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. 

Quid Est Amor? (aka I Have A Hard Time Just Liking People, How Do I Even Begin to Love?)

Ok, I'm not even going to pretend to be an expert here.

In fact, I don't even have a very good idea of what I'm trying to muddle through in my mind and attempt to put into print. But that's the point: I'm trying!

In the past few months, I have come to a couple life-altering conclusions. First off: British Television>every television show ever. Second: I have no idea how to love. I'm not a naturally loving person. Love takes effort, and I've found that I'm one who likes to act more along the lines of "if its not easy for me to get or do, then never mind", instead of "I want a challenge!" Since those rather depressing realizations, I've gone through a major change: I've started my Freshman year at Franciscan University. Being around all of these authentically Catholic, on-fire young adults every moment of my life now (Shameless plug for my college? Sure.) has awakened a passion within me: I WANNA LEARN TO LOVE, DANGIT!

(Not what I look like, btw)

But how?! 

Well, like any good Catholic, I dusted off my bible and hit up the bookstore for a few new books. I began to read with a hunger that I had no idea I had. (Oh and P.S., The Bible: Its awesome. I honestly didn't know how awesome 'till now. Just open up the gospel of Luke. Jesus deals with demons on like every page, and delivers his message with the intensity of a shotgun blast. It's pretty boss.) I found 

this lovely passage, that I'm sure you're pretty much all familiar with, on one level or another:

"Love is patient, love is kind. 

It is not jealous, is not pompous,

it is not inflated, it is not rude, 

it does not seek its own interests, 

it is not quick tempered, 

it does not brood over injury, 

it does not rejoice over wrongdoing

 but rejoices with the truth. 

It bears all things, 

believes all things, 

hopes all things, 

endures all things.

Love never fails." 

                                          ~ 1 Corinthians 13: 4-8a.

Yikes. 

Think about it. Every. single. one. of. us. has failed everything on this list. Look at it: ITS A CHALLENGE, people! It is a simple, beautiful, masterfully conceived challenge from our Creator to us saying: Love! Love one another as I have loved you! And He's basically giving us the outline on how to love here. 

Saint Paul gives a beautiful follow-up to this passage in his letter to the Romans : 

(C) Made In His Image

 

Let love be sincere; hate what is evil, 

hold onto what is good; 

love one another with mutual affection; 

anticipate one another in showing honor. 

Do not grow slack in zeal, be fervent in spirit, 

serve the Lord. 

Rejoice in hope, endure in affliction, 

persevere in prayer. 

Contribute to the needs of the holy ones, 

exercise hospitality. 

Bless those who persecute you, 

bless and do not curse them. 

Rejoice with those who rejoice, 

weep with those who weep. 

Have the same regard for one another; 

do not be haughty but associate with the lowly. 

         ~Chapter 12: 9-16ab

I've discovered a lot about myself since the start of this school year, but much more so over the start of this past few weeks: I am up for this whole "Love Challenge" thing. I'm getting excited just typing this out. I want to do something that will be hard, that will be out of my comfort zone, that will make me truly, completely, inexplicably happy. 

But, as Jason Evert oh-so-wisely says, "Love does not just happen, it is something we do." 

So, how can we love?

Here's a practical list of actions you can do to help you grow in love: 

• Imagine how God, our heavenly father would treat someone, and try to do the very same. Even if that means putting up with an annoying habit or two of your friend's, or not eating both of those Oreos when you know your sister wants one. Consider the fact that we are all his children, and we are all - every single broken one of us - fearfully and wonderfully made. 
• FORGIVE. This is huge. Mother Teresa once said,"If we really want to love, we must learn to forgive before anything else."
• PRAY. "If we pray, we will believe; If we believe, we will love." (again Mother Teresa. Wasn't she just brilliant?) Through prayer, we get to know God himself. And since God IS love (isn't that amazing?!), the only way you can discover, grow, and accomplish anything through love, we need to build a relationship with the being who literally IS LOVE. Dive head first into the bible. Spend time in silent adoration (even if you don't say a thing, God just loves to have you sitting before him.). Also, you're not on your own in your struggle to learn to love. Many saints can help you. My personal favorites are: St. Therese, Maria Goretti, Maximilian Kolbe, John Paul II (This guy actually wrote a couple thousand pages on love, jussayin.), Mother Teresa, St. Gianna, and Jason Evert. (Yeah, I know he's technically not a saint yet, but he's still awesome.) 
• Consider the scripture passages above. Take them to heart; build upon them, grow with them, spread them, and LIVE them. Tape them to the wall so they will always be fresh in your mind, if need be. 
• SERVE. Nothing brings true happiness to a soul than serving. It could be in the large events such as volunteering at a soup kitchen, but when we love through small acts of service -paying for someone's coffee, helping someone open a door, picking up a letter someone may have dropped, helping Grannie Mae clear her lawn of leaves- we are truly living the life of love that Christ wanted. 
• GIVE HUGS. You never know when it might turn an entire day around for anyone.
• DON'T JUDGE. (watch out-I'm about to quote Mother Teresa again) "If you judge people, you have no time to love them." This includes inwardly judging them. If you find yourself thinking nasty thoughts about someone, stop. Think, "Wait, what if they're going through something incredibly painful right now that no one knows about? I should pray for them." And then say a simple prayer for them, and go think about other things. (Like how amazing this video of  Benedict Cumberbatch is)
• Play with babies. And little kids. Seriously. They're just amazing balls of love, you can't help but learn to love watching them.

