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| "Of Gods and Men" 3-Minute Review |
Throughout my career I've met all sorts of different people. Including Nazis ... and even the devil. I'm not scared of terrorists, even less of the army. And I'm not scared of death. I'm a free man. + Fr. Luc (see Of Gods and Men Movie Review by Kenneth Turan)
It took me a while to settle into the meditative rhythm "Of Gods and Men," a sublime cinematic experience that now brings me to tears.
The story of serenity and sacrifice. The soundtrack of psalms in French. The Spirit who prevailed in the spirits of these men who showed the greatest love Jesus spoke of: Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends (John 15:13). Br. Luc, one of the Cistercian Trappist monks of Tibhirine, shares about this love with a young women from their village in one of the film's opening scenes:
"Ever been in love?" the girl asks with gentle curiosity.
The old monk looks at her and replies with honest eyes,
"Yes, several times. And then ...
I encountered another Love, even greater.
And I answered that Love."
+ Br. Luc
I think it took me going to the Abbey of the Genesee and St. Mary's Monastery multiple times (see "Abbey Awe | Awakening to New Wonder"), and experiencing the presence and prayers of Benedictine monks (including Cistercian Trappists), to understand the powerfully humble and loving community of Christ these men were and became in Algeria in 1995 A.D. even as they faced execution by extremists. So many of the words from this film about faithful and communal love are resonating much more with me right now:
We are martyrs out of love, out of fidelity, if death overtake us, despite ourselves, because up to the end, up to the end we'll try to avoid it.
Our mission here is to be brothers to all.
Remember that love is eternal hope.
Love endures everything.
+ Br. Christian
This post could reflect on a multitude of themes and scenes, many of which others have done better at unveiling the depths of than I ever could. For an example, watch Bishop Barron on "Of Gods and Men" (SPOILERS). Or check out Christopher Page's "eight elements that make the film that make it a powerful and moving experience to view": a profound vision of corporate worship; a community filled with love; deeply felt humanity; life filled with beauty; simple orderly lives (prayer alone + prayer together and work alone + work together); deep witness to the peaceful presence of Christ; a strong and respectful portrait of Christian faith; deep spirituality (read "Of Gods and Men" – The Gospel of Love, The Power of the Film #1 and #2 for more from Christopher Page).
But for today, I simply want to record the words from some crucial moments in the film where the monks went through their Benedictine liturgies via The Divine Office, including all 150 Psalms, canticles, orations, and readings from the Scriptures that shaped them to become like our sacrificial Savior in profound ways in the face of evil and murder. Profound ways that I pray and trust will continue to shape me as part of the communities of Emmaus City Church as well.
Lauds | The time and the spirit of Lauds recalls the resurrection, the dawn of the new day, a new creation, as Christ dispels the darkness. Our Savior and all of nature rise, and so do we in this great act of praise.
Lord, open my lips
And my mouth will proclaim Your praise.
+ Psalm 51:1
Mass | Every event in the monks' story is surrounded by worship. The monks’ lives flow into worship and their actions and words flow out of their worship. The words they chant in their worship are all from ancient sacred texts. But they are neither obscure nor archaic. The words of their chants speak profoundly to the events of their lives. After they hear the horrifying news of the slaughter of twelve Croatian workers at Tamesquida, the monks gather in their chapel and chant:
Because He is with us in this time of violence,
Let us not dream that He is everywhere
Other than where we die.
Let us make haste, let us draw patience from Him.
Let us to turn to the Man of Sorrows
Who beckons us from the cross
Because He is with us as on Easter morn.
Let us not forgo the blood He shed.
Let us break the bread.
Let us drink from the chalice of passage.
Let us greet the One who sacrificed Himself
By loving us until the end.
Their chant reassures them that, in the midst of a violent and horrifying world, they are not alone. The suffering of the world is held. They can enter into the familiar rituals of worship and find strength and comfort. This speaks to a deep human desire to acknowledge the reality of a transcendent power present and active in human affairs ... opening (our) hearts to the mystery of the divine.
Through Him, with Him and in Him you shall receive,
Almighty Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit
All glory and honor, forever and ever.
+ In a Spacious Place
Compline | Just before bedtime, Compline is the prayer of the person aware of his weakness and sin, seeking the peace that is rest and protection in God. It is St. Benedict’s composition and, unlike the other offices, it begins with no call to prayer but with a blessing and with a Scripture passage that reminds all to be sober and watchful in the face of evil. This is followed by an examination of conscience and an act of contrition. We seem to join Christ in Gethsemane, and the themes of darkness (evil), light (God), and sleep (death) predominate, and we pray for a happy death. In contrition, petition and confidence, we cry out, “Do not forsake us, O Lord, our God.”
