You could call it an off-week, or you could call me lazy, but I'm going to ask any dear reader of mine to take the initiative to get to know this week's cool cat. How do I expect you to do that?
But, if you really can't bring yourself to support the black and habit on the red carpet, then I'd suggest the NY Times article "A Nun Returns to the Red Carpet."
What was that? You still think I'm incredibly lazy? Okay, here's the quick run down. Mother Hart is a voting member of the academy and even presented at the Oscars back in her acting days. Between 1957 and 1963 she appeared in sixteen different films/tv series, most notably landing Elvis Presley's first onscreen kiss in Loving You (1957). She then left her very successful Hollywood career and chivalrous fiancee for a a cloistered life in Connecticut, where she is now the prioress. There are some other details in there, but I don't want to spoil it. Ha.
Hmm, what would you toss aside for the sake of following God's plan?
"Real joy comes from those moments during the writing when you feel the great beating heart of the divine." 1
Ash Wednesday is approaching. It’s a time for meditation and reflection, a time to contemplate our morality and mortality. Taking time to consider our lives and the world around us is a cornerstone of Catholicism, resulting in the advancement of science, the founding of systems of education, and of the building of whole societies of counter-cultural contemplatives (but don’t take my word for it, find out for yourself). With this in mind, I introduce a cool cat who looks evil in the eye and asks the tough questions: Dean Koontz.
Koontz knows firsthand what he is up against. Childhoods like Koontz's are often what people have in mind when they ask, “If there’s a god, why he does let bad things happen?” Koontz grew up under the whim and oppression of an abusive, alcoholic, and sociopathic father. Even as an adult, Koontz could not maintain distance from him because there was no one else to take care of the man in his later years. Rather than a heartwarming story of a father-son reconciliation, Koontz had to endure several attempts on his life. Indeed, why does God let these things happen?
A staple of Koontz’s books seems to be that though evil might triumph in the short term, good always prevails in the long run. This belief in the power of good, or perhaps in God’s plan, is what allows Koontz to confront evil and not shy from addressing it. He admits, he does not find it glamorous and so will never portray anything but a pathetic villain. (NRC)
Evil, as part of this world as it is, is offset by the wonder of this world: “If you remain alert to the lessons of life and aware of the mystery of the world, it is difficult to deny the existence of design in all things.” 1 This acknowledgement of the wonder of reality, while also providing a meaning and a form to truth, is part of what Koontz loves about being Catholic. What drew him to the church in the first place, however, was witnessing the closeness of his then girlfriend/current wife’s Catholic family. After some reading, he was particularly drawn to the “intellectual rigor” of the faith as evidenced by St. Thomas Aquinas and G.K. Chesterton. 2
Koontz finds science and faith to be complementary, and many of his books deal with quantum physics and biology. He also explores bioethics through his disabled characters, and he doesn’t draw the same conclusions as a certain Peter Singer who measures human worth through output:
If you bring these [disabled] people into your life, I’ve discovered – I’ve never found one who whined or complained like average people do. I’ve never found one who wasn’t grateful for every good thing that comes their way. And I haven’t found one that wasn’t an inspiration to people. If you can inspire other people by your own courage and your own stoicism, you’ve had a very valuable and important life. So they bring a great deal to the world. - Catholic Exchange, 2009
In a good example of stewardship, Koontz works extensively with Canines Companions for Independence, a group that trains dogs that greatly contribute to the lives and opportunities for the physically and mentally disabled.
The priestly garb matches his black belt in karate perfectly.
I’ll be frank, tabbies and tigers: we’re invisible.* If we’re not invisible, we’re being ignored, if not ignored, then we’re seen for the lies that people say about us. As the late great Bishop Sheen once said, “There are not more than 100 people in the world who truly hate the Catholic Church, but there are millions who hate what they perceive to be the Catholic Church.”
However, that little intro isn’t to get you riled up against the world. It’s to motivate you to be your cool self, to be the best you can be with your gifts, because if you can’t reach people through your impeccable theology (as if anyone had this), you just may reach them through your talents. And here is where Fr. Leo E. Patalinghug does a karate flip into the kitchen and proceeds to serve Bobby Flay on national television. That is, he served fajitas, thereby besting the renowned Food Network chef in kitchen combat (Throwdown, not Iron Chef), and gaining attention for his Grace Before Meals movement.
The movement, compromised of a book, a TV show, events, and the participation of many, many people, may be summed up in the slogan: Stronger family, better food. It has its roots in when Fr. Leo used to cook for his St. John’s Church parishioners in Westminster, Maryland. Those opportunities were precious, self-evident moments of bonding, and they were what led to Grace Before Meals the book.
Fr. Leo’s love for cooking and his priesthood are not mere happenstance, however. It was while attending seminary in Rome that he started talking and exchanging recipes with local Italian chefs. They taught him rigatoni and lasagna, and he taught them hamburgers and ribs. Before the seminary and his call to the priesthood, he owned a martial arts school with his brother, where he presumably served up knuckle sandwiches in a masterful fashion.
But it's food that brings us together, and it isn’t just a way to share something delicious; it is a way to truly interact and learn from one another. Of course, in times like these, it is ever more important that we bind together, especially on the family level. We might as well be cool about it and throw a barbecue or two.
*The article is actually about pro-lifers, but I ask you, who is the largest pro-life institution in the world?
