My husband recently got the book "The Song of Bernadette" by Franz Werfel. Werfel was a Czech born Jewish writer who was very outspoken against Hitler and the Nazis. He had to flee from Austria to France and ended up in Lourdes. He became fascinated by the story of St. Bernadette. When he then had to escape from France, he promised God if he made it safely to America he would "sing the song" of Bernadette. Shortly after it was made into a Hollywood movie and Jennifer Jones who played Bernadette won an Oscar for best actress.
This novel by Werfel is not sugar coated and comes from an objective "outsider" of the Church. He fills in the blanks with fictional flourishes but otherwise relays the known accounts of the events accurately.
The movie is a tear jerker and in particular, the following scene is the most memorable of the film for myself. It begins where a jealous superior nun berates Bernadette asking her if she ever suffered. This nun was her teacher when she was younger and knew of Bernadette's ignorance and inability to learn her catechism. She witnessed Bernadette's rise from obscurity to a "chosen" one of God. This scene is pretty powerful as this nun discovers how she misjudged Bernadette and the horror of her realization that she was persecuting her all this time.
I think it hit a nerve for me because it really illustrates human weaknesses and how we're all guilty no matter how pious we try to be. We can all relate to times when we misjudge someone or were envious or hateful toward someone who turned out to be innocent. It shows how we can't force our will onto God but must accept whatever graces He gives to us in gratitude.
2 comments:
The Song of Bernadette is one of my favorite movies, and I have read the novel as well. God is so good to give us such a loving Mother, and as a child I was very impressed by St. Bernadette. Now a "senior citizen", I am even more impressed with her and particularly by the biographical anecdote of how she went around the convent weeping over the graces God had given her and how she had not used them. In a way that gives me hope. If a great saint like Bernadette worried over that, and I don't take advantage of all the graces God has given me, I can still one day become a saint.
I agree. Mary's love for us is so palpable and she always holds our hands prodding us along to her Son.
I like how St. Bernadette wasn't particularly bright and she was pretty simple. You have some of the great minds like St. Thomas Aquinas and then you have some more accessible Saints like Bernadette and St. Therese the little flower. There's something for everybody and it gives us something to strive for even if we can't grasp the more complex theology.
Post a Comment