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Masterpieces 2014
by Teresa Limjoco Masterpieces 2014 | Regina Magazine
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I Will Build It They Will Com Sorbonne graduate, EWTN alumnus and film-maker Daniel Rabourdin is determined to expose the hidden horror of 140,000 French Catholic martyrs killed in 1796. If this means sleeping in a tent outside his own home – rented to raise money for the film – that’s what he will do. Regina Magazine’s Teresa Limjoco caught up with Daniel in America.
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Regina Magazine | Teresa Limjoco
t. me. By Teresa Limjoco
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DANIEL DIRECTS A CRITICAL SCENE: “After most of the fighting ceased and the Vendeans had lost, the French Revolutionaries insisted on eradicating the civilian population. About 140,000 people disappeared -- 80% of them women, children and old people.”
Tell us about your early life in France. When I was a teenager in France my teachers would ridicule Catholicism to try to make the students lose their faith. Fortunately I had a sort of mentor (a Latin Mass-goer) and an intellectually alert father who had “vaccinated” me against these critics. I was to stand up, to dare to speak up. Some of my peers preferred that I keep quiet because they did not like ‘drama’. Yet I talked about the dogma of Mary’s Immaculate Conception, for example. That dogma was not invented by a later Church but articulated by the Church as the belief was present in the Catholic people from the beginning. In the end, the teachers seemed to respect my speaking up. You live in America now, right? Yes. Fast-forward 35 years later, I came to America and experienced much more respect for religion here. There is so much that I like here. And then after a few trips back to France where this intellectual persecution continues and I woke up to this fact: there is an underreported abuse of children in public schools. Specifically, I call this “Soul’s Abuse”. In other places it has been called brainwashing. This abuse by adults in school who are doing something that nobody asked them to do is in my opinion a crime and should be put into legislation. What led you to an interest in the War of the Vendee? I was searching for another docudrama to film, with action and faith. I found an old historical comic book in my basement in France, on the War of the Vendée. The War of the Vendée was an early yet massive persecution of people of faith by atheistic forces. At the height of their battle, the Vendeans had gathered 70,000 men-in-arms. These farmers without military expertise rose up. They had many victories, and then succumbed to an enormous influx of Revolutionary soldiers brought back from the Eastern Front. To my eyes, they are the proto-martyrs of Christians dying at the hands of an atheistic power.
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Regina Magazine | Teresa Limjoco
I Will Build It. They Will Come.
Since their history is still ‘swept under the carpet’ by the public school system in France, I thought it would be a good movie to make it known to the whole world. With more awareness in the world, perhaps something would change in France later. Don’t many French people know of this genocide in French history? It is mostly the Christians (and in France when one says Christian, one means most of the time Catholic) who still know about it, because it was about their ancestors in the faith. The people in France who love the Latin Mass are the most aware of the story. They all have some book at home about it. They have been kept aware about where our civilization is headed. They are very educated historically. Most of the other forces in France prefer to silence any information about it. But books exist - history books, experts, historians. And, the modern political leaders of the region of the Vendée are still militant about it. They are pushing for official recognition by the French Republic of the genocide that happened in the Vendée. How did the film production come together: scriptwriters, director, cast, music composer, cinematographer, etc.? I did it with practically nothing. Now that it is filmed and 70% edited, I still wonder how we did not fail. The three professional actors that I convinced worked for half their usual fees. They stayed extra days in the field for the filming. Farmers lent their farms and their fields. The re-enactors Le Brigand du Bocage, in the Vendée and their founder, Ghislaine, were incredible. They acted for free, found the locations, told me where to rent the costumes. Ghislaine spent a whole night without sleep ironing the costumes. The historian Reynald Secher brought his guillotine from his museum, and had a mass grave dug out on his property for one scene. This is amazing. Yes, I was just bold and naïve enough, I suppose. I quit my job at EWTN, cashed in my retirement fund, rented out my own room in my house and slept under a tent. Still no salary and I count on good health to save on medical insurance. I do not know myself how the budget is going to be closed but I know that we are not stopping the production process. I still need about $40,000 to finish the editing. I also tried and still am trying crowd fund raising on the internet. I actually spend half of my time begging, asking for money...in exchange for a beautiful tee-shirt of the Sacred Heart of Jesus that I designed. In exchange for other surprises. We try to be thankful…
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JIM MORLINO (L) AND DANIEL RABOURDIN ON LOCATION: “A dozen volunteers in America and in France are helping me. My director of photography, Jim Morlino, worked on a very generous basis as he loved the subject and saw I could not do it alone.”
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I Will Build It. They Will Come. What has been the reaction/response to the project - from ordinary lay people in France, historians, the Church? A French bishop lent me an old van and wrote a blessing for the production. I slept in the van several times. In America, a farmer and his brother give me money and also moral support. These friendships are very important and they come along with a lot of prayer. When people know the truth and suffer in similar ways to the Vendeans, they go into action. In some ways, they are heroes. The descendants of the Armenians (who suffered genocide at the hands of the Muslim Turks), of Ukrainians (genocide at the hands of the Communist Russians), Cubans, Vietnamese and Poles are very aware of the dangers of powerful atheist governments. I tell them how engaged I am in this fight for religious liberty. Their part is to sacrifice a sky trip or a restaurant meal in order to get this docudrama done. You are an artist supported by the ordinary people, then. You know, creators and artists are most often poor. And if their paintings in the past or their films in the present are seen, it is because sponsors of the art exist. People are inspired when they see that an artistic work lasts a long time in its educational effect. Now, I try to call all those good people regularly. I love their concern, which is very touching. They must know they are doing a work of charity to let the truth be known. I think that the martyrs of the Vendée are smiling on them in Heaven. The little children who died with their rosaries in their hands, the Carmelites of Compiègne … this teen girl who encouraged her little sister while walking up to the guillotine: “Do not cry little sister, tonight we have a dinner with the Sweet Lord.” I have not yet tried to ask the help of any foundation, or authorities, or politicians. But I hear it could work. I would love it. I would love even more if people with good will would contact some foundation for a grant. I just do not have the time to do so myself. I prefer to push the production as far as I can for now. To “Build it and they will come.” In a month I will stop if I haven’t any more help. But I videotaped each step of this production to encourage the support of donors. I recorded people in France and America, on farm, in Paris, in the Vendee… The donations from the good people along the path continue supporting us “just enough”. As Mother Angelica experienced when she was funding her television program, the Lord keeps sending just what is needed for the bread we need today. Where are you now with producing the film? All filming is done, both in France and in America. The acting sequences with action (the drama part) and the interview sequences (documentary part). When do you foresee the premiere? It will be in Spring 2015 for the English version. Why not one in Paris and one in Los Angeles? We will attempt to distribute “in selected theaters”. Everybody who wants can help with the cause. With active people, active Catholics, active citizens we will bring our film to their theater and they can invite their community, school, or parish to fill the theater. And along the way, average theatergoers will get to see the docudrama. After that we will try history channels. Then foreign countries (for now, Poland is interested, as well as Canada). 8
Regina Magazine | Teresa Limjoco
Daniel Rabourdin Masterpieces 2014 | Regina Magazine
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SYMBOL OF DEFIANCE: The windmills of the Vendee were used by the Catholic rebels as signalling devices.
IN THE FILM, WE HAVE A FASCINATING INTERVIEW with Stephane Courtois, the author of The Black Book of Communism. He was part of an armed Communist plot in Paris in the 1970s. They aborted everything at the last minute when they became conscious of their folly. Today Stephane is a political convert. The leftist intelligentsia in France that holds all the “cultural locks” of society is all up in arms, but he is happily free. He says in our film; “I am not a believer in God but if you take away the Christian God from a society, do not be surprised to suffer a catastrophe at the end”.
