Benedictine nun who starred with Elvis returns to film
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ARCHDIOCESE OF BALTIMORE
Benedictine nun who starred with
Elvis returns to film
By Jack Sheedy
Catholic News Service
BETHLEHEM, Conn. (CNS) — On Hollywood’s red carpet Feb. 26, the night of the
84th Academy Awards presentations, actress Michelle Williams was wearing Louis
Vuitton. Cameron Diaz was wearing Victoria Beckham.
Black-habited Mother Dolores Hart, prioress of the Abbey of Regina Laudis, told
reporters she was wearing the seventh-century Benedictine St. Telchilde.
“They didn’t know what I was talking about,” Mother Dolores said in an interview at
the rural Connecticut abbey 12 days and 3,000 miles later with The Catholic
Transcript, newspaper of the Hartford Archdiocese.
“I think maybe that’s why they didn’t take many pictures of me on the carpet,
because they didn’t know what to do with me,” she added with a laugh.
If you watched the event on television, you might have caught a glimpse of Mother
Dolores standing incongruously on the red carpet wearing the habit of St. Telchilde,
or Theodichildis, first abbess of the Benedictine Jouarre Abbey in Seine-et-Marne,
France.
Mother Dolores was in Hollywood because a short HBO documentary titled “God Is
the Bigger Elvis,” which features her and other cloistered nuns at Bethlehem’s
abbey, was up for an award. While it didn’t win, the nun’s presence at the Oscars
brought back memories for her fans.
Yes, this mother prioress has a fan base. Known for sharing Elvis Presley’s first on-
screen kiss, in the 1957 movie “Loving You,” Dolores Hart was a promising young
stage and screen star and also appeared in films with Montgomery Clift, Anthony
Quinn, Marlon Brando and others. She appeared with Elvis again in the 1958 movie
“King Creole.”
But, in 1963, she shocked her family, friends and fiance by kissing Hollywood
Updated November 21, 2018 | PRINTED November 21, 2018ARCHDIOCESE OF BALTIMORE
goodbye and entering the community of Benedictine nuns.
“God Is the Bigger Elvis” began as an idea of the late Archbishop Pietro Sambi, who
was apostolic nuncio to the United States and had invited Mother Dolores to the
nunciature in Washington two years ago. “When I went in to see him, he said,
‘Madre, I want you to do a film on consecrated life.’ And I said, ‘But, Your
Excellency, I’m an enclosed Benedictine nun. I can’t do that sort of thing. I have no
access any longer to this sort of thing and I don’t know anyone in California.'”
He insisted that the Holy Spirit would guide her. She returned to the abbey and told
her superior, Mother Abbess David Serna. They decided to pray about it.
“It was three days after that that HBO called us,” Mother Dolores said. “They had
had no commission from (Archbishop Sambi). They didn’t know him. They hadn’t
called him. So I know it’s no set-up. The choreographer was … ,” Mother Dolores
said, casting her sky-blue eyes heavenward.
The 36-minute documentary is a revealing peek behind the walls of the abbey, the
only one of its kind in the United States, founded in 1947 by Mother Benedict Duss,
who led it until her death in 2005.
We see Mother Dolores caring for birds in her aviary, entertaining them with
recorded music. We meet Mother David, who already had taken her vows when
young Dolores became a novice in 1963. Then-Sister David thought the newcomer
was “a lightweight” and was not always kind to her. “Who would have thought the
actress was going to stay? I mean, really!”
Besides her career, the actress also gave up her engagement to architect Don
Robinson, who took it hard and never lost contact with her. “It was just impossible to
explain,” Mother Dolores says in the film. “How do you explain God? How do you
explain love?”
Life in the abbey means singing seven times a day, silence three times a day,
frequent periods of prayer, strict obedience to superiors, caring for livestock,
cultivating a garden and sharing a bathroom with up to 10 other nuns.
A scene near the end shows a visit by Robinson and his emotional leave-taking. “God
bless you,” Mother Dolores says. “You, too,” he says and walks out the door, leaving
it open as he goes. Mother Dolores gazes after him in silence, then turns away,
crosses herself and gazes at a crucifix on the wall.
