Prodigal
Altar Boy Blog
22
March 2012
The Good, The
Bad, and The Ugly
The Good
Jeff
Elkins’ blog post today was great. Short
and to the point, Jeff‘s post, “Sermons – Bah Humbug", questions the efficacy of
the sermon as a teaching tool. He makes
a great point that because most sermons lack required readings, essays and
tests, what is retained from even the best sermon is lacking from, say, a university
lecture. Jeff is astute in his observations and I agree
with him.
I’m
hammering out the assembly edit for the documentary, and Jeff’s blog shaped
some of today’s edit of the first act.
Across all of the interviews of TQ’s former parishioners was his
dedication to education. One parishioner
told how TQ would climb into the pulpit with an armful of books, from
Kierkegaard to Hans Küng (yeah, I found the “symbols” button), weaving their
writings into the liturgy. There is even
a TQ quote advised the congregation to read Küng’s book (The Council, Reunion
and Reform) to grasp the implications of the Second Vatican Council. Those were the required readings.
In
terms of essays, TQ’s prolific writings connected homilies with readings and Küng’a
book. If you scan through “A Reluctant Malachi,”
to see TQ saw the Second Vatican Council as a slingshot to energize the church. In his words, “That’s my little vision – to energize
this Community. We have fantastic
talents and fantastic gifts, which have been locked up – there is no real
outlet for them. So, I’m telling you –
this is my little vision – you can laugh all the way home – you can laugh while
you’re having a drink tonight – I don’t care! This is my post-Vatican II
vision. Let’s make a toast to Pope John
XXIII who tore open the Church’s shutters, letting fresh air blow through! If we want to do this as a Community, we
can! So this is my little vision!”
Now,
for the test. I wish I could have
interviewed more people because while the people I interviewed all testified to
changed lives (Haiti missions, integrated parishes, a thrift shop vital o the
community, Black Catholics fusing their culture with worship), there are
stories of changed lives I know about, and no doubt many more I haven’t
heard. Judging from the sample
population of the good people I interviewed, I think they passed the test of
whether they would put their faith into action and put Jesus’ commission into
action.
Next Up: The Bad
I head out to Tidewater tomorrow to shoot TQ’s funeral. Checklist after checklist. Shoot kit checklist? Check. Shot list checklist? Check. Checklist checklist? Check. I know I am prepared for this shoot, and I think the excessive checklists are part of denial. It is self-play I engage in to keep from concentrating on the finality of it all. No more tQ to hold my hand and make introductions. No more TQ to run interference and get me access to people that do not want to be interviewed. No more TQ to bellow, “Is it done yet?” It is up to me to make this documentary. 
