Fr. Thomas M. Pastorius
July 12, 2015
Spiritual Ponderings
Faith & Film: The Lego Movie

One of the images that I use when talking about the existence of God starts off with a bucket of Lego pieces. I then ask the congregation/audience what they think will happen if I would dump them on the floor. The answer I always get is “a pile of Lego pieces on the ground. I normally follow that up with the question: “Why won’t I get the picture that is on the outside of the bucket (normally a spaceship or a house, etc.)?” The normal response to that question basically comes down to the fact that Lego bricks need someone with an intelligence to put them together in order form them to form something. In much the same way I believe the universe with all its atoms, protons, etc, needed an intelligent creature to create it and put it together. The world is intricate for there not to be a grand designer.

I can almost use the Lego Movie as a similar example. The movie in my opinion is an amazing piece of writing and storytelling that one cannot fall in love with it and see the many spiritual insights coming forth from it.

The overarching insight into the movie is that we are all special in our own way and we do ourselves harm when all we do is try to fit in. St. Irenaeus of Lyon proudly proclaimed that “The glory of God was a human person fully alive.” Emmet (the main character) discovers this important truth because the more he believes that he is special the more special he becomes. A Church celebrates this type of diversity. All one has to do look at the wide variety of people who make up the Communion of Saints. St. Francis of Assisi and St. Thomas Aquinas probably had very little in common except of their Catholic faith (and even that they expressed in amazingly different ways) but yet the Church holds both of them up for role models.

In many way the villain, Lord Business, is like the Pharisees and Scribes in the Scriptures because they try to keep order by trying to make everything the same. All their many rules and regulations are not meant to glorify God but to keep order in their lives.

As the movie progresses we see that all that is going on in Lego land is actually taken place in a young boy’s imagination. The young boy has been playing with his father (the man upstairs) Lego displays. His father first looks at the boy’s imagination as bringing chaos to his pristine Lego lands. Eventually though he begins to realize that his son’s imagination is a real gift that needs to be nurtured and supported and torn down.

I have read in many books the importance of taking the time to recognize a child’s emotions. For example little Johnny becomes mad at his little sister for taking his toy. He therefore walks over to her grabs the toy and hits her. His sister goes running to mom or dad and Johnny ends up being grounded. Psychologists and family counselors suggest sitting down with Johnny for a few moments and helping him understand that becoming angry with his sister was not the problem but rather the problem was that he handled the situation wrong by hitting his sister. Experts say that if you do not take the time to validate a child’s emotion they can grow up not trusting their emotions and this can lead to many other emotional and psychological problems. The dad bounds with his son in a way that he could never had imagined by taking the time to understand his son’s emotions.

The writers of the movie also hit upon an important fact when the “Master Builders” and Emmet realize the one thing they are not good at is acting like a team. While we are all special we are still called by our God to be a part of his team (Church). As Catholics we are never saved alone. We are saved only as a part of a community.

Here are a few more insights that I gained from this movie. I also liked how the “Master Builders” were so different from one another – kind of like the saints. As Emmet and WyldStyle wanted to be “the special” we should want to be saints. Finally the next time we are upset with chaos in our world, let us realize that it beats the alternative of being frozen in place because God does not create sin or chaos but we do and God could remove sin and chaos from the world but He chooses to respect are free will knowing that it could result in bad things.

Fr. Thomas M. Pastorius
July 19, 2015
Spiritual Ponderings
Faith & Film: Going My Way

For the next movie, I will be traveling back to the year 1944. Going My Way is an American musical comedy/drama directed by Leo McCarey and stars Bing Crosby as Father Charles “Chuck” O’Malley and Barry Fitzgerald as the older and more set in his ways Father Fitzgibbons.

Fr. O’Malley has been given the difficult task of being in unofficially in charge of St. Dominic parish while allowing Fr. Fitzgibbon to believe that he is still in charge. This task was given to O’Malley by the bishop himself and so it is one that he tries to do the best of his ability.

Immediately Fr. O’Malley’s more unconventional style clashes with that of Fr. Fitzgibbon who we learn had dedicated his entire life to St. Dominic. Fr. Fitzgibbons eventually goes to meet with the bishop and he is able to deduce the true reason behind Fr. O’Malley’s assignment and thus he resigns from being pastor asking that Fr. O’Malley be made pastor in his place.

Fr. O’Malley sees the hurt in the old priest eyes and tries to cheer him up by having the parish raise money to send him back to Ireland so that he can see his mother who he has not seen since he left Ireland to become a priest and now she is over 90 years old. Before Fr. Fitzgibbons can take the trip, the Church catches on fire and the money is needed to repair the Church. Fr. Fitzgibbons therefore donates the money back to the Church to help it begin to rebuild. I do not want to spoil the end of the movie for you so I will stop there with my summary. It is a movie that I think every Catholic should watch.

