The movie The Odyssey has been making waves! I saw it a few weeks back with a bunch of priest friends. I’ve heard some of the commentary around the movie, as always there are various opinions, and no one can satisfy the masses. Instead of looking to the commentaries to draw one’s opinion on something, look within! How did the movie speak to you!

I found the film to be a classical portrayal of fantasy. Greek mythology is filled with wild creatures and with the element of deities that act out unchecked human passions there is a whole world to explore moral questions and explore deeper topics. That’s one of the great gifts that God has given us through our imagination, is that we have a “world” where we can create as limitlessly as God created. In the world of fantasy we can explore themes and problems in a way that entertains, delights and strikes the heart.

Take for example, The Lord of the Rings, which I feel was the last great movie portraying an epic, like The Odyssey. In the Lord of the Rings, the fantasy of the ring puts into a tangible realm the problem of compelling evil. It portrays how simply being exposed to the ring compells within the person: jealousy, lust for power, paranoia, hideous greed, etc.

In The Odyssey, a virtue that was strongly portrayed was the fidelity of husband and wife. Powerfully symbolized in the broche of Penelope that she gives to her husband, Odysseus. Throughout the film there is the constant ache of both to be returned to each other. Penelope’s fidelity to Odysseus is grounded in her faith, faith that he lives. Faith that withstands the discouragement of everyone around her, except her son. Fidelity, Faith, Trust, these three portrayed in this couple creates an inspiring witness of committed love that can overcome years, war, gods, and imprisonment. [SPOILER ALERT] Yes, admittedly the film’s ending is divergent. However, look what the ending speaks to: at the end of the immense trial that Odysseus went through, he is at long last reunited with his cherished wife. They prefer nothing else but to slip away from the world’s political drama and unending strife and sail as husband and wife into the sunset.

Is it overly sentimental? Maybe, but that is no reason to bock at what love simply and strongly desires: the eternal embrace. This is heaven: being forever united with the inner Life of the Triune God. After love and fidelity has been forged in the crucible of life, it comes forth ready to be simply with the Beloved, for nothing else is greater. For God is the summum bonum, the highest good.

Ice Cream Social

You scream, I scream, we all scream for ice cream! Join us for our ice cream social on Wednesday, August 19 at 3pm.

Back to School

What did one pencil say to the other on the first day of school? Looking sharp! We look forward to welcoming our students in grades 1-8 on Thursday, August 20, and our ECE and Kindergarten students on Monday, August 24.  See you soon!

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