|
Newsflash Archives > Running From Appearance
Running from Appearance
A reflection on Princess Grace of Monaco. Also, today is the 31st anniversary of the election of Pope John Paul II to the papal throne, on October 16, 1978
By Dr. Robert Moynihan, reporting from Rome
====================================
The world of the theater, of acting, of Hollywood, is a world of appearance.
In these worlds, appearance, not substance, is what one strives for, what one embraces, what one treasures.
What counts is what seems to be, not what is.
The surface of things, not their profound depths...
And, in so far as these worlds have been held up as models for all of us, even when we are far from Hollywood, our entire modern society has been tempted by, and succumbed to, an infatuation with the seeming, with the superficial and ultimately false world of appearance.
This is against the perennial teaching of Chirstianity.
In the mystical tradition of Christianity, all appearance is to be distrusted, for even the devil can clothe himself as an "angel of light" so as to deceive, on occasion, even the elect, and one must hold fast the deep things of the faith, even when they are no longer visible to the eyes -- especially when they are no longer visible to the eyes...
And so we have two ways set before us: the way of appearance, and the way of flight from appearance in order to embrace the true and the real beneath the deceptive surface.
===========================
I had a meeting inside the Vatican this morning, and as I was walking across the Cortile San Damaso under a perfect October sky, the air cool and fresh, I noticed that a red carpet was being rolled out over the cobblestones.
It wasn't for me.
"Who is coming to see the Pope?" I asked one of the Swiss Guards.
"The Prince of Monaco, and the Prime Minister of Ukraine," he told me. "But you've got time. They won't be here for an hour or more."
 I will have occasion soon to write about Yulia Vlaimirovna Timoshenko (photo), the lovely and intelligent Prime Minister of Ukraine who made a fortune as a successful businesswoman in the gas industry before entering politics, and also more to say about Ukraine and its relations with Europe and its larger neighbor, Russia.
But now I would like to say something about Princess Grace of Monaco, who died in a car crash in 1982.
============================
 The Prince of Monaco is in Rome because a major exhibition on the life of Princess Grace opened here today (entitled "The Grace Kelly Years, Princess of Monaco," the exhibit will be Rome from October 16th 2009 until February 28th 2010).
Princess Grace was born Grace Patrica Kelly (photo) on November 12, 1929, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (USA).
When she died on September 14, 1982, she was still just 52.
From simple origins, she became one of the top 10 or 15 Hollywood actresses of all time.
In the 1950s, in her early 20s, she starred in such films as Rear Window, To Catch a Thief, High Society, and The Country Girl, for which she won the Academy Award for Best Actress.
Then, in 1956, she abruptly left Hollywood to marry Rainier III, the Prince of Monaco. She was 26.
She became Princess Grace of Monaco -- the second smallest country in the world after the Vatican itself.
==========================
Princess Grace's life, then, was divided precisely into two periods: one half before her marriage at the age of 26, the other half from her marriage to her death at the age of 52.
During the first half of her life, she became a Hollywood "star," an icon of external feminine beauty.
During the second half of her life, she was a wife and mother. (She had three children: Caroline, Albert, and Stéphanie.)
The trajectory of her life is, in a certain sense, a trajectory from the superficial toward the more profound.
(I am not canonizing Princess Grace; neither am I the devil's advocate; I am simply reflecting on a general pattern in her life which seems to me to contain a positive meaning.)
=========================
 In his eulogy at her funeral Mass, the American actor James Stewart said: “You know, I just love Grace Kelly. Not because she was a princess, not because she was an actress, not because she was my friend, but because she was just about the nicest lady I ever met. Grace brought into my life, as she brought into yours, a soft, warm light every time I saw her, and every time I saw her was a holiday of its own. No question, I'll miss her, we'll all miss her, God bless you, Princess Grace.”
The traditional wisdom of the Church taught us to disdain and despise all that is superficial, shallow, false, and artificial, and to embrace and defend all that is profound, deep, true and genuine.
We should return to that wisdom.
Our lives would be richer were we to embark on this journey.
========================================
“He that takes truth for his guide, and duty for his end, may safely trust to God's providence to lead him aright.” —Blaise Pascal (French mathematician, philosopher, physicist and writer, 1623-1662)
=========================================
Special Announcement: Please join me in Rome during Holy Week in 2010. For information, click here.
Note: If you would like to support this work, please consider subscribing to the print edition of the magazine, by clicking here:
In addition, a donation — of $25, $50 or even $100 — would be helpful. This newsflash is free. However, there are costs associated with producing it. To donate, you may call our toll-free number in the USA, 1-800-789-9494, or click here:
Special note: We would be happy to receive feedback from our readers about these newsflashes. This newsflash is currently being sent to 14,200 people around the world. We hope it meets with your approval, and we will be happy to try to improve it according to your suggestions and needs.
Talks by Dr. Robert Moynihan on CD!
Special Offer for New Subscribers Only! Subscribe to Inside the Vatican Magazine for Only $34.95! Buy Now and Save $15.00! Click here!
Subscription Information
Inside The Vatican (ISSN 1068-8579) is a Catholic news magazine, published monthly except July
and September, with occasional special supplements.
| 
