As you may (or may not) know, I’m a total “Sheeniac”. I guess one would say that I have a (big) devotion to the good Archbishop. I think I’ll forego mentioning my special connection with him – unless someone out there is interested.
Anyways.
This CD is reflections by Archbishop Sheen on Our Lord’s Passion and Resurrection. At first, I was kind of leary as it says on the package “Narrated by Matthew Arnold”. I thought it would be Mr. Arnold reading Archbishop Sheen’s words, but it’s not. Mr. Arnold offers an introduction on the good Archbishop, reads the appropriate Bible verses, and offers listeners where to find more Archbishop Sheen at the end of the CD. I don’t know what translation is used for the verses – the packaging says “the traditional Catholic Translation of the Bible” – which to me means “Douay-Rheims”. But, since it’s not explicitly stated, I can’t say it is. There’s music in the background which actually isn’t as distracting as I was anticipating it to be. It kind of helped me focus in on Archbishop Sheen’s words.
The format is a reading from the Bible – such as the Last Supper, followed by Archbishop Sheen’s thoughts on that particular part of Our Lord’s Passion (so, his reflections and insight on the Last Supper, if we follow the example). The entire CD isn’t very long, but not overly short. There are many nuggets worth thinking about offered by Archbishop Sheen, such as pointing out that Our Lord refers to His Death as His Hour, and His Resurrection as His Day – thus, evil may last an hour, but glory lasts a day – glory always lasts longer than evil.
The audio is great, although it at times sounds like Archbishop Sheen is talking on the phone, but considering that these recordings were most likely done when he was younger (he did in 1979, I would estimate these were originally recorded in the 50′s); you can clearly understand what’s saying. So no big problems there.
I would recommend this CD for anyone who has a devotion to Archbishop Sheen, as well as for people who may not have a deep grasp on the Passion and Resurrection and just what that means. What Our Lord’s death and Resurrection really accomplished. There’s no way over your head theology, but not so broken down that the Mystery and Sacredness is lost.
Find out more information on The True Meaning of Easter (CD) and a link to purchase this CD over at the The Catholic Company.
