Movie Review: The Jeweller's Shop (1988)

The Jeweller's Shop (1988) directed by Michael Anderson based on the book by John Paul II

This intergenerational story starts in Poland 1939 as young people head off on a mountain hike. Friends Andre (Andrea Occhipinti) and Stephane (Ben Cross) are taken with Therese (Olivia Hussey) and Anna (Jo Champa). The two couples are interested in marriage but face the looming prospect of World War II. Stephane and Anna move to Canada where he can finish his medical studies and start their married life. Andre and Therese stay in Poland, visiting the titular shop kept by an enigmatic and wise jeweller (Burt Lancaster) who sells them wedding rings and gives them advice on their future lives. Andre dies in the war. Therese is pregnant. She moves to Canada after the war to build a new life as a piano teacher. The children of the two couples grow up and become enamored of each other. The 1960s are a very different time and they face hard challenges as they consider getting married.

The story is an interesting melodrama and has a lot to say about marriage and marital happiness. Stephane and Anna struggle as their family grows, drifting apart from each other even as they work hard to provide a home to their children. Their daughter is worried that all marriages are like her parents' marriage and does not want to go down a road to unhappiness with Therese's son. He struggles without a clear example of what it means to be a man and a husband, that is, without his father's presence. These genuine, real world problems are viewed through the lens of John Paul II's theological musings on the family (the book was written before he became pope), showing an understanding that acknowledges the hard work needed for marriage and the greater beauty that can be found in a healthy, fruitful marriage. No marriage is ideal and no marriage is doomed to misery. But marriage is important and must be taken seriously. The view is refreshing and hopeful.

Recommended.

Book Review: Rise, Let Us Be On Our Way by John Paul II

Rise, Let Us Be On Our Way by John Paul II

In this follow-up book to Gift and Mystery, which gave memories and reflections about his early priesthood, John Paul II writes about his memories and reflections of being a bishop in his native Poland. He goes through his acceptance of the call and the ordination ceremony, dwelling on the significance of different details, like the meaning of the mitre (the bishop's hat) and crosier (the bishop's staff). He writes about his life as a bishop, which was very challenging under the communist government of the 1950s and 1960s. He traveled a bit and participated in Vatican II. His daily life as a bishop included visiting parishes and working with various religious organizations in the diocese, along with providing the sacraments to his flock. He writes warmly about the traditions of Catholic Poland, their favorite saints, and the various other priests and bishops who had an influence on his life.

The book reads rather quickly. It's not an in-depth meditation about the episcopacy, but an nice historical, personal, and theological overview. He describes his own experiences, how those helped him to be a better shepherd to his flock and made him ready to become pope. I found it interesting and inspiring.

Highly recommended.

Book Review: John Paul the Great by Peggy Noonan

John Paul the Great: Remembering a Spiritual Father by Peggy Noonan

The book is a well-crafted blend of John Paul II's biography, his wide-ranging theology, and Noonan's personal experience of him as a spiritual father. She goes through the details of his childhood, growing up in a Poland first occupied by the Nazis then by the Soviets. Neither invader wanted the Catholic religion to flourish, so Karol Wojtyla (John Paul II's pre-papal name) had to study in secret. He worked in a factory. The other workers knew about his vocation and supported it by taking shifts for him and hiding his study materials. He was an active young man and continued skiing, hiking, and other physical activities throughout his priesthood. He worked as a pastor, eventually rising from parish and academic work to bishop of Krakow. 

He was a key advisor during the Second Vatican Council and became the first non-Italian pope in centuries. In many ways, he led a new era in the Church and the world. He traveled extensively (typically kissing the ground as soon as he got off the plane) and inspired the faithful crowds wherever he went. His travels and messages about human freedom and dignity provided much impetus for the downfall of Communism in Europe. His example of loving others, even the man who tried to assassinate him in 1981, was widely admired. He started the Wednesday catechesis where he talked about various issues at Wednesday audiences, including his theology of the body. He kept up the work of ministering to the Church in the world until the end when he died in 2005. He had a lot of illnesses but showed the value of human life and the way to suffer with dignity and grace.

Noonan interweaves her personal experiences of John Paul (though she only met him a few times) with his story. As a young reporter in the 1980s, she went to Saint Patrick's Cathedral in New York City when he celebrated a Mass during his first papal visit to the United States. She wasn't very religious at the time but was still touched by his presence. She grew in faith through the years and had more fascinating encounters with the pope. She writes candidly and charmingly about these experiences.

Reading this book gives a good overview of the life and theology of John Paul II and also a glimpse into the life and theology of Peggy Noonan, a woman who admired and followed John Paul. The book is a very human portrait of both of them.

Highly recommended.

The book is discussed on A Good Story is Hard to Find Podcast #265.