Standing All Alone in the Twilight

The day before Thanksgiving, I attended an after-school party at my children’s Catholic school. Only a few mothers were present, and I soon gave up on being included in any adult conversation. So I sat with my children and made chit-chat with their friends. Later a mother whom I was on friendly terms with came in. She had known the other moms for years and was my passport into the circle.

No sooner had I sat down than I was ready to leave. First the talk was about Black Friday sales, which I had no interest in. Then came the shocker.

“Have you and your daughters seen Twilight yet?” asked my acquaintance.

I knew this was the number one movie, a romance based on a series of books about vampires in high school, and that high school girls were crazy about the series. I never expected it to be a topic among Catholic mothers of middle schoolers.

“No,” I said, simply. The other mothers replied that they had seen it, or were planning to see it, and were reading the books along with their daughters. They found nothing objectionable, and even thought the stories to be “sweet”.

I was troubled, yet my tongue was mute. For one thing, I knew nothing I said would make a difference; they would just think I was weird, causing them to pity my daughters as being “overprotected”. The other thing is that I had not actually seen the movie or read the books. But I don’t have to try drugs to know they are bad for me; where there’s smoke there is often fire; and a wise man hides from trouble. I have taught my children how to spot literature and media that are wholesome vs. not. The symbolism of subject-matter is important in the quick identifying of the sheep vs. the goats in this arena.

Unicorns, for example, are a symbol of Christ, and many beautiful stories can be found based on them. I have heard that vampires are the antithesis of Christ. He gave His blood that we might live; vampires take others blood so they can walk the night. I have also heard that the first pornography was based on vampires; both are based on the degradation of the human body.

As Leticia Velasquez says in “Catholic Media Review”, “This is a phenomenon which Catholics must examine before embracing; anything that the Culture of Death embraces with such ferocity can't be healthy.”

Perhaps this is why I am not quickly embraced into social circles at the school. Half the time I stand there dumb-stricken because I have nothing to say that would be both honest and socially acceptable!

In homeschooling circles the opposite was true. During the peak of Harry Potter’s popularity there was big controversy over whether or not to let your kids read the series. Homeschoolers could agree to disagree on this. But whatever your opinion, it was respected.

In mainstream schools, there is a peer pressure among mothers that parallels that of the children they are raising. Different is weird and discouraged. Trying to live up to the golden standard of Catholic morals can put you in a lonely place.

Driving home, I was saddened by what had transpired. But then I was lifted up, as I thought of the friends I have found. I thought of the courageous stands they have made in their own circles, whether at work, school, or church. I thought of the mother who had questioned the movies being shown in kindergarten and donated a Christian video series as an alternative. I thought of the teacher at a Catholic school who was criticized for bringing up Obama and the abortion issue as part of a current events discussion in an eight grade class. I thought of the pro-life coordinator who is viewed as a radical by the religious education office at her own church. I thought of my own mother, who refused to give the devil a foothold into her home by allowing occult literature into the house.

And as twilight approached, I knew I was not standing all alone.

Venice Twilight by Claude Monet, 1908

The Golden Key

The impression I held from my childhood reading of “The Golden Key”, by George MacDonald, was that of a gorgeous fairytale, a whimsical story of a boy and girl in search of the lock that would turn with their golden key.

When I read the story aloud to my children, however, I was amazed by the depth of its meaning. The story is so obviously about the Journey of Life, and the continuation of that Journey with Death; Growing Old Together, the Passage of Time, the Relativity of Age and Youth, and Love. Like all great fairytales, it unlocks the questions children unconsciously ask about Life. It gives them quiet answers, disguised by delightful characters, but doesn’t bludgeon them with it.

Mossy, so named because he would read in the moss until it seemed he would grow mossy, lives at the edge of Fairyland. His great-aunt tells him that he can find the golden key at the end of the rainbow. She does not know what the key is for. That would be his job to find out. One day he finds the key.

MacDonald leaves Mossy there and brings us to Tangle. He does not divide up his 78-page story into chapters. Sometimes his characters sleep – at which time I would take a break in my reading – then they get up and continue with their journey.

The fairies are disgusted with the household that is bringing up Tangle. It is a slovenly house, and fairies hate messes. The child is unkempt and disused. The maids fail to brush her hair and hence call her Tangle. The fairies decide to teach everyone a lesson by chasing Tangle out of the house.

