June 14th Comments (174) / RSS Post Filed under On Opus Dei, Recommended Posts, The Da Vinci Code

Somewhere between the reality on the ground and the printed pages of Dan Brown and Time Magazine, a new creature has appeared under the sun: a fantastic beast known as the cloistered Opus Dei numerary. Certainly, one of the tougher things to communicate about Opus Dei is what it’s like to live as a numerary [...]

June 7th Comments (240) / RSS Post Filed under Life of Jesus Christ, On Opus Dei, Recommended Posts, The Da Vinci Code

Never have I read and heard so much about Opus Dei as in the last year. First came the novel The Da Vinci Code, then all the articles and television programs. Then the movie. Although much of the coverage has been quite good, I’m left with the sensation that, in the move from the reality [...]

May 15th Comments (179) / RSS Post Filed under Recommended Posts, The Da Vinci Code

Tourists have been flocking to Paris, London and Rome to see the places and things mentioned in Dan Brown’s novels. It’s a great opportunity for artistic and religious education, and I’d just like to add a few stops in the itinerary. The Church of the Immaculate Conception The Church of the Immaculate Conception (dedicated to [...]

May 5th Comments (315) / RSS Post Filed under Recommended Posts, The Da Vinci Code

The Da Vinci Code is only a novel. It is not a source of serious information, but it does raise some serious questions.

1. Was Jesus Christ really married?
Yes…

April 25th Comments (6) / RSS Post Filed under Recommended Posts, The Da Vinci Code

I recently did a podcast interview on Opus Dei and The Da Vinci Code with Jim Merante, who runs the excellent Universal Call podcasting service. You can listen to it here And check out their other podcasts.

April 12th Comments (24) / RSS Post Filed under Art, John Wauck, Life of Jesus Christ, Mortification, On Opus Dei, Recommended Posts, The Church, The Da Vinci Code

For the fortunate few who haven’t read it, here’s a brief summary of Dan Brown’s novel The Da Vinci Code, somewhat re-arranged for clarity’s sake.

March 22nd Comments (6) / RSS Post Filed under Mortification, Recommended Posts, The Da Vinci Code

Early in The Da Vinci Code, long-suffering Silas returns home all tuckered out after a busy evening of homicide a la mode Parisienne: “He climbed the stairs quietly, not wanting to awaken any of his fellow numeraries. His bedroom door was open; locks were forbidden here. He entered, closing the door behind him. “The room [...]

March 19th Comments (9) / RSS Post Filed under Mortification, Recommended Posts, The Da Vinci Code

I hope you weren‚Äôt expecting more whips and chains, because I have something else in mind. ‚ÄúMany who would let themselves be nailed to a cross before the astonished gaze of thousands of spectators, won’t bear the pinpricks of each day with a Christian spirit! ‚ÄúBut think, which is the more heroic?‚Äù The Way, St. [...]

March 15th Comments (2) / RSS Post Filed under Recommended Posts, The Da Vinci Code

Yesterday, reading the Collector’s Edition of U.S. News and World Report dedicated to “The Secrets of Angels and Demons” – no I did not buy it! – I ran across this sentence: “In The Da Vinci Code, it was the mysterious Priory of Sion and the religious order, Opus Dei.” My heart sank a little, [...]

March 4th Comments (112) / RSS Post Filed under Recommended Posts, The Da Vinci Code

It’s reassuring to know that Dan Brown isn’t picking on Opus Dei, Leonardo da Vinci and the Catholic Church. It turns out, they’re just getting the standard treatment. Apparently Brown writes with the same if-it-sounds-good-say-it indifference to the truth about various historical matters in his other novels. Boston author (of science, fiction, and science-fiction) and [...]

February 21st Comments (44) / RSS Post Filed under Mortification, On Opus Dei, Recommended Posts, The Church, The Da Vinci Code

After reading the book and seeing the movie trailer, I think it’s safe to say that this – “oh yeah, the guys who use cilices and whip themselves bloody” Рwill be the impression of Opus Dei that most people take away from The Da Vinci Code. When all is said and done, what sticks [...]

February 14th Comments (9) / RSS Post Filed under Recommended Posts, The Da Vinci Code, What others said

A must-read article by a Hollywood expert: To See or Not to See

February 6th Comments (2) / RSS Post Filed under Art, Recommended Posts, The Da Vinci Code, What others said

Mario Vargas Llosa on The Da Vinci Code In an interview published in the Argentinian newspaper El Clarin (February 2, 2005), the great Peruvian novelist Mario Vargas Llosa lamented the popularity of The Da Vinci Code. It’s always dangerous to accept too readily the views of one writer about another, especially when the second has [...]

January 31st Comments (15) / RSS Post Filed under On Opus Dei, Recommended Posts

The Da Vinci Code offers a surprising array of definitions of Opus Dei. The author can’t seem to make up his mind, and in the end never manages to get it right. 1. “Vatican prelature” – the “Fact” page. 2. “Catholic sect” – same page, same sentence. One would have imagined that there might be [...]