The documentary movie "March of the Penguins" is simply and astonishingly the story of commitment to follow a goal in life against incredible odds. After a long summer of feasting, the Emperor Penguins of Antarctica begin to feel a need to march inland to their breeding grounds. Thousands of them march in single file in the bitterest of cold, and when they get there, they choose their mates. After the female delivers one large egg, the male gathers it into a fold of his abdomen, plants his feet to protect the egg from the ice, and then stands there, moving only to keep warm, for two months with no food or water, sometimes in gales, at temperatures far below zero, in sometimes total darkness, huddled together with the other fathers for warmth. The females meanwhile, march all the way back to the sea to forage for food. 

Jesus faced the reality of his death with conviction and determination. Knowing what was going to happen, he did not give into despair or pride. Instead, he was forthright in his approach: as he journeyed to Jerusalem, he said, "The Son of Man is to be handed over to men and they will kill him, and three days after his death he will rise." Jesus was resigned to the reality because he was determined to carry out his mission.
 
Whether the reality is conquering the sin of the world or carrying through with what one is assigned to do, we must accept the task with determination. People often try to hide the reality, or hide from the reality, never really accepting what is happening. Consequently, they cannot make the proper judgments, and they either lose control of themselves or lose sight of what is actually going on.

In daily living, hiding from reality is often translated into not doing what should be done. Probably, there are a number of areas in our lives that we could do better. We could be a little more tolerant of each other, we could be a little kinder to those around us, we could pay more attention to the people who need it, we could treat our families a little better. The reality is that we may not be doing what we should do.

If there is one lesson that the movie "March of the Penguins" should teach us, it is the incredible determination of the beautiful Emperor Penguins to achieve their goal. They teach us to be determined as we study the reality of our lives, and to carry through on what we should be doing as Christian people.                             

THOUGHT
 
PRAYER

Good and gracious God, there are areas in our lives that we do not like to face—the need to change, the need to reach out to another person, the need to choose a different attitude, and the like. Help us accept the responsibility to be better people, and to be determined to carry it out. Be with us, we pray.

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

©2007 Capuchin Province of Mid-America
Fr. Mike Scully is a member of the Capuchin Province of Mid-America