This is the question I keep asking myself. Is this really Holy Week? Did Lent really happen this year?
I don't know why, but it feels like Lent flew by yet again. We only have a couple more days of Lent! Then, my most favorite liturgical season of the year: the Triduum!!!! Over the past couple days, some of my friends and I have been discussing this. We all feel like Lent sped by. Did we do what we planned in Lent? Did we actually grow? Are we ready for Easter? Because I know that God hasn't exactly appeared to me in a thunderstorm with a message of "AnneMarie, you succeeded at Lent and are now ready for Easter." But, God doesn't exactly roll like that, either. Take a look:
Monday, March 30, 2015
Thursday, March 26, 2015
A Solemnity, an Anniversary, and the Epicness of the Holy Spirit
Happy Thursday!!!!
I've been off the blog for a bit because of craziness in my life (read: Homework, Thesis, and life in general), but today I'm finally starting to wind back together some order in my life.
Yesterday was the epic Solemnity of the Annunciation! So, the day when we celebrate Mary choosing to become the Mother of God, the day when tiny, little, Baby Jesus was conceived in Mary's womb. The day when the Word became Flesh. It's epic. Each year, I get more and more excited for the Solemnity, consume larger quantities of delicious food, and tell more people that we need to celebrate this day!
I've been off the blog for a bit because of craziness in my life (read: Homework, Thesis, and life in general), but today I'm finally starting to wind back together some order in my life.
Yesterday was the epic Solemnity of the Annunciation! So, the day when we celebrate Mary choosing to become the Mother of God, the day when tiny, little, Baby Jesus was conceived in Mary's womb. The day when the Word became Flesh. It's epic. Each year, I get more and more excited for the Solemnity, consume larger quantities of delicious food, and tell more people that we need to celebrate this day!
Wednesday, March 18, 2015
The Epic Maronite Catholic, Who Spent Much Time Knitting
Happy Wednesday, y'all!
So I love knitting. And, it just so happens, there's this epic saint who I've read is called the "unofficial patron saint of knitting." Total win. Oh, and she's Maronite Catholic. So definitely an awesome person in my book (I have a great love for Maronite Catholics). So, here's some cool facts about St. Rafqa:
So I love knitting. And, it just so happens, there's this epic saint who I've read is called the "unofficial patron saint of knitting." Total win. Oh, and she's Maronite Catholic. So definitely an awesome person in my book (I have a great love for Maronite Catholics). So, here's some cool facts about St. Rafqa:
Monday, March 16, 2015
Mercy Monday: Prayer to the Eucharist
Happy Monday!!!!! Here's some epicness from St. Faustina's diary!
"O Blessed Host, in whom is contained
the testament of God’s mercy for us, and especially for poor sinners.
O
Blessed Host, in whom is contained the Body and Blood of the Lord Jesus as
proof of infinite mercy for us, and especially for poor sinners.
O
Blessed Host, in whom is contained life eternal and of infinite mercy,
dispensed in abundance to us and especially to poor sinners.
O
Blessed Host, in whom is contained the mercy of the Father, the Son, and the
Holy Spirit toward us, and especially toward poor sinners.
O
Blessed Host, in whom is contained the infinite price of mercy which will
compensate for all our debts, and especially those of poor sinners.
O
Blessed Host, in whom is contained the fountain of living water which springs
from infinite mercy for us, and especially for poor sinners.
O
Blessed Host, in whom is contained the fire of purest love which blazes forth
from the bosom of the Eternal Father, as from an abyss of infinite mercy for
us, and especially for poor sinners.
O
Blessed Host, in whom is contained the medicine for all our infirmities,
flowing from infinite mercy, as from a fount, for us and especially for poor
sinners.
O
Blessed Host, in whom is contained the union between God and us through His
infinite mercy for us, and especially for poor sinners.
O
Blessed Host, in whom are contained all the sentiments of the most sweet Heart
of Jesus toward us, and especially poor sinners.
O
Blessed Host, our only hope in all the sufferings and adversities of life.
O
Blessed Host, our only hope in the midst of darkness and of storms within and
without.
