Editors Note: The following letters offer viewers' suggestions for responding to the Da Vinci Code. See also, “Othercott”: A New Way to Speak Your Mind and The Deadly Propaganda of Da Vinci.
Dear Catholic Exchange:
I am writing regarding the Da Vinci Code. I ask you to call for a world-wide day of prayer, fasting and Adoration in reparation for the sin of blasphemy and for the conversion of all those involved in the book or movie. I believe it should be on May 19, the day the movie is released. Of course we should educate people, but we should also respond as Christ did. He conquered hate with love and conquered sin with prayer for His persecutors. Please lead us in this counter-offensive! Prayer and fasting will conquer Satan!
Thank you,
Jeannette Williams
Dear Catholic Exchange,
It's about time! It's about Love.
Please consider the following idea: A petition to concerned Catholics via your website to mount a peaceful protest against the movie Da Vinci Code, by wearing daily, in full view if possible — the miraculous medal, beginning on the opening date of the movie (May 17-19 according to the official website), and continuing for a time, at least as long as the movie stirs public debate. It seems especially fitting during the month of May, as a show of devotion to the Blessed Mother. At the Wednesday Audience on May 10, Pope Benedict urged young people in particular to imitate her.
The miraculous medal can be seen as a compendium of the Catholic faith, and it seems the time has come for this image to emerge as the new and potent symbol of our solidarity, fidelity, reverence and love for the Church; with a very special emphasis to the Witness to Hope: our beloved Pope John Paul II.
St. Maximillian Kolbe called the miraculous medal a “weapon.” Wearing the medal is a sign of personal conversion, and an expression of hope — in this case, that the errors of the film will be a useful tool for evangelization. Perhaps it's very simple. As children we come to know what is right by firsthand experience of what is wrong. In this way, the truth holds context and depth of meaning to us personally. Catholics should respond — not with angry defense, but with a resounding, maternal YES to actively participate in guiding others to the truth — truth that is exquisitely beautiful, yet hidden in plain sight:
YES! It's about Mary, the other Mary: The Virgin of Nazareth
YES! It's about Jesus and Mary: The Son and His Mother
YES! It's about a Child: The Incarnation
YES! It's about a Cup of Blood: Sacrificial Love
YES! It's about Royalty: True Holiness
And for Heaven's sake, YES! It's about Time: Salvation History, of which each of us are an integral part.
Ordinary yet brilliant men and women — we call them saints — have walked before us in devotion to Christ our Lord. In communion with them, we live this earthly drama. And to Mary, the greatest of the saints as our guide we ask: “Oh Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to Thee.”
Sincerely,
Denise Hagood
(Member, Militia of the Immaculata)
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