The first spiritual insight in the movie that I would like to point out is that I believe the movie gives a good description of how much priest sacrifice for their parish especially in the 1950’s and 1960’s. Many of us do poor our hearts out and give all that we have. It can therefore be very devastating to us when after we given all that we have we discover that it is not enough or that our efforts go unappreciated. I think though that the movie also shows how rewarding the life of a priest is. The joy that we are able to bring to others is immense. Sometimes though we need to be affirmed by others in our ministry, the housekeeper and Fr. O’Malley affirm Fr. Fitzgibbons in good times and in bad and Fr. O’Malley found support from Fr. O’Dowd and Jenny Tuffel .

The second insight from the movie is that sometimes we do not get to see the fruits of our work. Fr. O’Malley planted many seeds in his work at St. Dominic but he is called to serve at another parish before he can see many of them come to fruition. Fr. O’Malley’s willingness to leave and go to another parish shows his love for God is greater than his love for his work or reaping the rewards of success. He quietly slips out in the middle of the night to move to his next assignment.

The third insight from the movie is that faith does not have to be down and dreary but can be uplifting. Fr. O’Malley shows this in the way that he helps people with their problems. He does not judge people but rather he suggests ways in which they can improve their life as a one friend might do to another. He treats all people with equal kindness including the nosy Church woman (who is the same actress as the wicked witch of the west in the Wizard of Oz), the school boys that he forms into a choir, the cohabitating couple, the house keeper, and the grouchy old banker. Fr. O’Malley changes them through his love and kindness and not through lectures.

The final insight from the movie is that God always provides but not always in the ways that we are thinking. In the movie Fr. O’Malley tries to sell a song he wrote called “Going My Way” but the record producers do not buy it. The choir encourages him to sing another song after his failure and the record producers buy that song instead.

Fr. Thomas M. Pastorius
July 26, 2015
Spiritual Ponderings
Faith & Film: Big Hero Six

The last movie I would like to review with you is Disney’s Big Hero 6. The movie begins with Tadashi trying to keep his younger brother Hiro from making some pretty bad choices. Hiro, who is a fourteen year old computer genius, has been using his talents to hustle money from some pretty bad people in illegal robot fights. In an effort to convince Hiro to stop squandering his talents, Tadashi introduces Hiro to his friends. Each of Tadashi’s friends goes by a weird nickname so there is GoGo, Wasabi, Honey Lemon and Fred. I am not sure if Fred is his actual name or his nickname but I think that is part of the joke. Tadashi’s friends quickly make Hiro feel a part of the group as they show him each of their science projects. Tadashi demonstrates to Hiro the science project that he has been working on. Tadashi has been building a healthcare companion robot that Tadashi named Baymax. It is Tadashi’s hope that his robot will be able to help people live healthy lives and assist them in times of medical crisis. Baymax can scan a person (which is like receiving a MRI, EKG, Blood Pressure Test, etc. all at once. Baymax’s hands can also become defibulators. Even Baymax’s marshmallow shape is meant to help people feel comfortable and heal - the most awesome part maybe that he also dispenses lollipops.

Tadashi though is killed when he tries to save his teacher Mr. Callaghan from a fire and this sends Hiro into a deep depression. Hiro spends the next few weeks in his room doing nothing until he accidently turns Baymax on. Baymax concern for Hiro’s mood starts them on a great adventure which eventually includes Tadashi’s friends. The crew eventually learns that Tadashi’s death was not an accident and in order to stop the “super villain” Hiro makes robotic armor and weapons for each of them.

There are many different spiritual insights sprinkled throughout the movie. The one that surprised me the most was that this movie was extremely pro-life. After Tadashi’s death Hiro wants nothing more than to kill the man who was responsible for his brother’s death. He goes so far as to reprogram Baymax to be a killing machine instead of a healthcare companion. Hiro though is stopped by the others who refuse to be a part of taking another human life even if the guy is a bad guy. They eventually help Hiro realize that killing the villain will not bring his brother back or make him feel any better. Baymax reinforces this lesson for Hiro as he rescues an unconscious test pilot.

The second insight or theme in the movie that stand out is that our gifts and talents are not meant just for you. At the beginning of the movie Hiro used his gifts for his own selfish pleasure and it is easy to see that he is miserable and unhappy. Hiro begins to find happiness and joy when he begins using his talents to help others. St. Irenaeus of Lyon said “the glory of God is a person fully alive.” We can see the more Hiro uses his talents, the more alive he becomes. At the beginning of the movie he is dragging everyone down and at the movie he is lifting up everyone’s spirit.

