. He and I had formed a lapsed church (I am a lapsed Jew) that we called the Church of Residual Guilt. And he laughed at me. He said the only evil of which he was aware was the evil that resides in the hearts and minds of human beings. I am glad he is not here to see what is happening now. He would never be surprised (he taught philosophy), but he would be disappointed.
I continue to have faith (such as it is) in our future and in the people who are coming forth now to lead us to it. I'm glad you do, too.
You are braver than I. This movie came out when I was 13. I'm not sure now if my 2 kids have ever seen it but I named my son Matthew because I use to sit and look at a book with "pictures" of the 12 disciples and I loved the image of Matthew the most.
Amen brother...suspect you might've been listening more than you give yourself credit for during catechism; I was much more concerned with the penny candy I'd buy once my time was up. And, I'd always been confused by that reading and you've made it more accessible than a lifetime of homilies. You might've missed your calling.
Brilliant insight as always. You bring a spiritual dimension to your analysis which is unique and required if we are to truly grasp the nature of what we are dealing with. (Another lapsed Catholic raises hand). Your essay reminds me of one of my favorite lines from Casablanca, spoken by a young woman who, while explaining to Rick why she and her husband have to flee Romania, states "The devil has the people by the throat." Indeed we do.
I love the way you craft a story, Greg. You make it seem effortless, but I know what it takes to create that illusion. Thank you for sharing this one today.
I saw The Exorcist in the theater when it was first released. I was 19. I thought I was so cool and atheist and existentialist (via Camus) that I could handle it. After all, I'd already read the book. Well, as we know, the difference between books (imagination?) and screens (reality?) is immense and I almost did not make it home. Years later, I asked my husband, a lapsed Catholic, about the film. He and I had formed a lapsed church (I am a lapsed Jew) that we called the Church of Residual Guilt. And he laughed at me. He said the only evil of which he was aware was the evil that resides in the hearts and minds of human beings. I am glad he is not here to see what is happening now. He would never be surprised (he taught philosophy), but he would be disappointed.
I continue to have faith (such as it is) in our future and in the people who are coming forth now to lead us to it. I'm glad you do, too.