October 12

[media presentation below]

GospelThink

Saturday, October 12

LUKE 11:27-28

Listen carefully to all of my words.

Prayerthoughts
a. This incident speaks directly of the importance of mothers in our world. Whether I am a woman or man, am I considerate of women who have brought children into our world? Perhaps a prayer for all mothers is important right now.

b. Whether I am a woman or man, I should take the time to pray for the mothers who are experiencing a difficult time with their spouse or children. If I see mothers with young children today, I should be especially kind to them.

c. The lady in the crowd was praising Jesus. A song of praise of God from the Psalms might be in order here. (This is the task of the meditation.)

d. Jesus words remind me of listening to the word of God. How well do I concentrate on the words of Scripture or the Mass when I attend.

e. My prayerthoughts...

Today, I will carry out letter c.

Some Thoughts on the Liturgy

LISTENING AND DOING

+ Throughout the letter to the Galatians which has been the first reading during this week and into next

- Paul the Apostle “attacks” the law of Moses

- he didn’t have anything against the Law that he knew very well as a Pharisee

- the Law just didn’t go far enough in his mind

- it was the precursor to Jesus’ law

- when Jesus came with his doctrine of the Kingdom, the law was no longer necessary

- and that is what Paul is saying throughout the letter

- here Paul speaks of the Law of Moses being the occasion of the promise of eternal life that God will give us

- before Jesus, he says, there was only the Law of Moses as a disciplinarian

- now, we have faith that has made us one with Jesus

- and that faith gives the promise of eternal life

+ The Gospel addresses the idea of what faith consists of

- according to Jesus: primarily two things:

Blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it.

- hearing and observing, that is, listening and doing

-all of the directives of Scripture—the virtues of the Kingdom—are brought about by listening to what they are, and carrying them out as best we can

+ Listening itself is both easy and difficult

- it is easy in the sense that we all can listen to the word of God

- we have it as part of everything that we do—here at Mass, in all of our prayers

- the difficult part is “pouring over it”, that is, studying it with respect to our own individual lives

- we all have our own personalities, our own likes and dislikes, and Scripture as we read it and think about it, applies directly to us in one way or another

- and we don’t like to think of it in light of that

- because it means that we may have to change some of our thinking—which is one of the most difficult things in the world to do

+ And the idea of faith requires us to observe the word of God that we listen to

- that too is often difficult

- because there are some things lined up against it

- first of all, Christian people may not be doing it

- Christian people in the world often have really not accepted the word of God and therefore are not carrying it out

- we see that all the time in the people who divorce, those who are constantly giving into revenge, and those who want to destroy peace

- we often simply don’t have good examples of the Christian life in the world

- secondly, although we see many examples of holiness, we also see examples of non-holiness

- disobedience, not getting along with others, talking about others in a negative way, violations of poverty, things that simply ought not to be

+ Our job as spiritual people is that of carrying out the faith in as perfect a way as possible

- that means that we have to do well both of the areas of listening and doing

- and move ourselves to do what should be

- in particular those two difficult areas:

- listening in such a way that it truly involves me and what I should do,

- and following through, carrying out what we should be doing.

MEDIA PRESENTATION

Movie: "Limitless" -- beginning session

OUR DESIRE TO BE LIMITLESS

The Gospel

LUKE 12:1

Meanwhile, so many people were crowding together that they were trampling one another underfoot. [Jesus] began to speak, first to his disciples, "Beware of the leaven—that is, the hypocrisy—of the Pharisees."

Gospelthink: I warned my disciples to stay away from hypocrisy. Am I honest in the way I lead my life?