Why do you think the story of the Vendee is so important? People must spread the word and make America aware that atrocities can come from anybody -- and in the 20th century, they came mostly from atheistic states -- ultra-centralized, ultra-liberal powers such as the Soviet Union, China, North Korea, or Cuba. In the 20th century, atrocities did not come from ethnicities or religions. They came from atheism. Nazism (a contraction of National Socialism) was militantly atheistic as well. Historians evaluate the death toll of Nazism at 40 million. They estimate the death toll of radical leftist powers at 140 million. These outnumber the deaths due to the Black Plague and ancient invasions, I think. The number encompasses the wars initiated, the purges, the gulag, the reeducation camps, and the starvation by loss of productivity, and by punishment of those who used to be productive (the entrepreneurs, the farmers etc.). Where can people go to find more information about the film? They can go to our website hiddenrebellion.com (for English speakers), and larebellioncachee.com (for French speakers). Besides viewing your film (which looks very exciting, indeed!), where can people read/view to learn more about this historical episode? I am so glad that you asked. I recommend first the little book For Altar and Throne by Michael Davies. It is a pleasant read by an English author. To understand the century-old process that we are going through, I also recommend the intelligent yet easy to read book of Dr. Benjamin Wiker of Steubenville: Worshiping the State. It shows the progression from the French and English philosophers who believed in a heaven on earth that would be imposed by force.
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Regina Magazine | Teresa Limjoco
I Will Build It. They Will Come.
It shows how this was applied during the French Revolution and how this is still the dangerous dream of radical liberals today. The hippies believed in that heaven too. Their descendants now are hard at work to impose that “heaven” on us. And then of course, there is the courageous book A French Genocide by the French historian Reynald Secher who makes known the need to recognize a genocide in the Vendée. Mr. Secher went to the French Army archives and found all the orders to the French generals to eradicate the population in Vendée. How can people help you with this project? Can they still donate to help finance the production? Oh yes, they can and we just can’t continue without their help! We have our hiddenrebellion.com/support page on our website and the people who help us also receive gifts from us. For the smaller donors, for example, we send them our hat, and a tee-shirt made with the colors of the production. For the very generous donors there is also a five-course dinner by myself, names in the credits as Associate Producers, a visit in Los Angeles etc. Many of our supporters become involved in the making of the show. It is quite interesting for them, too. To tell you the truth, I still need around $40,000 to pay several more months of the editor’s salary, voice talents, translators, special effects, creation of graphics, maps, music, etc. Editing is a very long phase in the production process. Sometimes we spend 5 hours at it and I have only 15 new seconds to show for it. It is a phase of creativity but it is long and takes around 10 months. I think that we still have four months to go so we are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. I just don’t want the process to stop now.
Masterpieces 2014 | Regina Magazine
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A Gift for New Yo
How Holy Innocents Was
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s Saved
By Teresa Limjoco, MD. It seemed a strange choice for closure. Holy Innocents is a landmark of Manhattan’s historic Garment District, an 1870 Gothic Revival treasure. It is also home to a thriving, debt-free parish of Catholics from the four corners of the world. In the massive Archdiocese of New York, this is the only church offering a daily Traditional Latin Mass, which in recent years has drawn a growing, diverse parish to the parish’s vibrant spirituality. So, in April 2014, when word got around NYC that their parish was facing possible closure by the Archdiocese as part of its down-sizing project ('Making All Things New'), the community was incredulous.
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How Holy Innocents was Saved
‘As an art historian, I was alarmed at the possible loss to posterity,” said Don Reynolds, a parishioner. “Holy Innocents is architecturally significant, recognized by former pastor Father Thomas Kallumady. Designed and built in 1870 by Patrick Charles Keely, the foremost US Catholic architect in the 19th century, the sanctuary was restored, 20101013, at a cost of $700,000, which included the restoration of its monumental mural of The Crucifixion by Constantino Brumidi, America’s foremost muralist of the 19th century. I served as a pro bono consultant in its restoration. So, I had the sense of personal loss at the threat of Holy Innocents’ demolition.* “I could not believe that a church with such a rich liturgical and outreach program, which was self-sustaining, could close,” Mr. Reynolds continued. “Nor could I believe that the only church in the archdiocese that offered, on a daily basis, both the Extraordinary and Ordinary Forms would be closed, depriving the archdioceses’ 2.8 million Catholics of such a unique treasure--the epitome of the new evangelization: coexistence of the two forms. Such coexistence reflects the spirit of Vatican II and the papacies of John Paul II, Benedict XVI, and Francis. I was mystified at the possibility of the termination of that coexistence.”
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Regina Magazine | Teresa Limjoco
It was an anxious few months for Holy Innocents. How did you feel when you learned that the parish might be closed? Eddy Jose Toribio: ‘Devastated.’ Ed Hawkins: ‘I was not surprised. I was disappointed that the extreme value of this property in midtown Manhattan might have contributed to a mindset to ignore all the good at the church. In a simple phrase, I felt that the monetary value of the property corrupted the Archdiocesan view of this vibrant and inspiring church. I was also furious that Holy Innocents which is highly visible from Broadway, might be lost as a visible presence of the Catholic Church in New York City. Most of all, I could not understand why the diocesan powers would consider “cashing out” a consecrated Catholic Church with a very active daily parish and spiritual life, when most of the major money could be still gotten through the process of selling off the church’s air rights.” Velia: ‘Something had to be done about it. I decided there and then to devote my time fully to Holy Innocents -- to be part of a community and help build it, thus make a stronger case to keep Holy Innocents open. It was a time of reawakening, to be more active, to do something.’ Lucie de Percin: ‘My heart cried; my whole being became numb when I heard of the possible closing of Our Beloved Holy Innocents. The original bloody massacre of the Holy Innocents unfolded before my eyes. Our Crucifixion tableau in the Sanctuary seemed to be on fire.’ Cecilia Castelino: ‘I felt more drawn to prayer for the Will of God to be accomplished…” WHILE THEY AWAITED THE ARCHDIOCESAN DECISION, Holy Innocents parishioners were not idle, conducting a 54-Day Novena and requesting prayers via social media. They also produced an online video created by film director/producer Jim Morlino to draw greater attention to the potentially calamitous future of Holy Innocents. 'The widespread response to the little video I produced was positive and immediate,” said Jim Morlino, head of Navis Pictures. “As a filmmaker this is quite gratifying. I was pleased to know that my work may have helped in some small way to galvanize the effort to save this beautiful church, and all it stands for. And the results underscore for me the obvious power of Social Media. Deo Gratias.'
The New York Times, The New York Observer and Fox News, --even The Voice of America picked up the story, and petitions, emails and letters in support of saving Holy Innocents flooded the New York Archdiocese’s office. Masterpieces 2014 | Regina Magazine
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Regina Magazine | Teresa Limjoco
After a long, nervous wait, the official announcement was slated for the 11 am Sunday Mass on November 2. No one was nonchalant at the Mass that morning. Masterpieces 2014 | Regina Magazine
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How Holy Innocents was Saved
What was the atmosphere at Mass like on Sunday morning? Ed Hawkins: ‘There were two “moods” sweeping the congregation -those fearful of “bad news,” and others who held onto a confidence that their dedicated prayers were going to be answered. I was in the vestibule at the Knights of Columbus table that morning, and at least half of those arriving asked if we had gotten the official word yet. No one entered with a casual, run-of-the-mill attitude that morning. It was on all of our minds and most of our lips.’ Lucie de Percin: ‘On Sunday morning before the announcement the praying at mass was very serene, and I could feel the Holy Innocents praying with us. Eddy Toribio: ‘Many of us heard rumors that the church was staying open in some capacity, so we were cautiously optimistic.’ Velia: ‘Solemn; full of anticipation; joy for those who knew beforehand; and anxiety for others.’ 18
Regina Magazine | Teresa Limjoco
When the Archdiocese announced that Holy Innocents was to remain open - at least for the time being -- the people of the parish and their supporters everywhere were overjoyed.
