So, last night at 9 PM Central Time, I sat down and watched episode 2 of "The Monastery" on TLC. I was disappointed. Over the summer I spent a few days in retreat with Benedictine monks, and found it such a spiritual oasis. "The Monastery" doesn't portray the true serenity of a monastery. Plus, it would have been much better if the reality-TV quality was greatly reduced. It would definitely have made a good 1-2 hour documentary instead of a reality TV series drawn out over the course of several weeks.
I was also ashamed at the conduct of some of the men when they actually stole liquor from the monks. Plus Jon's "lapsed-Catholic Syndrome" is annoying honestly. He grew up in the Faith and just because he's seen disaster as a pandemic and the like, he feels that God doesn't exist. Preposterous! All of the disasters in the world result from our sins. God is good. And Jon said the Psalms portray God as vengeful. Again, preposterous! Some of the psalms talk about God's rightful judgments, but many of them talk about God's wonder and beauty. Look to the very often cited Psalm 23: "The Lord is my Shepherd". In the words of St. John: "God is love" (1 John 4:8).
It's not a very good program.
Monday, October 30, 2006
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4 comment(s):
Watching the show, I had the same feeling I did when reading Tony Hendra's "Father Joe" (who was also Benedictine). It could have been an amazing book if it was actually about Father Joe, but instead it was about Hendra's self-absorption. This series really isn't about the monks or monastic life, but about the five self-absorbed punks. As an ex-Episcopalian, I was pretty grossed out by the Episcopalian aspirant to the priesthood who said he didn't like praying the Psalms.
Thanks for sharing this, Money. I'm glad I didn't watch it and won't waste my time watching it in the future.
You're in my thoughts and daily prayers.
God bless you,
Jean
THANK YOU :) My thoughts exactly, Moneybags.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts, everyone. I am glad that you agree.
And also with you,
I was also shocked at how the one man said he didn't like praying the Psalms. The Psalms are some of the most important of all prayers.
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