This is for the weekly Catholic Carnival!
Be sure to visit RAnn at This, That and the Other Thing and check out some posts from other bloggers participating in Sunday Snippets this week. Why not join us and share a blog post or two from last week?
What is your favorite movie?
My favorite movie is A Man for All Seasons. It's about St. Thomas More and his journey toward martyrdom in the kingdom of Henry VIII. It's my favorite because of the dialog and the reminder that such things can come to pass in any lifetime, ev'n in a "rational culture" (not like passionate Spain), and usually from the marriage issue (St. John the Baptist, too; Leviticus XVIII). I recall many lines from this movie adaptation of the play quite often.
For the week of March Second
March 3-7
Commentary on the movie How I Live Now
http://wonderingzygoteemeritus.blogspot.com/2014/03/how-i-live-now-part-iii.html
http://wonderingzygoteemeritus.blogspot.com/2014/03/how-i-live-now-part-iv.html
How I Live Now For Ash Wednesday - http://wonderingzygoteemeritus.blogspot.com/2014/03/how-i-live-now-part-v-ash-wednesday.html
How I Live Now For Lent in General - http://wonderingzygoteemeritus.blogspot.com/2014/03/how-i-live-now-part-vi-lent-edition.html
March 4
Announcement about updating my limericks about Arizona's Conscious Law
http://wonderingzygoteemeritus.blogspot.com/2014/03/update-to-wacky-wednesday-arizonas.html
10 March 2014
Star Trek III: The Search for Spock Part I The Good Shepherd
***Spoilers Alert!*** In Star Trek II: The Wrath of Kkan (TWOK), Spock sacrificed his life for the lives of the entire crew of the Enterprise. By contrast, in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (TSFS), Kirk sacrificed his career, other friends, and possibly his life to save his friend and colleague Spock.
Before he went on his mission to save Spock, Kirk asked permission of the commanding Admiral of space dock, Admiral Morrow, to use the Enterprise that was being decommissioned. He also mentioned that he had to take the Enterprise to the quarantined planet Genesis (from TWOK). He was denied permission.
After being denied permission, Kirk passionately said that he would find a way to get to Genesis and save Spock. Admiral Morrow warned Kirk not to disobey his orders and ruin his career that always exemplified rationality.
Was Kirk being irrational or illogical?
The same could be asked about Jesus in the parable of the Good Shepherd.
This parable is about a sinner, a "lost one" who repents. When the lost one is found, he is said to have repented and returned to the path toward heaven with Jesus.
This act of finding the lost sinner meant that Jesus the Good Shepherd would have to sit and eat with sinners. This act itself could potentially ruin His reputation among his community.
However, in the Gospel of John, it says, "I am the good shepherd, and I know mine and mine know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I will lay down my life for the sheep." (John 10:14-15)
It is more important to get the one sheep than to save one's own life or stay with the safe people, the in-crowd. The Good Shepherd made that choice with the full knowledge that the search for the lost sheep would end His own life on the cross and His reputation.
Jesus the Good Shepherd and Kirk were indeed being rational and free in their choices to save the one that they loved. They knew the risks. Since they were free, they had the liberty to make the hard choice even though it may end their lives and potentially ruin their future reputations.
To be continued ...
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| Image Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/31428610@N05/3350673287/meta/ |
After being denied permission, Kirk passionately said that he would find a way to get to Genesis and save Spock. Admiral Morrow warned Kirk not to disobey his orders and ruin his career that always exemplified rationality.
Was Kirk being irrational or illogical?
The same could be asked about Jesus in the parable of the Good Shepherd.
[Jesus said,] “What man among you having a hundred sheep and losing one of them would not leave the ninety-nine in the desert and go after the lost one until he finds it? And when he does find it, he sets it on his shoulders with great joy and, upon his arrival home, he calls together his friends and neighbors and says to them, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’" Luke 15:4-6
This parable is about a sinner, a "lost one" who repents. When the lost one is found, he is said to have repented and returned to the path toward heaven with Jesus.
This act of finding the lost sinner meant that Jesus the Good Shepherd would have to sit and eat with sinners. This act itself could potentially ruin His reputation among his community.
However, in the Gospel of John, it says, "I am the good shepherd, and I know mine and mine know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I will lay down my life for the sheep." (John 10:14-15)
It is more important to get the one sheep than to save one's own life or stay with the safe people, the in-crowd. The Good Shepherd made that choice with the full knowledge that the search for the lost sheep would end His own life on the cross and His reputation.