This fresh and tender music video premiered just one week ago, making this the perfect time for me to finally introduce Mr. Kim on Cool Cats. Though he sounds a bit like the answer to a Tribond riddle, the Catholic Korean beatboxer is also the answer to an age old question: can we get some God-loving lyrics and some headbobbing beats at the same time?
Answer:
Laying down percussion, instrumentals, and lyrics all at the same time may seem like a super power, but Paul doesn’t just use his powers for the good of your earbuds and stereo speakers: he takes them on the road so he can talk candidly with teens. Having once been an apathetic youth who took cues from MTV rather than from the faith he was raised in, it didn’t hit him until the college party scene left him empty that God could fill him completely.
I swallowed the whole world/ but was never filled/ until I met you/ against so pure and true/ I could never believe/ unless I found you
(chorus from "Man Fully Alive")
His own experience as a young man who tried everything aside from God allows him to connect so well with teens, but his words are also well grounded with a B.A. in Theology and Philosophy and an M.A. in Marriage and Family Therapy. He’s out to reach and strengthen his Catholic family by preparing talks on self-image, bullying, chastity, faith and psychology, and how un-boring God is. In regards to the rifts and “bickering” in our Christian family at large, he leaves us with true words of wisdom: "Come on y’all! Let’s pray and serve together, loiter in the parking lot, and then go get KyoChon Chicken as ONE FAMILY!"1
Check out his website to see if he’ll be looping his voice in a venue near you, and if not, do everything you can to change that. You and he are both worth it.
Paul's Youtube channel - Paul also does some impressive a Capella covers of mainstream music such as Coldplay and Bruno Mars that are worth checking out.
"The Catholic Church defends religious liberty, including freedom of conscience, for everyone. The Amish do not carry health insurance. The government respects their principles. Christian Scientists want to heal by prayer alone, and the new health-care reform law respects that. Quakers and others object to killing even in wartime, and the government respects that principle for conscientious objectors. By its decision, the Obama administration has failed to show the same respect for the consciences of Catholics and others who object to treating pregnancy as a disease."
The winter X-games are upon us, and although they are not a direct translation of the games in the Winter Olympics, they still bring to mind memories of Vancouver and Turino. Among those memories are the particular athletes who inspired us, and in that vein I’d like to introduce this week’s cool cat: Rebecca Dussault, Olympian and mother.
Her journey to the Winter Games in Turino began when she first started racing in cross-country skis at age 15. Over the next five years she was among the elite, but to her dismay, she was not in good company. Many competitions were on Sundays, so on Saturday evening she alone would be hunting for a church and even fasting to receive communion. When her pre-race Eucharistic habit wasn’t being met with incredulity, Dussault still clashed with her 40 teammates where her beliefs were concerned.
The seed to witness was planted, but it would not sprout immediately. At age 19, Dussault married and wanted to retire from racing to make sure her priorities were straight. She was blessed with a son and a devoted husband, but she came to realize that God had blessed her to be a darn good skier as well. When she made her return after a three year break, she wasn’t the only one on the road to Turino; her son and husband were her indispensable entourage, and they would accompany her to the Italian Alps.
In Turino, Dussault became something of a media-buzz; interesting, since she didn’t even come close to medaling, though she was the top American finisher. Rather, it all had to do with what was written on her skis: Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati. Pier Giorgio was a local of Turino, an athlete, and a faithful who died young contracting polio in his service to the poor. Dussault had adopted him as her patron saint before making it to Turino, and now the whole world was hearing about him.
Dussault is a member of Catholic Athletes for Christ, and she continues to witness in a way that only an athlete can: "There are so many parallels between sports and the spiritual life. When I am enduring physical pain, I can do just one more pull-up for one more soul. We need to recognize that a love of sports can help the mind search for truth."1
It’s not hard to see how the handsome face above became a pop sensation and a soap opera star in his native Mexico. As he went up the echelons to star in the 20th century Fox film, Chasing Papi, people even began calling him the “Brad Pitt of Mexico.”
With his rising fame and ambition, Eduardo made the logical decision to work with an English teacher in L.A., but he learned more than English from the devout Catholic. Further influenced by Scott Hahn’s Rome Sweet Home, Eduardo did a 180, vowed to stay off demeaning roles, and even considered becoming a pirest. Those around him thought he was nuts, but he had undergone a true conversion: ...heaven is forever and that is my goal. I realized that I didn’t want to be a part of anything where the Blessed Virgin Mary or my mother would have to cover their eyes. 1
His spiritual director advised him to stay in Hollywood, but he did not get another role for three years. The dry spell ended when he met Leo Severino at a daily mass. Together they set out to form Metanoia, a film company that seeks to change hearts and affirm human dignity. Their first major production was the Toronto Film Festival audience favorite Bella (2006). In it, Eduardo stars not as a Latin lover, but as a young man who wants to help his female friend, body and soul, and to keep her from repeating his mistakes.
Metanoia’s next project isLittle Boy, an adult fairy-tale about a boy who “struggles to achieve the impossible…bring his father back from WWII.”
In between movies Eduardo can be seen speaking out against abortion, inviting young Catholics to attend World Youth Day, and sharing the story of his personal journey. “We are not called to be successful, we are called to be faithful. I wasn't born to be famous, or rich, I was born to know and love and serve our Lord Jesus Christ.”2
