rise2

December 9

[media presentation below]

GospelThink

Monday, December 9, Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary [transferred from yesterday]

LUKE 1:26-38
My earthly Mother said “yes” to being a mother for me on earth.

Prayerthoughts
a. An angel of the Lord has probably not spoken to me directly, but the Holy Spirit has inspired me to certain actions. Where have I seen the Holy Spirit acting in me directly?

b. Mary was troubled by the angel’s greeting. What troubles me the most in my life right now and what can I do about it?

c. The angel’s statement to Mary, “Do not be afraid,” is a statement that Jesus would make often in his ministry. I must remember that the Lord is always with me, no matter what the circumstances of my life, and therefore I have no reason to be afraid. Do I find myself too fearful at times?

d. The angel tells Mary that Jesus’ Kingdom will have no end. What is most important about Jesus’ Kingdom for me at this time of my life?

e. As Mary, we do not always understand how the Lord is working in our lives. In what area of my life do I need to understand more how the Lord is working? Formulate a prayer concerning that area.

f. Where have I seen the Holy Spirit most at work in the world?

g. The angel tells Mary about Elizabeth. Who among my acquaintances right now should I reach out to in some way?

h. Mary says “yes” to God. In my life, where have I made a commitment to God, and how am I following through on it?

i. My prayerthoughts…

Today, I will read Ephesians, chapter 1 and write
an important thought from it.

Some Thoughts on the Liturgy

BRING THE WORLD TO LIFE

          There is a song that was popular a couple of years ago called “Bring Me to Life.” It is a cry to someone, maybe to God, for help. The song goes: “Wake me up inside, call my name and save me from the dark. Save me from the nothing I’ve become. I’ve been sleeping a thousand years it seems, got to open my eyes to everything. There must be something more.”

          The statement can be interpreted to be the cry of a world that needs divine interaction. It could well have been the cry of the Hebrew people as they studied their situation right before Jesus came into the world.

          It could easily have been Mary’s thinking. As a good Hebrew, she probably was hoping for something that could wake up her world. She knew that things in the world had not gone well up to that moment. And then she was asked to make a decision to help bring the world to life. Of course, her decision was to do it: “Let it be done.”

          In terms of the song, what Mary agreed to was to bring life to the world. She brought into our world the person of Jesus who taught us and gave us the chance of eternal life. But her action is much more than her saying “yes” to an event. It was saying “yes” to a way of life. What she agreed to is exactly what we agree to as we try to live a deeper spiritual life.

          Spirituality could be defined as bringing the world to life. It begins with us, of course. We must have the spirituality before we can bring life to the world. It must begin with us which means that we have to work at becoming better people.

          The Advent liturgies bring that point home:
          The first Sunday of Advent – look at the materialism involved in your life and do something about it.
          The Second Sunday of Advent – study how you are using the time you have, and use it better.
          The Third Sunday of Advent (upcoming) – look deeply at your love of neighbor and what it means to you right now.
          The Fourth Sunday of Advent (upcoming) – trust that the Lord is in charge no matter what happens to you.

          But we must do more than bring ourselves to life. The spiritual life that you and I are trying to develop must be concerned about our external world as Mary was. Mary’s “yes” certainly brought life to her, but tremendously impacted the whole world. In a sense, the world around us is crying: “Wake me up inside. Save me from the dark. Bring me to life.”

          The way to bring the world to life is really very simple to say, but very difficult to carry out. It involves doing the best we can to help the situation we are in. Make our world right now better than it is—our family, our friends, our job, our school, the situation around us.

          Mary reminds us of what the spiritual life is all about: bring ourselves to life, and then bring the world to life.

MEDIA PRESENTATION

Movie: "The Rise of Skywalker" -- final session
THE FORCE: LIGHT AND DARKNESS

The Gospel

LUKE 12:34-36a

The crowd answered Jesus, "We have heard from the law that the Messiah remains forever. Then how can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?" Jesus said to them, "The light will be among you only a little while. Walk while you have the light, so that darkness may not overcome you. Whoever walks in the dark does not know where he is going. While you have the light, believe in the light, so that you may become children of the light."

Gospelthink: I am still with you as the light for the world. Am I walking in that light in my life?

The scavenger Rey of the planet Jakku discovered early on that she was Force-sensitive as she lived her life. As the movie "The Rise of Skywalker" begins she was being trained in the Force by Princess Leia and her captains. She had previously been trained by Luke Skywalker himself whom she had begged to come back and help the Resistance. He did not, but Rey let the Force guide her toward the good. She knew that eventually she would have to confront Kylo Ren who likewise was Force-sensitive for evil. Actually, we discover in the movie that Rey was the granddaughter of Palpatine who did everything in his power to bring Rey to the dark side. Eventually a converted Ren gave his life force to Rey after Rey had granted Ren his life. Rey and her companions then led the Resistance to lead the people of the galaxy against the Final Order armada and win the final battle. Rey accepted the title and challenge to be truly the foster daughter of Princess Leia and Han Solo, calling herself "Rey Skywalker."

If there is any consistent thought for the "Star Wars" epic, it would be the Force. It is defined as an energy field that connects all living things in the galaxy. The power of the Force could be used by individuals who were especially sensitive to it. The most famous Force-sensitive people in the epic were Luke Skywalker and his father Darth Vader. As the epic closes, the two most famous are Kylo Ren who uses the Force for evil, but eventually converts to the good side, and Rey who uses it for the good, At the close of the movie, she accepts the title of "Rey Skywalker" signifying an acceptance of the good way of life forever.

The epic begins with the Force in "Star Wars--The Phantom Menace" and closes with the Force in "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker" and is easily translated to be the power of good and the power of evil. Jesus used the terms "light" and "darkness."

Jesus knew about darkness. At the same time, he knew that he was the light, a light that would last forever, the good that had to fight that darkness. He urges his disciples to “walk while you have the light, so that darkness may not overcome you.” Jesus realized only too well that even though he was the light, the darkness was very strong, often seeming to overpower any good. The light is always present to humankind through Jesus' presence in our world, but so is darkness through the power of evil, and often the people of the world choose the darkness.

The "Star Wars" epic is a classic tale of light and darkness, aimed at teaching “hope” even in the midst of intense persecution. The story teaches us to expect the evil because of the selfishness, but it tells us to fight it and never give up fighting no matter how bleak things look.

There is evil all around us, not in the form of Imperial forces about to destroy the world as we know it, but much more personal. The evils we meet every day demand a true and real understanding of the light of Jesus Christ along with the real acceptance of the guidelines he taught. The "Star Wars" epic gives us a chance to reflect not only on the evil, but especially on the grace to overcome it. We pray that the Force--good in the world--will always be with us.

PRAYER

Good and gracious God, we live in a world that in many ways has chosen darkness over what you offer us. Too often we choose the darkness because we want only what we want and therefore forget about anything else. Help us identify the darkness in our lives, and give us the grace to want to do something about it. Be with us, we pray.

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GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT

Theme: The Force has led Rey throughout her destiny to become the Jedi "Rey Skywalker."

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
(session: approximately 66 minutes)
1. What scene during this session of the movie is most striking? Why?
2. What does the movie "The Rise of Skywalker" teach young people?
3. In what ways is Jesus a "light"?
4. The statement can be made that all of us are Force-sensitive. What do you think it means?
5. What are the best examples of "light" and "darkness" in the world in which we live?
6. What are the most important reasons why someone would choose "darkness" in our world?
7. In terms of today's understanding, what is your definition of "hope."
8. In your opinion, what is most evil in our world at the present time?
9. As you study the whole series of the "Star Wars" epic, what is its principal teaching for our world?