Real Catholic Blog

In November, I wrote about an exciting new film produced by Newt and Callista Gingrich about John Paul II. Yes, that Newt Gingrich, who converted to Catholicism within the last couple of years (as written about here with video), with the earthly influence of his wife, Callista, and the late Holy Father himself; as well, of course, from the Divine guidance of the Holy Spirit. 

Originally, the movie, Nine Days That Changed The World, a DVD documentary which chronicles the Pontiff’s 1979 visit to his native Poland — a pilgrimage that drew a third of Poland’s population to see him and peacefully, but forcefully, jackhammered the first cracks into the grip of Soviet enslavement of Eastern Europe — was supposed to have been released late last year. It wasn’t, but in a bittersweet irony it was released a couple of weeks ago, around the time of the plane crash that killed the Polish president, first lady and several high ranking government officials.

Nine Days That Changed The World looks extraordinary. That’s easy, of course, because John Paul The Great is and an extraordinary subject. The movie features priceless archival film and photos and interviews with John Paul biographer George Weigel and Solidarity leader and former Polish President Lech Walesa. It will bring back to life a period not long ago but neglected and taken for granted already, one which, as with all John Paul did, brings to life timeless lessons. It was a history altering event, an impact  unforeseen and unexpected by almost everyone at the time, but one which to this day shows the Heavenly power of the Holy Spirit.  

Here’s more about the film from Gingrich Productions:

Pope John Paul II’s historic nine-day pilgrimage to Poland in June of 1979 created a revolution of conscience that transformed Poland and fundamentally reshaped the spiritual and political landscape of the 20th Century. … explore what transpired during these nine days that moved the Polish people to renew their hearts, reclaim their courage, and free themselves from the shackles of Communism.

Nine Days That Changed The World and showed the unequal power of the Holy Spirit in the realm of man.

A lecture entitled “Science and The Shroud” will take place at The Shroud of Turin Center at Mary Mother of the Church Benedictine Abbey, this Saturday at 10:00 a.m., in Goochland County in suburban Richmond, Va. (12829 River Road). If you are in the central Virginia area this weekend or want to make a special trip, please do so. Interest in The Shroud is very high again, as we’ve written about, due in part to the Easter Season, the History Channel special and the fact that later this year, The Shroud will go on a rare public display. Pilgrimages are being arranged and thousands are expected to attend the exhibit in Italy.

But for those who can’t make a European vacation, this may be a good option. The event is free. For more information, call 804.784.3366.

It’s no secret I’ve become a big Michael Voris fan. It’s hard not to be. He’s bold, he’s aggressive and he’s right. He’s not afraid to confront the evils facing The Church within and beyond its walls. If he seems to focus on the former it’s because it’s the greater threat, as it is with any force trying to bring down an institution.

This week, the founder of RealCatholicTV.com started a series on progressives within The Church and goes into detail about their history, their aims and their motivation. They’ve already brought certain Christian denominations into irrelevancy, thus the schism we’ve seen in the Episcopal Church and the flight of many to the Evangelical movement. Now they want the Catholic Church to turn into nothing more than a social or community club that mires itself in moral equivalency.

For another lane on the same road, read George Neumayr’s piece in the latest issue of The American Spectator. It reveals the media and the political left’s assault on The Church and the Pope. 

Please watch the first two parts of the series. Think about what he says. Then, let me know what you think.

In the begining . . . . Progressives were innocuous.

Now, they have infested themselves in The Church for the purpose of ending it as we know it.

In a rush again today, but a very seasonally appropriate message from RealCatholicTV.com. Just as many turned Jesus over to death in favor of Caesar’s rule, many today forget that the Kingdom to Come is what counts, not today’s earthly world.

Parallels to today: Jesus betrayed and handed over to the state. Do we worship the state in this age?

If you missed the debut earlier this week of the absolutely spectacular History Channel documentary The Real Face of Jesus? — I watched it and highly recommend it — this part history of the Passion, part history of the Shroud of Turin and part hi-tech CSI airs tonight at 8:00 Eastern and at midnight, as well as at 5:00 p.m. Easter Sunday and at 5:00 p.m. a week from today. It may have additional showings in the next two weeks.

According to media reports (see Boston Herald), millions watched. It is absolutely stunning and I hope to share my impressions next week (I don’t want to ruin it for anyone).

But I will say this: since I saw the film, I now have a dynamic perspective when I read and hear the Gospel in church now, as I did at Mass Spy Wednesday and Holy Thursday, and at Good Friday service. I now visualize the man whose words are being read! If that doesn’t have an impact on you and your faith . . . . It just does. At least for me.

Another thought: Why is Jesus’ face the most sought after of pre-camera historical figures? No one clamors for Julius Caesar’s face, nor Alexander the Great, Aristotle, Henry VIII, Charlemagne, Confucius, Thomas Jefferson or George Washington. But the drive to discover Jesus physically certainly implies a yearning for a deeper understanding and commitment to faith.

From Brother John, myself and the whole Real Catholic team, thank you for your support of our blog and the online store. We wish you a Holy and Blessed Easter.

