ON FAITH & MEDIA | House of Sand and Fog

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House of Sand and Fog

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Source: Catholic News Service

Grim drama about an exiled Iranian colonel (Ben Kingsley) who buys a foreclosed house in California at an auction, but the previous owner, a recovering addict (Jennifer Connelly), refuses to give it up and enlists the help of a married cop (Ron Eldard) who has become her lover to coerce the colonel into selling the house back to her. Despite its flaws, debut director Vadim Perelman's tragic tale about the consequences of actions, both thoughtless and well-meaning, reveals the frailty of the human condition, but the film's crushing sadness is draining, as is the bleak ending. An extramarital affair, some sexual encounters with shadowy nudity, brief but intense violence and intermittent rough language. The USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification is L -- limited adult audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is R -- restricted.

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Bernardine of Siena: Most of the saints suffer great personal opposition, even persecution. Bernardine, by contrast, seems more like a human dynamo who simply took on the needs of the world.
<p>He was the greatest preacher of his time, journeying across Italy, calming strife-torn cities, attacking the paganism he found rampant, attracting crowds of 30,000, following St. Francis of Assisi’s admonition to preach about “vice and virtue, punishment and glory.” </p><p>Compared with St. Paul by the pope, Bernardine had a keen intuition of the needs of the time, along with solid holiness and boundless energy and joy. He accomplished all this despite having a very weak and hoarse voice, miraculously improved later because of his devotion to Mary. </p><p>When he was 20, the plague was at its height in his hometown, Siena. Sometimes as many as 20 people died in one day at the hospital. Bernardine offered to run the hospital and, with the help of other young men, nursed patients there for four months. He escaped the plague but was so exhausted that a fever confined him for several months. He spent another year caring for a beloved aunt (her parents had died when he was a child) and at her death began to fast and pray to know God’s will for him. </p><p>At 22, he entered the Franciscan Order and was ordained two years later. For almost a dozen years he lived in solitude and prayer, but his gifts ultimately caused him to be sent to preach. He always traveled on foot, sometimes speaking for hours in one place, then doing the same in another town. </p><p>Especially known for his devotion to the Holy Name of Jesus, Bernardine devised a symbol—IHS, the first three letters of the name of Jesus in Greek, in Gothic letters on a blazing sun. This was to displace the superstitious symbols of the day, as well as the insignia of factions (for example, Guelphs and Ghibellines). The devotion spread, and the symbol began to appear in churches, homes and public buildings. Opposition arose from those who thought it a dangerous innovation. Three attempts were made to have the pope take action against him, but Bernardine’s holiness, orthodoxy and intelligence were evidence of his faithfulness. </p><p>General of a branch of the Franciscan Order, the Friars of the Strict Observance, he strongly emphasized scholarship and further study of theology and canon law. When he started there were 300 friars in the community; when he died there were 4,000. He returned to preaching the last two years of his life, dying while traveling.</p>

Unfaithfulness to God causes us to be vulnerable to the influence of the darkness. Only through the sacraments are we able to return to his heavenly light and goodness.

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