How did you feel when you heard the announcement from the pulpit? What was the atmosphere in the Church like? Eddy Toribio: ‘We were rejoicing and praising God. Our prayers and many letters paid off. It was a wonderful reinforcement to how prayers work.’ Cecilia Castelino: ‘Overjoyed and very grateful to God, the Cardinal, Our Lady of Pompeii, Archangel Michael, all the Saints, the Holy Innocents, the Holy Souls in Purgatory, and all the reporters, photographers, researchers and surveyors. Ed Hawkins: ‘My reaction was one of relief. There was an uproar of joy at the actual announcement. While the administrator talked more about the “special situation” at Holy Innocents, I looked at the almost 200 people in the pews for this Sunday morning Mass, recalling that before this Mass there was only one Sunday Mass with about 30 people.” Velia: ‘DEO GRATIAS. It felt like the heavens suddenly opened up with God grinning from ear and ear and the whole celestial choir singing “Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus”, followed by the Alleluia!! The announcement was greeted with applause (so untraditionalist!), tears and joy. Lucie de Percin: ‘Upon hearing the announcement complete jubilation, unending thanksgiving to God - Our Lady of Pompeii - the Holy Spirit - all Celestial Beings and tears of joy.’ Masterpieces 2014 | Regina Magazine
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“ON THAT SUNDAY THERE WERE 30 PEOPLE AT THE ORDINARY FORM PLUS ANOTHER 200 FOR THE EXTRAORDINARY FORM, so I thought ‘this is what the New Evangelization is all about- Lay people creating a movement and situation that will draw the faithful to the altar of the Lord,’ and not just talking about it. “ – Ed Hawkins, Holy Innocents Parishioner Masterpieces 2014 | Regina Magazine
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And so this Christmas there are a lot of happy parishioners at Holy Innocents, right? What you would like to say to other faithful Catholics around the world about working to save your parish? Eddy Toribio: ‘I feel like we bought a few years before the archdiocese may consider closing churches again. Never give up. Pray.’ Cecilia Castelino: ‘In all trying circumstances send appeals to the respective Authorities, resort to prayer & fasting, stay in a state of grace with very frequent confession, pray the Rosary and Divine Mercy Chaplet with confidence for increased humility, perseverance, endurance, and for total resignation to God’s Will. And persist in all the above even after the trial passes even if the outcome is desirable – because as appealing as the outcome may be to us, we can only hope the Cardinal’s decision is aligned to God’s Will. And IF it is God’s Will then there’s likely to be stronger forces against us in the near or distant future.’ Velia: An overwhelming gratitude. We have a God who will never, never abandon us, so long as we put our complete trust in Him and his Divine Providence. However, we have to do our part, through intense prayer, prudent action with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and perseverance. We cannot remain complacent, even now, as the future still remains uncertain. We should always be mindful that the devil will continue to attack us and with vigor. He will try everything to create division, conflict, etc. The key is to pray continuously and to persevere — the rosary is our strong weapon.” Lucie de Percin: ‘To all brothers and sisters in such situations, I would advise them to pray with strong faith constantly, always trust in Jesus, Our Beloved Mother, keep hope alive and try not worry. Remember Jesus Christ constructed His church and made us custodians. We can do it because Jesus loves His church; He loves us and will never abandon us!
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Regina Magazine | Teresa Limjoco
Ed Hawkins: ‘For others working to save their parishes, I would say (and do as I am outspoken part of a group trying to keep my residential home church open the church of all of my sacraments) to take the lead and not follow pastors and diocesan officials. See the future and find out what you have to do to face that future and all of the challenges that come with keeping a church open. Be imaginative and fearless. Be sure to promote and pray that powerful 54 Day Rosary Novena.’ Eddy Toribio: ‘Facebook, blogs, newspaper articles, etc., show that many people were expecting to hear what the future of Holy Innocents would be. Thanks to the great work of many, particularly the spiritual and corporal works many decided to do, as well as the incessant novena prayers of many, what seemed almost impossible.The fervent and sincere prayers of many did not go unheeded -- Benedícta sit sancta Trínitas, atque indivísa únitas!’ Editor’s Note: Constantino Brumidi was an ItalianAmerican artist whose other works include The Apotheosis of Washington, the fresco painted in 1865 on the dome in the rotunda of the Capitol Building in Washington, DC Masterpieces 2014 | Regina Magazine
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IN NEW YORK CITY, THE DAILY TRADITIONAL MASS WILL CONTINUE AT THE CHURCH (PARISH) OF THE HOLY INNOCENTS. As the spiritual home to many, it will remain a very special place, and I would even say that we should make sure to make it an even more special place. Masterpieces 2014 | Regina Magazine
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Why Catholics Need To Make Like the French – And Eat Together! By Teresa Limjoco, MD
And other wisdom from EWTN’ s ‘Theology Of The Table’ Host Daniel Rabourdin Where do you come from? The Provence region in France, I call it the 'French Tuscany'. My family lived there for generations. I was able to know my grandparents and great-grandparents and the social fabric was very stable. It is important to have roots in a place. Why do you think this? Life was not perfect, but if the children had disagreements with their parents, they could find comfort with their grandparents or great-grandparents in the same house or town. For me the importance of roots is in the transfer of the experience of thousands of people before you. From generation to generations… If you do not have that you have less intelligence. 26
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Have you always been so devout? I grew up a Catholic but between the ages of 24 and 32, when I came to the USA, I became agnostic. But I think that going through this is almost necessary in order to pick up an “adult faith”, because it becomes a conscious decision. I came back to Christianity due to the fact that this Church was not just one more ideology; it had charitable love. That’s beyond all systems. So we better practice it. Religions should absolutely not be a “ritualistic” activity. You are a graduate of the Sorbonne, right? Public school in France was a good quality education with strong discipline - you could not talk in class. But there was already an ideology against Christianity. Later, I went to a Catholic college created by lay people. There were almost no good schools in the hands of the clergy. My school was specialized in Thomist philosophy [of St Thomas Aquinas] and I received my Masters in Philosophy from the Sorbonne at 21 in 1983. How did you come to EWTN? While studying TV in America and Europe, I was a freelance writer for the French press. When I went broke because most of those jobs do not pay well, Father Fessio of the Ignatius Press told me to “knock on the door” of EWTN, and I was hired almost on the spot. I was TV producer there for 17 years. [See ‘Joan of Arc: Maid for God’ (2013).]
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I​n the Puritan environment, pleasure only means gluttony or promiscuity. Between the over-tyrannical and the over-indulgent they do not see a balanced way to enjoy life. Photo, courtesy of 'Theology of the Table'
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What did you eat growing up in France? As my great grandfather used to say: “I ate of everything, a little”. My own father was into organic and fresh food. Each day we had homemade soup, or whole wheat pasta and sourdough bread without chemical leaveners. Chicken, fish or rabbit, on Sundays. Twice a year maybe red meat. We had lots of dairy products - yoghurt and cheese. Lots of butter, lots of olive oil. And always all fresh. Never ever processed food. For adults, a glass of red wine every day. Food had to taste good and be healthy at the same time. What’s the link between Thomism and the table?. Thomistic philosophy has a strong wisdom about the non-separation between the mind and body. St Thomas Aquinas said that there are two major earthly and natural desires in man: one allows the species to survive (the sexual interest), the other allows the individual to survive (it is the interest for food). But all natural desires need to be progressively shaped by good habits, by manners also called “virtues”. In order to have a good life, we must descend in conscience and with the Grace of God into the life our desires. It we do not do so we are but animals or worse. But this will never deny our body desires. It will only place them in harmony with the rest of ourselves and of the world. What do you mean by ‘virtue’ with regard to eating? I mean for example that the opposite of gluttony is temperance and that is a necessary virtue to have a good life. We need to know when to stop eating. Doing so is like looking intelligently to the future ourselves. This means that if we are 20 years old, we care for the “ourselves when we will be 60 years old”. We take care of ourselves with proper food, exercise and lifestyle. The wisdom of the generations should teach us that, for instance, purified sugar is not good. There is enough sweetness in figs or raspberries. And in figs or raspberries there are mineral and vitamins. Sweetness is a smart way in the universe of food to make us eat what is good for us. But if we eat quasi pure sugar such as in white flour cookies, we do not eat a sustaining food. That “good habit” of eating fruits instead of pure sugar can be transferred to children in a traditional upbringing. Grandparents who have learned with time that pure sugar leaves them tired and depleted of nutrients can tell the children. If children do not hear about this and thousands of other things about food, they start their lives deprived of thousands of years of knowledge. I will be a bit strong here but I think that this is a little bit like going back to the Stone Age. All knowledge is to be acquired again. 30
