My children always saw the true story of St. Nicholas and his generosity as the backdrop to the Santa Claus tales. However, if there were no empty milk class, cookie crumbs, and carrot stub (for the reindeer) the fun traditions surrounding Christmas morning would be marred. Other necessities before any presents could be touched was making sure Baby Jesus was sleeping securely in the family cradle from 1812, the reading of the Christmas story from Luke, and the background music of the Notre Dame Men's Chorus singing traditional carols.
Scorsese also made the film Silence (2016) which implies that it is okay to deny your Catholic faith when you are faced with death like martyrdom
The film 'Silence',is actually more atrocious than The Last Temptation in that it's evil is more subtle and Satanic.
I know nothing of the film (cinema, like television is an inferior medium), but the book, written by a Japanese Catholic, is well regarded in orthodox circles, although I haven't, typically, gotten around to reading it, yet. Was there not a movement, back in the times of Roman persecution, not to forgive those who lacked the courage to accept martyrdom, but this movement itself was declared heretical and the cowards were welcomed back. There is a name for this movement, but I can't recall it. Edit: Donatism, I think it was.
The question is beginning to arise, that perhaps he might have little choice. Is there any other kind of prelate, it seems now (I am being specious-but a huge proportion of the priesthood and bishops seem to be either perverts or the supporters of perverts)?
Well the old adage that we are judged by the company we keep....who gets honors and promotions? Who gets sidelined and shut down?
I haven't seen the movie, but I read that one of the missionaries in the movie is given the choice to step on the face of Christ (a holy picture on the ground) as a sign of renouncing his Faith, in order to stop the torture of some Christians. Supposedly he hears God's voice telling him to go ahead and step on it and just pretend he's renounced his Faith, to save the others. This is, of course, horrible in so many ways. What would even be the point of martyrdom if you can deny Christ outwardly while just continuing to believe secretly? And how can any suffering justify the blasphemy of stepping on the Holy Face of Christ? It seems like a very sinister inversion of martyrdom that's all about the missionary's own feelings--how he chose to "suffer" pretending to deny Christ in order to save others--and not about Christ. Which fits right in with our modern culture of humanity coming before God.
two instances, at least, in the Bible where people misrepresented their identity were Raphael to Tobit about to which tribe he belonged and also Judith had to lie about the intention of her defecting to the Assyrian side during the seige of Bethulia. Not sure that Dr. Martin accomplished that much in his phone call, but....only God knows. God bless everyone and our prayer petitions.
This was, in fact, the reality for Catholics in Japan beginning in the 1600s. Initially, Catholic missionaries were accepted in the country (after St. Francis Xavier's groundbreaking efforts) and the Faith steadily grew. However, the rulers eventually began to persecute the Faith intently with frightening forms of execution. Some in the Catholic community, rather than see the Faith die out and not be passed onto their children submitted to a requirement by authorities, for families who were known to have been Catholics, to literally step on the "face of Jesus" in an annual ceremony. However, they secretly continued their Catholic prayers and customs. Needless to say, when Catholic missionaries were allowed back into Japan, hundreds of families came out publicly having been baptized and able to pray the Rosary and other devotions they had maintained over 10 generations. Hail full of grace!
Given the ruthless forms of torture practiced by the Japanese at the time, and they almost defy imagination, it would, in my opinion, be hard to condemn anyone outright for submitting to desecrating even such a sacred image in order to save one's loved ones from such a fate. Would Jesus Christ Himself, who underwent torture and a hideous, painful Christian death for our sake, object to His actual face being stepped on, if it meant saving His innocent faithful from equivalent suffering? He didn't object to being humiliated, tortured and crucified in order to save us from being denied the opportunity of choosing Eternal Life with Him. And Him God. It is one thing to accept torture for oneself, difficult enough and requiring great bravery and faith, but another to condemn a loved one or any neighbour to such a fate by refusing such a hideous request. Thank God, very few of us are put in such a devilish position.
In Scorcese's film The Irishman from a few years ago there was a scene where a baby was being baptised in a Catholic church. I was surprised/not surprised to see that the priest was being played by none other than Fr James Martin. I guess all these guys are cosy with each other.