Updated November 21, 2018 | PRINTED November 21, 2018ARCHDIOCESE OF BALTIMORE
“That scene was amazing to me,” Mother Dolores told the Transcript, “because that
day when Don left and I saw him go, something hit me and said, ‘I wonder if I’m
going to see him again. I think I might not.’ … It was just this terrible sense of loss of
a friend.”
The scene occurred near Easter last year. In late autumn, Mother Dolores had a fall
that resulted in a mild concussion. She decided not to tell Robinson, because it
would upset him. Days later, as Advent began, she learned Robinson had fallen. He
had hit his head in the same place. He died Nov. 29.
When “God Is the Bigger Elvis” was nominated for an Oscar, director Rebecca
Cammisa and producer Julie Anderson invited Mother Dolores to accompany them to
the awards ceremonies.
The mother prioress is still a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and
Sciences and votes on the nominated films each year, based on DVDs she screens at
the abbey.
She hopes the HOBO documentary would generate interest in the abbey’s project to
renovate the abbey and make it more comfortable for aging nuns and safer for all 36
of them. It debuted April 5; other broadcast dates were April 13, 14 and 19. (Check
local listings.)
–––
The 36th Annual BCL All-
Tournament Team
36th Annual Baltimore Catholic League
All-Tournament Team
Sportsmanship Award
Updated November 21, 2018 | PRINTED November 21, 2018ARCHDIOCESE OF BALTIMORE
Eric Atkins, freshman
Mount St. Joseph High School
All Tournament Team
Active mind may decrease chances
of Alzheimer’s
Dr. Barbara Ensor is hooked on Sudoku, the challenging 9-by-9 grid Japanese
brainteaser seemingly everywhere lately in print and online. The challenge of
Sudoku is that a number between one and nine can appear only once on each row, in
each column and on each 3-by-3 area.
The doctor realizes the puzzle is a way to exercise her brain. “That is one simple
little thing that takes 5-10 minutes out of your day,” said Dr. Ensor, part of Stella
Maris’ medical staff and in private practice.
Although the line of reasoning required to solve the puzzle may be complex, there is
nothing difficult about understanding that the brain benefits from exercise.
Research shows, said Dr. Ensor, that people who stay cognitively active do not
experience a decline in their cognitive abilities “so that those in retirement who sit
back and put up their feet and say, ‘I’m not going to do anything,’ show a greater
decline than those who stay active.”
Puzzles, crosswords, reading and word games like Scrabble all provide good
Updated November 21, 2018 | PRINTED November 21, 2018ARCHDIOCESE OF BALTIMORE
workouts for the brain. Games require you to use memory and the ability to learn
from each game to do better in the next. Physical exercise, like walking or riding a
bike, also provides good aerobics for the brain, said the doctor who primarily works
with the elderly.
More ideas from Dr. Ensor on how to exercise your mind include:
•
Looking for Jesus in the Holy Land
By Christopher Gunty The Catholic Review
“On entering the tomb they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a
white robe, and they were utterly amazed. He said to them, ‘Do not be amazed!
You seek Jesus of Nazareth, the crucified. He has been raised; he is not here.
Behold the place where they laid him. But go and tell his disciples and Peter, “He
is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him, as he told you.” ’ ” (Mk
16:5-7)
Today, we will visit the Mount of Olives, the Garden of Gethsemane, the Way of the
Cross and the Tomb of the Holy Sepulcher. We will see the place where the angel
spoke these words to the first disciples. A thought struck me this morning upon
waking: The angel was essentially telling Jesus’ followers, “Don’t look for the Lord
where he was; look for him where he is.” Look for him where his teaching comes
alive in the people he taught, look for him where his message inflames the hearts of
Updated November 21, 2018 | PRINTED November 21, 2018ARCHDIOCESE OF BALTIMORE
those who believe in him. For a long, long time, I have desired to come to this land
so that I could follow in the footsteps of Christ, the Apostles and his early followers.
And now I wonder if it’s going to be necessary. Do I need to look for the Lord where
he was? “He has been raised; he is not here.” What I hope to see and learn here is
what shaped his life and the lives of his followers. I hope to be inspired by the places
we see so that I can better understand the Scriptures. And I hope that I realize anew
that I see Christ every day in my sisters and brothers – in the people of this land, in
the people I encounter as I do my work as a Catholic journalist. You see them, too.