Regina Magazine | Teresa Limjoco
So a traditional upbringing teaches children how to eat properly? So much… As children and if we have to good parenting, we prefer to eat the chicken and French fries instead of the spinach and Kefir yogurt. We eat the ‘easy’ food even if it is going to hurt us in the future. Gluttony and greed is like that, to be a child without parents is like that, to be a twenty years old who did not hear his grandparents is like that. Another good habit of eating is that food should both taste good and be good for you. And all of those principles should be learned with fun. Here is a ‘trick’ that my father used with we children. He may serve us some sautéed garlic, carrots and parsley on our plates. (The goal is to teach the children to eat the most diverse and healthy foods. This is so that they keep eating that way in the future). We children were appalled at those carrots. But my father would not force us. He would just take that food back for himself and eat it all with exaggerated enjoyment. So us children reacted in saying, ‘We want of that too if you like it so much!’ My father did not impose, he used fun. But he cared to transfer knowledge to us: eat as diverse as possible, as fresh as possible and keep extending your experimentation of food. What do you think of the way Americans eat? I have been in a state of shock for a few years (laughter). In my early years here, I would hear people say with guilt “this is such a rich food” or “this is such a decadent food”. And I was startled. Isn’t food meant to ‘enrich’ us? Masterpieces 2014 | Regina Magazine
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Photo, courtesy of 'Theology of the Table
Here is another story. A few years ago, I was seeing a nice American girl and discovered progressively that she had depression. She was also anorexic. So she ate very little. If she visited me and it was time for dinner, I would cook for her and me but I was basically the only one to eat. She just had one spoon of food. But one night, when the food was better-tasting and better-looking, I put five spoonfuls in her plate. To my surprise, she ate them all! I was so happy. I asked her what had happened. She said that I had cooked with love for her. Served with love, she had eaten. I had to understand; her parents had both been intellectuals who traveled and left her to nannies. Her mother had almost never cooked for her. Why would she eat? But now I cared for her and she sort of came back to life by eating. Food was giving her love and food was giving her life. It brought tears to my eyes. Why do you think so many Americans have problems with food? In America, we live in a rather Protestant culture. “By faith alone” tends to make the works of this earth count for nothing for Heaven. It puts an abyss between faith and real life on earth. So people pray one way but work in other way. From this duality, we get the expressions of “business is business” or “war is nasty anyway”. But a Catholic culture wants the grace to save this real body, this real life. It wants grace to fall like rain on earth and go deep into it. And it embraces the works of people to participate to the salvation of Christ. That participation should be in business, in politics, in arts and in the way we eat too. And remember that this “eating act” is major: that is the way we survive as individual. We need to make people conscious about applying love and soul to the way they eat too. “Food is not that important’, many think. But why then do they run for the fridge when, lonely, they arrive at home in the evening? This is a mirror of what Mother Theresa had told us: “the poverty of the West is that we are not wanted”. So not being loved, not being wanted, we resolve most of the time to over-eat bad food. To many, food is like pornography. It is high in sweetness, high in salt, high in quantity. But it does not feed them.
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Regina Magazine | Teresa Limjoco
Why Catholics Need to Make Like the French
What do you think people should do? I think that one untold smart thing to do is that we should ‘talk’ to our urges for food kindly -- like a big brother talks to a young brother, not like a tyrant talk to a slave. We may for example have at 3 pm, a craving for sugary food. The tyrannical way to address the problem would be to say absolutely “no” to the craving. But this does not ever work. But the kind big brother method is always more effective. Instead of saying “no” we should prepare for the craving moment with alternative healthy foods that have a sweet side: baby carrots, apples that transport well, dried figs etc... We should have a lunch bag always full of those. What I am saying is that we should not be a ‘tyrant’ to our emotions. If we have a liquid chocolate diet for months (which is boring and tyrannical) our craving will come back with a vengeance and we will pack on the pounds even more than before! What works is a progressive, patient and loving method. The “kind big brother” method. What does not work is the tyrannical method, the ‘master to slave’ method. It only brings pain, frustration and later on a revenge from the “younger brother in us”. Why do so many people have trouble controlling their appetites in America? This culture has a rather Puritan inclination: it condemns fun and pleasure all together. It cannot imagine that there is a civilized way to have fun or pleasure. That civilized way to have entertainment is walking hand in hand with virtue. Like Jesus at the wedding at Cana who accepted to have more water transformed into wine. In the Puritan environment, pleasure only means gluttony or promiscuity. Between the over-tyrannical and the over-indulgent they do not see a balanced way to enjoy life. But if we are loving ‘kind big brothers’ to ourselves we are not destructive nor immoral. You have spoken about the need to get back to the family or communal dinner. All the time… We must bring back the communal dinner.
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Why Catholics Need to Make Like the French I think it can take the following path. First of all, women must let men take back their place in the home, in the education of the children. They complain there are not real man anymore but they keep reproaching the men to be men with their children. We need to let men (just and balanced men) bring the just strength necessary to implement what is good in the home. Such as respecting a time to eat dinner together. And it is time to rediscover what it is to be a nurturer. We have the deep meaning of the nursing of children by their mother. Why not continue with the way we cook? And in this, real love asks us to give real food. Real love asks us to not give ‘Cheetos’ but to give mashed sweet potatoes. Real love asks to give real butter -- not margarine. Real herbs that have antioxidants, not fibers in cereals... It is about quality over quantity. What is happening in terms of culture and religion in France? The good news is that there are the New Communities, the Emmanuel Community or Taize movement or the Beatitudes. They are slightly charismatic. They are like the villages growing around monasteries in the early middle age while chaos is all over the rest of the land. In these communities, there is a social loving life. People in there have different roles as leaders, priests, members. New chanting is created, new art, new housing and new crafts. And other people can see that from outside as a place of joy and acceptance. There are also the Latin Mass parishes. They share a meal after Mass. People on the outside see how they love one another. All of those are like ‘bubbles of love’, where the heart is visible to others. Certainly, in France, they still know how to eat well. But in my opinion, people have often lost the memory of how to work well, which is still strong in the Protestant cultures. In America, I enjoy so much the encouragement of initiative, the respect for success. There is so much more positive thinking here. In some ways, I come to the conclusion that there is in France a sort of Puritanism towards success, toward prosperity. More often that here, people ‘pooh-pooh’ winners. It is a leftover of Marxism I think. But that is as hypocritical as the puritanism toward the flesh. Because at the end of the day, French people still enjoy their nice shoes, nice pastries, and nice vacations. Each of those need prosperity, need someone to be successful at those and to be rewarded for it. Different countries and nations have their strengths.... What do you think is the link between Catholicism and the right use of nature and the food we draw from it? Here again, I think that we should not have a divide between faith and real life. I think that we should believe that this earth can be brought back in the initial plan of God with Grace and the works of men. And as we should love our body and elevate it with the works of virtues, we should love nature and care for it. There is for example a mishandling of animals. Packing chicken as we do is not right. Feeding cows grain instead of grass is not right. And at the end we end up suffering from it too: our food is of lower quality. Personally, I think that a lot of the meat I eat does not smell right. I say we should give those animals a better life. I know that the food they will give will be more expensive, but we will just eat less often of it. It will healthier for us anyway. Again, this means more quality and less quantity. By this less with more quality, we will be healthier.
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Regina Magazine | Teresa Limjoco
DANIEL RABOURDIN: Why on earth and Heaven did God in His infinite wisdom choose a meal for the highest Sacrament?
