"Much water has flown under the Tiber's bridges, carrying away splendor and mystery from Rome since the pontificate of Pius XII...
"The banalities and translations which have ousted the sonorous Latin and Greek are of a supermarket quality which is quite unacceptable. Hand shaking and embarrassed smiles or smirks have replaced the older courtesies; kneeling is out, queuing is in, and the general tone is like BBC radio broadcast for tiny tots...."
Sir Alec Guinness (1914-2000)
Glad to see you back in action so soon! Alec Guiness was typical of the intelligent, pre-Vatican II convert who fell in love with the Church as it was in the last years of the reign of Pope Pius XII. His reactions are worth heeding because, as an actor, he understood the importance of well-presented liturgy and he hated the 'spontaneous' amateurism posing as 'renewal' that immediately followed the Council. But that was a long time ago and now there is the potential for a liturgical renaissance. It will take decades to come right but the liturgical emphasis of the present Holy Father promises much for the present and future. Significant changes are probably due under the newly-appointed papal master of ceremonies and let's hope that they trickle into the lives of ordinary parishes as well as centres of excellence like the London, Birmingham and Oxford Oratories. What happens in Rome still has the potential of sowing good seed. But it won't happen overnight.
ReplyDeleteThe Force is with him!
ReplyDeleteMatt, I don't know if this is paranoia ; but something happened around my family for the past few weeks ; and with almost everyone we've encountered whether in the family or workplace. People blamed the weather or a 'bug going round' but inside it felt like something a lot worse. People just seemed to be feeling hopeless, listless, useless and unable to cope ; for so many people the roof of their world seemed to cave in and it was almost like some karmic junction box - From the way the blogs have been recently I'm not exactly sure if it hasn't been quite widespread...Last week I sat before the computer every afternoon and every attempt at typing anything - e-mails, blog posts, messages to others - I simply couldn't do it !
ReplyDeleteYou're the great doctor and scientist so you might be dismissive of this uncertainty ; I've nothing except feelings and anecdotal evidence...
But when someone like you, who has wrought wonders and inspired many, more than you can ever imagine, gets to the brink of giving it up; I need to scream out 'please don't!' - we need you; and it's quite possible that some issue or some people in the future are going to be in desperate need of experiencing the witness you display in your reassuring devotion to your God, your Church, your friends and your family.
If things seem to be perplexingly preventing you to blog ;or making things extremely difficult for you to write - yet what you relate to us is so blatantly Good, beautiful and true - it could be indicative of your being more worthwhile and necessarily a force for good than you imagine and the gentleman downstairs doesn't like it ! You and your wife and daughter shine out like a glowing beacon amongst the catholic blogs - a single look at you all brings a smile to the face and a glow to the soul; and the messages you send out remind us or re-introduce us that which should never have been forgotten or neglected ; we have so much to thank you for....
Please don't walk away completely. Even if for the time being you can only face posting once in a blue moon, we will be there : For you are no stranger to us; and are in our thoughts and prayers.
God bless you all; but please ?
Stay.
Sir Alec was in one of the last audiences with Pope Pius XII shortly before he died.
ReplyDeleteGlad to see you are posting again. Like many others, I need my daily "fix" of Doyle!
If you read Piers Paul Read's excellent biography of Sir Alec Guiness you will discover that, although he made a fortune from appearing in Star Wars (he had shares in the production), he loathed the film and all it represented. When people wrote to him in his role as the Jedi Master they either received dusty answers or were ignored. He found the film inimical to his faith and only agreed to play the part as a professional engagement.
ReplyDeleteI would love to read the biography. Didn't Alec Guinness write an autobiography?
ReplyDeleteWith regard to his disdain for Star Wars: clearly he displays that exceptional quality of all Catholic trads; stick-in-the-mud puritanism!
Stick in the mud puritanism? I think you will be in for a surprise if, or when, you read Alec Guiness's biography. Try his autobiographical writings first, they give the right flavour, and will make you laugh. Track down some of his early films - The Lavender Hill Mob, for instance, and, best of all, Kind Hearts and Coronets. The second is the best British film ever made. Then read Piers Paul Read. You will be in for some surprises but puritanism will not be among them. He loved life and enjoyed nothing more than giving pleasure to others. Given the sensitivity of the issue, I won't enlarge on his views on Star Wars, you had best discover them for yourself. But the Force in his life was God revealed in Christ and he thought the 1960s a load of bunk, which is what they were.
ReplyDeleteMatt, where did you find these quotes?
ReplyDeleteHello Fr Larry: It was on an unreliable 'trad' site (in so way affiliated with the Seattle diocese of the Catholic Church!).
ReplyDeletePS: Star Wars wasn't made in the 1960s. It was 1977. And I would never suggest it exhibits Catholic sentiment: although the prequels do have celebite jedi knights, who are hunted down and killed by a fascist regime. In reality, of course, The Force is indeed God (and not an "energy field created by all living things" as Alec Guinness' character describes) and does not have a 'dark side'. May the Force be with you (et cum spiritu tuo)