Your family and friends, those with whom you work, even then inspiring stories of
faith and survival of the Chilean miners who are being rescued as I write this. The
face of Christ is present to us, if only we look. “He is going before you…; you will see
him, as I told you.”
The last dance as daddy’s little girl
Kimberly Hartman has been eagerly planning her June wedding for months now and
after searching through typical father-daughter wedding songs, she and her parents
decided on Heartland’s “I loved her first.”
It is tradition for the father of the bride to dance with his daughter on her wedding
day. This is the last dance that a father and daughter will share before she starts her
life and her dances with her new husband.
Ms. Hartman said she chose the song because they believe it fits her perfectly.
“At one point in the song there is a line that talks about a little freckled face kid and
Updated November 21, 2018 | PRINTED November 21, 2018ARCHDIOCESE OF BALTIMORE
I have freckles,” said Ms. Hartman.
This country song is about a father reminiscing about the little girl that he once
knew and how he doesn’t want that close relationship to end. Ms. Hartman, the
oldest of two girls, said that she and her dad have always been close. She
remembers dancing on her dad’s feet when she was little like many daddy’s little
girls do.
She believes that this dance with her dad is an important step from being supported
by her family to forming a supportive relationship with her new husband. The dance
represents the father letting go of his little girl to become a wife, said the St. Agnes
parishioner.
Ms. Hartman met her fiancé, Christopher Holtzner, through a friend and for the last
year and a half he has become apart of the Hartman family. Mr. Holtzner, 23, asked
Mr. Hartman for permission to marry his daughter. When he was granted permission
Mr. Holtzner was so excited to propose that he skipped his original plan, asking Ms.
Hartman at a Valentine’s Day dinner, and got down on one knee the next day.
“Most of our clients will forgo other traditions like the garter toss, but they still want
to do the dance with their parents,” said Peyton Craig who started Encounters Inc.
in 1999.
“In some cases women are dancing with two or three father figures.”
Most Popular Father and Daughter Wedding Songs
According to Davis Deejays
1.
Updated November 21, 2018 | PRINTED November 21, 2018ARCHDIOCESE OF BALTIMORE
Young Catholic urges donation of
money
WASHINGTON (CNS) — Rich Halvorson is counting on 10 million Americans to fast
with him Ash Wednesday, Feb. 21, and to donate the money they would have spent
on food to what he terms “highly efficient” charities.
Mr. Halvorson, a 25-year-old Catholic from Boise, Idaho, believes the donations
could reach $50 million. The charities he’s contacted are themselves willing to
match funds donated to accomplish specific projects.
The Ash Wednesday program is called Global Fast ‘07 — because Mr. Halvorson
expects there to be a Global Fast ‘08 next year.
Mr. Halvorson, a Harvard University graduate who has already written on
international politics for the Miami Herald before embarking on Global Fast, said the
idea came to him as he conducted a five-day fast last year; a friend of his was
conducting an even longer fast.
“It was a water (only) fast,” Halvorson told Catholic News Service in a Dec. 21
telephone interview from Boise, where he was spending Christmas with his family.
“The way that I did it wasn’t the best idea at the time. It was a water fast except that
I worked out every day and after my workout I would allow myself one sip of (a)
protein (shake). … I would have been better off not working out during the fast.”
Mr. Halvorson’s benchmark for “highly efficient” charities is those that spend an
Updated November 21, 2018 | PRINTED November 21, 2018ARCHDIOCESE OF BALTIMORE
overwhelming amount of donations on the mission of their particular charity with
little overhead. His Web site, www.gf07.com, lists 15 faith-based charities, all of
whom spend at least 75 percent of their funds on such projects.
Explore ways to find love after 50
Mary Ann Leard learned how to lay laminate flooring by attending clinics at Home
Depot on Saturday mornings. She attended to learn the skill, not to meet someone;
however, Ms. Leard said that’s one good way for singles to meet people.
“It takes the focus off yourself,” said the single 60-year-old president of the
archdiocese’s Catholic Single Again Council (www.singleagain.itgo.com), the
umbrella of parish Single Again groups. “The focus is on doing something.”