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But I do not believe in forcing the industry to do so. If we, the customers, buy the higher quality, less often we influence naturally the economy. Where did you get these ideas? There was a dialogue that started in me, about my father and mother. My father was a ‘health nut’. My mother who was under hardship and had a big heart would too often go for the quick food. It hurt her, she died earlier and I kept thinking about it. Once I dove in the American life, I had to articulate a response to the way of life I saw here. And here too I cared for people. Then friends told me I had to write those ideas. Some others said that I made them discover a whole new universe: the one of true and good food. And I must tell you that seeing the face of somebody who tastes your food that is tasty and healthy, is worth a million Christmas gifts. It is so beautiful. Besides, I just articulate a way of life that was given to me. I do not invent anything. If the French way of eating (or Italian, or Spanish, or Lebanese after all) has been shaped by 16 centuries of Catholic faith, it cannot leave the people unformed by it. It gives time to develop a good tradition of food. But that is not only Christianity. It is the natural wisdom of people that is passed onto us. Only in modern times, did we cut ourselves from our past. How did the show, “Theology of the Table,” come about? I was sitting with an older couple at their table and we were speaking about the way we eat and the way we believe. My friends told me to write about it, to produce a TV show about it. It took about two years of brainstorming and campaigning at EWTN for the program to be finally produced. I had to start to write a book at the same time, still unfinished… All Christians should see a clear link between their suppers, the Passover Supper, the Last Supper, Crucifixion and The Holly Mass. Jesus gave us the highest Sacrament there is in the form of a meal: the Eucharist. It is a re-enactment of the Crucifixion, but it is in the shape of a meal. Why on earth and Heaven did God in His infinite wisdom choose a meal for the highest Sacrament? He could have chosen a different human act, carpentry, playing sport, walking … But instead he chose the common meal of man. There must be a lot of good things in the common meal, no? Is there a link between the Mass and our meals? We have forgotten about our faith even in the Mass. We say, “the bread of life” about Holy Communion, but we don’t live it. When we get Communion, do we really go to receive the Bread of Life that is Jesus as food? All of this is only understandable and lived if we rediscover the value of eating together true food. 36
Regina Magazine | Teresa Limjoco
What is your hope? I just offer solutions. People can apply them or not. And I am only one voice among many. When people say, ‘I do not have time to cook’ I see a solution. For most of us, time is absorbed by watching TV, and driving children to sports activities. TV can be replaced by speaking together at the table. Playing sports, every day with a professional goal can be replaced with playing sport three times a week just to enjoy it at hours that do not compete with the family meal. How is your book on the ‘Theology of the Table’ going? I hope it will be done by next summer. Right now, I am working 100% on the docudrama ‘The Hidden Rebellion’. Are you thinking of producing future TV shows for EWTN? Yes, they are open to suggestions. But I can also venture in food channels. It takes first a lot of sponsors, lots of work, and about $200,000. WANT TO SEE MORE OF DANIEL RABOURDIN? Click here for a DVD of ‘Theology of the Table’
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Hollywood and the TLM An Interview with George Sarah By Teresa Limjoco, MD
He is a well-known film score musician, a former atheist who had a near-death experience and the head of the Una Voce chapter in Los Angeles. George Sarah recently sat down with Regina Magazine to discuss his conversion, his music and the growth of the Latin Mass in of all places, Hollywood!
What is your cultural and religious background? I was born in Seoul, South Korea and moved to the United States at the age of five. My Mother is Korean and my Father is German by heritage though he was born in Kansas. He was an attorney who practiced Law in Japan. I did not have a lot of religion growing up. My family attended a protestant church now and then about three or four times a year but I really was not interested. Before you became a Catholic at Easter 2006, what were your beliefs? I was an Atheist. In 1995 I was in a very terrible car accident. My car was completely totaled and I was blessed to be alive let alone have any injuries. I truly felt there was divine intervention at that moment and I knew there was more. After that night, I started reading spiritual books and attending different religious services. I read books about near-death experiences as well as participated in Buddhist workshops but none of it felt complete.
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“I was an Atheist. In 1995 I was in a very terrible car accident.�
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Hollywood and the TLM
Then I stumbled upon a book about Fatima in a New Age bookstore called ‘Lucia In Her Own Words” and it seemed so interesting that I bought it. I finished the book in a few days and I felt this undeniable connection to Mary, so I prayed to her. There is a lot more to this story but I wanted to give an idea of how it happened. I want to add that most of my relatives including my Mother, Aunt and Uncle all have become practicing Catholics all on their own. As a composer and musician, could you tell us about your musical background and influences? I wrote my first song when I was 8, it’s an a cappella piece. My big break came in 1999 when I was asked to appear on the TV show ‘Buffy The Vampire Slayer’. Since then I’ve had my songs featured on numerous TV/Films including CSI, Chris Rock’s Everybody Hates Chris, HBO, and I have scored 28 episodes for the Discovery Network. I was commissioned to write a 14 minute piece to be performed at the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympic Games. I’ve released 10 Albums and have written a new score for Carl Dreyer’s 1928 silent classic ‘The Passion Of Joan Of Arc’ which I have performed twice accompanied by members of the Los Angeles Master Chorale. Some music I like to listen to includes Bach, Aphex Twin, Bjork, Baroque era (1600-1750), The Jam, Film scores from the 60’s and 70’s. Early Autechre, electronic music with melodies, Bowie, The Bad Plus, 20th Century concerto’s, sonatas and chamber. Satie, Gorecki, Part, Barber. 80’s Hip Hop. Anything released on 4ad, Mute, Factory records. There is a lot of great music coming out of L.A. at the moment especially bands like Warpaint. Film composers Clint Mansel, Philip Glass, Bernard Herman, John Barry. How did you learn about the TLM? My first TLM was in 2005 while I was still in RCIA. My friend Dr. Chris Curry and his late wife Jeannie invited me. At the time they were both teaching at Loyola Marymount University and they have been attending the TLM most of their adult life. I attribute my learning about the TLM as well as Catholic Church teachings to them. What piqued your curiosity? I was attending RCIA at the time and they encouraged everyone to go to different Masses at different churches. I don’t think they meant a TLM because the following week when I told the Sister who was in charge that I had attended a TLM, she scolded me. (Sorry but it’s a true story.) What was your first experience of the Latin Mass like? The first TLM I attended was celebrated at Santa Teresita Chapel in Duarte, California. The beauty, 40
Regina Magazine | Teresa Limjoco
“I’ve learned all this incredible music, some of which I was already familiar with but had no idea it was for the Mass.” Masterpieces 2014 | Regina Magazine
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Hollywood and the TLM
the reverence, it was like I was at a ‘Great Prayer’. There was a sense of seriousness to it all. Prior to that my Mass experience was at St. Monica’s in Santa Monica where there was liturgical dancing, protestant ministers giving the sermons and musicians performing in the Sanctuary. I didn’t mind any of these things; I didn’t know any better since my first Catholic Mass ever in my life was in 2005. Would you say the TLM has deepened your faith? Yes. Learning the liturgy that goes back centuries, learning Latin which is still the official language of the Catholic Church, learning all this incredible music, some of which I was already familiar with but had no idea it was for the Mass by Mozart, Schubert, Vivaldi, and many others. It’s helped me feel more detached from this world and has helped me with my Prayer life. I spend two hours in Prayer and Meditation everyday. I prefer the sermons at a TLM, and I learn more about the Doctors of the Church like Thomas Aquinas, and there is such a strong love for the Virgin Mary and for me that is so pivotal as she is responsible for me becoming Catholic. Do you bring others to the TLM? I usually go by myself however I have brought a few folks from the Russian Orthodox Church. They seem to love the TLM. I don’t think I can mention their names. My secular friends have responded very positively. A dear friend of mine and a fallen-away Catholic who didn’t care for the Novus Ordo attended a TLM and she felt a deep connection; she ended up coming back to the faith before she lost her battle with cancer. Have you encountered any resistance? Since you asked I will answer. A lot of the resistance has come from other TLM attendees who feel they should compromise with the TLM. Collections by women, lay people reading the Gospel, a vigil TLM at 5 PM. I was in charge of a recent petition to bring the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter to Los Angeles, and I would say about a third of the Catholic people I asked to sign refused because they felt it was causing a division in the Church. Has anyone derided you for attending the TLM? Yes. Sadly, it was a few Seminarians I know. How did you become the president of Una Voce LA? I was asked to be President in 2010. After the Motu Proprio by Pope Benedict XVI I asked the Pastor at St. Victor’s in West Hollywood if I could organize a Latin Mass. He said yes and with the help of Fr. 42
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Don we had the first TLM in Hollywood in over 30 years, which drew over 300 people; the Church was at capacity. I started asking around with other churches about organizing a TLM and at that point I was contacted by Una Voce LA to be involved with their group. What is it that Una Voce does? Una Voce Los Angeles is a branch of Una Voce America--a part of the World Wide Una Voce Federation founded by Michael Davies. We have been wholeheartedly devoted to the education, spread and use of the Traditional Latin Mass in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. We have organized lectures explaining the Mass, Chant workshops and assistance for Parishes interested in having a TLM, as well as assisting the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter with their recent petition drive requested by the LA Archdiocese. In the past four years we have had over a dozen lectures, workshops and hundreds of TLMs in Los Angeles. Have you noticed any trends in attendance and interest in the Latin Mass in your area since you became president of Una Voce LA? More and more people are going and more and more parishes are offering them. There have been 12 or 13 churches that have had a Latin Mass either once or monthly and in some cases like St Anthony’s in Pasadena requested a TLM for the 125 year anniversary. How can people interested in the TLM learn more about it in LA? http://www.unavocela.org/ https://www.facebook.com/UnaVoceLA
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Ballintubbe
the abbey that r
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Regina Magazine | Teresa Limjoco
er Abbey
refuses to die By Teresa Limjoco MD
In the west of Ireland, nestled amidst County Mayo’s rolling green hills, sits ancient Balintubber Abbey. Its name comes from the Gaelic, ‘Baile an Tobair Phadraig’ or ‘village of St. Patrick’s Well.’ Masterpieces 2014 | Regina Magazine
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King Cathal therefore vowed to build another church “seven times more magnificent� in Ballintubber, Mayo, and this is the Abbey that stands there today. 46
Regina Magazine | Teresa Limjoco
Village of St Patrick’s Well ‘Ballintubber’ — As with all things Irish, there is a mystery captured in the name. St. Patrick is said to have established the church at Ballintubber and baptized Christian converts at St. Patrick’s Well; a stone here bears the impression of his knee. The Abbey is the starting point of St. Patrick’s ancient pilgrimage route called Tóchar Phádraig (“St. Patrick’s Causeway”). How a Prince in Exile Vowed to Build the Abbey Ballintubber Abbey has the distinction of being the only Abbey founded by an Irish king where Mass has been said without interruption since the early 13th century when it was built by Cathal Crovderg O’Connor, king of Connaught. And therein lies an Irish tale: before Prince Cathal ascended to the throne, his father King Turloch was fleeing from his enraged Queen, Cathal’s stepmother. Cathal obtained shelter and work from a local man named Sheridan, who treated him kindly. The young prince vowed to return the kindness shown him; he returned years later as King and asked Sheridan what favor he could do for him. The old man asked only that Cathal restore their deteriorating church; Cathal promised him a new church instead. A couple of years passed and King Cathal asked Sheridan how his new church pleased him. He was shocked when he was chastised for not keeping his promise to build a new church. Cathal insisted that he had indeed ordered the building of a new church.
