Pink Flowers for Church Decoration

In their book Arranging Flowers for the Sanctuary, Patteson-Knight and St. Claire provide a list of pink and rose-colored flowers for church decoration.

The month of the Immaculate Heart (August) is coming soon. Since many depictions of the Immaculate Heart show the Blessed Mother's heart surrounded by a wreath of pink flowers (usually roses), August is an especially good time to decorate churches and sacred spaces in the home with pink flowers.

Here is the list of pink and rose flowers from Patteson-Knight and St. Claire:

Amaryllis, Anemone, Aster, Azalea
Calla lily, Camellia, Canna, Carnation, Chrysanthemum,
Clove Pink; Coxcomb; Cyclamen
Dahlia
Foxglove
Geranium, Gladiolus
Hyacinth, Hydrangea
Iris
Larkspur, Lilac, Lily
Magnolia
Peony, Petunia, Phlox, Poinsettia
Ranunculus, Rhododendron, Rose
Scabiosa, Snapdragon, Stock, Sweetpea, Sweet William
Tulip
Zinnia

By "amaryllis" the authors are referring to the flower commonly called "Pink Ladies" not hippeastrum, which is often marketed under the name amaryllis. Pink Ladies bloom in late summer.

I was astonished to see iris on the list since I had never heard of a pink iris before but I did find some images of pink irises online. They are very beautiful!

I also learned that Clove Pink (Dianthus caryophyllus) and Sweet William (Dianthus barbatus) are both types of carnations and can be very similar in appearance.

Geranium, gladiolus, petunia, phlox, rose, snapdragon, stock, and zinnia all bloom during the summer, so any of them might be a good choice for church and home decoration during August.

For a formal arrangement, I might use pink roses or cut-down gladiolas for form and pink snapdragons for height. For home, potted pink geraniums or phlox or a simple vase of pink stocks might work well.

Source:
Patteson-Knight, Francis and St. Claire, Margaret McReynolds; Arranging Flowers for the Sanctuary (Harper & Bros., New York, 1961), p. 39.

Image:
Pink gladiolas from Wikimedia Commons. In the public domain.

The Keys of the Kingdom (1944)

The Keys of the Kingdom is a black-and-white motion picture based on a novel of the same name by A.J. Cronin. It is the story of Fr. Francis Chisholm (Gregory Peck), a Scot who becomes a missionary priest serving in China beginning in the late 1800s.

When Francis Chisholm is a young boy, his father is attacked by an anti-Catholic mob. His mother tries to bring her wounded husband home and they both drown while crossing a river in a rainstorm.

After his parents' death, Francis Chisholm lives with distant relatives. With no plans of entering a seminary, he attends a Catholic college, Holywell, where he must work harder than most to comprehend and absorb his studies. He annoys his professors by asking questions about the Faith that they perceive as evidence of doubt. The dean of the college, Fr. Hamish MacNabb (Edmund Gwenn), however, understands and supports him.

Francis Chisholm has a girlfriend back home who fears he will decide to pursue the priesthood. When he is unable to leave the college for an entire year, she becomes despondent, goes downhill, bears a child out of wedlock, and dies. At this point, encouraged by Fr. MacNabb, Francis Chisholm decides perhaps God is calling him to be a priest.

After ordination, Fr. Chisholm fails at his first assignments because of his simplicity, frankness and lack of social skills. Meanwhile, his former dean, Fr. MacNabb, has become his bishop. Bishop McNabb calls Fr. Chisholm in for what the latter expects to be a reprimand. Instead, Bishop MacNabb offers him the challenging assignment of taking over a mission in China.

When Fr. Chisholm reaches the Chinese mission, he discovers that the church building has been destroyed and that the Chinese Catholics have all migrated to a Christian village some distance away.

The Wangs, an insincere Chinese couple claiming to be Catholic, try to manipulate Fr. Chisholm for financial gain. When he sees through their schemes, they turn on him. He opens a street chapel but is rejected and harassed by the Wangs and other locals.

