Dearest Papa,
I'll pray for your brother, and I hope he has many more years ahead of him, just like you. I can tell from the way you write that you must love him very much. But, dearest Papa, I have to warn you about something in your opening paragraph that, as a European and a serious-minded man, you couldn't possibly be aware of. When you put together a series of words like "playing the piano", "candelabra", and "my brother George", any North American is going to make an association that I'm sure you never intended. You see, there was this man called Liberace... You can do a Google search for him (has Fr. Norbert told you about Google?), and you'll find that, although he was definitely a good pianist, which is a point in his favour, he had a few eccentricities that might make him a less than appropriate associate. A taste for rhinestones and feathers was the least of it, if you get my drift.
Hi Wanda,
I didn’t take it that Papa was being effeminate or anything of the sort. I took it that he was playing to the 40 year oldish Americans, like myself, who grew up with Bugs Bunny doing the Liberace spoof. I bet if Papa grew up in the US in the seventies he would have been a Bugs Bunny fan and would have rejected all of the Relativist cartoons that the poor children today are stuck with. Ain’t that right, Papa?
Papa Ratzi,
Please tell us that you weren't playing boogie-woogie on the piano.
Dear Papa, I hate to be the one to point this out, but you better fix something in your latest musing before Nihil Obstat gets wind of it. You -- I am sure inadvertantly -- spelled your dear brother's name wrong. Not to be bringing up past mistakes, but once again you have added that pesky 'e' where it should not be. As you know, Papa, your liebe bruder is named Georg, not George. Just rememeber this little ditty, as I know you are so fond of the music: "My brother has a first name, it's G-E-O-R-G (wthout an 'e')"
I hope you are not offended by my pointing out your mist....typing error re: Georg's name.
And most importantly, know, dear Papa, that we are praying for Big Georg's quick recovery and resumation of his vacation with you and the familia at Castel Gandolfo.
TTFN, xoxo
Wanda,
Thank you for your words of caution, but for once R*ck Lugar* is right. I don't even own a candelabra. I suppose my comment should have been accompanied by a wink 
, because as you point out, I would not want a connection made between myself and that other guy.
Thanks again and God bless you.
Papa.
Monoghan,
Boogie what?
God bless you.
Papa
MoongardenMary,
Nice to hear from you again and thank you for looking out for Papa, but this time it isn’t necessary. I purposely used the English translation for Georg. Likewise, if I were to mention my given name here, I would use Joseph, rather than Josef. Nevertheless, your warning - complete with song made me LOL and nearly had me ROTFL.
Oh, silly me. That German sense of humour can be a little difficult for foreigners like myself to grasp - many apologies! But don't listen to R*ck Lugar* when it comes to Bugs Bunny - the BEST episode is the one with Giovanni Jones, the opera singer.
Papa,
We used to play church when we were little. My brother always played the priest, saldly it didn't lead to a vocation in his case as he is now a Jewish convert. I pray for him daily. I will add your brother to my prayers.
I love listening to piano, but I prefer jazz to classical music.
Wanda,
The opera episode is funny, but my personal favorites are:
The one where Bugs gives Yosemite Sam a lesson in virtue - you know, the one where Yosemite Sam has to learn to be patient and charitable to Bugs in order to inherent some money, and in the process he learns the value of sacrifice and abandonment.
My other favorite is the one that exposes the dangers of Relativism - the one where Bugs and Daffy argue over whether it is duck season or rabbit season and Daffy keeps getting his bill blown off. Of course, I think the Relativists have edited out the part where Daffy gets blasted. In the world of Relativism, it is OK to have half-naked people running around promoting promiscuity, etc. during daytime and primetime TV, but Heaven forbid that they show a cartoon duck getting his bill blown off by a shotgun, even though it is easily reaffixed. They’re despicable.
Thanks again and God bless.
Papa
Maggie,
It’s nice to hear from you again. Thank you for your prayers and do not despair over your brother; just keep on praying. I will include him in my prayers as well.
God bless you.
