I Just Like to Smile, Smiling's My Favorite

Ok,  I admit it.  Elf is one of my favorite movies.  And I must agree with the following two authors that  there is a wealth of theological gold within it:

If you have not yet seen Elf, stop reading this post right now.  Get a hold of yourself.  Get your life in order.  Then, come back and see me.

If you have seen Elf and you hate it, go kick a puppy or steal Tiny Tim's crutches because that is probably what you were wanting to do anyway.  And stop being a cotton-headed ninny muggins.

If you are a civilized, well-balanced human being (i.e. you have seen the movie, have liked it on Facebook, and have yelled out "SANTA!!! I KNOW him!" at least once this year) read on.

 Read all of Rozann's article at Word on Fire here.

Listen to Fr. Matt's talk here.

Fr. Barron On "The Hobbit"

Your Story

Several students attended the midnight showing of "The Hobbit" last night (kudos to those of you who still have the gusto to watch any movie in those wee hours).  The wonderful fascination of Tolkien's writings continues in this new genre of the motion picture but also in its original genre of literature.  What is it about this series that seems to capture so many?  As I once heard Christopher West express as he pointed to a crucifix, "Any good story, tells this story."  I think it is certainly the case that the stories that capture the most hearts and prove to last for extended periods of time, do somehow tell the story of redemption.  It's often not explicit, but nonetheless, it is there.  Stories of overcoming odds, good triumphing over evil, forgiveness, growth in virtue and holiness, sacrificial love - stories that contain these and other aspects of The Story capture us.  They put us in touch with what our hearts are truly longing for - God himself.  Deep down we know these stories are about us and the God who loves us and pursues us.  

Joseph Pearce has an article about "The Hobbit" at the National Catholic Register which gets at a similar point:

In short, we are meant to see ourselves  reflected in the character of Bilbo and our lives reflected in his journey from the Shire to the Lonely Mountain. 

Indeed, and perhaps surprisingly, Bilbo bears a remarkable resemblance to many of us, his diminutive size and furry feet notwithstanding.  He likes tea and toast and jam and pickles; he has wardrobes full of clothes and lots of pantries full of food; he likes the view from his own window and has little desire to see the view from distant windows. He is a creature of comfort dedicated to the creature comforts.  

In Christian terms, Bilbo Baggins is dedicated to the easy life and would find the prospect of taking up his cross and following the heroic path of self-sacrifice utterly anathema.  

The unexpected party at the beginning of the story, in which the hobbit's daily habits are disrupted by the arrival of unexpected and unwelcome guests, is, therefore a necessary disruption.  It is the intervention into his cozy life of an element of inconvenience or suffering, which serves as a wake-up call and a call to action.

In losing his bourgeois respectability - the price he must pay for becoming an adventurer - he forsakes the world and the worldly in favor of the pearl of great price.

As Pope Benedict XVI has reminded us, "We are not made for comfort, we are made for greatness."  This is the story.  It's your story.  It's my story.  That God loves us and has made us for more than we too often allow ourselves to settle for.  The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit remind us, through the characters of Bilbo and Frodo, that life really is an unexpected journey - a journey that leads us back to God and who He made us to be.

Read the rest of Pearce's article here.

P.S. If you enjoy this kind of thing (i.e. finding The Story in stories) then be sure to come to our Theology of the Body and Culture study next semester on Tuesdays at 6:30 p.m. in the Marquette Student Center.

Rekindling the Fire of Holiness

Archbishop Chaput's Thanksgiving message:

Here’s the lesson I want to leave you with this week. We’re all called to martyrdom. That’s what the word "martyr" means: It’s the Greek word for “witness.” We may or may not ever suffer personally for our love of Jesus Christ. But we’re all called to be witnesses. In proclaiming the Year of Faith, Benedict XVI wrote that:

“By faith, across the centuries, men and women of all ages, whose names are written in the Book of Life … have confessed the beauty of following the Lord Jesus wherever they were called to bear witness to the fact that they were Christian: in the family, in the workplace, in public life, in the exercise of the charisms and ministries to which they were called.”

The only thing that matters is to be a saint. That’s what we need to be. That’s what we need to become. And if we can serve God through the witness of our lives by kindling that fire of holiness again in the heart of our local parishes and communities, then the Christ Child who comes to us at Christmas will make all things new – in our Church, in our families and in our nation.

May God grant us all a joy-filled and blessed Thanksgiving.

Read it in full here.

Fr. Barron Comments on The Dark Knight Rises

Just in case any of you haven't seen this movie yet, there is a little spoiler alert here in this commentary, so be forewarned :)  Dark Knight Rises has a crazy amount of things that we could talk about that are analogous to the spiritual life, but for the sake of those who haven't seen it yet, I won't go into it at the moment, although a detailed commentary may be supplied at some point in the near future...for now though, please enjoy another fabulous Fr. Barron video: