Book Review: Humility Rules by J. Augustine Wetta, O.S.B.

Humility Rules: Saint Benedict's 12-Step Guide to Genuine Self-Esteeem by J. Augustine Wetta, O.S.B.

In a semi-parody of self-help books, J. Augustine Wetta crafts a twelve-step program from Saint Benedict's The Rule, his guide to running a monastery. The Rule is amazingly thorough, covering everything from praying at certain hours to dealing with material goods to dealing with monks who have gone bad. Wetta has a surprising amount of material to draw from. Benedict describes a "ladder of humility" by which a monk can grown in holiness. The twelve rungs of the ladder are "fear of God, self-denial, obedience, perseverance, repentance, serenity, self-abasement, prudence, silence, dignity, discretion, and reverence." [p. 19] Most self-help books on the market are trying to boost people up by learning how to love yourself or promote yourself. Wetta (through Benedict) presents a way that requires an honest assessment of personal strengths and weaknesses. But the focus is on relating to other people and to God, not on the self. Wetta gives the rungs new names riffing on self-help standards: self-denial becomes "don't be true to yourself;" repentance becomes "put your worst foot forward;" prudence becomes "think inside the box;" etc. It's a brilliant parody and shows how the life of holiness is so far from the life of pop-culture.

Each step has its own chapter, with light and short discussions of how it is applied in thought, word, and deed. Wetta uses examples from his own life. He's a Benedictine monk at Saint Louis Abbey where he teaches and coaches rugby. He grew up on an island in the Gulf of Mexico and has a great love of water sports. The examples he uses are very relatable and make his points well. Each discussion comes with a little suggested homework, often quite challenging things like "Let someone less competent than you tell you what to do." [p. 34] That will put some humility in you for sure.

Wetta includes a lot of medieval, monk-centric pictures to which he has added humorous elements. Most are sports-related, like the cover showing Saint Benedict carrying a skateboard. They are a lot of fun and add to the lightness of touch that makes the book so charming and convincing.

Highly recommended--I will probably re-read this next Lent!

Movie Review: The Ten Commandments (1956)

The Ten Commandments (1956) directed by Cecil B. DeMille

In his final film, Cecil B. DeMille returns to the story of Moses with a second version of The Ten Commandments (the first one being a silent picture from 1923). The story follows the basics from the Book of Exodus, filling in a lot of details to make the story more cinematic. As a baby, Moses is put in a basket and set adrift on the Nile River to escape the murder of all the recently-born Hebrew males. The basket is found by Bithia, daughter of the Pharaoh who was recently widowed. She takes the child as her own and raises him in the royal court. Moses (Charlton Heston) grows to be a smart, tough, and kind-hearted man. He works as the Pharaoh's son (even though the new Pharaoh (Cedric Hardwicke) is his uncle), making treaties with other countries. He is rivaled by Rameses (Yul Brynner), the actual son of Pharaoh. Rameses has had trouble getting the Hebrew slaves to build a treasure city, so he is less favored. Both men are enamored of Nefretiri (Anne Baxter) who will marry the next Pharaoh. She wants Moses and is willing to connive to get him. Rameses connives to get rid of Moses. Once the true origin of Moses comes to light, everything changes. Moses is cast out of Egypt. He makes it to Median, where he finds a new life among the shepherds. But then he sees the Burning Bush and is soon on his way back to Egypt to free his people with the help of their God, the true God of all.

The movie is a lavish spectacle. Occasional special effects look dated (some of the green screen work and the column of fire in the desert). But many still hold up quite well. The turning of the Nile into a blood-red river looks great as does the parting of the Red Sea. The costumes are wonderful. A lot of location shooting went on, as well as location construction. The Hebrews leave Egypt down an avenue of the sphinxes that looks splendid. The cast of thousands really looks like thousands and some long shots of the crowds are amazing, especially realizing they are not CGI-generated.

The movie is also a faith-filled retelling of the Exodus story. The expansion of the story allows some very credible hardening of Pharaoh's heart. The angel of death sequence includes Moses's family having the first Passover meal with a lot of the details explained for the viewer. When the Hebrews leave Egypt, they take the bones of Joseph, the son of Jacob who brought the family to Egypt, with them to be buried in the Promised Land. Certainly that was not necessary to the story but it shows how much the filmmakers paid attention to the details. The depiction of faith is serious and genuine.

A Good Story is Hard to Find podcast #203 gives a fun commentary and good insights on this movie.

Highly recommended.

