TGIMMedge1

	THE MOTHER OF ALL LEARNING

The Gospel

LUKE 13:6-10

[Jesus] told them this parable: “There once was a person who had a fig tree planted in his orchard, and when he came in search of fruit on it but found none, he said to the gardener, ‘For three years now I have come in search of fruit on this fig tree but have found none. [So] cut it down. Why should it exhaust the soil?’ He said to him in reply, ‘Sir, leave it for this year also, and I shall cultivate the ground around it and fertilize it; it may bear fruit in the future. If not you can cut it down.’”

The Media -- "Edge of Tomorrow" (beginning session)

In the movie "Edge of Tomorrow," aliens, for the most part very intelligent beings besides being very deadly, had managed to invade earth. They were able to loop time in such a way that they would learn the defenses of their enemies, and thus manage to conquer before the defenses could use their weapons. Given the same power because the blood of one of the aliens had flowed on to him, Major William Cage, was able to use the time loops to his advantage. As he gradually discovered what the aliens were doing, he and UK Special Forces expert Sgt. Rita Vrataski managed through the time loops to finally come to the possibility of conquering the invaders. It was only through the constant repetitions of doing the same thing that they were able to accomplish their goal.

The spiritual life is much the same way. The only way to accomplish the goal of becoming more and more Christian in our approach to living is through the constant repetition of spiritual practices. Those practices principally consist of turning to our Lord and leader Jesus to discover his way of approaching life and what we should do to better ourselves. He gives it to us in his Gospels.

He even told a story concerning it in his lifetime. The secret of the parable of the fig tree in the Gospels is that repetition will hopefully make the tree more productive. The gardener begs on behalf of the tree, that is us, in his story, saying that perhaps some further repetition will help us bring about the proper fruit of living well.

The great Catholic Doctor of the Church, St. Thomas Aquinas reminded all teachers that repetition is the mother of all learning. It is true of a secular life as well as the spiritual life. If we manage to keep returning to the message of Jesus Christ over and over again, eventually it will help us understand what he wanted to accomplish.

Time loops may be a way to interest audiences of a popular movie, but in the sense of repetition of the message of Christianity, it is also a way to become holy. It is the whole basis of these meditations. The Gospels contain our spiritual life: we must read them every day to understand them more.

PRAYER

Good and gracious God, your Son is present in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, directing us even now. Give us the grace to turn to them constantly to understand what you want of us. Be with us, we pray.

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GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT

Theme: It takes constant effort to strengthen the spiritual life.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
(session: approximately 52 minutes)
1. What is most striking about this session? Why?
2. The Gospel story is also an example of the patience of God with unrepentant sinners. Many people do not have the virtue of patience. What is the best way to acquire the virtue?
3. In general, do most Christian people understand the value of repentance? Yes or no and why?
4. In your opinion, what evil in the world exists for which Christians should be most sorry?
5. What is your interpretation of Jesus' story?
6. As you have studied the Gospels, what virtue most of all does Jesus show?
7 In general, do people have the patience to repeat spiritual practices? Yes or no and why?
8. In your opinion, what are the three most important directives to live well?
9. In general, why does repetition "work" in our minds?
10. In general, do you think that Christians read the Gospels every day? Yes or no and why?
11. Do you think that the many commentators on television and radio on different subjects like war and the like help prevent wars and destruction? Yes or no and why?
12. Scene analysis: General Brigham sends Major Cage into training for combat as a means of "revenge" or "punishment" because he would not go into film the battle. Do you think that this type of behavior takes place in the military of today? Yes or no and why?
13. Scene analysis: The J-squad deliberately do not tell Cage how to use his weapon because he will die anyway. Obviously, this would not happen in today's military. But, do you think that sometimes a "hatred" among the troops can jeopardize some military operations? Yes or no and why?
14. [personal question not to be shared with the group.] Analysis: Time loops obviously cannot happen, but if you would like to live one moment over again, what would it be?
15. Analysis: is it always a good thing to know the future? Yes or no and why?

Questions, comments? Let me know. Email Fr. Mike