Hugo: The Beauty of Imagination and Purpose

Happy Advent!! I just got back from watching the movie Hugo in 3D it was one of the best children's movies I have seen in a while. Hugo follows the story of a boy and an automaton and his search for purpose. This film deals with the issues of family, belonging and hope. While I would describe it as a fantasy film in many ways it is the fantasy of reality. There is no magic or secret worlds in Hugo, beyond those found in the mind. I would suggest that you see the movie in 3D while I am not a big fan of 3D movies this one put the technology to good use.
Merry Christmas, Nina

Mental Illness in Fiction

Shalom all. Thanks to the increased awareness mental illness is slowly losing its stigma and people are getting the help and support they need. I have seen quite a few books lately that have dealt with this subject particularly Melody Carlson's Finding Alice, Tracie Peterson's House of Secrets, and DiAnn Mills Attracted to Fire.

Melody Carlson's book Finding Alice was a well written look inside someone suffering from schizophrenia. You follow Alice as the illness take a hold in her life and the struggle that ensues. In the tradition of A Beautiful Mind you watch the story unfold through Alice's eyes. I felt that this book give a good look at schizophrenia and the battle those who suffer from mental illness.

House of Secrets also deal with schizophrenia but from the viewpoint of a family who was affected by a parent's mental illness. I believe the book's message of the problem of secrecy,

the effect of acknowledgment of a mental illness, and support is good. I think it would have been even better if the reader could be shown how someone could successfully deal with schizophrenia and have a good life. I have dealt with depression and anxiety even to the point of hospitalization and it is important that people realize the presence of a mental illness does not have to diminish your life. It has to be dealt with but as I have always been told life is what you make of it and that is very true with mental illness. You might not always feel great but you can always choose joy and make your life that best it can possibly despite the way you might feel inside. Happiness might be fleeting, but joy is a choice.

Attracted to Fire focuses on the effects alcohol, drug use, and lifestyle can aid and abet mental illness. It also deals with the suicidal ideation and cutting which have become more prevalent in society today. It was also a pretty good suspense book that I enjoyed.

If you, or someone you know may suffer from a mental illness please get help. Mental illness is not a death sentence. There are many people out there who suffer from it but have gone on to lead full lives. Just like cancer it must be treated in order for it to be dealt with and is not a matter of mind over matter.

Happy Advent and God Bless,

Nina

Christmas Favorites

Christmas is one of my favorite times of year with all the gift giving, family celebrations, and christmas carols at mass. Today I want to share with you some of my favorite Christmas books. The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson is a Christmas classic that is a fun read for the entire family. You will never look at Christmas pageants the same after seeing it done"Herdman style".

Boo Humbug by Rene Gutteridge follows the town of Skary, Indiana's adaptation of Charles Dicken's A Christmas Carol. It is to be directed by a person who thinks Dicken's is "Unappreciated"(Boo Humbug,14). The new name given to this adaptation, A Very Skary Christmas Carol, describes the tone of the book in so far as Skary refers to the modern slang term for crazy and out there. This book had me laughing from start to finish and is highly recommended for those who enjoy more sarcastic humor.

Have a good read- Nina

Making your own story

Lynn Austin recently wrote a book called "Wonderland Creek" it follows a young woman in the 1930's whose world revolves around books. She works in a library until various circumstances land her in the small town of Wonderland Creek in Tennessee. It is an entertaining look at how we can spend our time longing for adventures, drama, and even a bit of romance; while it is always there if we make an effort to look for it and start making our own life the way we want it to be.

Dorothy Cummings whose book "The Closets All Mine" and her blog Seraphic Singles, both of which can be found at http://seraphicsinglescummings.blogspot.com/, focuses on this aspect of taking a hold of your own life and making it what you want it to be. This can all be heard in Francesca Battistelli's song "It's your Life. Check out her other music while you are there. I have spent the last few years evaluating my life and trying to figure out what to do with my life. I am taking it a day at a time searching for God's will and living life to the fullest extent possible.

le Chaim, Nina

You can't live with them, you can't live without them

Families are the foundation of civilization and also the source of both joy in sorrow in our life. We often find ourselves with special relationships with certain people in our family because there are always certain people who understand us better and reversely, those that don't understand us. Francine Rivers new two-part series, Marta's Legacy looks in depth at this problem through multi-generations of women in one family; their stories and relationships. Their story starts in the early 20th century with Marta and continues through both world wars, the "sexual revolution" of the 70's and continue to the present day.

These books are not really as enjoyable as they are thought provoking. If you ever had an argument with your mother you know the uncomfortable feeling that goes with those arguments. The books "Her Mother's Hope" and "Her Daughter's Dream" explore how this family's history has an effect on their relationships with members of their families. How bitterness and lack of understanding can ruin relationships. And open communication, love, and of course God can heal and strengthen our relationships with our family.

Shalom, Nina

PS: Another book I read recently called "Shadows in the Sand," a murder mystery by Gayle G. Roper takes another look at the value of understanding peoples motives and the necessity of forgiveness.

Toward the Gleam by T.M. Doran

I tend to hold Catholic fiction to a higher standard because I expect more from a Catholic book then just a Christian book. Toward the Gleam by T. M. Doran answered all my expectations and then some. It dealt with theology, philosophy, the problem of relativisim and the nature of the evil. This all takes place in the tulmultuous time between WWI and WWII. This book also includes C.S. Lewis, Agatha Christie and Einstein's theory of relativity with a bit of fantasy thrown in. I highly recommend this book as not only a great read but food for thought.