Book Review: Fullmetal Alchemist Vol. 11 by Hiromu Arakawa

Fullmetal Alchemist Volume 11 by Hiromu Arakawa

Ed's bittersweet reunion with his dad is bad enough. Then he finds out that Ed and Al's attempted resurrection of their mom actually raised a different person (but only briefly) . So Ed's lost limbs and Al's lost body were in vain. A lot more intrigue and soul-searching happens during this issue. Their old enemy, Scar, comes back and the homunculi conspiracy gets reorganized after their defeat in the last issue. Plenty of problems are coming down the pike.

This is another interesting step forward for the series.

Recommended.

Book Review: Perelandra by C. S. Lewis

Perelandra by C. S. Lewis

C. S. Lewis's hero from his first Space Trilogy book, Edwin Ransom, returns as a man who is summoned to travel to Perelandra (what we know as Venus) to help out the local inhabitants against an invader. Who's the invader? None other than the villain from the first book, Weston. Though just as Ransom is something of a tool for Maledil, the character we would describe as God, so Weston is the tool of the Bent One from Earth, the character we would describe as Satan. Venus is a pre-fallen planet, with one woman and one man living on it. Weston is there to play the snake in the Garden of Eden. Ransom is there to help prevent the fall of another planet's intelligent race.

The book, like a lot of the best science fiction, is packed with philosophical and even theological discussions. Ransom and Weston grapple over the nature of freedom and obedience and what's most important for intelligent people to do. Weston is a mouth-piece for a lot of modern thinking about religion and human destiny. Ransom does his best to respond, especially when they meet the Lady of Perelandra. She's the innocent Eve who is in peril of corruption. Weston tries pretty much every trick in the book. Lewis's Christian outlook is fully on display and shows real depth of understanding and imagining. The story isn't an allegory of the first few books of Genesis, it is creative speculation on how the Incarnation on one world would affect the rise of another intelligent race on another world.

The story also builds a fascinating world. The richness of the detail (Ransom does a lot of wandering) is a bit mind-boggling. Most of the lands on the planet are islands that not only float around on the ocean's surface but also ripple with the curvature of the waves. Big waves mean big hills or deep valleys that come and go. Some islands are solid (and called "Fixed Lands") so there is some variety. The local flora and fauna are fascinating as well. A lot of the descriptions are probably not necessary but are never boring.

Highly recommended.

The story is discussed in much more detail in A Good Story is Hard to Find Podcast #204.

Dual/Duel Review: Spoiler, the Boat Sinks in the End

Dual/Duel reviews are an online smackdown between two books, movies, games, podcasts, etc. etc. that I think are interesting to compare, contrast, and comment on. For a list of other dual/duel reviews, go here.

A pair of movies about the sinking of the Titanic for the anniversary of the sinking! Actually, a lot of movies and documentaries have been made about the tragedy, so this review could be a series that goes on and on, but I limited myself to two films reasonably close together in production time (both from the 1950s) and budget (around $1.5 million), so they would have some equal footing.

Titanic (1953) directed by Jean Negulesco

Clifton Webb and Barbara Stanwyck are a bickering rich couple. She's taken the two kids onto the Titanic to get back to America and away from the spoiled, rich lifestyle Webb has been raising them in (posh European hotels, swanky galas, no home or friends to speak of, etc.). Her attempt to sneak away is foiled when Webb finds out and bribes a steerage passenger for his ticket. Their marriage is just as doomed as the boat they are on, but can the children be saved from both the metaphorical doom of dad's lifestyle and the literal doom of the ship?

The movie is less about the sinking and more about the melodrama. Setting the dramatics in the context of the Titanic disaster gives the story a lot more poignancy. Even if they are spoiled rich people, they are still human beings with more than self-inflicted suffering in their lives. While not a great film, the actors do a good job with an occasionally painfully melodramatic script. The double tragedies (the lost life of their family and the lost life in the sinking) feed into each other fairly well.

A Night to Remember (1958) directed by Roy Ward Baker

Second Officer Charles Lightoller (Kenneth More) is proud to serve on the Titanic's maiden voyage. As a high-ranking officer, he gets to see many different aspects of the ship. Following him through the story gives a fairly thorough look at the on-board situation, both before and after the iceberg hits. Many famous passengers (the Strausses, Guggenheim, Molly Brown, the band that played to the end, etc.) appear throughout. The unfair treatment of the second and third class passengers, especially during the tragedy, is honestly portrayed. The movie also gives the bigger context, showing the nearby ships that did and didn't respond to Titanic's distress call.

This movie does a great job showing the overall situation and how it effected so many lives onboard. Lightoller is the most central character in a larger ensemble. A lot of detail went into the script (which was based on Walter Lord's book of the same name) and leaves the viewer with a lot more knowledge about what happened and why. The special effects as the boat sinks are impressive for the 1950s.

Which movie is better?

Both movies are black and white productions with similar budgets.

