tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8771934.post114219860388215654..comments2024-02-22T22:16:29.435-05:00Comments on Bethune Catholic: Day 1Jim Curleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02225590468579353857noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8771934.post-1142295356957886022006-03-13T19:15:00.000-05:002006-03-13T19:15:00.000-05:00I think that one was worth it for the "big finish"...I think that one was worth it for the "big finish". The one line that made it all worthwhile, the one about the terrible speed of God's mercy. <BR/><BR/>Anne Lamott, who I'm definitely not a fan of, said, "I recall reading Flannery O'Connor's The Violent Bear it Away and, truth be told, not enjoying the ride too much. But the ending! Wow...what a powerful ending..."<BR/><BR/>Mama T, of "Summa Mamas" (who I am a fan of) writes, "To Rayber, the picture of the modern, rational man, such love is madness. It's inconceivable. It's absurd. It's just not USEFUL. And as I read those passages over and over and over I realized: THAT'S what the saints have that I don't have. That violent, inconceivable, absurd, non-utilitarian love of God. They have given themselves over to it, let themselves be swept up in it. Just for the love of Him. Just because. They aren't worried about appearing foolish. They just love." <BR/><BR/>Flannery herself wrote about it: "One thing I observe about the title is that the general reaction is to think that it has an Old Testament flavor. Even when they read the quotation, the fact that these are Christ's words makes no great impression. That this is the violence of love, of giving more than the law demands, of an asceticism like John the Baptist's, but in the face of which even John is less than the least in the kingdom - all this is overlooked. I am speaking of the verse apart from my book; in the book I fail to make the title's significance clear, but the title is the best thing about the book. I had never paid much attention to that verse either until I read that it was one of the Eastern fathers' favorite passages - St. Basil, I think. Those desert fathers interest me very much."TShttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17118362963139092279noreply@blogger.com