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I finished this book last night and I’m still sitting here wondering what to think about it.
Never have I read a book that more clearly shows how mortal sin utterly sinks a soul.
Dorian Gray is a young, wildly handsome man who captures everyone he meets. Basil Hallward, a painter, is enraptured with his perfect looks and wants to paint him. He creates his “magnum opus” by painting a very realistic and superb painting of Dorian which he ends up giving to him.
Lord Henry is a “friend” to both men and is a man who believes that the purpose of life is to basically just look for the next pleasurable experience to engage the senses. Beauty and youth are everything and he encourages Dorian to live a hedonistic life while he’s still young and handsome.
The impressionable Dorian basically sells his soul in exchange for always remaining handsome and youthful. Ever listening to Lord Henry’s advice, he lunges into a life lived only for the senses and for pleasure. This utterly sinks him.
Mysteriously, Dorian never ages or loses his good looks but the painting of him seems to absorb his wickedness and begins to externally show the inward state of Dorian’s soul. Tortured by this, Dorian hides the hideous painting away.
If you are a sensitive soul, I don’t know that I can recommend this book, as it will disturb you. Nothing is overly graphic, but the author, Oscar Wilde, does such an effective job of making you see the cost of sin, that you will be sick at reading the state of Dorian’s soul. At least, I felt that way.
Lord Henry represents the voice of the world calling out to people and encouraging them to only be ruled by their passions and whatever makes them feel good. He has no regard for the state of anyone’s soul because he doesn’t believe in it. Consequently, he is an utterly shallow, weak, apathetic, and pathetic man who leads Dorian into destruction.
After I finished this book, I thought to myself, “Thank you, Jesus, for Confession. Thank you for mercy and forgiveness.”
We have never sinned so badly, Catholic Pilgrims, that we are beyond God’s help. When we forget that or don’t believe it, hope is lost. So, don’t forget it.
Live the Faith boldly and travel well this Wednesday.
Many years ago now, when I was teaching government to my oldest, our curriculum had us read St. Thomas Aquinas’ thoughts on different types of government. To my surprise, he said kingship was the best. “From this it is clearly shown that the idea of king implies that he be one man who is chief and that he be a shepherd, seeking the common good of the multitude and not his own.” Now, before I get started, St. Thomas has a lot to say on this and if you’ve never read his thoughts on government, pause and go read it before you attack me. It’s important you understand what he says. Carrying on…. As an American, when I first read this, I scoffed a bit. In fact, I got a bit defensive, because *our* form of government is, in my mind, the absolute best. We fought against a king, for goodness sake. But, as I thought about it (and I’m not advocating for a kingship here in America), I realized that St. Thomas had to be right. He doesn’t say that other forms of government are all the worst, just that kingship is the best, and, of course, because Christ is King. He’s not King of a government, but He is King of the universe, of everything. He is the King par excellence, because He rules with perfect justice and perfect mercy. He is attentive to the welfare of our souls and desires our ultimate goodness. Because Christ is King, no type of rule could be better. No matter how we look at it and no matter what government system we fall under, Christ remains our King. He reigns supreme in the life of a Christian, or a least He should. This is one of my favorite celebrations, Catholic Pilgrims, because I love celebrating the King of my life, always and forever. Have a blessed Sunday. *St. Dominic’s in San Francisco
Continue ReadingToday, the Church celebrates The Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. I was thinking this morning about Mary and how she is the perfect feminine role model. As Alice Von Hildebrand put it, “She alone deserves to be the role model of women. She is the Queen of Angels. She is virgin, spouse, mother, and widow.” Who does our culture put up as role models for women? Well, they have to be famous, hot, and wealthy. Of all the ones I could think of, nearly all of them are focused solely on career. They are pro-ab0rtion. Marriage is typically put in the back burner, but they have plenty of partners. Mary, though, is different. She was and is humble. She gave of herself to others. She was and is beautiful because of the light of God that shone within her. She was poor. She accepted an unplanned pregnancy trusting that God would guide her through this unusual, yet miraculous situation. Two thousand years later, this humble, poor, obedient, virtuous woman is still the most beloved of all women. That is because you can’t trump a life lived for God with a life lived for self. The Divine Life that glows within Mary will never be snuffed out, but the temporary sparkle of a life lived for self will fade into nothingness as the years continue to roll on by. May we always look to Mary, most beautiful Mother of Our Lord, for the best example of “dazzling, radiant femininity.” Have a blessed day, Catholic Pilgrims. Mary, Our Mother, pray for us!
Continue ReadingThis is Laodicea, the last church community written to in the Book of Revelation. It is perhaps my favorite. Look at how the clouds made the perfect backdrop for a reflective mood. Part of the Silk Road runs through this ancient town. In its day it would have been teeming with people, horses, and carts. Alongside the main road through town there are stone tables where backgammon was played. You can just imagine two old men playing as they grumbled about politics or aches in their bodies. Now, it’s just an ancient ghost town. "To the angel of the Church in Laodicea, write this: ‘I know your works; I know that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either cold or hot. So, because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. For you say, I am rich and affluent and have no need of anything, and yet do not realize that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. I advise you to buy from me gold refined by fire so that you may be rich, and white garments to put on so that your shameful nakedness may not be exposed, and buy ointment to smear on your eyes so that you may see. Those whom I love, I reprove and chastise. Be earnest, therefore, and repent.’” To interesting things to point out: 1. Laodicea was known for optometry. They actually had eye doctors there and that’s why the references to blindness and eye ointment. 2. In the mountains in the picture, there is a place called Pamukkale. It has hot springs and the minerals in the water make it look like there are permanent fluffy clouds up there. Pamukkale means “cotton castle.” As that hot water flows down the mountain, it becomes lukewarm. Hence the reference to being lukewarm. It’s something the people would understand. It is easy to slip into a lukewarm faith, Catholic Pilgrims. Especially with all the comfort and ease many of us experience on a day-to-day basis. A lukewarm faith is no faith at all, So… Live the Faith boldly and travel well.
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