A third insight and challenge from the movie is how to deal with the lost of a love one. The movie demonstrates the importance of not closing in on yourself and to surround you with prayer. It also shows that even though it may be difficult true friends spend time with each other after a lost in order to console and comfort one another.

Finally, when I was growing up, the first cartoon character that I saw die was Optimus Prime in an animated transformer movie. It was quite shocking because before that no one ever died in cartoons. Now it seems that almost every movie has a death of some sort in it for example in Up we saw Ellie die, in Frozen Elsa and Anna’s parents die. Death is definitely a part of life. I think the message that Big Hero 6 gives young people about death is good. The movie encourages people to examen their love ones’ lives and choose the good qualities from their life and make them a part of their own lives. Hiro learns to appreciate his brother’s desire to help other people and throughout the movie he begins to imitate his brother’s concern for others and thus allows his brother’s legacy continue.

Fr. Thomas M. Pastorius
July 3, 2016
Spiritual Ponderings
Faith & Film: The Peanuts Movie
 
                 There was a part of me that was really excited when I heard that there was going to be a big screen movie about Charlie Brown and his loyal dog Snoopy.  Peanuts was always one of my favorite comic strips and I always loved watching the television specials that came on around each holiday.  My personal favorite was the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown and the Christmas Special.  There was also a part of me that was afraid to go because I was afraid that the director may have decided to add a lot of dirty jokes and foul language under the excuse of trying to appeal to a modern day audience.  I am very glad that the director chose to remain very faithful to the classic comic strip and the television specials that I had remembered watching growing up. 
                The plot of the movie was very simple.  Charlie Brown, the young boy who cannot seem to do anything right, becomes infatuated with the new kid in the neighborhood.  Charlie Brown does his best to impress the “little red-haired girl” but it seems that everything he does blows up in his face and makes him look like a fool in front of her.  At the end of the movie, Charlie Brown discovered that the “little red-haired girl” has looked past all his mistakes and sees his kind and generous heart when she agrees to become Charlie Brown’s summer pen pal. 
                A small side story within the larger movie is Snoopy learning to write a book on an old typewriter that he discovered in the trash.  He writes a novel in which he as the main character must rescue the love of his life by defeating the dreaded World War I German flying Ace the Red Barron. 
                The first spiritual insight I discovered in the movie is that you do not have to be crude, obscene, or disgusting in order to be entertaining.  It saddens me with how much of television, movies, songs, and comedic routines feel the necessary to use foul language or talk about subjects that should be taboo.  I really appreciate how clean and violent free the movie was.  I am glad that “good grief” was as close to a cussword that we got.  As Christians we are called to clean up our language and humor because they could lead others and ourselves into sin.
                The second spiritual insight, I discovered watching Charlie Brown was what it truly meant to have the virtue of perseverance.  No matter how many times in the past he had failed, or how scared he was he persisted in doing his best.  In this way the Charlie Brown was as heroic as any DC or Marvel comic book super hero.
                I also appreciated Charlie Brown’s optimism.  Many of us when we find things going against us would become depress and start making negative self-fulfilling prophecies.  Charlie Brown always believed that things were going to get better.  We Catholics would do well to follow his example. 
                Another spiritual insight that I found in the Peanuts Movie was  that Charlie Brown in many ways is an example of the Gospel Passage: The second spiritual insight is that Charlie Brown could really be an example of the “greatest among you will be your servant.  For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” (Matthew 23:11-12). 
                Charlie Brown’s servant heart is manifested over and over again throughout the movie.  Charlie Brown humbles himself by giving up of his time at the talent show to assist his baby sister Sally when her talent show act goes bad. He also tries his best to make sure that the book report that he can when he and the “little red-hair girl” are assigned to work together and she has to leave for a week to go and visit a sick relative is the best that it can be. 
                He also demonstrates the virtues of courage and trustworthiness when he discovers that his test was mixed up with Peppermint Patty’s test and the perfect score that everyone thought he had earned by admitting that the test was not his own.  In all these ways he humbled himself only to have the “little red-haired girl” lift him up by pointing out the different virtues that she saw him.  These are the things that make him great in the eyes of the “little red-hair girl.”  These are the things that elevated him more than any trophy or perfect score on a test ever could. 
                The last spiritual insight, I discovered when I stopped and realize that in a way the “little red-hair girl” was also a role model.  She did not pay attention to the labels that others had put on Charlie Brown or that Charlie Brown put on himself.  She at the same time is willing to take a moment and affirm the person that everyone else looks down upon.  The more and more I reflect on the movie the more and more I want to be like the “little red-haired girl” because I want to see the good in others instead of focusing on the negative. 
                Finally watching this movie made me thankful for my loyal friends who help make me who I am. 

