Franz Jagerstatter -- Born June 7, 1907 -- Executed 1943 refused to support the Nazis, despite the pressure his village placed on him--Styria Verlag.
George Floyd -- Born 1973
Died 2020 of police brutality, for passing alleged counterfeit $20 bill. Ex-con, was in Christian ministry, known as "gentle giant."
n the world of Franz Jagerstatter it was lethally dangerous to be resolutely against war. An Austrian farmer and family man, he was beheaded for refusing to swear the oath to Hitler during WWII. There’s hope in his faithful courage. During our present time it’s dangerous to be black in areas of our country where police authority is on militarized steroids. Most recently, George Floyd choked to death, a police knee on his neck. There’s hope in the many overwhelmingly peaceful demonstrations of outrage, in the USA and elsewhere, with black and white multi-racial groups demanding significant change of racist policies and hardened autocratic hearts. Much more needs doing to achieve a real democracy, with liberty and justice for all.
The feast day of Blessed Franz Jagerstatter is commemorated by the
Franciscans as yesterday June 7.
[There are multiple Catholic calendars of the saints, Mar. 21 being also listed for Franz.] Please see
their summary of his life and death--and return to previous entries of my
own, for further information. There are 52 saints listed on the date of Mar. 21.
There is now an inspiring contemporary full-length film
on Franz, A Hidden Life, to complement the more accurately faith-based, 1971
film, The Refusal.
The poet musician Leonard Cohen sang of the challenge now
brewing for our democracy before his death in 2016. Lyrics below, song here.
Democracy
It's coming through a hole in the air
From those nights in Tiananmen Square
It's coming from the feel
That this ain't exactly real
Or it's real, but it ain't exactly there
From the wars against disorder
From the sirens night and day
From the fires of the homeless
From the ashes of the gay
Democracy is coming to the USA
It's coming through a crack in the wall
On a visionary flood of alcohol
From the staggering account
Of the Sermon on the Mount
Which I don't pretend to understand at all
It's coming from the silence
On the dock of the bay,
From the brave, the bold, the battered
Heart of Chevrolet
Democracy is coming to the USA
From those nights in Tiananmen Square
It's coming from the feel
That this ain't exactly real
Or it's real, but it ain't exactly there
From the wars against disorder
From the sirens night and day
From the fires of the homeless
From the ashes of the gay
Democracy is coming to the USA
It's coming through a crack in the wall
On a visionary flood of alcohol
From the staggering account
Of the Sermon on the Mount
Which I don't pretend to understand at all
It's coming from the silence
On the dock of the bay,
From the brave, the bold, the battered
Heart of Chevrolet
Democracy is coming to the USA
It's coming from the sorrow in the street
The holy places where the races meet
From the homicidal bitchin'
That goes down in every kitchen
To determine who will serve and who will eat
From the wells of disappointment
Where the women kneel to pray
For the grace of God in the desert here
And the desert far away:
Democracy is coming to the USA
The holy places where the races meet
From the homicidal bitchin'
That goes down in every kitchen
To determine who will serve and who will eat
From the wells of disappointment
Where the women kneel to pray
For the grace of God in the desert here
And the desert far away:
Democracy is coming to the USA
Sail on, sail on
O mighty Ship of State
To the Shores of Need
Past the Reefs of Greed
Through the Squalls of Hate
Sail on, sail on, sail on, sail on
O mighty Ship of State
To the Shores of Need
Past the Reefs of Greed
Through the Squalls of Hate
Sail on, sail on, sail on, sail on
It's coming to America first
The cradle of the best and of the worst
It's here they got the range
And the machinery for change
And it's here they got the spiritual thirst
It's here the family's broken
And it's here the lonely say
That the heart has got to open
In a fundamental way
Democracy is coming to the USA
The cradle of the best and of the worst
It's here they got the range
And the machinery for change
And it's here they got the spiritual thirst
It's here the family's broken
And it's here the lonely say
That the heart has got to open
In a fundamental way
Democracy is coming to the USA
It's coming from the women and the men
O baby, we'll be making love again
We'll be going down so deep
The river's going to weep,
And the mountain's going to shout Amen
It's coming like the tidal flood
Beneath the lunar sway
Imperial, mysterious
In amorous array
Democracy is coming to the USA
O baby, we'll be making love again
We'll be going down so deep
The river's going to weep,
And the mountain's going to shout Amen
It's coming like the tidal flood
Beneath the lunar sway
Imperial, mysterious
In amorous array
Democracy is coming to the USA
Sail on, sail on
I'm sentimental, if you know what I mean
I love the country but I can't stand the scene
And I'm neither left or right
I'm just staying home tonight
Getting lost in that hopeless little screen
But I'm stubborn as those garbage bags
That Time cannot decay
I'm junk but I'm still holding up
This little wild bouquet
Democracy is coming to the USA
I love the country but I can't stand the scene
And I'm neither left or right
I'm just staying home tonight
Getting lost in that hopeless little screen
But I'm stubborn as those garbage bags
That Time cannot decay
I'm junk but I'm still holding up
This little wild bouquet
Democracy is coming to the USA
Previous entries on Franz
http://mccarthysweekly-paxvobiscum.blogspot.com/2014/07/blessed-franz-help-us-stop-trusting-war.html
References
https://www.franciscanmedia.org/blessed-franz-jagerstatter/
"A Hidden Life", film by Terrence Malik https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5827916/
"The Refusal" a story of Franz Jägerstätter, a semi-documentary filmed in black-and-white in German with English subtitles alternating dramatizations with actual interviews with Jägerstätter's wife, priest, and other villagers, Der Fall Jägerstätter (1971
https://www.franciscanmedia.org/blessed-franz-jagerstatter/
"A Hidden Life", film by Terrence Malik https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5827916/
"The Refusal" a story of Franz Jägerstätter, a semi-documentary filmed in black-and-white in German with English subtitles alternating dramatizations with actual interviews with Jägerstätter's wife, priest, and other villagers, Der Fall Jägerstätter (1971
Democracy, by Leonard Cohen - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DU-RuR-qO4Y
https://acatholiclife.blogspot.com/2005/09/catholic-feast-days.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franz_J%C3%A4gerst%C3%A4tter
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Floyd
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franz_J%C3%A4gerst%C3%A4tter
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Floyd
Illumination by Kathy Brahney
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