First Writing

Here they are. The first written moments of "All Grace"

(An older priest, gaunt, draped in a black cassock and cloak, large-rimmed round black glasses. HE stands in a spotlight, smiling at us. This is PERE COUTURIER, a Dominican priest. And HE has come to speak to us.)

COUTURIER
You are about to take part in a sacred ritual. In fact, the ritual has already started. Before these lights around us dimmed, before you entered this place, before you arrived, before you left your home or office, you were preparing to come. That preparation was the start of this beautiful ritual. I, myself, was preparing. I made sure my robes were in order, my glasses clear of debris. I cleared my voice, knowing that I would be addressing you this evening and hoping that in my clarity of voice, I would also, somehow, be able to present a clarity of thought. But let me tell you this. As you participate in this ritual. Do not think. For, in art, it is not the intellect that judges and discriminates, it is the senses. Tonight, you must use the intuition of your senses and not of your reason. Already many of you are questioning, “Do not think? What does he mean? Art? Reason? Sacred ritual? What is the meaning of this?” We must quiet those restless minds of yours.

(A burst of music from Stravinsky’s “Rite of Spring” erupts loudly. COUTURIER speaks over the music. Projected images of machinery, politicians, pop-culture, etc. punctuate his words.)

COUTURIER (cont’d)
In the Western world, over the past hundred years, your senses have been progressively corrupted. Corrupted by the products of official academicism, by assembly lines, by mediocrity! Look, listen, taste, smell, touch, FEEL!

(The music becomes ear-shattering, the images flash with ferocity.)

COUTURIER (cont’d)
WAKE UP!!

(Silence.)

COUTURIER (cont’d)
For too long have your senses been assaulted with mediocrity. Especially in the realm of art. In the beginning, there was an unbroken tradition, century after century, of Masters who created art. And in the Catholic Church, these Masters were cultivated, no matter how diverse or revolutionary their thinking, by popes and bishops and abbots who entrusted the greatest monuments of Christendom to these Masters. One only has to mention the name Michelangelo and you know of what I’m speaking. The Masters filled the most sacred places on Earth with their art. With the nineteenth century all this began to change. One after another the great men were bypassed in favor of secondary talents, then of third-raters, then of QUACKS, then of HUCKSTERS. So, in fashion, the biggest monuments were also the worst. LOOK. Look at Lourdes, Fourviere, Lisieux! Too many to name! Mediocrity! Outside of the Church, the plague continued. Ecclesiastical circles and civil officials no longer knew who the real masters were! New art was being created, new Masters were rising, but these Masters were being ignored by the Church in favor of “SACRED ART” such as THIS!

(An image of a “prayer book” picture.)

COUTURIER (cont’d)
This is the “Sacred Art” of today. But I propose that this is neither SACRED, nor ART! You may discuss this amongst yourselves, but LOOK! Look at it, please. Is this the amount of spiritual vitality in the Christian Church? THIS is the greatest portrayal of faith? THIS is MOVING? It is SENTIMENTAL, dear people. It is POPULAR. Christian people, with their clergies in the lead, are pleased with what they see. That is what people like because, at a certain level, that is what people ARE. This art is a SHAME. A corruption of all that is purest in the Gospel and in the faith. This art reveals a very real crisis of faith. It is lamentable. I am calling out to you. You. You. You. You! There must be a revolution in our times! Wake up!! Where is your faith? Where is your life? WAKE UP!!