Ms. Leard finished the clinic without meeting a partner, yet the floors in her house
now have laminate.
Finding love after 50 can be a dilemma for singles looking for a meaningful
relationship. However, there are ways and places. Tom Blake, the author of the book
“Finding Love After 50” wrote “to meet a potential mate, older singles need to get
out of the house and get involved in activities that interest them. People usually
meet the person of their dreams when they aren’t looking.”
His suggested venues include weddings, reunions, dance studios, groups and clubs,
church single groups, the Internet and bookstores. “And while you’re trying to figure
out where to go,” he said, “don’t forget one of the least expensive – and most
Updated November 21, 2018 | PRINTED November 21, 2018ARCHDIOCESE OF BALTIMORE
effective – ways to meet other singles: networking. Tell friends and co-workers
you’re available.”
When people who are new in town or new to a parish ask Lauri Przybysz how they
can meet good people, she suggests they volunteer for a service project.
“Working together with others is a bonder,” said the coordinator for the
archdiocese’s Marriage and Family Enrichment. “Working together on a service
project such as Habitat for Humanity or serving at Our Daily Bread is a good way for
people to meet others of the opposite sex and like values.”
Other ways singles can meet potential dates and mates, she said, are through small
church groups such as Why Catholic? or by sponsoring an RCIA candidate.
“Small groups at church provide a good opportunity for single adults to meet others
whose company they will enjoy,” said Ms. Przybysz. Outside of church, she suggests
meeting others through college courses or registering for dancing or cooking
lessons.
You never know where Cupid may choose to shoot arrows; it could be at one of these
gatherings (not a comprehensive list):
•
Feb 10 2012 12:00AM
Updated November 21, 2018 | PRINTED November 21, 2018ARCHDIOCESE OF BALTIMORE
Same-sex marriage bill advances
By Elizabeth Skalski
eskalski@catholicreview.org
ANNAPOLIS – The Maryland Senate is expected to begin debate Feb. 23 on a bill
that would legalize same-sex marriage in the state.
The Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee approved the bill in a 7-4 vote Feb. 21,
the same vote as last year, and sent it along to the Senate floor.
If the bill passes as expected in the Senate, where it was approved last year, it would
go into effect in January 2013. It could be petitioned as early as next week, however,
to be added to a statewide referendum in the November general election, according
to Kathy Dempsey, a Maryland Catholic Conference spokeswoman.
Needing 71 votes to pass in the House of Delegates, where the bill failed last year, it
cleared that chamber Feb. 17 in a 72-67 vote.
Cardinal Edwin F. O’Brien, in Rome for his elevation to the College of Cardinals Feb.
18, called the bill’s passing in the house “a sad day for the State of Maryland and for
Maryland families.”
Updated November 21, 2018 | PRINTED November 21, 2018ARCHDIOCESE OF BALTIMORE
“In one fleeting moment,” Cardinal O’Brien said in a Feb. 17 statement, “the House
of Delegates moved our state one step closer to undoing what civilizations surely
have upheld for thousands of years, one step closer to violating a law deeply
embedded in human nature, with tectonic repercussions for the future of family life
and the common good of all.
“Neither the Church nor the state has the right to alter the life-giving union created
by God for the benefit of all society … this even for an attractive but fleeting goal for
profitable political gain.
Maryland would be the eighth state, in addition to the District of Columbia, to allow
gay marriage.
Del. Tiffany T. Alston, a Prince George’s County Democrat, surprised colleagues by
voting ‘yes’ in support of the bill. Before changing her vote, Alston petitioned an
amendment, which was approved, allowing for the issue to go to referendum.
The House vote came one week after a joint hearing Feb. 10 by the House Judiciary
Committee and the House Health and Government Operations
Del. John A. Olszewski Jr., a Baltimore County Democrat and United Methodist who
voted in support of the bill, told the Catholic Review he “couldn’t find any
compelling reason” to vote against it but acknowledged that he prefers civil unions.
Olszewski said he expects the measure will be petitioned to referendum in
November.
“Let the people decide – that’s the process that’s in place. I think people are fairly
divided on this issue, I think it will be close,” Olszewski said. “No father or pastor or
any religious officiate is going to be required to perform ceremonies they don’t
believe in.”
