Luke, I am your father.

One dresses as a man to save her homeland.
One swims through a aquarium filter to find his father.
One eats mysterious grub in the forest with two sidekicks.

But these characters each make up movies with one central theme:

FATHERHOOD.

It turns out, each of these characters disobeyed their fathers:
Mulan cut here hair, dressed like a man,
and fought in her father's place.
Nemo swam out to touch the "butt"
(also known as "boat") against his father's will.
Simba "deliberately disobeyed" Mufasa by
taking Nala into a bad neighborhood.

But, in each of these, there is an important aspect that one cannot miss:
THE RETURN!

There is always the forgiveness of the father, the welcome home with open arms, the prodigal son.

And perhaps we must admit that Disney doesn't have it all wrong, for this takes us right back to the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus says:



"My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt."

Jesus teaches us how to say, "YES!" just as Mary said for Him to enter this world. "THY kingdom come! THY will be done!" He acknowledges that even the Father's most difficult desires for our lives are possible if we would only surrender our wills to Him. May that be our prayer as we prepare for Lent--that there might be more of Him and less of us.

Spiritual Direction

   In light of the Lion King coming out again in theatres, I thought it would be effective to use this particular scene from the movie. To set up the scene, this conversation occurs between Simba and his father Mufasa just moments after Simba "deliberately disobeyed" him.

Watch closely as many great truths pour forth from Mufasa's words:

   We can see in this scene the stern yet gentle character Mufasa has for his son. This is love. For in loving Simba, he must correct him and teach him a lesson. This is the importance of spiritual direction. For in truly loving another, I want him to actualize or attain his full potential.

   But something else, something very great occuring in this scene is the idea of Simba's smallness. He is so small compared to his father, and he feels so imcompetent. But this is formation. This is what we are called to as seminarians. There are such huge footsteps that have come before us! Luckily for us, it is not our job to rewalk those footsteps, to somehow fit our steps into theirs. Rather, we are called to further their footsteps. We are called to continue the journey from where they left off. In this, we can each attain greatness; each of us can attain holiness. May we not be afraid of being directed or corrected in our ways. For the ultimate goal is this greatness.

Today, let us not be overwhelmed by great pressures or expectations to do great things in our lives. For, as Mother Theresa said, it is more important that we do "small things with great love." This is what we are capable of, and this is what we are called to. Let us not be afraid of greatness.

Blessed Mother Theresa, pray for us.

Posted by: Jared R.