Fr. Thomas M. Pastorius
July 10, 2016
Spiritual Ponderings
Faith & Film: Star Wars VII – The Force Awakens
 
Doctors Ernest Kurtz and Katherine Ketcham begin their book: The Spirituality of Imperfection: Storytelling and the Search of Meaning focused on the power contained within stories to speak more deeply than mere words alone.  Here is one of my favorite quotes from their book: “Listen! Listen to stories! For spirituality itself is conveyed by stories, which uses words in ways that go beyond words to speak the language of the heart.  Especially in a spirituality of imperfection, a spirituality of not having all the answers, stories convey the mystery and the miracle—the adventure—of being alive.” 

Having just finished watching Stars VII: The Force Awakens, I understand better what they were talking about.  There are so many spiritual themes hidden throughout The Force Awakens that it will be impossible for me to share all of them with you.  Here are is a small plot summary and a few spiritual insights.

This installment of the Star Wars saga begins thirty years after the death of Darth Vader and the Emperor.  In the meantime Luke Skywalker tried to create a new order of Jedi Knights but is stopped when one of his disciples turns to the dark side and kills all the students.  Luke escapes and goes off into a self-imposed exile.  A new enemy emerges from the remnants of the Empire calling itself the First Order.  They aim to impose a totalitarian regime upon the universe.  Both the rebels/resistance and the First Order claim it is important to find Luke Skywalker. 

During a Battle where the Storm Troopers massacre a village one of the Storm Troopers begins to have second thoughts about being a storm trooper despite having been brainwashed as a child to obey the First Order commands without question.  In his attempt to flee the First Order he runs into Rey who is trying to get a small robot BB-8 back to its owner Poe.  Poe is trying to get it back to the Resistance.  They then make an attempt to destroy the new massive weapon of the First Order called the Star-Killer base.  During all of this Rey discovers that she has been given the gift of the Force and we learn that Kylo Ren was the son of Princess Leia and Han Solo. 

The first spiritual insight for me was the realization that this movie was part of a larger story helped me understand the importance of praying and studying the whole Bible.  Knowing the larger context of a Scripture passage helps me appreciate the current story all the more.  For example knowing that the mask Kylo Ren was talking to was that of Darth Vader means more to me because I knew how evil Darth Vader was.  If we want to get even more out the Scripture Readings on Sunday take time to study the Scripture readings outside of Mass to understand them better.

The second spiritual insight that I thought was obvious was that the First Order had turned a planet into a weapon of mass-destruction.  We have an obligation to use the things of creation for good and not evil.  While none of us have the power to blow up a planet we can destroy another person’s world with our tongue.  We can tear people down, ruin others reputation, and make other people feel worthless in less time than it took the Star Killer Base weapon to charge. 

I found Finn to be an interesting character.  His character is a character that can be used as an example of what theologians mean when they use the word “metanoia.”    The Greek word “metanoia” most often translate “repent” in our English versions of the Bible literally means “to stop thinking one way and to think in a totally new way.”  Finn stops thinking in line with the First Order and starts thinking in a totally different way.  He is no longer worried about taking orders but now is worried about helping others.  In some ways this metanoia is small, at first he only cares about himself, then about Poe, then about Rey, and then finally about everyone.  We are called by Christ to have a metanoia in much the same way.  Instead of thinking about ourselves first we are called to start thinking about the needs of others first.  “Reject sin and believe in the Gospel” = Metanoia.

The climax of the movie in my opinion was the confrontation between Han Solo and Kylo Ren. Kylo Ren’s real name is Ben Solo and He is Han Solo’s son.  Han professes that he is willing to do anything to help his son escape the power of the dark side and in return for his love Kylo/Ben kills him.  This for me is a great example of the power of sin.  Each and every time we sin, we in a way reenact this part of the movie because it is our sins that nail our loving God to the cross.  The next time you think about stealing, lying, cheating, etc. realize that this is what we do to God.  Realizing this though helps understand the great love and mercy our God has for us because after we have killed Him, He comes back to life and offers us peace instead of revenge.

I know that there is much more that I could share with you about the different spiritual insights in the Force Awakens.  Some of them good insights and some of them faulty distorted ideas but I am out of space. I want to conclude with the following quote from St. Francis of Assisi: “All the darkness in the world cannot extinguish the light of a single candle.”
May the Lord be with you.
 