Updated November 21, 2018 | PRINTED November 21, 2018ARCHDIOCESE OF BALTIMORE
Del. Heather R. Mizeur, a Montgomery County Democrat who is openly gay and a
Catholic, told the Catholic Review she voted in support of the bill “to protect all
families in Maryland and bring justice and equality to our state.”
“(The bill passing) means that we are living up to our greatest ideals as a state
honoring and protecting families and treating everyone fairly under the law,” Mizeur
said.
Gov. Martin O’Malley (D), a Catholic, is sponsoring the bill which would establish a
new definition of marriage.
National lawmakers, including New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, former
Republican National Committee Chairman Ken Mehlman and Cardinal O’Brien have
called Annapolis lawmakers on the issue, according to The Baltimore Sun.
The same-sex marriage law, or the Civil Marriage Protection Act, continues to face
opposition by faith leaders. Supporters of traditional marriage argue that marriage
is an institution that has preceded law and that marriage is between a man and a
woman.
Movie Review: The Hunger Games
By John Mulderig
Catholic News Service
NEW YORK (CNS) — Though presumably targeted — at least in part — at teens, the
dystopian adventure “The Hunger Games” (Lionsgate) involves enough problematic
Updated November 21, 2018 | PRINTED November 21, 2018ARCHDIOCESE OF BALTIMORE
content to give parents pause. Responsible oldsters will want to weigh the matter
carefully before giving permission for clamoring kids to attend.
At first glance, the depressing futuristic premise of the piece — inherited from
Suzanne Collins’ best-selling trilogy of novels, on the first volume of which the film is
based — makes it seem unlikely fare for a youthful audience.
In a post-apocalyptic North America, have-not youngsters from oppressed outlying
districts are chosen at random to participate in the titular event, a televised survival
tournament staged each year for the entertainment of the decadent elite who
populate their society’s luxurious capital city.
Since combatants are forced to battle one another — and the hostile wilderness
environment in which the games are set — until only one remains alive, the fearful
ordeal also serves to keep the once-rebellious, now cowed underlings intimidated.
Director and co-writer Gary Ross’ script, penned in collaboration with Collins and
Billy Ray, tracks two teens caught up in this gladiatorial horror show. As early
scenes reveal, Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson) was selected in the usual way.
Heroine Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence), by contrast, altruistically
volunteered herself as a substitute after her vulnerable younger sister Primrose’s
(Willow Shields) name was drawn.
What follows, as this sympathetic duo confronts their doom, is an effective
combination of epic spectacle and emotional drama during which humane values are
pitted against Darwinian moral chaos.
Insatiable media coverage, led by smarmy TV host Caesar Flickerman (Stanley
Tucci), and the wildly off-kilter values of the foppish upper crust, embodied by Peeta
and Katniss’ nannylike escort Effie Trinket (Elizabeth Banks), satirically mirror some
darker aspects of our own time. (Interestingly, depending on the individual viewer’s
politics, the basic allegory can be read either as a critique of overweening big
Updated November 21, 2018 | PRINTED November 21, 2018ARCHDIOCESE OF BALTIMORE
government or of the trampling under of the 99 percent.)
But sensibilities are not spared as the grim contest unfolds: painful injuries brought
about by swords, arrows, hatchets and even the creative use of a hornets’ nest are
all portrayed unblinkingly. On the upside, foul language is entirely absent, as too is
any sensual activity beyond kissing. So, despite the elements listed below, “The
Hunger Games” may possibly prove acceptable for mature adolescents.
The film contains considerable, sometimes gory, hand-to-hand and weapons violence
and graphic images of bloody wounds. The Catholic News Service classification is A-
III — adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG-13 — parents
strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.
–––
Committees in House of Delegates
hear testimony on same-sex
marriage
Updated November 21, 2018 | PRINTED November 21, 2018ARCHDIOCESE OF BALTIMORE
Father Martin’s reflection: “The
God of Surprises met me”
I asked the priests in the group to share their some of their reflections on the
pilgrimage. Here’s one from Father Martin Burnham. – CG
Updated November 21, 2018 | PRINTED November 21, 2018You can also read
