Loneliness Vs. Brothers in Christ
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Can canonized saints argue with one another?
Heavens no!
And yet if you can look at it from a humorous point of view, you can have a little fun.
That’s what happens in a new video that pits two popular Catholic saints against each other.
The four-minute video, “Raymond Nonnatus vs. Thomas Aquinas,” made by the Mercedarian Friars USA, is unique in that it is the first professionally-made Catholic "rap battle" to hit YouTube.
“We think that this humorous account of the lives of two saints and the charisms of two religious orders will be well received by Catholics and non-Catholics alike,” said Fr. Daniel Bowen, vocation director of the Mercedarian friars, also known as the Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mercy.
“This was inspired by the conversation of two similar saints in Dante’s Paradiso,” he added. “In this classic masterpiece, written in the 1300s, Dante had St. Thomas Aquinas, a Dominican, compliment the life of St. Francis, and St. Bonaventure, a Franciscan, celebrate the life of St. Dominic.”
“They spoke well of one another,” he said. “However, we decided to have some fun - and have our own St. Raymond Nonnatus engage in friendly debate with St. Thomas Aquinas, the most well-known Dominican. This of course is an outrageous idea, since saints in heaven express no fault-finding but have only charity for one another. But we hope the video attracts a lot of attention and encourages interest among young men discerning their vocation, whether with the Dominicans or Mercedarians.”
The video follows the humous and fast-paced techniques of the very popular “Epic Rap Battles of History,” in which historical figures, celebrities and political figures face off with insults, dancing and rhyming cadence.
In the Mercedarian video, a dancing St. Raymond, singing with a strong rhythmic rap beat, tells the tale of the Order of Mercy, founded in 1218 to rescue captured Christians whose faith was in danger of being lost.
The captives’ faith, in danger, they prayed,
And then came forth true mercy’s aid.
To save their souls from hell’s own fires,
We're spunky men - the Mercedarian Friars.
Thomas Aquinas answers,
You malos pueros [Latin: bad boys], so full of pride
If you were my student, I’d sure tan your hide.”
We’re the Church’s teachers you’ll plainly see,
That’s why they call us the mighty OP!
The video contains phrases in Latin, Spanish and Italian to reflect the language of the Church as well as the heritage of St. Raymond Nonnatus, from Spain, and St. Thomas Aquinas, who was born in Italy.
The video is full of good-natured criticisms. St. Thomas quips that the name St. Raymond Nonnatus inspires the thought, “Who’s heard of you? It’s like you were never born.” In fact, St. Raymond was born by Cesarean section and was therefore named as not being born, which is the meaning of the Latin name “Nonnatus.”
St. Raymond, on the other hand, takes a jab at Thomas’ scholarship:
You’re the “common doctor” but a cold you cannot mend,
And your long-winded Summa was never fully penned!
The secular Epic Rap Battles of History YouTube channel has inspired spin-offs of all kinds among YouTubers. But there have been only a few attempts at Catholic rap battles.
The new video can be seen on the Mercedarians' YouTube channel.
Fr. Daniel Bowen, O. de M., stars as St. Raymond Nonnatus, and Andrew Johnson as St. Thomas Aquinas. The video was written and produced by Vocation Promotion.
Single Catholic men age 18 - 35 (with a good sense of humor) who think they may have a Mercedarian vocation are invited to visit the website of the Mercedarian Friars USA at OrderofMercy.org.
Kevin J. Banet is a journalist and publicist. He provides marketing for religious communities, non-profits and healthcare services. Kevin and his family live in the Chicago area. His website is VocationPromotion.com.