Papa
Dear Papa,
Yes, those are good. But while we're on the subject of biblical antecedents for Bugs Bunny, I'll remind you of 'Hillbilly Hare', where Bugs puts into practice our Lord's teaching that 'Blessed are the peacemakers', as he brings together two members of feuding clans. And I think there is also a reference to King David playing his harp and dancing before the Ark, when Bugs takes up the fiddle and plays and calls a squaredance. There is certainly something very Old Testament about the lyrics, as I recall:
Now, grab a fencepost, hold it tight,
Whomp your partner with all your might.
Hit him in the shin, hit him in the head,
Hit him again 'til the critter is dead.
Whomp him low and whomp him high,
Stick your finger in his eye...
etc.
Wanda,
I am very impressed. Do you have an S.T.D., child? Your analysis is certainly worthy of one. [For our separated brethren and secular readers, I am not being personal or accusing Wanda of being less than a good Catholic lady. In Catholic lingo an S.T.D. is a Doctorate of Sacred Theology.] I have a great number of the Psalms committed to memory, but would not have been able to recite that one myself; good for you!
Thank you so very much and God bless you.
Papa
I agree with Wanda, 'Hillbilly Hare' was truly enlightening and thought provoking. 'Blessed are the peacemakers' indeed. As for the opera singer episode, yes, it was definitely the funniest episode ever. I wonder, what's happened with our world's sense of humor? Why are most 'cartoons' made in modern days no longer funny, no matter how very politically correct they are?
*sigh*
Dear Papa,
Your first paragraph is a hoot! Such an image it called up! lol Love your blog.
Dearest Papa,
Thank you for the compliment, but no, I have no theological training. I'm just a housewife - like you, a humble worker, spraying the aphids in the vineyard of the Lord. Chesterton, C.S. Lewis and Bugs Bunny have provided me with a great deal of my knowledge of Catholicism. But one cartoon that is so deep in religious meaning that I have never gotten to the bottom of it is "High Diving Hare". Surely you remember it - Bugs is a carnival barker, and Yosemite Sam is disappointed to find that his favourite performer, Fearless Freep, has had to cancel his high-diving act, so he makes Bugs do it instead. The Relativists insist that this is an analogy of Christ's sacrifice, but I think that that interpretation is a bit blasphemous. I do, however, think that there is definitely a reference to spiritual striving in the fact that Sam and Bugs are perpetually climbing a very tall ladder, and Sam at least is forever falling off. And of course, the whole story ends with the miracle of the sawn-off diving board remaining aloft while the whole diving structure collapses. It would take a greater mind than mine to analyze the meaning of this parable - perhaps you have some insights, Holy Father?
Dear Holy Father,
Forgive me for being totally off subject, but did you see the movie Constantine with Keanu Reeves, where he is an 'exorcist'? I would like to know what you thought of the Archangel Gabriel in the movie and how they did at depicting him. I liked the androgonous-ness of the angel and his thoughts on suffering making us more worthy of the love of our Creator who loves us so much the angels are even baffled by it (since we are sooo bad sometimes). What do you think?
Your movie watchin' daughter,
Dear Papa,
I've noticed that you like to muse. Do you ever find that some days you prefer to simply wax lyrical?
E.Davis
Giovanni Jones...is that the one where the opera singer gets alum in the throat and his head shrinks?
FIGARo...figaro..
Anyway.
In that veign I like What's Opera Doc? That spoof of Wagner always gets me rolling. German composers make the best spoofing subjects (ahem)...
Though Rabbit of Seville is good, too. Hmmm.
--Ann
donning her spear and magic "hewwwmet"
Yes, that's the one! And it starts off with him getting distracted by Bugs' music in the distance, until he's singing along in that big baritone voice (I wonder who they got to do the singing?):
My gal is a high part stepper,
Ginger with salt and pepper,
She's a fancy stepper when she dances
Go and see her as she skippers and prances
My gal don't do much talking
Dances even when she's walking
One and two and three and four she dances all day long
The Wagner one always scared me, though - too violent. I preferred The Rabbit of Seville.
Veronica,
The answer to your query is quite simple: Relativism. Relativists don’t place their hope in God and His ways. They don’t look to Him for the grace to handle adversity with joy, nor do they look to Him to cure the evils of this world. The Relativist is under the illusion that he can rid the world of what he deems evil by prohibiting the behavior he disagrees with; hence the politically correct movement. It really stems from a false sense of charity. Sometimes I think that that many of those PC people are merely acting out on their own guilty consciences; trying to expunge the venom from their own veins, so to speak. Humor is not allowed in a politically correct world, because somebody, somewhere, might be offended in some way…yes, apparently that applies to ducks who have had their bills blasted off by shotguns too.
