The five last words
Moore, Francis E.
THE FIVE LAST WORDS Francis E. Moore W ouldn't it be great if the home movies of the fifties and sixties had a sound track in addition to the pictures? But even without the sound, it...
...Behind the doors, Morn and I, and a house guest or two, were the innkeepers, having no room at the inn...
...But even without the sound, it is still fun to review those old movies with our kids, now grown into their forties...
...With me filming, tile procession wound its way from the kitchen, through the dining room, then the den, and finally the living room...
...The reason I wish that we had had a sound track for that particular scene is that we would be able to hear what Michael said as he put the crown on his brother's head...
...The children sawed up some old boards they found beneath the barn and nailed them together in a rough semblance of a cross, about six-feet-high with a four-foot crossbar...
...The movies of this annual event invariably show Michael banging his hand down in frustration at being turned down...
...5a )4e rad School of Theology PRESENTS Preaching & the Art of Storytelling MAY 2 6 - 2 9 , 1998 WITH ~176 Boomershine, phD ~ Knott, Drain ".'Don Kimball ***~ Stern, Edo o.*oFran Trampiets, sc "5to,ytelling in Oral and Electronic Cultures'" "The Role of Stoo~ in Personal and Community Formation" "Unlocking the Power of Story in Preaching & Proclamation '~ 'TDedia in Worship" Registration limited to 100 participanEs...
...Francis E. Moore is a retired chemical engineer.from Attleboro, Massachusetts...
...Then we all knelt down and prayed...
...He assembled the participants, wrote the script, and provided the props...
...In time Michael, the oldest boy, became the producer of pageants...
...As Michael screwed the crown down, some thorns bit into Tommy's brow...
...Michael was Joseph, knocking on each door seeking shelter for the night...
...In the beginning, Patricia, the oldest, was the one leading very proper nun-like May processions, and, later, marriage ceremonies...
...Patricia was Mary...
...This was, of course, to be used by Veronica to wipe the face of Jesus...
...Along the way, using a piece of clothesline, Michael gently, but historically correctly, flogged Tommy...
...You can see hhn saying "Darn," but only if you know that that is what he said...
...Eventually, the holy couple found a stable--our living room-where they would put the baby Jesus in a crib that I had erected...
...All of the kids wore something black and proceeded, single-file, down the driveway to the back of the barn where a grave had been dug for the deceased...
...Sound would not improve this film sequence, because it was conducted entirely in silence, as befits a proper funeral...
...Registration by April 15:S375 [,ate registration: $425...
...One of the most poignant films is of the Passion play that Michael, then ten, put on with the aid of his brother, Tommy, nine, who portrayed Jesus...
...But what you can't hear is Michael's chastising Jesus: "You're not supposed to complain...
...Another home movie shows a memorable burial ceremony for a black-andwhite guinea pig that had died...
...50 non-rekmdable deposit rcquired...
...We paused in the center hall for Veronica to wipe Tommy's face...
...In the movie you can see Tommy wincing and saying something...
...The Christmas Eve event was the most colorful...
...In addition, Michael had painted a rough picture of Jesus on a piece of old sheeting...
...The youngest child carried a piece of wood on which was p a i n t e d "Here Lies Micky...
...We were lucky enough to live in a big, old colonial house with six rooms off a center hallway on the first floor, and another five rooms upstairs...
...Our eight kids were forever dreaming up parades and processions that 1 filmed...
...Michael had made a "crown of thorns" by cutting up a rose bush...
...So we had lots of room for parades around the house...
...Meinrad, IN 47577 (812) 357-6599, (800) 730-9910 Fax: (812) 357-6977 E-mail: con ed@saintmeinrad.edu Commonweal 3 | March 27, 1998...
...Tom was to carry this rude cross in the procession, but first he had to don proper attire-jockey shorts and an old sheet...
...Office of Continuing Education School of Theolog3...
...In the living room, Michael put the crown of real thorns on Tommy's head, then proceeded to pretend to nail Tommy to the cross...
...What resulted were lovely tableaux that tell much about the heavily Catholic atmosphere in which our kids were raised...
...The strongest child was usually the donkey that bore the Virgin Mary, the youngest daughter, from door to door down the center hall of the house...
...Tom and Frank were shepherds...
Vol. 125 • March 1998 • No. 6