Fr. Thomas M. Pastorius
July 17, 2016
Spiritual Ponderings
Faith & Film: Minion Movie
 
One of the great Catholic writers of our time was G.K. Chesterton.  He was a contemporary and friends with C.S. Lewis who wrote the Chronicles of Narnia.  I am particularly fond of this quote from G.K. Chesterton regarding the power that stories (and thus movies) have on our lives.  “Fairy tales do not tell children the dragons exist. Children already know that dragons exist. Fairy tales tell children the dragons can be killed.” 
 
For the third of our five movies, I want to reflect on the Minion Movie.   Most of my family and some of my friends know that I am a fan of the little yellow minions.  There is something about them that makes me laugh.  (I have a minion piggy bank, fleece blanket, tooth brush holder, and much more).   
 
In an effort to be completely honest, I did not find the Minion Movie to be all that great.   There was too much cheap/crude humor in the movie that really missed its mark.  There were times when I wondered if I would have been able to understand any of the movie if I was a kid in the second grade.  With that being said I of course was able to walk away with some spiritual insights from the movie.
 
The narrator in the beginning of the movie explains that the Minions evolved into being with one purpose in mind.  They wanted to serve the most evil being around and so they first serve a T-Rex, and then Dracula, and then Napoleon.  All the people that they serve meet disastrous ends because of the minions ineptitude.  After Napoleon’s defeat at Waterloo the minions hide in a deserted cave where they build a civilization that provides them with everything they could ever want but in the end they are not happy because they have no boss to serve.  The first spiritual insight from the movie is simply is that life would not be worth living without a purpose and meeting are physical needs is not that purpose.  We are called to become greater than we are through service to master.   In our case our master is God and this is Good News because our creator wants what is best for us unlike any of the masters the minions served before Gru.
 
One minion named Kevin decides that he is going to leave the cave and search for a new master for the minions to serve.  He is joined by Stuart (who was accidently volunteered because he was not paying attention) and Bob (who was at first rejected because he was too small and only accepted because no one else volunteered.  Watching the three minions traveled, I kept hearing our multi-parish youth minister saying over and over again “The Catholic life was never meant to be lived alone.”  I am grateful each time she reminds me and the teens of this fact. 
 
The next spiritual insight comes from the fact that they discover that there is literally a bad guy convention taking place in Orlando, Florida while they are in New York City.  The three minions begin to ask for directions to Orlando, FL.  The problem is that they ask all the wrong people.  They ask a baby who cannot talk, a dog that can only bark and a few other inanimate objects.  Sadly there are people in life who keep looking for a direction to travel but they always seem to ask the wrong person.  Without good directions, finding our way can be very hard.  This is why the Church is so important.  She can point us always in the right directions in regards to faith and morals.
 
The three brave minions eventually hook up with Scarlet Overkill and she tests their loyalty by having them steal the Royal Crown off of Queen Elizabeth’s head – pretty big test.  Through a strange series of events though Kevin, Bob, and Stuart do not only get the crown but also Bob becomes King of England.  Pretty much all of this happens by accident but Scarlet sees it as a betrayal despite the fact that the minions try to give her the crown when they see her again.  Sadly, most of the time people hurt us they do so accidently or out of neglect and not out of malice.  Scarlet cannot see this and therefore she holds a grudge which ultimately leads to her demise.  Scarlet learns the hard way that holding a grudge is like drinking a poison yourself and hoping the other person dies. 
 
In the end, I am not sure what to make out of the Minion movie.  I definitely liked Despicable Me and Despicable ME II better. 
 

Fr. Thomas M. Pastorius
July 24, 2016
Spiritual Ponderings
Faith & Film: Transformers IV: Age of Extinction
 
"Art, like morality, consists of drawing the line somewhere." — G.K. Chesterton.  Perhaps that is why televisions shows and movies are so powerful.  Let us take a look now at some spiritual insights from the last Transformers movie.
 
This Transformer movie takes place five years after the Battle of Chicago (the end of the third movie where the Decipticons and Autobots fought it out in the middle of Chicago killing many and pretty much destroying the whole city).  The remaining Decipticons have gone into hiding not knowing what to do without Megatron their leader.  The Autobots have also gone into hiding despite having been given amnesty as a reward for saving the earth.  Unfortunately a secret CIA group called “Cemetery Winds” and a transformer bounty hunter named Lockdown have begun hunting down the Autobots especially Optimus Prime.  Eventually it is discovered that a group of scientists have been able to create their own transformers and unfortunately these new transformers fall under the control of Galvatron (an updated version of Megatron). 
 
