Saint Oscar

I did it. I watched the Academy Awards.... but I got way too fidgety to stick around for the punch line. (You be the judge what that actually was.) I went upstairs to stare at my ceiling around 9pm.

I - like so many others - began to watch the Academy Awards with a little bit of disdain for the pomp and glitter. Then, I remembered in time to save the night that I was certainly not against people being rich. I love movies. I love tradition. I appreciate the fine arts.

Movies reduce us to tears, make us laugh out loud, and speed our heart beat to uncomfortable levels.
As I stared at my ceiling I thought about the immense talent and creativity in that theatre. What an amazing "Saint in Auschwitz" film they could make, what phenomenal modern allegories could they imagine, what lessons could they teach by covering their cleavage and loosening their waistline a bit?!

The other thing that struck me: so many of these great actors and actresses seemed uncomfortable. Their corsets were too tight, their shoes too tall, their night too long, and their ability to pull off a joke found wanting.

I kept thinking.... what about me? Before I lament the industry, do I put all my talents at the service of God? Do I complain about little things, that the poor can only dream about? What do I do to support faithful artists and works of art? Last night was filled with a bunch of human beings, lapsed Catholics because of gay siblings, misconceptions about the Church as the door to salvation, broken families sending them seeking for what "works" for them, etc.

Sure, I'll never talk to Anne Hathaway, Hugh Jackman, or Ben Affleck, but what am I doing to steel my own faith? What am I doing to reach out to the less successful types I do meet daily? The hope of the communion of saints is that by perfecting myself and loving others, I might just play a part in some stars uniting with the Son.