Charlie Chaplin (1940) He most definitely was one of a kind. A Bumbling self made clown whose destiny it was to make souls laugh. And perhaps quite a visionary. Somewhat clean and harmless fun.. oh how it has all changed. His mother was very religious as he accounts in his Autobiography, below. "I remember an evening in our one room in the basement at Oakley Street. I lay in bed recovering from a fever. Sydney had gone out to night school and Mother and I were alone. It was late afternoon, and she sat with her back to the window reading, acing and explaining in her inimitable way the New Testament and Christ's love and pity for the poor and for little children. Perhaps her emotion was due to my illness, but she gave the most luminous and appealing interpretation of Christ that I have ever heard or seen. She spoke of His tolerant understanding; of the woman who had sinned and who was to be stoned by the mob, and of His words to them: "He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her." The read until dusk, stopping only to light the lamp, then told of the faith that Jesus inspired in the sick, that they had only to touch the hem of His garment to be healed." "She told of the hate and jealousy of the High Priests and Pharisees, and described Jesus and His arrest and His calm dignity before Pontius Pilate, who, washing his hands, said, (this she acted out histrionically): "I find no fault with this man." She told how they stripped and scourged Him and, placing a crown of thorns on His head, mocked and spat at Him, saying: "Hail, King of the Jews." "As she continued tears welled up in her eyes. She told of Simon helping to carry Christ's cross and the appealing look of gratitude Jesus gave him; she told of Barabbas, the repentant, dying with Him on a cross and asking forgiveness, and of Jesus saying: "Today shalt thou be with me in Paradise." And from the cross looking down at His mother, saying: "Woman, behold thy son." And in His last agony crying out: "My God, why hast Thou forsaken me?" And we both wept." "Don't you see," said Mother, "how human He was; like all of us. He too suffered doubt." "Mother had so carried me away that I wanted to die that very night and meet Jesus. But Mother was not so enthusiastic. "Jesus wants you to live first and fulfill your destiny here," she said. In that dark room in the basement at Oakley Street, Mother illuminated to me the kindliest light this world has ever known, which has endowed literature and the theatre with their greatest and richest themes: love, pity and humanity."
Yeah well , Chaplin was a terrible man . And Catholics do not require his insight [ or his Anglican mother's] ...''Charlie Chaplin divorced his second wife (Lita Grey). Chaplin, who was not Catholic, had not allowed his two children by Lita to be baptized into the Catholic Church, but after the divorce Lita Grey had them baptized. Charles Chaplin,'' http://www.adherents.com/people/pc/Charlie_Chaplin.html
Do you have the keys to heaven? Are you without sin? Where is your understanding. Where? ...Shocking! I do not see anything above that gives me confidence of heart to engage further. With great sadness. God bless!
I really love this story of Charlie Chaplin. We all have a dark side and most of us fail miserably at living out of our youthful idealism. Charlie's mother must have been a wonderful person of faith.
If I remember correctly I heard a story once that when Chaplin was young he was in a workhouse where they beat the children with a plank of wood, the story was told that he stepped forward and took the beating for another child and he remarked that his intention's at that moment where to be like Christ. I will see if I can find it..
