TGIMMmen 1

Movie: "Men in Black 3" -- beginning session

SOME SECRETS OF THE UNIVERSE

The Gospel

MATTHEW 10:39

[Jesus said:] "Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it."

Gospelthink: Your spiritual life is more important than your physical life. Do I give enough time to serious thought?

The premise of the "Men in Black" movies is that there is alien activity on and off Earth and sometimes the aliens will attempt to destroy our planet. Therefore we have a secret government agency otherwise known as "Men in Black" that is responsible for policing those creatures. Obviously the movie "Men in Black 3" is fantasy, but it lends itself to some very difficult questions and some likewise difficult answers. Agents K and J of "Men in Black" talk about them in the movie "Men in Black 3." There are secrets of the universe that we must consider even if we do not need to know about them. There are answers about life even if we do not understand them. The fact is that we are dealing with mystery every day. Our knowledge of earth's gifts continually astonishes us. Even though it is probably fantasy to think that there are extraterrestrial creatures, it is not fantasy that we who live on a beautiful Earth are alive and capable of wonderful things.

Albert Einstein once remarked that "There are two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle." The mystery of living is a miracle. It is a miracle that our earth has evolved into what it is today. It is a miracle that human intelligence has reached the point that it has. It is a miracle that our technology has advanced to the place it has. We are indeed blessed.

The "Men in Black" series of movies can easily lead to a philosophical discussion about life. In particular, a clever movie that defies human possibility like "Men in Black 3" leads us to imagine what life could be. If there were aliens in the world, what kind of world would we have? Would the definition of "life" still be the same? Would there still be a God who was responsible for the aliens just as God is responsible for us? Would we have to protect ourselves in some way?

Jesus once told us that life without God amounts to nothing. "Losing one's life" in Jesus' words means giving up everything for God. The person who wants to have life without God will never find it. Surely, if an extraterrestrial creature possessed intelligence, such a creature would have the chance of redemption just as we do. Life is sacred no matter what form it takes. It is sacred because it is from God.

Agent K refers to the secrets of life in the movie, suggesting that the secrets should be known by those who who desire to know them. In fact the answers that we desire come from questions that are not even spoken at times. Life is a mystery, and we should celebrate the life that we have. God has given it to us and we owe it to our God to use it well.

PRAYER

Good and gracious God, the life that you have given us is not only beautiful; it is connected to you and therefore sacred. May we always respect our lives and be appreciative of everything that you have given to us. Be with us, we pray.

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GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT

Theme: Life is a mystery that should be lived well.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
(session: approximately 49 minutes)
1. What scene from this session of the movie is most striking and why?
2. The Scripture verse is taken from the section of the Gospel which concentrates on the identity of a real disciple of Jesus. What are the major characteristics of a disciple of Jesus?
3. The footnote in the New American Bible for this verse explains it this way: "One who denies Jesus in order to save one's earthly life will be condemned to everlasting destruction; loss of earthly life for Jesus' sake will be rewarded by everlasting life in the Kingdom." How does one deny Jesus in the world today?
4. What is your understanding of the Kingdom? (See Catechism of the Catholic Church, second edition, numbers 2816-2821.)

5. Make a presentation on "miracles" from the Catechism, numbers 548-550 and references.
6. Do you believe in extraterrestrial life and UFO's? The instructor may want to obtain a recent article on UFO's and present it to the class.
7. If you believe in UFO's, do you think that the extraterrestrial life would be hostile to us? Yes or no and why?
8. The meditation reminds us that "life is sacred." What is the meaning of the statement? (See Catechism, numbers 2258-2262.)
9. In what ways is life a mystery?
10. Scene analysis: Agent J cannot access the information concerning Agent K's encounter with Boris the Animal. Why is it necessary to restrict information concerning certain actions? In particular, do you think that the government restricts information that the public should be aware of? Yes or no and why?
11. Dialogue analysis: Agent K says to J: "Don't ask questions you don't want to know the answer to." What are some questions that we don't want to know the answer to? Why?
12. Scene analysis: if you could go back in time, what time would you want to go back to? Why?
13. Scene analysis: name one time in history which altered our history.
14. Scene analysis: Agent J encounters the racist policemen. What is the fundamental problem of racism?
15. Scene analysis: Griffin has the ability to foresee timelines and futures. What in the future would you like to know? Why?

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