From as far back as I can remember, I have loved St Peter.  He was a big, burly fisherman with foot in mouth disease who loved Jesus at first imperfectly and then so wholeheartedly that he died for Him.  Peter was totally human and he is the rock on which my church is built - the stuff of legend.

My fascination with Peter grew through reading and movies: The Big Fisherman, The Shoes of the Fisherman (this was more about a Pope in the mould of Peter than Peter himself).  Both books and movies were epic; they fuelled imagination already coloured by Biblical accounts.  How could I resist one more narrative linked to Peter, linked to my faith and one that promised a really good read?  I bought the book by John O’Neill, settled into a comfortable chair and blocked all distractions.

The book is really well written in clear and readable prose, and adheres to the best journalistic principles of providing, upfront, the ‘Who, What, Why, When, Where and How’.  The pace is easy – neither fast nor slow.  One does not have to move back to go forward and it is totally factual (annotated as well); there is no room for doubt about veracity.  If there is one problem that I had it is that there is too much repetition – identical statements and phrases – sometimes even in consecutive paragraphs, much like a favourite family elder repeating stories, forgetting that they have been told before.  Once is forgivable, more is not. A proofing oversight?

It is historical in that it traces back to 1939 but could only be told now because Pope Francis provides the end note.  It also gives an inside view to the functioning of the Vatican – both happy and appalling: humanity at its very best and clericalism at its very worst.  Strangely – or, perhaps typically – it is the individual personality that typifies both. There are those who spent their lives in exemplary faith and those who arrogated power to themselves in the worst possible way.  And, at the same time, it is the story of the foundation and amazing growth of our faith, built upon the ‘Rock’.

Our Sunday Visitor (OSV) who have published the book, have also provided an online interview with the author.  His concluding remark is worth attention:

“…it (the book) gives you the ability to see physical relics from the first and second centuries. With the wave of secularism that is overwhelming the world, people want to treat people like Peter as though they never existed, as though it’s all a fairy tale or Santa Claus story. Just go look under the Vatican. It’s not a Santa Claus story. They really did exist. Peter really was killed in Rome, and there were a lot of really brave people who prayed to him, who sacrificed their lives to transmit this great faith down to us in the 21st century.”

Find the interview here: https://www.osv.com/TheChurch/Article/TabId/563/ArtMID/13751/ArticleID/24487/Finding-%E2%80%98The-Fisherman%E2%80%99s-Tomb%E2%80%99.aspx

Timelines

Amid the gore and bluster of the daily news, a headline caught my eye – ‘Most US students think Beethoven was a dog’!! Every movie buff and dog-addict would know the lovable St. Bernard and I let out a hearty chuckle (and ‘boo’ to those who indulged in a cynical snigger). The original must be turning in his grave to the resounding clash of cymbals!

The article concludes: ‘…for US students who got their bachelor’s degree this year, Germany was never divided, professional athletes have always competed in the Olympics, there have always been reality shows and smoking has never been allowed on US airlines…’

This got me thinking about timelines and about how lucky I am to have straddled two centuries – the 20^th and 21^st!

Many little things - and some not so little things - help us appreciate the particular span of time that we inhabit.

For example, I grew up in the time before television which has allowed me to realise the value of a good book and the fun of evening badminton sessions (strictly non-pro) with friends. Typewriters were mechanical; this meant that you needed to be painstakingly accurate if you did not want to repeat the work you had already done. There was no spell-check or autocorrect or memory. Adapting to the computer was a snap – it has to play catch up with my typing instead! Sewing machines had to be pedaled, clothes scrubbed on a washboard and masala ground by hand – daily exercise guaranteed. Now that I am older, I can blissfully give thanks for my motorized Singer©, ‘automatic’ washing machine and food processor (although the breakdown rate is higher!). Doing things the hard way taught me discipline and precision; doing things the easy way has taught me appreciation of the inventive mind!

We have evolved and how: upcountry in the fifties, the milkman would visit with cow in tow, swatch of grass and aluminum can – milk came straight from the udder. Today, milk comes in a tetrapaks, duly pasteurized. In earlier times, meat and fish came fresh off the block wrapped in yesterday’s newspaper (roasted chana still does!); today, such food comes cling-filmed and frozen. Change is convenient even if it is not always good for us.

My generation has lived through marvelous breakthroughs in science and history; DNA has been decoded, man has visited the moon, the Internet and mobile phones have become a way of life, the Iron curtain and Berlin wall have been dismantled, some dictatorships have been replaced by democracies – the list is a long one, too long to be accommodated here.

We have seen leaders come and leaders go: the Popes from Pius XII to Benedict XVI, Adenauer to Merkel, de Gaulle to Sarkosy, Eisenhower to Obama, Churchill to Cameron (while the same Queen is still going strong!), Khrushchev to Putin, Shah Reza Pahlavi to Ahmadinejad, Nehru to Manmohan Singh – some cast a long shadow, each left a legacy either to be admired or deplored.

So much has happened!

For today’s graduate, the present will have to be more fascinating than the past, considering the strides that technology has made and the accelerting opportunities for growth. They will eventually learn that the past is prologue to the future and they will make the acquaintance, perchance, of the music, literature and pastimes that enthralled an earlier generation.

In the meantime, my contemporaries can thank technology and enjoy the opportunity to listen to ‘live concert’ quality recordings in the comfort of home. Beethoven – the original – lives again and how!