God bless you
Papa
Sharon,
Thank you and please stop by again.
God bless you.
Papa
Wanda,
Thank you for yet another brilliant post. I agree that there is indeed a profound meaning to High Diving Hare. The false reading that you aptly observe was also put forth by an ex-friend of mine who unfortunately has crossed over to the dark side; not to be a namedropper, but it’s Hans Kung.
The moral of the story is still up for debate, I for one am in the ‘Perseverance’ camp. You see child, the long walk up the ladder symbolizes our journey home to be with our Father. Sure, sometimes we fall, but we get back up and try again. Some of us will persevere and some of us won’t. The real beauty in the story is how even though our efforts may not be perfectly effective, they still merit us grace, even to the point of receiving a miracle. I don’t know if this is true or not, but I have heard that if you play that last scene backwards frame by frame you can get a glimpse of our Heavenly Mother’s hand holding up the diving board for Bugs. What a wonderful testament to our Mother’s intercession! You know, our Mother once performed a similar miracle by redirecting a bullet that was intended for a dear friend of mine; I don’t like to mention names but it was Pope John Paul the Great.
Thanks again and God Bless you.
Papa
Brittany,
I am sorry, child, I haven’t seen that movie so I can’t comment on it. However your comments do ring true. Perhaps Wanda has seen the movie and can add more. She certainly has the insight into such matters.
Thank you for writing and I hope to reply to your e-mail tomorrow.
God bless you.
Papa
E. Davis,
I don’t fashion myself as much of a lyrics writer, I would rather speak through the music and have the music speak to me. However, I do have staff that come in and wax piano.
Thank you for writing and God bless you.
Papa
Ann,
Thank you for writing. I agree that German composers are the most fun, that is because they have character.
God bless you.
Papa
Dear Papa Jozef,
Constantine is good for many reasons. Although they get a some theology wrong and add a little superstition in there, it is over all good. I like how Constantine is a failed suicide, who was condemned to hell, but by the mercy of God is given a second chance. He spends the whole movie trying to earn his way into heaven by doing good deeds, which can seem like they are mocking Catholicism, but they are not. They are tricky. The main point is the the angel Gabriel says to Constantine, "You are not going to get into heaven for all that you have done. You are going to hell." "WHY???" he yells, "Saving little girls from demons doesn't make me worthy of heaven?" the angel responds: "Heaven is God's gift to you. You have to accept His Mercy. Everything you have ever done you have done for yourself, Constantine, not for God, not for others, but for yourself, so that you could manipulate God into giving you heaven. It does not work that way."
I will not give away the rest, but I really liked the movie.
Has anyone seen it? You should see it, Papa. It is not perfect, but it makes you think. Gabriel is really funny, too. Has a good sense of ironic humor. I like that. 
Most Holy Father,
On behalf of all of your faithful blog readers, may I humbly request that you grant us a generous indulgence for every time we read your blog... I think that it is equivilant to praying for Your Holiness, but that is only my unworthy opinion.
Humble Supplicant,
Brittany,
That is a wonderful idea child, but the idea of granting an indulgence is to inspire piety and promote works that are beneficial to one’s soul. Reading blogs while on the clock at work or when you should be performing other duties hardly constitutes acts worthy of an indulgence.
However, I will give the idea further consideration, because I’ve been itching to offer an indulgence of 7 years and 7 quarantines.
Thank you and God bless.
Papa
Dear Papa,
You could stipulate that the indulgence is only valid if it is not read 'on the clock'. Certainly the 'seven quarentines' will be aid the health of your readers.
Brittany
Brittany,
I am still weary about the idea. However, I am really close to offering a plenary indulgence to the person who supplies me with an excellent idea for my first encyclical; one which will be close to my heart and pass the scrutiny of my friends.
God bless you.
Papa
My dear Pope,
I pray everyday for you and your brother Georg.I wish you both feel good for many and many years.
God bless you,
Julie
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