I received a pleasant surprise today. When I logged on to the blog’s dashboard (the administrative site), there was a comment stuck in the pending file. Comments there need approval to go “live.” It was a comment from a reader about Friday’s post. The post was about the History Channel’s documentary tomorrow night (9:00 Eastern) on the construction of the face of Jesus, made from The Shroud of Turin using 3-D technology (see images).

But it wasn’t just any comment. It was from the co-producers!

I e-mailed Maria Downing and thanked her for reading our blog. Then I asked if we could conduct an interview with her and her husband, Ray, and she replied that they would be happy to do so. Pretty cool, huh? Studio Macbeth is an organization after my own heart as it believes in grassroots marketing, and Maria believes in touching base with all types of media, niche and mass.

There’s a part for you to play in all this: Watch the special tomorrow night (or one of its certain re-airs during Holy Week or Easter Weekend) and submit questions about the documentary on this thread. I’ll include them in what I submit to the the Downings. Let us also know your thoughts on the Shroud of Turin and its authenticity, how it affects your belief, and how, if there ever was conclusive evidence it was the burial cloth of Christ, how it would change the world.

One new fascinating aspect about the Shroud (at least to me) is that the Shroud not only contains the well known photographic characteristics (it has a negative), but it also has 3-D characteristics, which actually made the mapping of the face difficult for Ray Downing. He told Fox News that it produced a mountain range affect that had to be smoothed out. Also in that interview is Father Jonathan Morris, who is featured in the documentary.

What might be revealed about The Shroud of Turin? Can we really learn what the human face of Jesus looks like? Ray Downing of Studio Macbeth and Father Jonathan Morris discuss on Fox News Channel tomorrow night’s History Channel special, “The Real Face of Jesus?”

Wow! What an interesting documentary scheduled for the History Channel next week: A scientist has created what he believes is the Face of Jesus from the Shroud of Turin. I’ll have more next week. For now, here’s a link to an in-depth article from WorldNetDaily. The picture is below. Let us know what you think.

A Holy Week Blessing? Or another futile exercise? Is this the Face of Jesus?  

Regarding the last post about the U.S. Bishops not doing enough until, possibly, now, to affect the debate on the “health care” bill and its funding of abortion, as well as their tolerance of groups and individuals who intentionally misrepresent Catholic teaching, here is the latest commentary from Michael Voris of RealCatholicTV.com. How appropriate the timing! As I posted yesterday, there are real lessons to learn from Saint Patrick. Mr. Voris gives us one, today, that certainly is applicable to the abortion debate and the “health care” bill.

Drive out the snakes as they are present among us to this day and we’re not talking reptiles, either.

As nice as it is to see Saint Patrick’s Day celebrated — not many saints are celebrated in the secular world — that’s also it’s drawback. That is to say, the day itself has been so secularized, the meaning of it is obfuscated, even trivialized, to the point that it is caricatured. It’s as if it’s only worth celebrating by drinking a lot of green beer. Worship is belittled to that of a secular god — alcohol.

Does it remind you of anything? It should. One beer company a couple of years ago even ran a nauseating series of television ads for weeks, leading up to, and equating, Saint Patrick’s Day with “secular” Christmas, complete with adults dressed like children, eagerly awaiting Saint Patrick’s Day morning, running downstairs to open their presents (of beer).

Not that I oppose a celebratory beer. But I don’t want people to lose sight of this significant saint and consign him to cartoon-like fiction.

Saint Patrick was captured (from his home in Scotland, sorry about that truth) and enslaved as a 14-year-old in then-pagan Ireland (Catholic Online). In captivity, he prayed each day. Later, he wrote:

The love of God and his fear grew in me more and more, as did the faith, and my soul was rosed, so that, in a single day, I have said as many as a hundred prayers and in the night, nearly the same. I prayed in the woods and on the mountain, even before dawn. I felt no hurt from the snow or ice or rain.

As with all saints, there is much to learn from his life. His feast day comes at an appropriate time, during the heart of Lent, because his story is reflective of the season’s meaning — through prayer, he drew closer to Christ, who Himself drew closer to the Father through prayer the night of His Passion. It was that prayer, that closeness that sustained him and led him to freedom and greater things in his life, a life that glorified God.

A couple of notes: Patrick used the shamrock to explain the Trinity. It has been associated with him and the Irish since that time.

Unlike the raucous celebrations in his name today, Patrick was humble, pious and gentle. He had a total and devout love and trust in God. He is an example to each of us, for he feared nothing, not even death, because of his complete trust in God.

Saint Patrick: Someone to draw guidance from, not drink a beer to.

There’s been a great deal of news about the Anglican Catholic movement’s return to full communion with the Church since I commented on Deacon Keith Fournier’s editorial at Catholic Online, and some very definite interest in the subject. In fact, it’s not just American Anglicans, but Anglicans around the world. So, here’s a quick digest of some of the news, from Catholic Online:

Cardinal Levada Explains Ecumenism and the Anglican Ordinariates (Zenit News Agency)

Editorial: More Anglicans Say Yes to Full Communion: The Restoration of the Church. (Deacon Keith Fournier, Catholic Online)

Bishop Elliott Explains the Anglican Ordinariate: ‘United in Communion But Not Absorbed’ (Deacon Keith Fournier, Catholic Online)

Here Come the Anglicans: Opening Chapter in the Coming Reunion of the Church. (Deacon Keith Fournier, Catholic Online)