Obi Wan Kenobi and the meaning of Life

I do like a good Knight and here we were shown a fine 'double'.  A Jedi Knight of an order a tad less eminent than my own but 'forceful' nonetheless and simultaneously a Knight of the Queen of England too. 

How very like m'self !

Dwight Longenecker - now there is an almost fitting name for a Knight - a Friar of another Parish dropped in to reveal a little about Obi Wan Kenobi.

My sword does not glow in the dark.

The Force was with young Obi well before he was even conceived in the mind of whoever it was who wrote Star Wars.  For Alec Guinness nearly didn't make it. Alec was always in his Maker's mind.

In 1914 Agnes Cuff, a flighty and unstable young woman with few prospects and little money found herself pregnant. The father didn’t want to be involved. She was alone, shamed, poor and pregnant.

Today she would be encouraged to get herself to an abortion clinic and end the unwanted pregnancy.

Instead a little boy was born.

English actor  Alec Guinness, most famous for his role as Obi Wan Kenobi in Star Wars was Agnes Cuff’s only child.   

 http://www.patheos.com/

On his birth certificate he is named “Alec Guinness” but those were only his first names. The place for the child’s last name is blank. So is the column where the father’s name is listed.

It has never been confirmed who Guinness’ father was. Some speculated that he was a member of the Anglo-Irish Guinness family. Alec Guinness himself thought his father was a banker named Andrew Geddes.

Alec Guinness converted to the Catholic faith in 1956 and was a faithful Catholic for the rest of his life. 

His delightful conversion story is told in his autobiography "Blessings in Disguise". He was playing Father Brown (another fine Catholic imaginary chracter) and filming in France. Wandering home from the film set in costume as a priest a young boy ran up and took his hand, chatting animatedly and cheerfully before scooting off with a sweet, “Au revoir mon pere!” Touched by this show of childlike trust, and astounded by an answer to prayer, Alec Guinness came home to Rome.

Sir Alec

If abortion had been easy and legal in England in 1914 the world would never have experienced the witty, smart, subtle art and the quiet, steady witness of Alec Guinness….

…and Star Wars would have had an enormous void.

As nearly half a million young people converge on Washington DC for this years’ March for Life we should remember the great loss to our nation and our world of all the murdered unborn.

We will never know what other great talents never lived. What other Alec Guinnesses would there have been? What advances in science, medicine, technology, business, the arts and sport might there have been?

March for Life is a joyful event  which celebrates life, but there is always an elegiac quality to the March.

It may be a March for Life but it is also a March for Grief.

Alec is not the only celebrity to have had a narrow escape from 'Choice'.  One wonder just how many great and fine folk are out there, but for your edification and mine, we are reminded.

Celine Dion credits her family’s parish priest for convincing her mother not to abort her.

Cher's mother backed out last minute at the abortion clinic. In an interview she stated, "I can remember the chairs were chrome, and I was sweating."

"The sweat was just coming off of me on this chrome and when the door opened and it was my turn, I said, 'Mother, I can't do it.' So, that's how she's here."

Jack Nicholson's mother was pressured by her peers to have an abortion. Luckily she did not go through with it, otherwise we wouldn't have this legendary actor in our lives!

Andrea Bocelli's mother was advised to have an abortion after she was misdiagnosed with appendicitis while she was pregnant.

Pope John Paul II's mother was advised to have an abortion after losing her daughter shortly after birth. His mother decided to defy the doctors' orders.

NFL player Tim Tebow was almost aborted after doctors advised his mother to abort him due to her health issues.

Justin Bieber's mother got pregnant at the age of 17. She was encouraged by several people to abort the child but she chose to give birth instead.

Yoko Ono considered aborting son Sean Lennon, but decided to go along with the pregnancy after husband John Lennon convinced her to go through with it.

An interview with Steve Jobs for his biography reveals that Steve was almost a victim of an abortion. He states "I wanted to meet her mostly to see if she was OK and to thank her, because I’m glad I didn’t end up as an abortion. She was 23 and she went through a lot to have me"

There are so many that had a narrow escape, but perhaps the last words should go to one who went right up to and over the line. She talks about it.

Gianna Jessen

Gianna’s mother was a 17-year-old girl who was not ready to have a child and decided to have a saline abortion in the third trimester. Gianna spent over 18 hours in the solution, but eventually forced a birth. Delivered at just over two pounds, she was put up for adoption. At a very early age, she was diagnosed with cerebral palsy as a result of the saline burning and her foster parents were told that basic tasks such as walking and talking would be incredibly difficult for her.

However, Gianna hasn’t let this stop her. Though her muscles throughout much of her life were very weak, she worked hard to exercise them and eventually ran the London Marathon. She maintains an active lifestyle and now spends much of her time as a speaker, motivating young people to make good choices.

We are all here, by the Grace of God.

He's my Supplier, by the way.

And we serve Grace here.

Drink to Gianna and all those who survived abortion.

Pray for those who did not.

The world is sliding down a broad road to perdition. Jedi Knights and Knackered old Knights like m'self are in need of fresh squires.

Never Mess with an Old Man in a Profession where even the
Young  and Brave Die all too soon.

Pax