In these dark days of secular fundamentalism, hedonism and radical relativism it is a joy to discover that new works of art continue to shine forth the good, true and the beautiful.
 
In the past few days, I’ve watched two films that I’ve been meaning to watch for several months. Both were better than I expected, perhaps because my expectations are lower than they should be.
 
The first film was For Greater Glory about the heroic resistance of Mexico’s Catholics to an earlier manifestation of secular fundamentalism. I never fail to be inspired by the example of those prepared to die a martyr’s death for the Faith. The blood of the martyrs, united to the Blood of Christ, is indeed the seed of the Church. On the other hand, as we have seen in our own day and in all the days of the Church’s history, comfort is the great corrupter. It’s almost as though persecution is necessary to keep the Church on track. So be it.
 
In any event, if any visitors to the Ink Desk have not yet seen For Greater Glory I urge that they rectify the sin of omission as soon as possible.
 
Still basking in the afterglow of watching For Greater Glory, I settled down a couple of days later to watchOctober Baby, another film that I’ve been meaning to watch for months. To my great and joyous surprise, this was even better than the earlier film.
 
As far as I can gather from reading the final credits, and I haven’t made the effort to check, October Baby was made by Southern Baptists from Alabama. If this is so, the film’s very positive portrayal of the Catholic Church is indicative of the coming together of Protestants and Catholics in the face of the culture of death.
 
For those who don’t know, October Baby is a powerful pro-life film about a nineteen-year-old abortion survivor’s struggle to come to terms with her mother’s failed efforts to kill her in the womb. It’s superbly acted, well written and filmed, and had me in tears more than once. The film is a powerful witness of the power of life over death, and the triumph of good over evil.
 
These two films show how good art can evangelize the culture. They are candles of light and life in the darkness of the culture of death. Thanks be to God for such great art in such dark times.