O
Blessed Host, our only hope in life and at the hour of our death.
O
Blessed Host, our only hope in the midst of adversities and floods of despair.
O
Blessed Host, our only hope in the midst of falsehood and treason.
O
Blessed Host, our only hope in the midst of the darkness and godlessness which
inundate the earth.
O
Blessed Host, our only hope in the longing and pain in which no one will
understand us.
O
Blessed Host, our only hope in the toil and monotony of everyday life.
O
Blessed Host, our only hope amid the ruin of our hopes and endeavors.
O
Blessed Host, our only hope in the midst of the ravages of the enemy and the
efforts of hell.
O
Blessed Host, I trust in You w3hen the burdens are beyond my strength and I
find my efforts are fruitless.
O
Blessed Host, I trust in You when storms toss my heart about and my fearful
spirit tends to despair.
O
Blessed Host, I trust in You when my heart is about to tremble and mortal sweat
moistens my brow.
O
Blessed Host, I trust in You when everything conspires against me and black
despair creeps into my soul.
O
Blessed Host, I trust in You when my eyes will begin to grow dim to all
temporal things and, for the first time, my spirit will behold the unknown worlds.
O
Blessed Host, I trust in You when my tasks will be beyond my strength and
adversity will become my daily lot.
O
Blessed Host I trust in You when the practice of virtue will appear difficult
for me and my nature will grow rebellious.
O
Blessed Host, I trust in You when hostile blows will be aimed against me.
O
Blessed Host, I trust in You when my toils and efforts will be misjudged by
others.
O
Blessed Host, I trust in You when Your judgments will resound over me; it is
then that I will trust in the sea of Your mercy."
(Notebook 1, #356)
Saturday, March 14, 2015
Our "Legendary" Trip to Pittsburgh
On Wednesday, my husband
and I decided to change up our spring break routine and take a trip. Typically,
during breaks from school, the Resident Sanguine (myself) gets into a mode of "OH
MY GOSH WE MUST GO EVERYWHERE AND DO ALL THE THINGS AND IT WILL BE
AWESOME!" But then, we never actually get around to planning anything or
going on a crazy trip. So, it typically results in the Sanguine saying "WE
DIDN'T GO ANYWHERE AND THIS WAS THE BEST BREAK EVER!"
I know, I know, I've got
brilliant logic.
Being our final college
spring break, though, I knew that we had to go somewhere extra special. My husband
suggested that instead of going on a longer overnight trip somewhere, we could
take a day trip to Pittsburgh, PA, and not restrain ourselves to
"free" activities and sandwiches from home. Well, I liked that idea.
So, after I spent some quality time on my thesis and homework Wednesday, we
headed off on our great adventure.
Tuesday, March 10, 2015
Spring Break Musings and Updates!
Happy Tuesday!
While I take a quick break from my homework, here are some random blurbs about life lately:
It's Spring Break!!!!!!! And I've been loving it. Absolutely loving it. On Saturday, my husband and I woke up before 5 to take some friends of ours to the airport. On our way back to Steubenville, we started talking about food. Because food is wonderful. And we discovered that Biscuit World opens at 5:30, so we got to spontaneously enjoy a fabulous breakfast (with much coffee) on our way home. If y'all haven't been there, Biscuit World is a heavenly fast-foodish place, where they serve huge, delicious food portions at inexpensive prices. Anyways, after we got home, I had some time to read St. Faustina's Diary before we attended 8 a.m. Mass. After Mass, I finished the Diary (why don't I wake up before 5 more often? So much productivity and fun!)! See more on this below.
St. Faustina's Diary is crazy amazing!!!! It took me just over a year-and-a-half, but I read and prayed with the whole thing. I completely recommend reading the Diary all the way through. It is so epic! On that note, here's a really awesome excerpt from the Diary (I didn't have time to get it on the blog yesterday). The bolded words are the words of Christ, in case you weren't aware of that. This part of St. Faustina's Diary would, in my opinion, be awesome for a middle school or high school prayer service. I mean, how many times have we said--or thought--the exact things that the soul says in this excerpt?