On further inquiry, he learned that a church had indeed been built, but in Baile tobair Bhrighde, Roscommon, and not in Baile tobair Phadraig, Mayo. The Abbey is Attacked by Protestant Forces The Abbey lived peacefully for 250 years until 1536, when a law that called for the dissolution of monasteries was passed in English-dominated Dublin. Theoretically, Balintubber’s Abbot was bound to follow the orders of King Henry VIII to close the Abbey, but it was not easy to enforce the law in such distant regions. Amazingly, the monks continued to occupy the Abbey for another 65 years until the reign of James I of England and Ireland, who confiscated Abbey lands in 1603 — and dispersed the monks. However, this was not to be the end of the Abbey’s story. Between 1603 and 1654, a mendicant order of Augustian Friars is believed to have taken over the Abbey. They only finally left after three days of burning and pillage committed in 1653 by the Puritan Oliver Cromwell’s soldiers. The Cromwellian assault was devastating, destroying the monastic buildings, cloisters, dormitories, and quarters. The wooden roof was burned, but the internal stone-vaulted roof of the chancel, the side chapels, and the sacristy remained. Complete destruction was kept at bay, and incredibly, Mass continued to be said at the Abbey. Masterpieces 2014 | Regina Magazine
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A Roofless Church Thus began the Abbey’s long years of secrecy and terror. For centuries, even through the Penal Years — when Catholicism was outlawed and priests were hunted – Mass continued to be celebrated at the devastated Abbey and attended by the loyal townsfolk. This was often a very perilous thing to do. Paid informers were a constant danger. For 236 years, the local people were forced to hear Mass in the roofless Abbey church, completely open to the elements. A photograph from 1865 is witness to this, showing people kneeling on the grassy ground. Though the Mass has ended, they continue kneeling as the priest gives instruction to the children. The Saga of Seán na Sagart During Penal Times, Catholic priests had a price on 48
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their heads, and the Abbey became the scene of yet another Irish tragedy. A local notorious priest hunter, Seán Maloney (Seán na Sagart or ‘John of the Priest’) is supposed to have caught a number of priests, and to have enjoyed the protection of soldiers wherever he went. It seems Seán had his eye on the two priests at Ballintubber. He faked a deathbed scene at his sister’s house and told her he wanted to confess his sins. He thus tricked her into sending for the older priest. As Fr. Kilger bent over Seán to hear his confession, he stabbed the priest with a concealed dagger. The next day, the younger priest, Fr. Burke, came to bless the grave for Fr. Kilger’s body, disguised as a woman. Seán recognized him, and Fr. Burke fled. After a long chase, the priest finally stumbled and Seán pounced, stabbing him in the leg. However, Seán McCann, a peddler who had followed them, intervened. He removed the knife from Fr. Burke’s leg and then killed
Seán was buried facing the north, where the sun never rises. On his grave a sapling is said to have sprouted and grown into a tree, today known as the ‘Seán na Sagart Tree.’
Seán with his own knife. The following day, the soldiers who found Seán’s body buried him in the Ballintubber graveyard. However, the people removed his body from the grave and tossed it into the nearby lake. The priest, however, told them to recover the body from the lake and bury it once more in the graveyard. This they did – but they buried Seán not facing the east where the sun rises, and where Christ will return in glory for all who lie in wait for Him. Restoration of the Abbey Restoration of the Abbey church was first begun in 1846, but the devastating Famine of 1847 forced a cessation of the work. Four decades later, restoration was started again, and help was received even from people across the seas.
and the Abbey celebrated its 750th year with a restored, roofed church. In 1997, the rebuilding was directed to the Chapter House and the Dormer area where retreats and Faith Formation activities are held for young people. Ballintubber Abbey Today Today, Ballintubber Abbey continues to celebrate daily Masses. It has also become a popular place for weddings; Irish actor Pierce Brosnan was married there in 2001. The Abbey also offers retreat programs for adults and for post-primary school students, as well as Confirmation preparation. In 2016, the Abbey will celebrate 800 years of its historic mission — literally, eight centuries of Holy Mass celebrated uninterruptedly in this place, come rack, rope or ruin.
But it wasn’t until 1966 — 120 years later — that Father Tom Egan oversaw the rebuilding of the nave Masterpieces 2014 | Regina Magazine
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The Young German Christians,
Who Spoke Truth to Power By Teresa Limjoco MD One used his Faith as a shield in the face of brutal Gestapo interrogation; he did not talk. Another converted on his way to the guillotine. All were inspired by the heroic resistance of one Catholic bishop. Today, they would be regarded as very odd, indeed. What would modern Germans think of university students with strong Christian beliefs — many sustained by a deep attachment to Catholicism — defying the government? It is almost unheard of. In this look back at the heroic young Germans who died defying the Nazi terror, Teresa Limjoco reveals the truth about where their strength came from. 50
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In the 1930s, they were young, middle class and well-educated. They discussed philosophy, sang in a Bach choir, enjoyed music, poetry, art, and books. They could easily have continued with such lives, but their consciences were awakened as they watched 1930’s Germany succumb to Nazi barbarism.
the risk of their fateful decision to distribute those leaflets in the university. They were quickly reported.
Moving beyond the passive ‘inner emigration’ most intellectuals resorted to, these University of Munich students formed the ‘White Rose’ (‘Die Weisse Rose’), a resistance movement which dared to speak truth to power. It would cost them their lives.
The Nazis prosecuted and executed the three on February 22, 1943 with unusual swiftness and stealth, fearing they would become martyrs. Their sentences would serve as an example. After a sham ‘trial’, they were condemned to death by guillotine for ‘high treason’ by Hitler’s ‘hanging judge,’ Roland Freisler.
Speaking Truth to Power
What They Believed
Enthusiastic Hitler Youth members as teens, siblings Hans and Sophie Scholl grew disillusioned when the anti-Jewish hooliganism of Kristallnacht in 1938 revealed the ugly, ruthless face of Nazism. Disillusion would turn to outrage as they learned of ever-escalating heinous Nazi attacks on defenseless Jews.