The first major spiritual insight is the simple warning that just because we can do some scientifically does not mean that it is good or moral for us to do so.  Science is great, but not everything we can do should be done for example splitting the atom, cloning, embryonic stem-cell research, etc.  Sometimes our ambition and pride as a race can get us into trouble.  In the Terminator movies, we create a robot named Sky-net that tries to wipe out humanity.  Here in this episode of the Transformers, we create an army of robots that fall under the command of an evil enemy.  On a more personal level just because I can bully someone does not mean I should or just because I can eat as much as I want does not mean that I should.  We need to use our gift of reason to help create moderation and prudence in our lives.
 
The following piece of dialogue demonstrates the next spiritual insight:
Cade Yeager : When you said you were done fighting for humans, you didn't mean that, did you?
Optimus Prime : How many more of my kind must be sacrificed, to atone for YOUR mistakes?
Cade Yeager : What do you think being human means? That's what we do. We make mistakes. Sometimes, out of those mistakes come the most amazing things... When I fixed you, it was for a reward. That was it. That was why. The money. And it was me making a mistake. Without it, you wouldn't be here. So even if you got no faith in us, I'm asking you to do what I do. I'm asking you to look at all the junk and see the treasure. You gotta have faith, Prime, in who we can be.
 
Yeager reminds Optimus Prime that human beings are not the sum of the mistakes but rather are something more.  Another way of looking at is it is because Optimus is the stronger that he has a duty to protect the more misguided human beings.
 
One last quote:
Optimus Prime: After all we've done, humans are hunting us. 
Optimus and the other Autobots quickly learn that they do what they do not because of what they get in return but because of who they are.  As Catholics we help others out not because we gain anything from it but because we are Catholics.  The following Mother Teresa quote sumerizes this teaching:
“People are often unreasonable, irrational, and self-centered.  Forgive them anyway. If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives.  Be kind anyway. If you are successful, you will win some unfaithful friends and some genuine enemies.  Succeed anyway. If you are honest and sincere people may deceive you.  Be honest and sincere anyway.  What you spend years creating, others could destroy overnight.  Create anyway. If you find serenity and happiness, some may be jealous.  Be happy anyway. The good you do today, will often be forgotten.  Do good anyway.
Give the best you have, and it will never be enough.  Give your best anyway. In the final analysis, it is between you and God.  It was never between you and them anyway.

Fr. Thomas M. Pastorius
July 31, 2016
Spiritual Ponderings
Faith & Film: Daredevil (Netflix TV Show)
 
S ince, I move to Epiphany, I have discovered that I do not wash nearly as many movies at movie theaters anymore.  I think this is because they are somewhat a distance from me and I don’t plan far enough ahead to just go to the movie.  I also believe that the time for movies to be released on Netflix and other streaming options has increase.  Therefore for my last Faith and Film reflection for July I have decided to reflect on The Netflix television show Daredevil which I found fascinating to watch because the main character Matt Murdoch is supposedly Catholic with a priest for a confident.  Some of the scenes are very bloody.
 
 Daredevil tells the story of a young boy who was blinded in an accident with toxic chemicals.  The chemicals may have taken away young Mathew’s ability to see but they also at the same time enhanced his other senses.  Mathew is orphaned is also orphaned as a young boy when his father who is a boxer refuses to lose for money and is killed by a group of mobsters.  While in the orphanage Mathew meets a blind man named “Stick” and Stick teaches him how to use his enhance senses to fight. 
 
Mathew eventually leaves Stick’s mentorship behind and graduates from law school with a new best friend Foggy Nelson.  Together they refuse great opportunities with great law firms in order to open up a law office in Hell’s Kitchen, New York to help the poor.  Mathew discovers though that he can only do so much good as a lawyer and therefore puts on a mask at night and begins a career as a vigilante. 
 
One aspect of Mathew/Daredevil’s Catholicism is extremely apparent is his respect for life.  Mathew is absolutely convicted that only God can and should choose when someone dies in the eyes of some this makes him look week but for Mathew this is what separates him from the bad guys.  Recently, I have been doing a lot of reflecting on the phrase from the Gospel of Mathew “turn the other cheek.”  So often in the past, I considered this to be a very passive, wimpy, statement.  The more I reflect on this idea of “turning the other cheek,” I see a deeper meaning.  For me “turn the other cheek” has come to mean “do you worse to me but you will not change me.”  I am a loving and caring person and your anger, hate, torture, etc. will not turn me into anything differently.  Jesus’ death and resurrection could be summarized in this manner.  We did our worse to the king who entered into Jerusalem on a donkey (Israelite kings always rode donkeys in time of peace and war horses during times of war) and Jesus still remained the prince of peace as on the night of His resurrection, He appeared to the ten in the upper room and offered them “Peace.”  Our hate did not turn Jesus into a hater.  Mathew/Daredevil is someone who respected life even if no one around him did.
 