Jesus the Good Shepherd and Kirk were indeed being rational and free in their choices to save the one that they loved. They knew the risks. Since they were free, they had the liberty to make the hard choice even though it may end their lives and potentially ruin their future reputations.
To be continued ...
07 March 2014
How I Live Now Part VI Lent Edition
**Spoilers Alert!*** In this post on the movie How I Live Now, a connection will be made between the last post about fasting and the post about Daisy's dialog.
During the movie, Daisy went through a transformation in three main steps. Daisy said, "Before the war, I used my will power for stupid stuff like not eating chocolate." During the war, as was mentioned in the last post, she had to give up many things to help the war effort. In the post with her dialog, she gave things up for the sake of Eddie.
In Lent, many of us give up "stupid stuff" like chocolate, sweets, or ice cream. This is a good start, for to get to the last stage like Daisy did, it has to start with the small things. It may seem stupid in the beginning, but with reflection, it may turn out that it wasn't so stupid after all.
Since we are corporal beings ("embodied souls"), quite often it takes corporal actions for us to realize things. For Daisy, it could well be the case that the "stupid stuff" was actually a jumping off for her next challenge during the war that is shown in the image above, namely, taking care of her cousin.
In a similar way, even though our motives may not be the best for fasting from whatever we gave up, we may eventually realize in a more profound way what the fasting is for (like in the last post).
From there, as a final goal, fasting during Lent will hopefully lead us to reach out for Our Lord as Daisy reached out for Eddie. "Now I use my will power to wait for you Eddie."
May we use our will power to (1) love God and neighbor and (2) wait for the Lord at His second coming for, "Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again." Amen.
How I Live Now Part I
How I Live Now Part II
How I Live Now Part III
How I Live Now Part IV
How I Live Now Part V Ash Wednesday Edition
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| Image source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mirror_of_erised/9627836210/meta/ |
In Lent, many of us give up "stupid stuff" like chocolate, sweets, or ice cream. This is a good start, for to get to the last stage like Daisy did, it has to start with the small things. It may seem stupid in the beginning, but with reflection, it may turn out that it wasn't so stupid after all.
Since we are corporal beings ("embodied souls"), quite often it takes corporal actions for us to realize things. For Daisy, it could well be the case that the "stupid stuff" was actually a jumping off for her next challenge during the war that is shown in the image above, namely, taking care of her cousin.
In a similar way, even though our motives may not be the best for fasting from whatever we gave up, we may eventually realize in a more profound way what the fasting is for (like in the last post).
From there, as a final goal, fasting during Lent will hopefully lead us to reach out for Our Lord as Daisy reached out for Eddie. "Now I use my will power to wait for you Eddie."
May we use our will power to (1) love God and neighbor and (2) wait for the Lord at His second coming for, "Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again." Amen.
How I Live Now Part I
How I Live Now Part II
How I Live Now Part III
How I Live Now Part IV
How I Live Now Part V Ash Wednesday Edition
06 March 2014
WZE Format Update
Hello all. I've noticed that it has been taking a long time for WZE to load, especially compared to other blogs. So, in an effort to improve the efficiency of WZE, many gadgets have been removed to decrease loading time.
For future posts, only pictures relating to movies, TV programs, and music will be used for visuals instead of embedded preview links to YouTube. Embedded YouTube videos take forever to load.
Thank you and God bless you and yours.
For future posts, only pictures relating to movies, TV programs, and music will be used for visuals instead of embedded preview links to YouTube. Embedded YouTube videos take forever to load.
Thank you and God bless you and yours.
05 March 2014
How I Live Now Part V Ash Wednesday Edition
Collect [for Ash Wednesday, First Day of Lent]
Grant, O Lord,
that we may begin with holy fasting
this campaign of Christian service,
so that, as we take up battle against spiritual evils,
we may be armed with weapons of self-restraint.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
In the How I Live Now movie, during the war, Daisy and her cousin had to eat only rations. Rations were only eaten because most resources had to be used for the war effort. People back home had to sacrifice for their long-term safety and prosperity. Their weapons were "self-restraint" to strengthen the chances of victory on the battlefield. All of this was done so that all could go home in peace, so Daisy and Eddie could meet again "at home".