- Shalom, Nina

La Belle Époque

I saw the movie, Midnight in Paris, last night with my sister. The story follows Gil, played by Owen Wilson. As he walks the streets of Paris he ends up going back into his "golden age," Paris in the 1920's, with the likes of Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald and T. S. Eliot. They pull him into their world, which he finds to be more attractive then the one he lives in. He also meets a girl Adriana, who is Picasso's current mistress, and falls in love with her. The problem, of course, is that Adriana, like Gil, is dissatisfied with her present day Paris in the 1920's. She prefers La Belle Epoque, the turn of the century which had such marvels as Cancan dancers, horse and carriages, and artists like Degas. While walking in 1920's Paris, they are heralded into a horse drawn carriage and brought into La Belle Epoque. After meeting Degas and Gauguin they get into a discussion about the current culture and Gil is surprised to learn that they are as dissatisfied with their time as he is with his. This makes Gil realize that every time has its drawbacks and he returns to 2012 and continues on with his life.

While I agree with this theory, there are further steps we can take when it comes to how we romanticize history. If asked what your favorite time was, what would you answer: WWII, Regency, Turn of the Century, or Biblical times? While there is nothing wrong with these periods, we tend to only see the triumphs and victories, not what kind of problems they had to face. I think it is because we see things more clearly in hindsight then we do in our own lives. We look at people like Hitler, and Stalin and wonder why so many people followed and supported them because "clearly," their ideas were evil. We know people have successfully stood up to Hitler and won. The Berlin wall did come down and we rejoice in those victories. There is nothing that they had that we do not have. We too need to face our present because God put us here for a reason. What evils do we face in this day and age? Abortion, secularization, godlessness, and materialism to name a few. Instead of looking at the past and dreaming of what it would be like to live during those times we need to use the past as a lesson and a promise, to stand for what is right and to follow God's will because Good, always conquers Evil.

Shalom, Nina

Truth and Compassion

These past two months I have come across many books that focus on how Truth and compassion have reached across battle lines of the pro choice/pro life as well as Catholic/Pentecostal divide. These books are "unPlanned" by Abby Johnson and No Price too High by Alex Jones. Abby Johnson writes in the introduction that "My story is not a comfortable one to read."(unPlanned, xix). I found this to be very true as it shows not only Abby's inner battle but reminds us all of how we can rationalize our sins. The first chapter is one of the most heart rending as it describes the ultrasound guided abortion that Abby Johnson was drafted to help with. I would recommend you skip this chapter if you are sensitive or feel that you would not be able to read about it. It is something that will forever stay in my mind. Every pro-lifer should read this book and how compassion and caring led Abby to seek help from those who were on the "other side of the fence," (unPlanned, 39) particularly the Coalition for Life. A number of times in the book Abby mentions some of the tactics that "solidifies your opposition against you."(unPlanned, 89). How pictures of aborted babies, the grim reaper, signs that say murderers hurt the pro life cause. While Abby always had doubts about abortion it was pro lifers who showed that they cared for her and for those seeking abortion that caused her to seek their help when she was in a quandary. The Truth got a hold of her through the avenue of compassion.
I heard a quote once that said, "if you study theology you will become Christian, if you study history you will become Catholic". This was the case for Alex Jones who since his teens had been sold out to God since his teens after being baptized in the Holy Spirit and went from being a teacher to a Pentecostal pastor at his own church. No Price too High chronicles his discovery of the Church fathers and a gradual realization that the Catholic church was the one that Jesus started. While this book follows in the footsteps of books such as Rome Sweet Home, A Philadelphia Catholic in King James Court it also brings the dimension of culture and race into the story.

Searching for the Truth

"'Once upon a very long ago, in the time of Glaux, there was an order of knightly owls, from a kingdom called Ga'Hoole, who would rise each night into the blackness and perform noble deeds. they spoke no words but true ones, their purpose was to right all wrongs, to make strong the weak, mend the broken, vanquish the proud, and make powerless those who abused the frail With hearts sublime they would take flight-' Kludd yawned." Is this a true story or what, Da?' It's a legend, Kludd,' his father answered.'But is it true?'Kludd whined. ' I only like true stories.'''A legend, Kludd, is a story that you begin to feel in your gizzard and then over time it becomes true in your heart. And perhaps over time makes you become a better owl.'" The Capture by Katherine Lasky pg 14







This past Sunday during the homily the priest talked about how Epiphany is about searching for Christ. I would take this further and say it's about searching for the Christ child. For at Christmas time we are reminded that Christ not only came to save us but to guide us and teach us participating in our human nature in its most basic form, that of a baby. In Christ, the fullness of human nature can be found. We see in Him the fulfilment of those characteristics of which legends are made of: honesty, faith, bravery, chivalry, and sacrifice. That is why children's books are some of the books most worth reading because, in the best of them these traits are seen, good always conquers evil, and we are reminded of our childhood selves. When we get older we can lose this straightforward approach to life and get caught in the whys and ifs, losing the basic truth, that in the end all that matters is that we follow Christ, and good will overcome evil in the end. I have always enjoyed children's books like The Chronicles of Narnia, Lord of the Rings, The Wrinkle in Time series, all of which have specifically Christian messages. I have recently been reading The Guardian's of Ga'Hoole which I've enjoyed. There are a few caveats that need to be mentioned this series should be read around 10 or up as there are many battles between the owls and one of the owls has turned on his own family. One more thing parents need to be aware of is that a few times where any type of god is mentioned they have an relativistic view that everyone is right whoever they choose to follow. This was a minor element in one of the books and otherwise it is a great series of children's books from which I learned a lot about owls while they fought evil.