Titanic's melodramatic plot caused a lot of eye-rolling for me. It hasn't aged as well as the other movie. A Night to Remember has a lot of different plots going on. Since they are all tied into the disaster, they don't become a confusing mishmash of stories. Advantage to A Night to Remember.

Titanic has a lot of star-power and uses those stars well. In addition to Webb and Stanwyck, other actors turn in solid performances: Robert Wagner as a college boy smitten with the daughter; Thelma Ritter as Molly Brown; Richard Baseheart as a mysterious character with a side plot that could have been more interesting (or at least less typical) than the spoiled-rich family. A Night to Remember has a lot of good performances but no stand-outs. Advantage Titanic.

The actual sinking of the boat (as well as the explanation of what happened) is done much better in A Night to Remember. Advantage to A Night to Remember.

Titanic is a mild recommendation; A Night to Remember a full recommendation.

Winner: A Night to Remember



Loser: Titanic

Questions from Kids--Will There Be Food in Heaven?

I was blessed to be chosen (partially my own choice, it should be noted) to teach one of the sixth grade religious education classes at my parish, Saint Mary of the Mills. One day, a student asked me, "Will there be food in Heaven? Because I think I'll be hungry. Can we have pizza delivered?"

While this may have been a random attempt at stalling the class, I took it for a semi-sincere question. The boy often talks about his hunger, so he probably was honestly wondering. I responded as best I could, which of course required serveral distinctions.

First, we have to look at our state when we enter the afterlife. Following our individual death, our soul goes on to judgement for how our lives have been lived. As Catholics, we hope that we will make it to Heaven, though many have to make the detour through Purgatory to polish up the rough spots on our souls. Being sent to Hell is certainly possible and I can pretty much guarantee no pizza is locally made or delivered there. No matter which of the three options, our condition will still be the same--a soulless body. Without a body, food is not necessary.

But there will be the Resurrection of the Dead at the end of time. I referenced the Nicene Creed (which is in the back of the class workbook among other prayers). At the end of the creed, we profess, "I look forward to the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come." At the end of time everyone will rise from the dead, i.e. their souls will be reunited to their bodies. So then the question becomes, "Will our resurrected bodies need food?"

While this branches out into speculative theology, we do have some evidence about the condition of the resurrected body. At least two people won't rise from the dead at the end of time. Jesus won't rise from the dead because He already did on Easter morning. He had a glorified body that has differences and similarities to His pre-resurrected state of being. Some people, even close friends, didn't recognize Him, so His appearance must be somewhat different. Apparently He could walk through walls, or at least locked doors. On the other hand, the Apostle Thomas put his hand in His wounds from the crucifixion, so Jesus does have a physical body with attributes from His former life. Jesus ate several times after the resurrection (He had some broiled fish on the shore and ate meals with disciples). Clearly we'll still be able to eat.

The New Testament never mentions that Jesus was hungry, just that He asked for and ate food. I imagine in the new heaven and new earth of the authentic post-apocalyptic period (just go read the Apocalypse and see how it ends--not zombies and desolation, but a new Jerusalem), we will have access to food. All good things are from God. Why wouldn't there be the good things like pets and pizza in our truly final resting place? We probably won't be hungry but it will be a big party celebrating the glory of the Lord. And what's a party without something to snack on?

I am of the opinion that food will be available in Heaven. Just not yet and not delivery.


p.s. In case you're wondering about the other person who won't rise from the dead, she also rose some two thousand years ago. Mary, the mother of God, was assumed body and soul into Heaven. I hope she's making Jesus a snack right now, because that's what good moms do.

Book Review: Black Hammer Vol. 2 by J. Lemire et al.

Black Hammer Volume 2: The Event written by Jeff Lemire, art by Dean Ormston and David Rubin, and colors by Dave Stewart

Read my review of Volume 1 here.

The superheroes trapped on an isolated farm have a new guest--the daughter of Black Hammer. Black Hammer was one of the heroes who defeated the villain Anti-God, the event just before they discovered they were on the farm. Hammer was also transported. The daughter is confused about what is going on and why the heroes haven't tried to escape. Black Hammer had tried to escape and that's what killed him many years before. Naturally, the other heroes were less reckless in trying to get out. After ten years, they've mostly accepted their fate. The daughter, whose name is Lucy, doesn't have their weariness and searches for a way out, or at least more information on where they are. Their seeming prison includes a small town. The town library is full of blank books, which doesn't faze the librarian or any of the locals. Something fishy is definitely going on.

This volume includes backstories on the various heroes and gradually shows the big battle with Anti-God that put them in the predicament. The history is interesting and gives more character depth to the people in the story. The ending has a big twist that is very intriguing, so I will keep going with this series.

Recommended.

Parental warning: There's a surprising amount of foul language in this book, along with a couple of gory moments.