Metanoia sin destroyah

There are two items I want to draw attention to on this eve of Lent. These items are two things I stumbled across in my daily ramblings. I had planned to write this big post on/about/for Lent, but these will more than suffice. The first is a quote from then-Monsignor Timothy Dolan from a book he wrote, entitled The New Men, about his time as a seminary rector. It is on discernment and was posted by my brother deacon, Greg Kandra, over on The Deacon's Bench. The money quote is: "If anyone said to me, 'Yes, I’ve heard the voice of Christ directly telling me to be a priest,' well, he might as well not even unpack. I’d put him on the next plane home." Take away: discernment happens through experience, which is a far cry from saying it is accidental.

The second item is about actor Mickey Rourke and how his Catholic faith has literally saved him. Rourke, who has had some serious ups and downs, says, "I've talked to my priest a lot. I used to have to call him or the shrink when there was an explosion, because I was really good at not talking to anybody until there was an explosion." This is instructive because it is not good to wait to talk until you are in the midst of a fight and getting your ass kicked to ask for help. The second thing he says worth noting here is "If I wasn't Catholic I would have blown my brains out. I would pray to God." In further discussing his lows, he "would say 'Please can you send me just a little bit of daylight.'" The daylight for Rourke is Fr. Pete. He first spoke with this priest when he was seriously considering suicide. It is an event that became and contiues to be an encounter for Mickey. I am glad the great film, The Wrestler, has resurrected his career. I still love his movie The Pope of Greenwich Village, which has nothing to do with the pope. As a matter of fact, I believe the line in which the phrase "the pope of Greenwich village" is used is the last line of the film. I thank Suzanne for bringing this to my attention.