Being "limitless" in what we can do is the obvious thought of the movie "Limitless." At some time in Eddie Morra's life, he realized that he was very limited in what he was doing. He wanted to become a writer, but it seemed that nothing was happening in his brain. In the course of his wanderings, his ex-brother-in-law gave him an amazing pill. It was not a narcotic or anything that was usually considered a "drug," but it did amazing things to his mind. He finished his novel at break-neck speed, he won at poker, outsmarted the investment market, becoming a Wall Street expert, made loads of money, won over a woman who had rejected him, and in general, he knew how to handle every situation well. He was indeed "limitless," but like any drug, the pill known as NZT-48 was addictive in its own way. Gradually, Eddie experienced the other effects of the pill.

The dictionary defines "leaven" to be "a substance used to make dough rise." Jesus understood it to be something that took over a person's life in a complete way. Hypocrisy in Jesus' mind was the leaven that controlled the Pharisees. In terms of modern culture, it might be called a "drug," a substance that altered the thinking and actions of the people who took it.

NZT-48, the drug that Eddie Morra took was like leaven. It completely altered his life, and made him aware of things that he had never been aware of before. But he also found that after he took it, he needed to have it. He needed to have it not because it was something his body craved, but because he liked the power and the pleasure it gave him. Like leaven the desire for power and pleasure spread throughout his very being, becoming more important to him than anything else in his world. He loved the feeling of being limitless, and would do anything to keep it.

Such a feeling is the desire of human nature. In one way or another, our human natures desire to be limitless--we want the power and pleasure that will give us what we want. It is the reason why people take illegal drugs; it is the reason why people disregard the direction of their consciences. Basically, we want the feeling, and we will often sacrifice anything to get the feeling.

Jesus realized what direction our human natures might lead. He could easily see how hypocrisy and desire for power controlled the religious leaders of his time. And so he warned his followers, telling them in essence to study their desires closely. Like leaven, those desires can completely overtake us, and so we must accept the guidance that Jesus gives to keep everything in proper perspective.

PRAYER

Good and gracious God, we continue to struggle with our desires and feelings. They lead us in a direction that can often be harmful. Help us recognize the importance of choosing the guidance of your Son in all that we do. Be with us, we pray.

+++++

GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT

Theme: We all have a desire to be limitless with our lives, and we must also take into account how much we are willing to sacrifice to achieve it.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
(session: approximately 49 minutes)
1. What scene during this session of the movie is most striking? Why?
2. Luke the evangelist contrasts the great size of the crowd with "small" attitude of the religious leaders. From your knowledge of Scripture, what should have been the principal characteristics of the religious leaders of Jesus' time?
3. Hypocrisy might be defined to be "surface respectability." Give your own definition of "hypocrisy."
4. In your opinion, is hypocrisy a problem in today's world? Yes or no and why?
5. In our world, what evils "take over" people's lives?
6. Our modern culture in many ways is a "drug culture." What are the principal illegal drugs that are used in our society? In your opinion, which one is the most evil?
7. How should a Christian view the drugs that are used in our society? (See Catechism of the Catholic Church, second edition, number 2291)
8. Speaking in a general way, in your opinion, what would people want most if they could do or have anything they wanted?
9. Eddie Morra wanted power and pleasure more than anything else. In today's world, how do people attain more power and pleasure in a legal way?
10. Christian doctrine would say that attaining power and pleasure even legally could be wrong. Why?
11. What do you think is the "proper perspective" that the meditation refers to? What is the principal guideline that Jesus gives in order to "keep everything in proper perspective"?
12. Scene analysis: The movie opens with Eddie Morra contemplating suicide. What are the causes of suicide in our society, and what can the person who is contemplating it do about it?
13. Scene analysis: "Having sex" outside of marriage is presented in the movie and other movies as something that happens a lot. Do you believe that it happens often in real life? Yes or no and why? Do you believe that this has an affect on the young people who watch the movies? Yes or no and why?
14. Dialogue analysis: As Eddie reflects on his taking the NZT-48, he asks the question: "Was it worth the risk? What would you do?" What would you do if you were in Eddie's position?
15. Scene analysis: Eddie borrows money from someone. When should a person borrow money from the bank or others?