Help comes first through an eager and resourceful young Chinese Catholic, Joseph (Benson Fong), who hears of Fr. Chisholm's arrival, comes in from the Christian village to offer assistance, and becomes a loyal ally. An elderly Chinese woman who knows she will soon die gives Fr. Chisholm and Joseph her tiny granddaughter, Anna, to care for and the three become a community of sorts.

Dr. Willie Tulloch (Thomas Mitchell), a hometown friend, sends Fr. Chisholm a case of medical supplies and instructions. Fr. Chisholm then offers free medical care to the townspeople but again he is rejected. When the son of the mandarin, Mr. Chia, is dying of an infection, however, the mandarin calls in Fr. Chisholm as a last resort.

Fr. Chisholm successfully treats the infection and the son survives. In gratitude, Mr. Chia gives Fr. Chisholm a large parcel of land where he can construct a new church and school. As the Catholic community is rebuilt, Fr. Chisholm requests that teaching sisters be sent from Europe. When they arrive, the patrician Austrian superior, Mother Maria Veronica (beautifully played by the director's wife, Rose Stradner), is put off by Fr. Chisholm's ways and treats him coldly.

During an attack on the town by imperial troops, a heroic act by Fr. Chisholm saves the town but he is left crippled in one leg. Finally, as an elderly man, he is called home to Scotland and given parish assignments where he is again in trouble for his forthrightness. At the conclusion of the film, he is understood by the chancery officials and is a grandfather of sorts to the son of the illegitimate child of his former girlfriend.

There is a great deal of humor in the film, especially in the antics of Joseph. The pace moves along nicely. More importantly, the motion picture presents the Church and the priesthood in a favorable light. Fr. Chisholm is soft spoken, dignified, dedicated, chaste, and courageous.

There is a lovely sequence in Bishop MacNabb's office when Fr. Chisholm kneels to kiss Bishop MacNabb's ring, then the bishop gets out a bottle of Scotch and they have a heart-to-heart talk during which the bishop offers Fr. Chisholm the assignment in China. When Fr. Chisholm accepts, the bishop gives the young Fr. Chisholm a token that symbolizes the bishop's paternal care.

The primary theme of the film is the virtue of humility. One of the ways that theme is beautifully developed is in the relationship between Fr. Chisholm and the aristocratic Mother Maria Veronica. During the story, Mother moves away from the pride she recognizes is her fatal flaw.

The change in Mother begins when the Wangs steal from one of the sisters. Mother has hired the Wangs despite Fr. Chisholm's warning about them. In a sacrificial act accomplished with a grace worthy of her noble breeding, Mother gives the sister in replacement for what was stolen a valuable crucifix that has been in her family for generations. At the same time, Mother's view of Fr. Chisholm begins to change. By the end of the story, they have come to love and respect one another.

No such character development occurs with Fr. Chisholm's hometown friend, Dr. Willie Tulloch. He is the prototype of the "good atheist" who possesses much natural virtue but trusts only in science, not in God. He comes to China to visit Fr. Chisholm and is fatally injured during the attack by the imperialist forces. He persists in his atheism even as he lies dying. His unrepentant death illustrates the limits of the natural virtues, which do not include humility. Fr. Chisholm prays tenderly for Dr. Tulloch, commending him to God's mercy.

During the course of the story, Fr. Chisholm's character as such does not change a great deal either. Rather, by the grace of God, he is placed in a setting where his gifts can best be utilized, and the change that takes place is the development to the fullest of those gifts.

This film can be viewed and enjoyed by persons of all ages. There is no impurity, vulgarity, or excessive violence. On the other hand, the story is at times slightly Modernist in its outlook. The phrase "keys of the kingdom" seems to refer to the virtues of humility and charity rather than the keys of St. Peter.  I give it four and a half roses.

Image:
Keys of the Kingdom video cover, from Wikimedia Commons. Copyrighted material. Fair use claimed.

The Crown of Thorns and the Euphorbia Plant

As mentioned in an earlier post, the month of July is devoted to the Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

The Litany of the Precious Blood includes the verse and response: "Blood of Christ, flowing forth in the Crowning with Thorns. Save us." Thus, July is an appropriate time to consider the plant Euphorbia Milii (also known as Euphorbia Splendens).