While their incredible courage has made them latter-day film heroes, most people today have no idea that the extraordinary acts of the Scholls, Christel Probst, and Willi Graf were grounded in a firm belief in God. Their fourth leaflet boldly called Hitler the Anti-Christ, and declared that ‘[o]nly religion can reawaken Europe, establish the rights of the peoples, and install Christianity in new splendor visibly on earth in its office as guarantor of peace.’1, 2, 6
In 1941, Hans heard of a homily preached by von Galen, the Roman Catholic bishop of Munster, who bravely denounced Nazi euthanasia of the disabled and mentally ill. In this, Hans – a medical student who had served as a medic on the Eastern front – found his inspiration. With medical students Christel Probst and Willi Graf, and their friend Alexander Schmorell, Hans formed the ‘White Rose’, one of the only groups that ever dared to voice opposition in Hitler’s Germany. His sister Sophie and Professor Kurt Huber joined them. Their weapon? Leaflets. The first, in mid-1942 incited Germans to passively resist the Nazis, whom they termed ‘an irresponsible clique that has yielded to base instinct.’1 In eight months, they distributed six leaflets. Their bravery would be short-lived, however; the Scholls and Probst were soon arrested. The White Rose was mercilessly crushed. Their sixth and last leaflet was sent out between February 16 and 18, 1943, an especially dangerous time. After the disastrous defeat of the Wehrmacht in Stalingrad, Propaganda Minister Josef Goebbels gave a ‘scorched-earth’ speech on February 18 at the Sportpalast that called for ‘total war’. (Coincidentally, Sophie’s correspondent-boyfriend, Lt. Fritz Hartnagel, was assigned to Stalingrad). As glimpses of their vulnerability surfaced, the Nazis ramped up their brutality. More death sentences were meted out to dissidents. Yet the need to oppose such a malevolent entity trumped fear. Hans and Sophie knew
Hans and Sophie knew the risk of their fateful decision to distribute those leaflets in the university. They were quickly reported.
The Scholls’ mother, Magdalena, was a Lutheran deaconess who taught her children the Bible. Her son Hans also found guidance in Catholic works such as St Augustine’s Confessions and Paul Claudel’s writings.3, 6 (St Augustine’s City of God (Civitas Dei) would even find mention in the third leaflet. 2) Sophie kept a well-worn copy of Confessions in the compulsory labor service camp. One line in particular resonated with her: ‘Thou hast created for us Thyself, and our heart cannot be quieted till it find repose in Thee.‘ 2 German historians Jakob Knab and Guenther Biemer believe today that Cardinal John Henry Newman’s writings influenced Hans and Sophie’s moral, spiritual, and intellectual formation — including the Christian understanding of conscience. 2 Professor Carl Muth had introduced them to St Augustine’s works, and also to Cardinal Newman’s work through his friend, Theodor Haecker. Haecker was a Catholic convert who had translated Newman’s writings into German. ‘ [C]onscience,’ Newman wrote, ‘is the voice of God….’5 Sophie apparently valued Newman’s ideas enough to share them with Fritz Hartnagel, giving him two volumes of the Cardinal’s sermons in 1942. 2, 4, 7 While their incredible courage has made them latter-day film heroes, most people today have no idea that the Scholls, Christel Probst, and Willi Graf were grounded in a firm belief in God. Masterpieces 2014 | Regina Magazine
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Young German Christians
Willi Graf
Christel’s Story
Willi’s Story
Like many Germans today, ‘Christel’ Probst grew up with no religion. As a young adult, however, he’d felt a closeness to the Catholic Church. News of the Nazi euthanasia program and persecution of the Jews outraged him. As he wrote his sister Angelika, ‘…it was not given to any human being, under any circumstance, to make judgments that are reserved to God alone. … Every individual’s life is priceless. We are all dear to God.’3
As a Roman Catholic, Willi Graf felt deeply the Nazi persecution of his Church. While serving as a medic during the invasion of Poland and Russia, Willi was horrified by the atrocities committed by the Wehrmacht there. He could not but reject a system that went against his deepest beliefs. He would help write the leaflets, but it was July 1943 when the Gestapo finally caught up with him. He was executed in October following Gestapo efforts to extract more information from him. His Faith gave him strength to withstand brutal interrogations without compromising his friends. 2
Evidence linking Christel to a draft for the seventh leaflet led to his arrest by the Nazis. He asked to be received into the Roman Catholic Church on the day he was to die. He was baptized and received First Communion, after which he said, ‘Now my death will On his last day, he wrote to his family, ‘On this day be easy and joyful’.3 He left behind a wife, two young I’m leaving this life and entering eternity. … strength children, and a newborn baby. and comfort you’ll find with God and that is what I am praying for till the last moment … Hold each Like many Germans today, ‘Christel’ Probst grew other and stand together with love and trust…. God’s up with no religion. He asked to be received into the blessing on us, in Him we are and we live …’.6 Catholic Church on the day he was to die. He was baptized and received First Communion, after which Willi, the Roman Catholic, was executed in October he said, ‘Now my death will be easy and joyful’. following Gestapo efforts to extract more information from him. His Faith gave him strength to withstand brutal interrogations without compromising his friends.
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Sophie Calmly Faces Nazi Torture and Death All who witnessed their last days were struck by their ‘Seelenkraft,’ their ‘strength of soul.’3 Sophie’s calm fortitude so impressed her interrogator, Robert Mohr, that he actually offered her a way out: that she admit to having misunderstood what National Socialism meant and must regret what she did. “Not at all,” Sophie defied him. “It is not I, but you, Herr Mohr, who have the wrong Weltanschauung (‘world view’). I would do the same again.”3 The executioner himself, a veteran of thousands of such tasks, said that he had never seen anyone meet her fate so calmly as Sophie Scholl did. She was 21 years old. The executioner himself, a veteran of thousands of such tasks, said that he had never seen anyone meet her fate so calmly as the 21-year old Sophie Scholl did. Not ideology, but Faith sustained them Seventy years after their deaths, the exceptional moral courage of these young people remains astounding. It was not a political agenda nor an ideology but basic human decency and life-affirming beliefs based on strong religious convictions that inspired and sustained the White Rose martyrs. Hans was 24, Sophie was 21, Christel was 23, and Willi was 25 years old when their brave young lives were extinguished. Would that their heroism live on to inspire more bravery in us all.