And last, but not least:

Smile :) "Every time you smile at someone, it is an action of life, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing." ~ Mother Teresa. (you knew it was gunna be her, didn't ya.)

I hope this has at least given you some food for thought. I know that I feel so much better and have a clearer idea just from writing this. 

Pray for me, and know that I'll be praying for you, and your journey!

Wait, The Catholic Church Can Use Social Media Too?!

Let’s face it: most teens –and more than half of the adults- in America think that the Catholic Church is dry-as-dust boring. Their experience of church is being dragged by their parents to sit on a cold, hard bench for a whole 45-minutes or even –gasp! - and hour each Sunday morning to listen to an eighty year-old man say the same things over and over again. Even if they were made to read over some of the teachings of the church in that boring bible study group, it was of such lofty, confusing, or ancient language that it was all just highfalutin’ mumbo-jumbo. Thus, as soon as they graduated from their Catholic high school and began to enjoy the freedom of a state university filled with sexy classmates and no religion classes, it was adios to anything Religious.

 And let’s not forget the scandals that have rocked the Church in the past few years. Abuse, cover-ups, by-passing of teachings, you name it. It’s reached such a point to where being known to have any affiliation to the Catholic faith was a cause of shame and embarrassment. Ask anyone on the street and they will probably tell you that the Catholic Church was a passing fad meant for those who lived in the stone age, wrote with pen and ink, wore floor-length, black cotton skirts or who don’t even know what a cell phone is. It’s a thing of the past, and not for the modern world.

 THIS IS NOT THE CASE.

Sure, we still have a few stuffy priests and technology-illiterate moms, but the Church is more alive, vibrant, and modern than ever before! Sound a bit ludicrous and hard to believe? Here are just a few examples of those who have used the modern media to change the face of the church, and the world:

Such a boss

 • Bishop Fulton J. Sheen: Hailed by many as the father of evangelization using the modern means of communication, Sheen started off using radio broadcasts to spread the faith, eventually gaining fame as one of the most recognizable religious figures in the country. In time, he moved to television, with his still-popular Life is Worth Living series, which drew up to 30 million people on a weekly basis. His dynamic, unscripted messages still continue to cut through the slop of the worldly mortality like a knife.

Read his blog.
You'll be a cool
hipster Catholic, too. 

·        EWTN: Undoubtedly the leading religious network in the world, the Eternal Word Television Network has brought the message of truth to more people in the last few decades than almost any other medium. Founded by in a garage by a penniless nun with a boatload of faith, the station features programs for all ages and levels of faith: from infants to the elderly, from the RCIA student to the theological doctorate. 

·         Marc Barnes: Known to those in the blogosphere and the Catholic online community as the author of the BadCatholic blog, Marc, a junior at Franciscan University of Steubenville, writes with a no-nonsense, intensely Catholic B.A. attitude. He delivers the faith to the new generation in a crazily relevant way that to deny the truth in his posts is to show yourself to be a proper fool. 

·         Pope Francis: Pope Francis. On twitter. ‘Nuff said. 

The use of new media in the church isn't just being used by those that have great theological degrees, nor have ages of wisdom engrained into their very souls. The teens of today are the ones who need the most reaching by the truth, and some of their fellow young adults have recognized this pressing need:

Catholics can have cool logos, too!

·         New Catholic Generation: This group of Catholic Teen YouTubers from all over the world (Including Franciscan University student Renee Shumay and Orlando, Florida resident Joseph Palmer (yes, this is a shameless plug for some of my NCG friends)) spread the faith in ways that teens will understand and connect with. 

·         Jonathan Culbreath: For those teens with a philosophical bent, this Thomas Aquinas College freshman’s blog is packed to the brim with Aristotle, Augustine and Thomas-ish musings. Keep an eye on this guy, he’ll go far.

Catholics also use new media to spread other vital teachings of the church, especially the Pro-Life message... 

·        Live Action: Few prolife organizations have gained such respect and admiration as this group of young adults, headed by Lila Rose, that go undercover at abortion facilities and post their footage on YouTube. As a result, many mill workers have quit their jobs and whole clinics have come under official government review and have been shut down. 

·        40 Days For Life: Founded in 2004 by Shawn and Marilisa Carney, the 40 Days for Life campaign has grown from a one-time, local event in Texas, to one of the biggest pro-life events in the country through the use of the internet. At various times of the year, and especially around the Lenten season, those on facebook (and off…for those grandparents out there) rise up and for forty days post messages, pray, fast, peacefully demonstrate for the pro-life cause. No other organization has been able to unite people of all faiths from all around the world more effectively than the 40 Days campaign, and it has the miracle of social media to thank for that.

…and the message of chastity: 

• Jackie and Bobbie Angel
• Lifeteen

All of these organizations are vibrant and alive, relevant and cool, engaging and thought-provoking. As I've said, the Church is more alive now than it ever was before, just as some famous guy once remarked:

It is gratifying to note the emergence of new

digital networks that seek to promote human

solidarity, peace and justice, human rights

and respect for human life and the good of 

creation. These networks can facilitate forms of 

co-operation between people from different

geographical and cultural contexts that enable

them to deepen thier common humanity and their

shared responsibility for the good of all. 

~ Benedict XVI,

                                                   message for the 43rd World Communications Day

The question I will leave with you is: 

HOW CAN I BE INVOLVED? HOW CAN I JOIN THIS REVOLUTION TO TAKE BACK THE MEDIA AND USE IT FOR THE GLORY OF GOD? 

Be fearless.