The Lion King, Human Existence...and Aquinas

Growing up, I wasn't allowed to watch The Lion King. My parents were trying to fully live their re-conversion, and didn't want to expose their kids to the Pantheistic philosophy that says that "we are one with nature." But once they realize that their 10 year-olds were not even going to hear of that heresy for years to come (or in my case, five minutes ago when I called my mom to find out why), the let us watch it.

Looking back, I totally get where they were coming from. 

However, its my favorite animated kids movie, followed closely by The Prince of Egypt. (Hans Zimmer did the soundtrack for both the movies, so that's an added bonus.)

Sure, there are a lot of new-agey themes throughout the story, there are also profound theological lessons that can be gleaned from it, especially if we consider it in light of some writings by some of the most famous people in the history of the Church:

St. Maximilian Kolbe

St. Thomas Aquinas

No one who has watched the movie can forget the scene where Mufasa tells Simba that when he is King of Pride Rock, he must respect the delicate balance of nature, from the crawling ant, to the leaping antelope.
"But, Dad, don't we eat the antelope?" The naive Simba objects.

"Yes, Simba, but let me explain. When we die, our bodies become the grass, and the antelope eat the grass. And so we are all connected in the great Circle of Life."

Ok, so I'm not saying that Thomas and Kolbe wants us to believe that we are the grass, and we're going to be eaten by antelopes when we get dead. But I'm getting to my point. I recently discovered this quote by the Angelic Doctor regarding all of creation: 

"Issuing from the Primary Principle, creatures accomplish a sort of circuit, 

a gyratory movement, such that all things when they tend to their proper end

are returning to the Principle whence they came forth. We were created 

by the Son and by the Holy Spirit;and hence it is by them that we are brought

back to our end."

Kolbe took this huge wisdom that Aquinas revealed a step further by relating it to the personal experience that we, ourselves, have with the world:

"Everywhere in this world we notice action...departure and return; going away and 

coming back; separation and reunion. The separation always looks forward to union, 

which is creative. All this is simply an image of the Blessed Trinity in the activity

of all creatures. First, God creates the universe; that is something like

 a separation. Creatures, by following the natural law implanted in them by God, 

reach their perfection, become like him, and go back to him. Intelligent Creatures

 (...that would be us) love him in a conscious manner; through this love they

unite themselves more and more closely with him, and so find their way back to him."

There is a great, ever evolving cycle that we are a part of from the very moment of our conception. We were created by God, for God, and if we live within the "Circle of Being" that we were created for, we will return to God once we die. This cycle is not dissimilar to the "Circle of Life" that Mufasa teaches his son about. Without even knowing it, James Earl Jones, Elton John, and everyone else behind the movie have given us a glimpse into a great mystery of our existence.

And I thought that was pretty cool.

Now, pardon me while I go belt out this song to my hearts' content.