Another aspect of Mathew’s Catholicism is his and Foggy’s desire to fight injustice.  There disgust at the violence in their city does not create an apathy in them or cause them to move away to a safer place.  Instead each in his own way chooses to fight for justice and champion the poor.  The following quote from Pope Benedict XVI comes to mind: “The world promises you comfort, but you were not made for comfort. You were made for greatness.  Mathew and Foggy’s desire to help people refuses them to allow them to sit on the sidelines comfortably while others suffer.  They hunger and thirst for righteousness. 
 
Daredevil’s main nemesis in the first season (and probably beyond) is the “King Pin” Wilson Fisk.  The television show goes a long way in trying to help the viewer understand why Fisk has become an evil mastermind.   The show explains that Fisk, who with his mother was physically and verbally abused by his father, ended up killing his father.  From that moment on, Fisk because a tormented soul as he struggles to come to grips with what he had done and tries to fix Hell’s Kitchen.  Fisk’s plan to fix Hell’s Kitchen though is for the most part self-centered and he shows that he thinks the best way to fix the city is to get rid of the poor and criminal element and bring in richer “more civilized people”.  While one can feel sorry for Wilson Fisk and his upbringing this does not excuse his treatment of others as objects and obstacles.  He has not respect for life.  If God would have used Wilson Fisk’s way about bringing salvation none of us would be here because God would have wiped us out and started a fresh.  Thank be to God that God is more loving and caring. 
 

Fr. Thomas M. Pastorius
July 2, 2017
Spiritual Ponderings
Faith & Film: Captain America: Civil War
 
Ernest Kurtz and Katherine Ketcham in their book: The Spirituality of Imperfection: Storytelling and the Search for Meaning has the following to say about storytelling: “For once upon a time, people told stories.  In the midst of sorrow, and in the presence of joy, both mourners and celebrants told stories. But especially in times of trouble, when “a miracle” was needed and the limits of human ability were reached, people turned to storytelling as a way of exploring the fundamental mysteries:  Who are we? How are we to live?”  In keeping with my tradition and acknowledging the power of a story, I will share with you some spiritual reflection on different movies.
 
Captain America Civil War
Most superhero movies follow the basic format of one or two heroes going up against the villain of the day and it is normally very easy to know who to root for.  This movie is different in that it pins two teams of super heroes against each other.  The first team is led by Iron Man (A.K.A Tony Stark) and they believe that the team of super heroes need to have a govern body to hold them accountable.  Iron Man strongly feels this way because he feels guilty for all the destruction the Avengers caused when fighting Ultron in their last movie.  The second team is led by Captain America (A.K.A. Steve Rodgers) and they feel that no good can come out of having to report to any group.  Captain America strongly feels this way because he had been betrayed by S.H.I.E.L.D. (which was infiltrated and taken over by an evil organization named H.Y.D.R.A.).  Steve also has a strong desire to rescue his childhood friend who had been turned into an evil assassin by H.Y.D.R.A. and he knows that no over sight committee would permit him.  Other superheroes are then forced to choose sides depending upon personal beliefs and loyalties and this leads to a climactic battle at an airport when Captain America’s team tries to stop a third evil threat that the other heroes do not know about.
 
Spiritual Insight #1: Know your full motivation
Both Iron Man and Captain America have good reasons for their beliefs.  The movie left me believing though that neither of the two knew their deepest reason for their beliefs.  I never see Iron Man full come to grips with the guilt he feels for creating Ultron and the countless death’s that he caused.  Captain America’s loyalty to his childhood friend also seems to motivate Captain America’s thinking more than he would care.   I wonder if the major conflict could have been avoided if they had done a little more soul searching of their motivation.
 
Spiritual Insight #2: Vengeance is Never Any Good
T’Challa (the Black Panther) seeks vengeance upon the Winter Soldier because he believed the Winter Soldier had assassinated his father.  There are a couple of times in which he almost succeeds but in the end, he is lucky and fails because the Winter Soldier had been framed and instead it was Helmut Zemo who was responsible for killing T’Challa’s father.  T’Challa shows that he has learned his lesson and stops Helmut Zemo from committing suicide at the end and instead turns him over the authority. 
 
Tony Stark loses all control also when he realizes that the Winter Soldier (while under mind control) was the one who killed his father.  Tony ends up taking his anger out on Captain America and almost kills him.  Ultimately Iron Man is left alone and without any friends at the end of the movie because his anger has driven everyone away. 
 
Spiritual insight #3: Know Your Enemy
Saint Ignatius of Loyola speaks of three enemies of the spiritual life: our sinful nature, the world, and finally the devil. We sometimes are own worst enemy because we can talk ourselves into doing things our way instead of God’s way.  The world tries to instill in us values that are not Christian.  Finally, the devil desires to see us miserable like he is miserable. If we are not aware of how these enemies are affecting us, we can allow them to manipulate us in ways that lead us away from the good.  The Avengers spend most of the movie not knowing that Helmut Zemo has declared himself their enemy and has manipulated them into their current conflict.
 

Fr. Thomas M. Pastorius
July 9, 2017
Spiritual Ponderings:
Faith & Film – Rogue 0ne
 
Let us spend sometime today reflecting on the movie: Rogue 1: A Star Wars Movie.
 
Rogue 1: A Star Wars Movie
There were once two scientists who were best of friends.  The first was a man named Galen Erso and the second was a man named Orson Krennic.  At some point, Galen Erso discovers or reasons that the scientific breakthroughs that he and his partner are working on can be used for great evil and so he takes his family and goes into hiding.  Orson Krennic uses the research in order to advance in rank in the Empire.  Krennic eventually tracks down his old friend and forces him to help complete building the Death Star.  Erso helps build the weapon but includes a design flaw in it.  He hopes he can get word about the defect to his daughter Jyn so that she can help the Rebel Alliance destroy his evil invention. 
 
Cassian Andor learns of Galen’s message and tracks down Jyn hoping that she will help him.  In the process they put together a team that is comprised of Chirrut Imwe (a blind warrior) Baze Malbus (mercenary friend of Chirrut), Bohdi Rook (a former Empire Cargo Ship pilot) and other rebel outcasts.  Together they successfully steal the plans to the Death Star and transmit them to the rebels before they are all killed.
 
Spiritual Insight 1: Beware of Technology
Human beings have demonstrated a great capacity for scientific growth.  Unfortunately, I am not sure if our ethical growth as a race has kept up.  Just because we can do something does not mean we should do something.  A man may be able to physically beat up a child but he in no way should.  In the same way, we human beings have advance far enough that we can create life in petri dishes but we shouldn’t because whenever human beings create something we begin to implement quality controls.  We have thousands of people literally locked away in refrigerators in small little prisons called petri-dishes.  We have created drugs that give us a temporary high feeling to help escape the present moment when we really should be facing these moments and learning, growing, and healing from them.  Technology can be responsible for thousands of deaths just like the Death Star in the movies. 
 
Spiritual Insight 2: Ambition and Competition can blind us
Orson Krennic’s competition with Governor Tarkin renders him blind to the full implications of the moral implications of his weapon are.  He is only interested in gaining fame and power under this new regime.  Sadly, Ambition and Competition can blind us today to the needs of others.  Ambition and Competition also lead to a greater lack of respect for life.  Others become either allies to help one advance or obstacles that must be overcome.  This is why Krennic is able to kill Galen’s wife without a second thought and still consider himself Galen’s friend. 
 
Cassian also suffers from a blind ambition in the movie.  He is so set on defeating the Empire that he is willing to do anything and in the process he becomes able to kill another without a second thought.  As he gets to know Jyn and teams with her, he begins to have a greater respect for life which is demonstrated by the fact that he refuse to kill Galen when he had a chance.
 
Spiritual Insight 3: Trusting the Future
While Chirrut is not a Jedi he is able to sense the force and it allows him to fight despite being blind.  Chirrut often speaks a mantra as he fights – “And I fear nothing. For all is as the Force wills it.”  Chirrut does not fear death because he trusts that the Force will work things out for good.  It would be nice if each of us trusted in the Holy Spirit the way that Chirrut trusts in the Force.  Chirrut’s saying made me think of this story about St. John Chrysostom found in Cardinal Francis Xavier Nguyen Van Thuan’s book: The Road of Hope: A Gospel from Prison.
“You need to fear only one thing: sin.
                When he was the patriarch of Constantinople, John Chrysostom incurred the wrath of the Byzantine court for his strong denunciation of sin in the Emperor’s family.  Various plans were suggested as means or exacting revenge on the saint.
                Plan A: Imprisonment.  “But” court officials protested, “there he will have the opportunity to pray and suffer for the Lord as he has always desired.”
                Plan B Banishment “But for him, everywhere is the Lord’s country.”
                Plan C Death. “But then we will satisfy his desire to be a martyr… None of these plans will cause him to suffer; on the contrary, he will joyfully accept them.
                “No, there is only one thing John fears and hates above all else: sin.  But it is impossible to force him to commit sin!”
                If you fear sin only, no one will be stronger than you.”