TGIMMjurrasic1

March 6

[media presentation below]

GospelThink

Thursday after Ash Wednesday, March 6

LUKE 9:22-25

I remind you that the salvation of your soul is more important than anything you can accomplish on earth.

Prayerthoughts
a. Jesus tells of his redemptive action in the future. Do I show my appreciation of the Lord’s action by thanking him often for his gift of eternal life?

b. The classic definition of a disciple of Jesus is given here: “deny himself”, “take up his cross daily” and “follow me”. Which of these three directives am I not doing well?

c. Do I deny myself certain things that I like every now and then, and think of the Lord during that time?

d. Do I accept the situations of my life as they occur? I need to change the things that I can, but accept the illness, old age or things that I cannot change.

e. The following of Jesus means reading the Scriptures, especially the Gospels. Have I made the thinking of the Scriptures to be part of my daily routine?

f. We can get wrapped up in the things of this life without the Lord (“saves” his life) or we can choose to lose our life for the Lord’s sake, that is, give ourselves to the Lord more and more in our living. Do I see evidence in my life that I am choosing correctly?

g. We do not want to fall into the pattern of working only with material things. We need to “forfeit” them by turning more and more to the Lord by making God part of our living.

h. My prayerthoughts…

Today, I will write a prayer expressing my thanks

for the Lord’s action of redemption.

Some Thoughts on the Liturgy

FOLLOWING JESUS

+ The passage from Deuteronomy is one of the most quoted Hebrew Scripture passages because of its statement to choose life

- the life that Moses wanted his people to choose is the path of God in a three-fold manner:

- loving God, listening to and heeding his voice, and staying close to him

+ That God is, of course, not only the God of Moses, but Jesus whom we believe is God’s Son

- and therefore our guide as our Lord and Savior

- here in the liturgy today, St. Luke’s Gospel reminds us right away at the beginning of Lent of the overall goal of Lent

- we are reminded that the Passion, Death and the Resurrection of Jesus is a priority of ours

- as if to say: during Lent, keep your focus on this and don’t lose its perspective

- then the Gospel gives very practical advice for personal meditation

- namely how to allow Jesus to be our guide

- again there are three ways that have a little more bite to them than Moses’s ways of following God, but they are similar

- 1 – in Luke’s Jesus’ mind, there must be a denial of self

- we want what we want

- Jesus is saying that an element of denial of self is necessary to follow him

- 2 – Jesus says that we have to take up the cross

- suffering must be understood and accepted as part of the Christian scheme of things

- whether it is the physical pain of age or disease or the mental pain of psychological crises

- Jesus says that taking up the cross is the way of following him

3 – and to be a follower, we must discover his steps and walk in them

- discover the words he said, the actions he did, and the thoughts he had and try to follow them

+ God is present in our lives through Jesus, who calls us to deny self, take up his cross, and walk in his steps

- or in the words of Moses, choosing life.

MEDIA PRESENTATION

Movie: "Jurassic World" -- final session

ALL OF GOD'S CREATURES

The Gospel

LUKE 12:22-24

LUKE 12:22-24

Jesus said to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life and what you will eat, or about your body and what you will wear. For life is more than food and the body more than clothing. Notice the ravens: they do not sow or reap; they have neither storehouse nor barn, yet God feeds them. How much more important are you than birds!"

Gospelthink: God takes care of you in every way. Do I always acknowledge the good that God has done for me?

The new Jurassic World theme park in the movie named after it had been open to the public for a number of years. One of the primary thoughts running through the movie is the respect for and/or disrespect for the animals that had been created or manufactured by the inventors of the Park. In fact, Owen Grady, a veteran of the United States Navy had been employed to care for the different dinosaurs that were in the park. He managed to have a rapport with the animals under his care. He was even able to train (as much as they could be trained) Velocirapters to follow his directions. One can sense his respect for the creatures, even though they remained extremely dangerous. Likewise he was able to sense exactly what would happen if a dinosaur known as Indominus Rex, even bigger than the T Rex, was invented.

Respect for animals does not specifically appear in the Gospels, although Jesus evidently had to be around animals during his time with us on earth. He took part in Temple services, prayed the Hebrew Scriptures which are full of animal references, he rode donkeys, and he used animals in his stories. In one place, as he was speaking about the care that God has for us, Jesus considers the birds and ravens that were part of his culture. He obviously had a respect for animals since he worked with them much of his time on earth.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church refers to respect of animals with the straightforward statement that "Animals are God's creatures." God surrounds them with providential care. By their mere existence they bless God and give God glory. Thus men owe them kindness (number 2416).

The fact is that animals are a bridge of sorts to human beings. If we are kind to animals, we should generally speaking be kind to people. As Jesus mentions when he speaks of birds and ravens, God cares for them, but we are so much more important than birds. As a result of God's care for animals we should be learning that God also cares for us, and in turn we should be caring for others--animals and humans.

Owen Grady cared for the animals under his care, even the very dangerous ones, treating them with the respect they deserved. As a result, he could understand the respect that he had to have for human beings as well. We are all God's creatures; we must give our respect to every living creation of God.

PRAYER

Good and gracious God, You have given us the directive to honor and respect all creatures, even animals who do not have reasoning power. Give us the grace to show the deepest respect for every creature that You have made. Be with us, we pray.

+++++

GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT

Theme: One of the virtues that a Christian must show is a respect for all creatures, even animals.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
(session: approximately 60 minutes)
1. What scene during this session of the movie is most striking? Why?
2. In the Gospel passage, Jesus does not deny the reality of human needs. He is warning that they should not be the product of too much anxious care or becoming their slave. In general, do you think that we worry too much about our lives? Yes or no and why?
3. "Worry" is truly a human problem, and may be one of the strongest emotions that we have. What can be done to lessen our worries?
4. In your opinion, what is the greatest worry of human beings?
5. Do you agree with the meditation that Jesus had to have a respect for animals? Yes or no and why?
6. How do animals "bless God" and "give God glory"?
7. Do you agree that most of the time kindness to animals leads to kindness of people? Yes or no and why?
8. In what way does God care for us?
9. Sometimes, we must kill animals, as in the movie. Is this showing disrespect for them? Yes or no and why? (See Catechism, number 2415.)
10. Scene analysis: Owen is forced to use Hoskins' plan and send the Velocirapters after Indominus Rex. In your opinion, should Owen have agreed to do it? Yes or no and why?
11. Scene analysis: the dinosaurs communicate with each other. In your opinion, can animals communicate with each other? With human beings? Why or why not?
12. Scene analysis: the dinosaurs fight with each other. Do you think that generally speaking it is wrong to force animals to fight one another? Why or why not?
13. Analysis: What effect would the events of the movie have on the people who were visiting at the Park?
14. What does the movie "Jurassic World" teach young people?