I'm writing this on Ash Wednesday, with an eye to Lent. I experienced over the weekend what I feel was one good way to prepare for Lent, when I went downtown to the movies at Embarcadero One. Have you seen 'Of Gods and Men,' the much acclaimed French film about the Catholic Cistercian monks of Algeria who were martyred in 1996?
If Lent is about transformation of mind and heart, which is what the Gospel means when it calls us to 'Repent,' this movie is the real ticket to begin thinking about it. I grew up with the idea that Lent was about giving up candy and maybe going to Mass more often. Prayer and fasting are two of the three traditional practices of this season. The third is alms-giving, and all three are meant to help us be transformed in mind, heart and soul. Back in my boyhood days, we abstained from candy as a penance. When Easter came, we returned happily to life as it was before Ash Wednesday! Inner transformation was not what we signed up for. Just no candy!
'Of Gods and Men' is a beautifully created film. It's thought-provoking and has a distinct prayerful atmosphere. In French and Arabic, the sub-titles are easy on the eye, the pace being just right for the message. And the message is deeply Christian and Catholic. It's about eight monks struggling whether to stay in Algeria and face certain martyrdom for being Christian, or take the next flight back to France and their families.
You're given a satisfying inside look at the daily lives of this community; their prayer, their work, even their meals together. One touching moment shows them listening to a Swan Lake recording while enjoying a glass of French wine together after dinner. The only other music throughout the film is the simple 'a capello' chanting of the monks. Their monastery is beside a Muslim village, and a beautiful relationship flourishes between villagers and monks. Evil raises its ugly head when a band of rifle-toting Islamic jihadists show up in town and kill, in a horrible way, one of the women who was not wearing the 'hijab' or Muslim scarf. These thugs, inspired by al-Queda, pay a visit to the monks one day, and that's when the rubber hits the road: the process of transformation begins, the transfixing process of decision-making undertaken by these soul-searching men.
The movie is unusual in that it draws you into the process of transformation you see taking place before your eyes. Each had his own good reason to flee the situation and get out of town. Initially, only one felt they should stay with the villagers who were too poor to escape. Then transformation of hearts began. The movie is a compelling argument for authentic Christian spirituality.
Lent calls all Christians to personal transformation. And the Church encourages us to use the three disciplines: prayer, fasting and alms-giving. If we internalize these too much nothing will happen on the outside. If we externalize them too much there will be no interior transformation. Body and soul need to work symbiotically.
Prayer takes time. The car can be like a 'monk's cell' in which to pray. When caught in traffic, why not slow down internally, and pray? There are plenty of fine CDs with Morning and Evening Prayer we can use in the car to help us get in the habit of praying when driving alone. Fasting is not meant to be puritanical. Fasting can help us suppress certain sensual desires so deeper ones can emerge - like our desire for God.
The call to alms-giving is a call to the awareness that we are connected to each other in the Mystical Body of Christ. We live in an extremely rich culture, even the poorest of us is better off than most folk who live in third world countries. Maybe this Lent we might take a second look at mail solicitation for alms before tossing it. Can we give something to a homeless person without weighing the pros and cons of why they're homeless, or what they might spend the alms on? Here's one that will get me in trouble: if you're buying a new car, why not purchase a notch lower than what you'd planned, and give the money saved to charity, or to a family that's barely surviving on the edge?
Before you do any of the above, go see 'Of Gods and Men' as your prep for Lent. The beauty of the movie - the storyline, the scenery, the acting and screenplay, the editing, the dialog - is bound to move even the most cynical of viewers.
PASTOR EMERITUS
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