Dear Friends,
Merry Christmas!!!! I hope the day itself was filled with blessings, but the Church says one day is not enough. So the season of Christmas lasts until the feast of the baptism of Jesus on January 12. You can celebrate and give cards and give gifts and eat goodies until then! Enjoy.
I’d like to recommend a couple of movies for your viewing pleasure that will also help you to grow spiritually. The first is The Hidden Life, which is the story of an unsung hero, Franz Jägerstätter, who refused to fight for the Nazis in World War II. When the Austrian peasant farmer is faced with the threat of execution for treason, it is his unwavering faith and his love for his wife Fani and children that keeps his spirit alive. Jägerstätter was beatified by Pope Benedict in 2007. Not often that you get a full length film about a holy person. It will be showing at Filmstreams until January 2nd.
The other film, The Two Popes is showing now on Netflix. I am not sure why it did not come to theaters in Omaha as it did in other parts of the country. The Two Popes received four Golden Globe nominations including one for Best Motion Picture. The movie is fiction, but could have taken place. Frustrated with the direction of the church, Cardinal Bergoglio (Jonathan Pryce) requests permission to retire in 2012 from Pope Benedict (Anthony Hopkins). Instead, facing scandal and self-doubt, the introspective Pope Benedict summons his harshest critic and future successor to Rome to reveal a secret that would shake the foundations of the Catholic Church. Behind Vatican walls, a struggle commences between both tradition and progress, guilt and forgiveness, as these two very different men confront their pasts in order to find common ground and forge a future for the Catholic Church. The acting is very well done and I think you will find it enjoyable.
I have been doing a little reading of some research done by the Barna Group on Christian faith, young people (18 to 35 year olds) in the United States and what they say is missing from churches in general. About six in 10 Christians in this study say they participate in their community of worship to grow in their faith (63%) and learn about God (61%). These two options are by far the top responses, though other main motivations also relate to learning, such as receiving relevant teachings (40%), wisdom for how to live faithfully (39%) or wisdom for applying scriptures (35%). This desire for spiritual instruction persists even though four in 10 Christians in this age group (39%) say they have already learned most of what they need to know about faith, and nearly half (47%) say church teachings have flaws or gaps.
For some, aspects of the service or liturgy stand out as reasons to engage with a faith community. More than one-third (37%) says they attend for the worship and music—though this is a more popular answer among Protestant respondents (50% Protestants vs. 22% of Catholics). On the other hand, sacraments (selected by 14% of all Christians) receive more emphasis among Catholics’ responses (22% vs. 7% of Protestants). These groups are similarly likely to see readings and recitations (15% of all Christians) as a driver for their church participation. Perhaps what is more interesting is what young people say is lacking: friends and people who inspire them. They are looking for Christians who are not judgmental and who truly live their Christian faith. It is not so much that boring liturgies drive them away from church, but boring parishioners do. They do not want to see themselves as being a part of a hypocritical group of Christians that do not live what they profess. They want to see people engaged in action, truly making a difference in the lives of others.
Can you be that kind of Christian for young people? Can we be a community that truly puts into action what Jesus teaches? Perhaps as we think about New Year resolutions, we could think about committing to that.
Peace,
Fr. Damian