Tangle winds up at her fairy godmother’s house. “Grandmother” summons her fish-bird to bring a boy who is sitting at the end of the rainbow. Mossy, who holds the golden key, will be a trustworthy companion for Tangle. Together they are sent to find the lock that will turn with the golden key.

The years pass by. They walk through the Valley of Shadows – I see now it is the Valley of the Shadow of Death – and are not fearful. They realize the key must unlock the Land from where the Shadows Fall, and make it their life’s journey to find that Land.

In the course of events they lose each other, and each separately run into the Old Man of the Sea, who appears as a middle-aged man. Then they meet the Old Man of the Earth, who is supposed to be even older, but appears as a young man. Finally they meet the Old Man of the Fire, who is supposed to be ancient, but appears as a baby. He shows them the way to the Land of the Shadows.

Now they are old and beautiful. They find the sapphire-encrusted lock and go up a stair that goes out of the earth, into the rainbow, and up to the Land of the Shadows.

What a delicious read. I highly recommend this book for all ages, zero through one hundred or so.

I recommend purchasing the single volume illustrated by Maurice Sendak (creator of "Little Bear").

You can read the entire text at:
http://www.mrrena.com/misc/GoldKey.shtml

Kristin Lavransdatter

I cannot say enough good things about “Kristin Lavransdatter”, by Sigrid Undset, a Catholic author from Norway. The trilogy, which was originally published in one volume, won the Nobel Prize in 1928.

“Kristin Lavransdatter” is a magnificent historical novel set in the Middle Ages. The story is at once poignant, tragic, and rich with Catholicism. I also found the footnotes to be very informative about the time. The translation I read retains the original archaic language, which I like because it gives it a more historic and romantic feel. There are also several modern translations available.

In the nutshell, Undset divides an “ordinary” woman’s life into maidenhood, young motherhood, and the aging woman. ‘The Bridal Wreath’ is about Kristin’s life up to her marriage; ‘The Mistress of Husaby” is about the early years of her marriage; and ‘The Cross’ is about the latter part of her life.

One of the reasons this trilogy is so wonderful is because it shows how the choices made when one is young (as well as the choices of those closest to you) have a lasting effect through the rest of one's life. I will not disclose much of the plot, as there are many twists and turns to the plot that add to the delight of its reading.

“The Bridal Wreath” (or “The Garland”, in some editions) will have a profound effect on any young woman, as it carefully treads through the complexity of the purity of maidenhood. The romance as she becomes betrothed is so suspenseful that it is hard to put down. This book should be required reading for all teenage girls.

“The Mistress of Husaby” (or “The Wife”, in some translations) is a more difficult read, but it particularly touched me where I am as a young mother. Kristin has seven sons, and feels constantly burdened by the responsibilities maintaining her husband’s lands, while beset on all sides by her children. Later she will look back on those years with longing, too late seeing how wonderful they truly were.

“The Cross” sees Kristin battling many difficulties: marital, financial, political, and maternal. The problems she faces are timeless. The ending is profoundly sad, but that was the reality of the time, and it is captured beautifully.

Subway Sparrow

I read a wonderful picture book with the children today. “Subway Sparrow” is a first book written and illustrated by Leyla Torres. A sparrow accidentally finds its way onto the D train of the New York City Subway Metro in Brooklyn. Together, a young girl, a teenage boy, a Spanish-speaking gentleman, and a Polish-speaking woman gently catch the bird. Wrapped in a silk scarf, they carry it through a crowded platform, bring it aboveground, and set it free. This is a modern-day Good Samaritan story, painting a beautiful picture of the melting pot of New York as a group of individuals with big hearts, who join for a common cause to help a small stranger.

Winner of the 1993 Parent's Choice Illustration Award. Published by Garrar, Straus and Giroux, New York, 1993; also published in Canada by HarperCollins CandaLtd. Available in Spanish as "El gorrión del metro". A free teaching guide (in both English and Spanish) is available at the author’s website: http://www.leylatorres.com/subway.html

For the young bird lover in your life, I highly recommend the singing Aububon birds. They are vividly colored, plush stuffed birds with real recorded sounds of bird calls. You love to see all of the series found here… http://www.audubon.org/local/sanctuary/beidler/singbirds.html

“Are not two sparrows sold for a small coin? Yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father’s knowledge. . .So do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.”
Matthew 10:29,31