The Contest of Angels

“The Will of God prevails.”

ALLEN C. GUELZO: 

Lincoln is working out on paper his own problem, his own difficulty. 

This is Lincoln's own agony and sweat over the ultimate question, 

"What is The Will of God in this crisis?"

“In Great Contests, each party claims to act in accordance with The Will of God. 

Both may be, one must be, WRONG. 

God cannot be for and against the same thing at the same time. 

I am almost ready to say that this is probably True, that God wills this contest, and wills that it shall not end yet, by his mere quiet power on the minds of the now contestants, He could have either saved or destroyed the union without a human contest. 

Yet the contest began. And having begun, he could give the final victory to either side any day. 

Yet the contest proceeds.

Man, it feels good to be Home….

Meet Grady, a 29-year-old construction worker.

After coming home from a hard day's work,

he walks in the door of his trailer park home : to find His Wife 

in bed — with another man

What the FUCK?!?

Superman Red 

Superman Blue

Eminem - Guilty Conscience (Official Music Video) ft. Dr. Dre

Alright, calm down, relax, start breathin'

Fuck that shit, you just caught this bitch cheatin'

While you at work, she's with some dude tryna get off

Fuck slittin' her throat, cut this bitch's head off!!

Wait, what if there's an explanation for this shit?

What, she tripped, fell, landed on his dick?

Tsh, alright, Shady, maybe he's right, Grady.

But think about the baby before you get all crazy

Okay, thought about it? 

Still wanna stab her?

Grab her by the throat, 

get your daughter and kidnap her?

That's what I did,

 be smart, don't be a retard

You gonna take advice from somebody who slapped Dee Barnes?

What you say?

What's wrong? Didn't think I'd remember?

I'ma kill you, motherfucker

Uh-uh, temper, temper —

Mr. Dre, Mr. NWA, Mr. AK

Comin' straight outta Compton, y'all better make way — 

How in the fuck you gonna tell this man not to be violent?

'Cause he don't need to go the same route that I went —

Been there, done that…

Aw, fuck it, what am I sayin'?

Shoot 'em both, Grady, where's your gun at?

Lord of all, we bow before thee 

All on Earth thy scepter claim 

All in heaven above adore thee Infinite thy vast domain 

Everlasting is thy reign 

Infinite thy vast domain 

Everlasting is thy reign 

Be seated. 

What do you do when 

You're Not Sure? 

That's The Topic of 

My Sermon today. 

Last year when President Kennedy was assassinated, 

who among us did not experience 

the most profound 

Disorientation? Despair? 

Which way? What now? 

What do I say to my kids? 

What do I tell myself? 

It was a time of people sitting together, 

bound together by a common feeling of Hopelessness. 

But think of that. 

Your Bond with 

Your Fellow Being 

was Your Despair. 

It was a public experience. 

It was awful, but We were 

in it together. 

How much worse is it then for the lone man, 

the lone woman, stricken by a private calamity? 

"No one knows I'm sick. " 

"No one knows I've lost my last real friend. " 

"No one knows I've done something wrong. " 

Imagine the isolation. 

Now you see The World as through A Window. 

On one side of the glass, happy untroubled people, 

and on the other side, you. 

God bless you, Sister.

Thank you. 

I wanna tell you a story. 

A cargo ship sank one night. 

It caught fire and went down, 

and only this one sailor survived. 

He found a lifeboat, rigged a sail, 

and being of a nautical discipline 

turned his eyes to the heavens 

and read the stars. 

He set a course for his home, 

and, exhausted, fell asleep. 

Just keeps going on. 

Clouds rolled in, and for the next 20 nights, 

he could no longer see the stars. 

He thought he was on course, 

but there was no way to be certain. 

And as the days rolled on, 

and the sailor wasted away, 

he began to have doubts. 

He just keeps on going. 

Had he set his course right? 

Was he still going on towards his home? 

Or was he horribly lost 

and doomed to a terrible death? 

No way to know. 

The message of the constellations, 

had he imagined it because of his desperate circumstance? 

Or had he seen Truth once... 

Straighten up! 

... and now had to hold on to it 

without further reassurance? 

There are those of you in church today 

who know exactly 

the crisis of faith I describe, 

and I wanna say to you, 

Doubt can be a bond 

as powerful and sustaining as Certainty. 

When you are Lost, 

You are Not Alone. 

In the name of the Father, 

The Son and The Holy Ghost. 

Amen. Please rise. 

Praise God, from whom all blessings flow Praise him all creatures here...

Hey, Father. 

Hey, champ. 

That was some sermon. 

Did it mean something to you? 

I wanna do that. I wanna be a priest. 

You'd be a good one, I'm sure. Here. 

Take a look. See? 

She's dancing. Kind of neat? 

Yeah. Here. You try. 

That's for you. Take it. 

Thank you, Father. 

Welcome. 

Like Noah's Ark, girls. Two by two. 

Maryanne said it. - Let's do it together. Okay. - Yeah. It's true. And did I tell you that Jessica's having a sleepover on Saturday? Morning, Sister James. Good morning, Father Flynn. Beautiful day. Not too bad. How're the criminals doing today? - Not bad, Father. - Good, Father. - Morning, champ. - Morning, Father Flynn. You wash those hands today, Mr. London? I washed them, Father. I don't know. They're a different color than your neck. Morning. - Morning, Father Flynn. - Sister, are we having the test today? - Get in line. Tomorrow, William. - Is it long division? - Among other things. Sister. - Good morning, Sister. - How much of it will be long division? - Boy! William London. Come up here. Come smartly, now. Don't make me wait. What did he do? - He touched Sister James. The dragon is hungry. You don't touch a nun. Take out your history books, please. Turn to page 683. - Yes, Ralph. - I forgot my history book. You can look on with Raymond. Mr. London? - Do you have your history book? - No, Sister. - Share with Mr. Malloy, please. - Do I have to? His breath stinks! I'm sure Mr. Malloy's breath is just fine. Be seated. Franklin Delano Roosevelt was the 32nd president of the United States. That barrette out of your hair, Miss Horan. Yes, Sister. Morning, Sister James. Continue. Franklin D. Roosevelt, together with Abraham Lincoln and John Fitzgerald Kennedy, was perhaps our greatest president. When he assumed office, 13 million people in this country were unemployed. They'd lost hope, and President Roosevelt said to these people, "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself." What did he mean by that? James? I think he was trying to say there's nothing really wrong. - You know? So don't get so emotional. - Maybe. Maybe he was saying that the world is good and we need only work together to overcome our problems. What's this, Mr. Conroy? I don't know, Sister. You don't know you have a wire coming out of your ear? - No. - Huh? Huh? No, Sister. I didn't. You come with me, boy. Go. Who knows what the New Deal was? The first noel The angels did say Was to certain poor shepherds in fields as they lay I love this song. In fields where they lay keeping their sheep On a cold winter's night that was so deep This past Sunday, what do you think that sermon was about? Sister James? Huh? What was Father Flynn's sermon about? Well, doubt. He was talking about doubt. - Why? - Excuse me, Sister? Well, sermons come from somewhere, don't they? Is Father Flynn in doubt? Is he concerned that someone else is in doubt? I suppose you'd have to ask him. No, that would not be appropriate. He is my superior, and if he were troubled he should confess it to a fellow priest or to the monsignor. We do not share intimate information with priests. - No. - That's true. What are we saying? I want you all to be alert. I am concerned, perhaps needlessly, about matters in St. Nicholas School. Academically? I was not inviting a guessing game, Sister Raymond.