In a similar way, "holy fasting" is a necessary course for the "battle against spiritual evils". We personally and corporately (Church) battle against forces who want to separate us from God. All of this is done so that we can go home to peace in heaven.
How I Live Now Part I
How I Live Now Part II
How I Live Now Part III
How I Live Now Part IV
Grant, O Lord,
that we may begin with holy fasting
this campaign of Christian service,
so that, as we take up battle against spiritual evils,
we may be armed with weapons of self-restraint.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
 |
| Image source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mirror_of_erised/9624592747/meta/ |
In the How I Live Now movie, during the war, Daisy and her cousin had to eat only rations. Rations were only eaten because most resources had to be used for the war effort. People back home had to sacrifice for their long-term safety and prosperity. Their weapons were "self-restraint" to strengthen the chances of victory on the battlefield. All of this was done so that all could go home in peace, so Daisy and Eddie could meet again "at home".
In a similar way, "holy fasting" is a necessary course for the "battle against spiritual evils". We personally and corporately (Church) battle against forces who want to separate us from God. All of this is done so that we can go home to peace in heaven.
How I Live Now Part I
How I Live Now Part II
How I Live Now Part III
How I Live Now Part IV
04 March 2014
How I Live Now Part IV
***Spoilers Alert!*** As was mentioned in the last post, Daisy and Eddie were de facto married in the marital relations scene.
This will come into play for the comments below about Daisy's ending monologue.
It seems as though he is far off, but she is still caring for him like he is there. If it is correct that this movie can be seen as a Christian allegory, then there are two things that can be gleaned from this monologue's corresponding actions.
First, she is loving Eddie by taking care of him even though he does not seem to love her back as he used to. She is essentially taking care of someone else.
Quite often, Christians (like Mother Theresa) take care of people because they see the face of Christ in them. So, when they are taking care of sick and/or distressed people, they believe that they are taking care of Christ. Mother Theresa often said by using her five fingers, "You did it for me." This comes from Matthew 25:37-40.
It was easier for Daisy since she could actually see Eddie's face, but in a way it was not the Eddie who she once knew. Nevertheless, whatever she did for the new Eddie, she did it for the Eddie she once knew and hoped would see again.
As she said, Daisy used to use her will power for herself. But at the end of the movie, the will power that Daisy used was for her Love, her husband, for Eddie's sake. That's how she lives now.
The second thing about Daisy's dialogue will be in the next post.
How I Live Now Part I
How I Live Now Part II
How I Live Now Part III
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| Image source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mirror_of_erised/9624599585/meta/ |
This will come into play for the comments below about Daisy's ending monologue.
Before the war, I used my will power for stupid stuff like not eating chocolate. I think I thought if I could control myself, then maybe the world around me would start to make sense. I guess I was pretty naive back then.She's wedded herself to Eddie. She now yearns for him.
During the war we stopped looking for reasons why things happen. We don't know what happened to Eddie [in the war] -- what he saw, the things he had to do. ...
Now I use my will power to wait for you Eddie. To care for you. To love you. I have to believe that one day you're going to get better. It was like I said to you all that time ago. If the world doesn't end, I wanna be here ... at home ... with you. And that's how I live now.
It seems as though he is far off, but she is still caring for him like he is there. If it is correct that this movie can be seen as a Christian allegory, then there are two things that can be gleaned from this monologue's corresponding actions.
First, she is loving Eddie by taking care of him even though he does not seem to love her back as he used to. She is essentially taking care of someone else.
Quite often, Christians (like Mother Theresa) take care of people because they see the face of Christ in them. So, when they are taking care of sick and/or distressed people, they believe that they are taking care of Christ. Mother Theresa often said by using her five fingers, "You did it for me." This comes from Matthew 25:37-40.
Then the righteous will answer him and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?’ And the king will say to them in reply, ‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.’ Matthew 25:37-40
It was easier for Daisy since she could actually see Eddie's face, but in a way it was not the Eddie who she once knew. Nevertheless, whatever she did for the new Eddie, she did it for the Eddie she once knew and hoped would see again.
As she said, Daisy used to use her will power for herself. But at the end of the movie, the will power that Daisy used was for her Love, her husband, for Eddie's sake. That's how she lives now.
The second thing about Daisy's dialogue will be in the next post.
How I Live Now Part I
How I Live Now Part II
How I Live Now Part III
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