"Accepting our powerlessness and our extreme poverty is an invitation, an urgent appeal to create with others relationships not based on power.
Recognizing my weaknesses, I accept those of others. I can bear them, make them mine, in imitation of Christ. Such an attitude transforms us for our mission.
Weakness in itself is not a virtue but the expression of a fundamental reality which must constantly be refashioned by faith, hope, and love.
The apostle's weakness is like Christ's rooted in the mystery of Easter and the strength of the Spirit. It is neither passivity nor resignation. It requires great courage and incites one to defend justice and truth and to denounce the temptation of force and power."
+ Read Visual Parables: Of Gods and Men for more reflection on these considerations
Christmas Eve Mass | Midnight Mass is the first liturgy of Christmastide that is celebrated on the night of Christmas Eve, traditionally beginning at midnight when Christmas Eve gives way to Christmas Day. This popular Christmas custom is a jubilant celebration of the mass in honor of the Nativity of Jesus. God came to us not through military strength or kingship, as was expected, but instead through poverty and childhood.
Processing into the dark chapel to begin the Christmas service, the Cistercian Trappist monks sing this hymn, and in "Of Gods and Men," the youngest monk, Br. Christophe, gently places a figurine of the newborn Jesus into the manger scene. This gesture, and the hymn that the monks sing together in unison, is a reminder of the humility and vulnerability that characterize Christmas.
Often, we become so accustomed to the story of Jesus’ birth that we hardly recognize the very powerful lesson it tells us about the way God works: not through massive displays of power, but through the simplicity and poverty of His creation. The holiday of Christmas, the monks help us realize, is an acknowledgement that God’s Kingdom of peace, justice, and love will be achieved in very unexpected ways, by and through people about whom we usually don’t give a second thought. Born to a stigmatized mother in a forgotten town, his life threatened by a power-hungry king, Jesus was the definition of “marginalized.” Most people didn’t care about Him, and those that did wanted Him dead. Yet, it was He who became the most important bearer of God’s transformative love. No wonder the monks exude an aura of awe as they sing quietly in dim candlelight.
And nothing exists
Except Love which now begins ...
God has prepared earth like a cradle
For His coming from above.
This is the night, the
Happy night in Palestine
And nothing exists except the Child,
Except the Child of life Divine
By taking flesh of our flesh,
God our desert did refresh
And made a land of boundless Spring.
+ Read Christus Paradox: Reflections on “Of Gods and Men” for more reflection on these considerations
Infinite Love,
But You do have a heart
For You seek the prodigal son
And hold against Your breast
This troublesome child
Which is the world of mortals.
We do not see Your face,
Infinite Love,
But You do have eyes
For You weep through the oppressed
And look upon us
With a shining gaze
That reveals Your forgiveness.
I take these words with me this fall as I get to return to the Abbey of the Genesee again, both with my family and another time with fellow ministers and spiritual leaders. And may the words above also go with you during this fall season leading into Advent and the celebration of the Incarnation, the event that transformed these martyred men and is the paradigm-shattering event of human history.
Once they (the extremists after one tense visit before the final kidnapping and killing) were gone, all we had left to do was live.
And the first thing we did was – two hours later – we celebrated the Christmas vigil and mass. It's what we had to do. It's what we did. And we sang the mass.
We welcomed that child who was born for us absolutely helpless and already so threatened. Afterwards, we found salvation in undertaking our daily tasks: The kitchen, the garden, the prayers, the bells. Day after day, we had to resist the violence.
And day after day, I think each of us discovered that to which Jesus Christ beckons us: It's to be born. Our identities as men go from one birth to another. And from birth to birth, we'll each end up bringing to the world the child of God that we are. ... The incarnation, for us, is to allow the filial reality of Jesus to embody itself in our humanity. The mystery of incarnation remains what we are going to live. In this way, what we've already lived here takes root as well as what we're going to live in the future.
+ Br. Christian
More Film Series Reflections:
+ A Hidden Life
+ A Quiet Place
+ Arrival
+ Children of Men
+ Joyeux Noel
+ All the Light We Cannot See
Bonus Benedictine Stories:
+ The Monks of St. Joseph's (MA)
+ Trappist Cistercian Monks of Abbey of the Genesee (NY)
More Monastic Posts:
+ The Genesee Diary
+ Thoughts in Solitude
+ Awakening to Wonder
+ A Window into the Heart of God
+ Gifted Saintly Swagger in Story of God
Christ is all,
Rev. Mike “Sully” Sullivan
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