In Catholic horticulture, the Euphorbia Milii is called the "Crown of Thorns", "Christ Plant", or "Christ Thorn":

"The common names allude to the legend that the crown of thorns worn by Christ at the time of his crucifixion was made from stems of this plant. Interestingly, the stems of this plant are pliable and can be intertwined into a circle. There exists substantial evidence that the species, native to Madagascar, had been brought to the Middle East before the time of Christ."

Dr. T. Ombrello, the source of the foregoing quotation, gives a great deal of additional information about the plant as well as warnings about its toxic and allergenic properties.

Source:
Dr. T. Ombrello, "Crown of Thorns", website of Union County College (New Jersey), Department of Biology.

Image:
Botanical illustration of euphorbia, from Wikimedia Commons. In the public domain.

Les Dames du Bois de Boulogne (1945)

Les Dames du Bois de Boulogne (1945) is the second feature-length film by Catholic director Robert Bresson (1901-1999). It followed Les Anges du péché (1943), the screenplay for which was written with the help of a French Dominican priest, Fr. Raymond Leopold Bruckberger, and playwright Jean Giraudoux.

Les Dames was filmed in France during the German occupation. It is based on a story-within-a-story in Denis Diderot's late 18th century novel Jacques le fataliste. Diderot, a writer of the so-called Enlightenment, was no friend of the Church. The story as adapted for Bresson's film by Jean Cocteau, however, is thematically Catholic.

Set in Paris around the time the film was made, the story line is simple: after a two-year relationship, Jean's ardor for his lover, Hélène, has cooled. Hélène pretends the same has happened to her. Jean is relieved and suggests they maintain a friendship. Hélène appears to do so while executing a vicious revenge.

Hélène's plan begins with locating a mother and daughter whom she had known when she previously lived in the country. Three years prior to the setting of the story, the widowed mother had moved in to Paris with her daughter Agnès (now 19 or 20 years of age). Once affluent, they had almost immediately become destitute after the move due to some financial reverses. Agnès, a talented dancer, had given up her hopes of a legitimate career and become a popular cabaret dancer in order to support her mother and herself. Although it is not entirely clear in Bresson's version, Agnès was perhaps a prostitute, as was the woman in Diderot's story. At least she is viewed as someone who is or might as well be, and at one point she calls herself a tramp.

Hélène pretends to rescue the mother and Agnès from their fallen life. She pays their debts and provides them with an apartment. Agnès stops dancing and the women rarely go out. Then Hélène carefully orchestrates a meeting between Jean and the two women at the Bois du Boulogne, a Parisian park, knowing that Jean will be attracted to Agnès. As a result, with Hélène carefully manipulating the situation, Jean not only falls in love with Agnès but becomes obsessed with her to the point of near insanity.

Unable to conduct a normal courtship because of Hélène's control and believing Agnès and her mother to be women of impeccable virtue, Jean marries Agnès. Hélène arranges the marriage and orchestrates the wedding, seeing to it that Agnès' former male admirers are all there. Then, just after the ceremony has ended, Hélène, with great delight, reveals Agnès' past to Jean. Hélène's plan of revenge fails, however, because Jean and Agnès have come to a true love for one another that triumphs over evil and death.

Some critics have incorrectly labeled the film a melodrama. They need to check their dictionaries because a melodrama is a drama that exaggerates emotion while lacking characterization. This film is full of characterization: the dark intelligence of Hélène; the obsessed Jean; the mother who subjectively loves Agnès but is so lacking in moral fiber that she would rather let her daughter sell herself than sell her own furniture; and Agnès, who has difficulty accepting the consequences of her own actions. While the ending of the film is quite emotional, the emotions displayed then and throughout are appropriate to the story.

Not only is there characterization but there is character development. Early in the tale, we Americans might describe Jean as a "poor little rich boy", petulant and wilful. We see that he loves beautiful objects, and Hélène has been an object to him. But he is drawn by Agnès' authenticity. He likes the way she looks at people -- direct and shy at the same time. She seems more like a country girl than a city sophisticate. He sees her as "childlike and noble". He tells Hélène, "Agnès' face is like a wound across my heart." Thus, grace enters his life. Suffering lies ahead, but by the end of the film, he has grown to authentic manhood.

