Friday, December 19, 2008

FRIDAY FAIR - I'M A DOCTOR JIM, NOT A MIRACLE WORKER

Sorry for the lack of post yesterday. ONCE AGAIN it was a problem with the computers – this time it was actually a mechanical problem within the house. (No, not me.) Once the computers were up it was late and I was too involved with the day to post.

Every single solitary year when I was a kid watching the movie “Jason and the Argonauts” on Super Host (an old local movie host on channel 43) we would get to the point where Jason was about to fight the army of skeletons and Mom would walk in and say, “It’s time to go to Mass.” I have never seen that part of the movie.

No bones about it. When a skeleton appears in Christian art it is rarely for happy reasons. As you might suppose most of the time they refer to death and remind us that this world and all that is in it will eventually fail us – including our bodies. There is only One that lasts and that is God and we would be wise to be in God so as to live with Him eternally.

Sometimes a skeleton will remind us that life is short by carrying an hour glass or a scythe. They seem to say, “As I am so you will be and soon enough so take heed.” Sounds a bit like Marley.

Sometimes they are presented as a choice. I once saw a picture of a man in confession and he was deciding whether to confess a serious sin or not. On the one side was his unwillingness to be humble and confess and the skeletons represented the spiritual death of that decision and on the other were the angles ready to welcome him back into the Father’s company through his act of contrition and humility.

So – avoid skeletons - unless it's yours.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thank you, Father, for continuing your blog, despite your heavy workload as our pastoral administrator.

MJ said...

So do the angles only welcome math teachers? If so I'm in!!! Did you ever get to see Jason fight the army of skeletons?

Fr. V said...

I never EVER got to see it. Now used to modern special effects it would probably seem quite lame. Maybe better to imagine how awsome it was - at least as they first entered the field. That is all I ever saw.

Dymphna said...

Jason won. And even now with CGI, it's still an impressive scene.

Barb the Evil Genius said...

I remember SuperHost!

ck said...

It's a bird, it's a plane, no it's Superhost! Boy does that bring back memories!

Cleveland has such weird local celebrities. Years ago I was in a bar with a bunch of out of state friends and this guy with long brown hair and a bushy mustache walks in and we're like, "Oh my gosh, it's Daffy Dan!" The out of towners were like "Daffy Dan!??". You'd think we saw the pope!

Barb the Evil Genius said...

Don't forget Big Chuck and Little John for weird local celebrities.

Fr. V said...

Don't forget "The Goul!" )if that is how you spell it.)

Fr. V said...

And ORIGINALLY it was Big Chuck and Houlehan or however you spell that one.

ck said...

It's Frrrrroggy! Hi-ya, hi-ya, hi-ya!

GASP! My brother LOVED the Goul! I HATED it! I was a little pipsqueak and every time Froggy got whirled in a blender I would freak out!

Didn't you love it though when he would dub his own sound effects into the movies. A bunch of cannibals are doing a tribal dance and he dubs in polka music. Classic!

Anonymous said...

In the 1980's my brother used to dress up for Halloween as "The Goul"
(Or I think it was "The Ghoul")

It was a Halloween costume contest winner every time !!

Remember the song
"Who stole the Kieshka?"