English
Catholic author Evelyn Waugh (1903-1966), like many writers and other
artists, was a prophet of sorts. In his satirical novel, A Handful
of Dust, Waugh seems to anticipate the absurdity of the "PanAmazonia Synod" to be held in October of this year.
As
I wrote in my review of the film based on the novel:
Abandoning [divorce] proceedings so as not to surrender [his ancestral estate], Tony [the cuckolded husband] goes to the jungle of South America with an eccentric explorer who claims to "know the Indian mind" and has brought along mechanical mice to charm the natives. Unfortunately, the explorer does not know the Indian mind well enough to stay alive in the jungle and Tony is soon at the mercy of -- and imprisoned by -- a local chief "Mr. Todd" (Alec Guinness) who is half English and half native. Todd is an illiterate who forces Tony to read volume after volume of Dickens to him.
If
Waugh were still alive, he would have had a field day ridiculing the
upcoming Synod, which seems likely to divide the faithful into either
hybrid Mr. Todds, or captive Tonys. . . .
Dickens anyone?
7 comments:
Yes, Waugh would have pierced through the absurdity of all this and given us a great book. Fulton Sheen observed in a talk recently posted by Sensus Fidelium, that the poets and writers are among the few who recognize the demoniac in our world today. Churchmen are too concerned with politics to bother with theology.
Anonymous,
Yes, "absurdity" is the correct word. Hopefully the Faithful will see this charade for what it is. Thanks for your comment!
Thanks be to God for the Traditional Latin Mass. After a year of attending, there is no going back. Also thank you for recommending the book Flower Arrangements for the Altar. I bought it on Amazon for a very good price and am delighted with it! "Anonymous" aka Gretha
Hi Gretha,
You are right - there is no going back. I'm glad you bought your own copy of the Flower Arrangements book. It's a good resource. Happy church flower arranging!
Waugh would have loved this imbroglio in Rome!
Yes, indeed he would have. If I had the ability, I would love to write a piece about this from Waugh's viewpoint as if he had written it himself. My sense of humor is much in line with Waugh's but unfortunately I'm no Waugh! I do feel very encouraged that the Faithful are rejecting this so-called synod. From the comments on You Tube and elsewhere I would guess that many Faithful who support the action that left Pachamama "sleeping with the fishes" don't even have the blessing of the traditional Mass and a good traditional priest, but they do have deep Catholic sensibilities. It's very encouraging.
I read today that the idols were located and brought back, then Francis apologized for their removal. I recognize, of course, the profound evil of what these Amazonia synod perpetrators want to do (apparently destroy the Church, which of course is impossible). At the same time, I simply can't help but find humor in their obtuse and juvenile behavior. Do they really think that a 21st century lay Catholic can't see through this charade? We not only have scripture and tradition, the Sacraments and sacramentals, the Rosary and other prayers, and what most of us learned from our parents and grandparents,but we have centuries of history and theological/ philosophical reflection available to us on the internet. I feel sure their effort is not going anywhere. They should just slink away somewhere and do penance.
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