In one truly charming scene, as the result of a hint carefully dropped by Hélène, Jean goes to the area where two women live and waits, hoping for a chance encounter with Agnès. By the time Agnès appears, it is raining. Agnès rebuffs Jean, but he is reluctant to leave. Finally, Agnès says, "Do you like rain that much?" Jean smiles, looks up, and asks, "Is it raining?"

This encounter is more than a charming scene, however, because Agnès then gives Jean her mother's umbrella, and that event begins a rite of passage during which Agnès leaves her mother's ambit and comes under Jean's protection.

Not only has Agnès wounded Jean's heart but he has pierced Agnès' heart as well. At the beginning of the film, Agnès is abrasive and rather tomboyish. When she first goes to the apartment Hélène has provided, she uses her suitcase to push the door open roughly, then strides inside. As the story goes on, however, she becomes more feminine and womanly in her movements and gestures. And, as a genuine love for Jean comes to bloom on the night of their marriage, Agnès comes to terms with her past. Not only has she led a fallen life but she has betrayed Jean by marrying him without disclosing her notoriety. Humbled by love and contrition, Agnès begs Jean, "Show me a corner of your house where I can live."

Like all of Bresson's films, this one is visually exquisite, and like all of his early films it is in black and white. Although not as stark as his later works, it nevertheless has many elements that are noticeably "Bressonian". Among them are: a rainfall (and in this story also a waterfall) symbolizing purification; a grotto which the principal characters enter and emerge from having received graces that will slowly manifest over time; a critical moment when a character's actions seem to have left him or her without a choice regarding the future; and, finally, the redemptive outcome that is found in most (although not all) of Bresson's films.

The film is available in a high quality DVD in French with optional English subtitles. Admirably, there are no bedroom scenes. Agnès' dress and behavior are immodest at the cabaret, however, and there is a sordid event at the mother's apartment while Agnès is dancing with one of her admirers. These scenes are all contained within about five minutes of the DVD and can easily be avoided by fast-forwarding from the point of 11:30 minutes to about 16:45 minutes. Before and after that segment there is nothing objectionable although, as must be clear from the foregoing, this is not a film for children or young teenagers.

Image:
Jean Baptiste Camille Corot's "In the Park" (1862). Oil on canvas. From the Web Gallery of Art.

The Rose and the Precious Blood of Christ

In the traditional calendar, today, July 1, is the Feast of the Most Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Many of us will pray the Litany of the Precious Blood daily throughout the month of July and will honor this aspect of Our Divine Savior in some special way in the sacred spaces in our homes.

While many Catholics are aware of the symbolism of the rose in relation to the Virgin Mary, fewer may be aware that Our Lord's Precious Blood is also symbolized by the rose:

"Albert Magnus . . wrote of 'the rose made red by the blood of Christ in his passion' and described Christ as the rose of Jericho blossoming in the resurrection,' A popular guide to rosary devotion similarly alluded to the rosary as crimson 'because the Precious Blood of Our Lord has fallen upon it.' In medieval texts, 'Christ is the rosebush,' 'each drop of his precious blood is like one of its blossoms,' his blood is 'rose colored,' and his wounds correspond to the rose's petals' . The rose represents Christ's wounded sacred heart, the cup that collects his spilled blood and the resurrection as a blood-red blossoming out of death."

A relationship between Christ's blood and the rose is also found in the title and first line of Joseph Mary Plunkett's poem, I See His Blood Upon the Rose.

The blog Holy Cards for Your Inspiration has a lovely Precious Blood holy card entitled Chalice of Love.

Source:
The quoted material is from Graziano, Frank; Wounds of Love (Oxford University Press U.S., New York, 2004); p. 72. (Please note that this book on the whole is NOT recommended as it presents a distorted view of St. Rose of Lima.)

Image:
Rose bush from Wikimedia Commons. Some rights reserved.