Hans was 24, Sophie was 21, Christel was 23, and Willi was 25 years old when their brave young lives were extinguished. References 1 Scholl, Inge. The White Rose: Munich, 1942-1943. Middletown, CT: Wesleyan University Press, 1983. [NOTE: Inge Scholl was the sister of Hans and Sophie. The book was originally written in 1970, and a new Introduction by Dorothee Soelle is included in the 1983 edition.] 2 McDonough, Frank. Sophie Scholl: The Real Story of the Woman Who Defied Hitler, Stroud, Gloucestershire: History Press, 2009. *Note 13 in Chapter Three mentions Jakob Knab’s findings on the Cardinal Newman influence. [NOTE: The latest, with a few additional tidbits that have not been mentioned in previous publications. ] 3 Hanser, Richard. A Noble Treason: The Story of Sophie Scholl and the White Rose Revolt Against Hitler. New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1979. [NOTE: Excellently written, hard to put down.] 4 Cardinal John Henry Newman and the Scholls http://newmaninspiredresistance.blogspot.com 5 Quotation from Cardinal Newman. http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/newman-norfolk.asp#Conscience 6 Dumbach, Annete and Newborn, Jud. Sophie Scholl and the White Rose. Oxford, England: Oneworld, 2006. [NOTE: Another fine and credible source.] 7 Excerpts from Fritz Harnagel’s letters to Sophie Scholl. http:// pedrokolbe.wordpress.com/2013/10/10/john-henry-cardinalnewman-and-the-white-rose/ Masterpieces 2014 | Regina Magazine
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The Rea
Queen o
By Teresa
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'Behold, I send you out as sheep in the m and innocen (Matthew
al Mary,
of Scots
a Limjoco
midst of wolves. So be wise as serpents nt as doves.' w 10:16)
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MARY ADAMANTLY REFUSED TO CONVERT TO PROTESTANTISM despite pressure from her advisers and exhortations from John Knox, the former Catholic priest who had spearheaded the Scottish Reformation. The image of Mary which comes down to us through the biased lens of Protestant history is a classic case of ‘blaming the victim.’ The Whig historians of the British Empire depicted her as weak-willed and excessively romantic – so hopeless, in fact, that she ‘deserved’ her fate. The Queen in question was played by the beautiful The real Mary Stuart, however, appears to unbiased Cate Blanchett in the 1998 blockbuster film, ‘Eliza- eyes as guileless and forthright, clearly possessed of beth.’ Her ‘Good Queen Bess’ is England’s first fem- intelligence and character sufficient to survive a life inist, a noble queen bravely defying the male oppres- rife with calamity -- and still to keep her wits and charm about her. sors embodied in the Catholic Church. This Protestant version of reality -- morphed through the lens of late 20th century feminism -- has remained From France to Scotland essentially unchallenged for nearly 500 years. Until very recently, the story of the great Elizabeth I (or Daughter of King James V of Scotland and Mary of “Gloriana’ as she preferred to be called) was ‘history’ Guise of France, Mary Stuart became Queen of Scotto most Western Christians. land at her father's death. She was six days old. What Today, as serious historians are beginning to re-exam- followed were certainly her happiest years – her youth ine what actually happened in Britain during the Ref- spent in the French court, educated by devoted French ormation, the real story is finally beginning to emerge. religious. One very black shadow on the sterling reputation of Gloriana was her horrific treatment of Mary, Queen At sixteen, she was married to the sickly Prince Franof Scots. cis, son of Henry II and Catherine de Medici, whom Mary approached the executioner’s block dressed in a petticoat – blood-red, the martyr’s color. It was the end of a life lived as a royal victim -- held prisoner, her infant son brutally taken from her and finally, beheaded by order of the Queen.
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MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS, STANDS ACCUSED OF TREASON: Almost two decades after her arrest, Mary was sentenced to death for plotting to assassinate Elizabeth. Today, historians assert that it was impossible for her to have been directly involved in the conspiracy.
she treated with kindness. His death followed that of her own mother; she was eighteen years old.
Wishing to avoid further discord and bloodshed, Mary allowed the Scots their religious freedom.
Grieving her losses, Mary nevertheless stalwartly acknowledged her royal obligations, and left her merry France for dismal Scotland. It was a country engulfed in religious turmoil, with significant political opposition entrenched against her. The stern Presbyterians who followed John Knox made much of her elegant French wardrobe; she was said to have arrived with more than 20 lavish black gowns, the height of French fashion.
Faithful Wife, Dutiful Queen
Such generosity was characteristic of Mary; she was not a vindictive woman, though her basic goodness of heart was abused by many – including her Scottish husbands. The persistent succession problem and Mary's assertion of her queenly rights influenced her choice of husband. Aware of her monarchial responsibilities, she recognized that love rarely figured in dynastic Regardless of their politics, however, the Scots were matches. inevitably struck by Mary's beauty, charm, sweetness of character and gentleness of spirit. An eyewitness reShe decided to accept Henry Stuart (Lord Darnley), lates that “In one of the...processions Mary was movwho like her was a grandchild of Margaret Tudor, ing along with the rest, through a crowd of spectators, Henry VIII's sister. The union would boost her claim and the light from her torch fell upon her features and of succession to the English throne. After marrying upon her hair in such a manner as to make her appear him, she patiently endured Darnley’s immature and more beautiful than usual. A woman, standing there, dissolute lifestyle. He was vain, petulant and ambipressed up nearer to her to view her more closely, and, tious for ‘the Crown Matrimonial’ which would give seeing how beautiful she was, asked her if she was not him equal status with Mary. an ‘angel’.” Masterpieces 2014 | Regina Magazine
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SIGNS OF SEVERE STRAIN, MARY AT AGE 25: Mary’s portraits were put into 3D modelling software which adjusted the image for the ways in which a person’s skin and muscle tone are affected by stress. Facial anthropologist Professor Caroline Wilkinson – who also reconstructed the face of Richard III recently –created this possible likeness of Mary for the National Museum of Scotland’s 2013 exhibition.
When she refused, Darnley’s friends convinced him she was having an affair with her secretary, David Rizzio. On March 9, 1566, Rizzio was murdered in the presence of Mary – by then five months pregnant – as they dined at Holyrood Palace. Darnley, emerging from behind a tapestry, seized Mary to restrain her as Rizzio was stabbed before her eyes by a band of conspirators. Hence, Mary became Darnley's captive at Holyrood Palace. Banned from having attendants, she pretended to miscarry and begged for her midwife. Realizing his stake in the matter through his unborn offspring, Darnley granted her request. Under such stress, Mary would soon give birth to James VI of Scotland and I of England. She was delighted with her son, and the fact that she now had a male heir.
Murder and Palace Intrigue For his part, the vicious Darnley would soon perish in a plot involving the brash Earl of Bothwell and some Scottish lords. On the night of 9 February, 1567, the Old Provost’s Lodging in Edinburgh where Darnley was staying was reduced to rubble in an explosion. 60
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Next morning two corpses were found in a garden below – Darnley, in his nightshirt, and his valet. Because their bodies were unmarked, Elizabeth’s spies reported that they escaped before the explosion but had then been killed, possibly by asphyxiation, by Bothwell’s men.
An ‘Unseemly’ Marriage Mary’s astuteness helped her deal with Darnley and the unruly lords, but she was also ready to forgive, trust again and reward those who showed sympathy to her causes: safeguarding her throne and promoting peace in Scotland. In a palace full of intrigue and murder, she trusted Bothwell -- an unwise choice, as it turned out. He kidnapped her and held her captive in Dunbar Castle. No one came to Mary's rescue during her twelve days of captivity. Feeling deserted by all, and fearing for herself and her child, Mary agreed to wed Bothwell, who’d raped her so she’d have to marry him to save her honor. Her decision to marry the arrogant, profane Bothwell was considered most unseemly at the time and historians still debate the cause. Was it a desperate bid at self-preservation and protection of her infant son?
MARY LEARNED EMBROIDERY FROM CATHERINE D’MEDICI, the mother of her first husband, Francis. She created many beautiful gifts, including one using the most expensive gold and silver threads for her captor Elizabeth, while Mary was imprisoned in England. Perhaps Mary grew weary of the endless turbulence around her, but the affair sullied her standing even among supporters. In any event, now the Scottish lords were jealous of Bothwell. Mary, fearing for her life once again, finally escaped to England the next year, hoping for sympathy from Elizabeth.
involved in the conspiracy, but the fact was that verdict was likely decided even before her trial. Removing Mary permanently from the scene had been the longstanding goal of Elizabeth's chief counselor and Mary's nemesis, William Cecil (Lord Burghley).
On February 8, 1587, her execution day, she was denied access to a Catholic priest; the Protestant minisThe Queen had her arrested and held for nineteen ter attempted to convert her. When the executioner years. Her son was taken from her, and raised Protes- begged her forgiveness, as was customary, she told tant under the watchful eye of ‘Gloriana.’ him, 'I forgive you with all my heart, for now, I hope, you shall make an end of all my troubles.' The 44 year old Queen of Scots prayed aloud as she Mary, the Catholic Queen, raised her ivory crucifix aloft. She disrobed, revealing her red petticoat - a Catholic symbol of martyrdom. Executed Moments later the axe-wielding executioner would Nevertheless, born to rule, even in captivity Mary av- complete his grisly task. idly embraced her queenly role and right. She never relinquished her claim to the Scottish throne despite Mary lived her life with the courage and dignity worschemes to depose her. And she remained a faithful thy of a grand Catholic monarch. The challenges to daughter of the Church to the end. Her faith especial- her person from men of devious and vicious character ly deepened in her last two decades of house confine- would surely have defeated even those made of sterner stuff. Only one possessed of unusual mettle and faith ment. Almost two decades after her arrest, Mary was sud- could have weathered these with a good and stalwart denly arrested and sentenced to death for plotting to heart intact. assassinate Elizabeth. Today, many historians assert that it was impossible for her to have been directly Such was Mary, Queen of Scots. Masterpieces 2014 | Regina Magazine
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