When the Homily is about Immunology

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life...

Initially as I watched, I did not think I was going to enjoy the film "Tristan and Isolde" as it seemed to be just your run of the mill "forbidden love" movie. It seemed to have all the makings of Shakespearean tragedy while perhaps being a bit cheesily done. However, the end of the film displayed some character traits such as devotion to duty and selflessness in a rarely seen profound way that I was persuaded to label the whole affair a great film. Two characters came forth - taking me by surprise - in the end to show themselves to be true heroes in the most realistic and rare sense of the term.

I've met people who do not believe in heroes. At the Undersea Naval Museum in Keyport you will find a section in which detailed stories of certain Naval heroes are offered. One story that stood out to me was a certain Captain John Cromwell who volunteered to go down with the ship in order to prevent certain sensitive materials he had in his brain from falling into enemy hands. One of the people in attendance with me poo-pooed the notion of heroes saying that the "reality" of the story was probably a lot different and that the man's choice was likely not quite so clear cut a selfless act. I'm not unfamiliar with cynicism, but anyone who sits down with a Veteran will usually be privy to massive numbers of accounts of selfless heroism. And what are we to say of our Saints? For my part, I believe in heroes.

And I honor Hollywood attempts to celebrate answered calls to duty and truly selfless acts of sacrifice. In Tristan and Isolde there are two magnificent acts of heroism. Watch them for I will not spoil them here.