Watching Fulton Sheen
Somehow, I ended up watching a segment of Sheen's show last night on TV. This black and white clip from the early fifties intrigued me. I wanted to see how much the world changed in fifty years. Sheen talked about building character. Two of his "rules" were to believe in the best in others and the worst in yourself. Interesting.
I try to look for the best in others...I think we all do. Is this applicable today? For the saintly, yes. It is an admirable goal. Most of us are highly distrustful of "others" and often look for flaws that could easily rationalize our writing that person out of our lives. It's a self-defense mechanism in a world full of chaos. What Sheen had to say is applicable to our lives today in that we could use his character building rules in reference to people we know well. That seems safer somehow, doesn't it? For example, how about that cousin with the alcohol or drug problem....that person has good in him or her and you have a past relationship, possibly a good past relationship. You can't "write off" this person because of the problem, but you can enhance the good of the person in that person's presence and to other people.
Looking for the worst in yourself is something all of us do every day. Many people can only see the worst in themselves. We are important in helping all of those around us to build character. Think of that the next time you hear some gossip about somebody. I don't want to hurt anyone who already hurts enough.
Overall, I enjoyed the minutes spent with the earnest possible saint last night. He gave me a picture of how the world was and how the world is...Sure, I have to admit I snickered a bit as he lectured with his blackboard and his fancy vestments, but he won over my heart. He truly tried to help his audience and was/is an effective communicator.
God bless Fulton J. Sheen. I am sure I witnessed a future saint in action.
I try to look for the best in others...I think we all do. Is this applicable today? For the saintly, yes. It is an admirable goal. Most of us are highly distrustful of "others" and often look for flaws that could easily rationalize our writing that person out of our lives. It's a self-defense mechanism in a world full of chaos. What Sheen had to say is applicable to our lives today in that we could use his character building rules in reference to people we know well. That seems safer somehow, doesn't it? For example, how about that cousin with the alcohol or drug problem....that person has good in him or her and you have a past relationship, possibly a good past relationship. You can't "write off" this person because of the problem, but you can enhance the good of the person in that person's presence and to other people.
Looking for the worst in yourself is something all of us do every day. Many people can only see the worst in themselves. We are important in helping all of those around us to build character. Think of that the next time you hear some gossip about somebody. I don't want to hurt anyone who already hurts enough.
Overall, I enjoyed the minutes spent with the earnest possible saint last night. He gave me a picture of how the world was and how the world is...Sure, I have to admit I snickered a bit as he lectured with his blackboard and his fancy vestments, but he won over my heart. He truly tried to help his audience and was/is an effective communicator.
God bless Fulton J. Sheen. I am sure I witnessed a future saint in action.
posted by Reading Reader | 12:55 PM
1 Comments:
In God's mysterious ways, Fulton Sheen was kicked out of his diocese (Rochester NY, I think) by someone who wanted to be the head bishop there and felt Sheen was a rival for the throne. He had Sheen tossed into limbo -- Auxiliary Bishop in New York, of which there are several. You die doing confirmations and sitting behind a desk taking care of matters too small for the Cardinal Archbishop of New York.
Meanwhile, over at "30 Rock" (30 Rockefeller Center, home of NBC), Milton Berle is holding forth with the highest-rated program in tv. ABC isn't even programming during that time slot. The DuMont Network, which shared "original network" status with NBC, decided to eat the time and asked Sheen if he would like to do a religious program opposite Berle. Nobody was watching anyway.
Sheen did, and Berle's act was starting to get old at that point. People who tuned around found this engaging, "talk through the camera lens" bishop who spoke in their language and with a bit of humor. His ratings rose as Berle's sank.
Rochester's loss was the nation's gain.
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