While I take a quick break from my homework, here are some random blurbs about life lately:
It's Spring Break!!!!!!! And I've been loving it. Absolutely loving it. On Saturday, my husband and I woke up before 5 to take some friends of ours to the airport. On our way back to Steubenville, we started talking about food. Because food is wonderful. And we discovered that Biscuit World opens at 5:30, so we got to spontaneously enjoy a fabulous breakfast (with much coffee) on our way home. If y'all haven't been there, Biscuit World is a heavenly fast-foodish place, where they serve huge, delicious food portions at inexpensive prices. Anyways, after we got home, I had some time to read St. Faustina's Diary before we attended 8 a.m. Mass. After Mass, I finished the Diary (why don't I wake up before 5 more often? So much productivity and fun!)! See more on this below.
St. Faustina's Diary is crazy amazing!!!! It took me just over a year-and-a-half, but I read and prayed with the whole thing. I completely recommend reading the Diary all the way through. It is so epic! On that note, here's a really awesome excerpt from the Diary (I didn't have time to get it on the blog yesterday). The bolded words are the words of Christ, in case you weren't aware of that. This part of St. Faustina's Diary would, in my opinion, be awesome for a middle school or high school prayer service. I mean, how many times have we said--or thought--the exact things that the soul says in this excerpt?
Conversation of the Merciful God
With a Despairing Soul.
Jesus:
O soul steeped in darkness, do
not despair. All is not yet lost. Come and confide in your God, who is love and
mercy.
-- But the soul, deaf even to this
appeal, wraps itself in darkness.
Jesus calls out again: My
child, listen to the voice of your merciful Father.
--
In the soul arises this reply:
“For me there is no mercy,” and it falls into greater darkness, a
despair which is a foretaste of hell and makes it unable to draw near God.
Jesus calls to the soul a third time,
but the soul remains deaf and blind, hardened and despairing. Then the mercy of God begins to exert itself,
and, without any co-operation from the soul, God grants it final grace. If this too is spurned, God will leave the
soul in this self-chosen disposition for eternity. This grace emerges from the merciful Heart of
Jesus and gives the soul a special light by means of which the soul begins to
understand (83) God’s effort; but
conversion depends on its own will. The
soul knows that this, for her, is final grace and, should it show even a
flicker of good will, the mercy of God will accomplish the rest.
My omnipotent mercy is active here. Happy the soul that takes advantage of this
grace.
Jesus:
What joy fills My Heart when you
return to me. Because you are weak, I
take you in My arms and carry you to the home of My Father.
Soul (as if awaking, asks
fearfully): Is it possible that there
yet is mercy for me?
Jesus:
There is, My child. You have a special claim on My mercy. Let it act in your poor soul; let the rays of
grace enter your soul; they bring with them light, warmth, and life.
Soul:
But fear fills me at the thought of my sins, and this terrible fear
moves me to doubt Your goodness.
Jesus:
My child, all your sins have not
wounded My Heart as painfully as your present lack of trust does – that after
so many efforts of My (84) love and mercy, you should still doubt My goodness.
Soul:
O Lord, save me Yourself, for I perish.
Be my Savior. O Lord, I am unable
to say anything more; my pitiful heart is torn asunder; but You, O Lord…..
Jesus does not let the soul finish but,
raising it from the ground, from the depths of its misery, he leads it into the
recesses of His Heart where all its sins disappear instantly, consumed by the
flames of love.
Jesus: Here, soul, are all the
treasures of My Heart. Take everything
you need from it.
Soul:
O Lord, I am inundated with Your grace.
I sense that a new life has entered into me and, above all, I feel Your
love in my heart. That is enough for
me. O Lord, I will glorify the
omnipotence of Your mercy for all eternity.
Encouraged by Your goodness, I will confide to You all the sorrows of my
heart.
Jesus:
Tell me all, My child, hide
nothing from Me, because My loving Heart, the Heart of your Best Friend, is
listening to you.
Soul:
O Lord, now I see all my ingratitude and Your goodness. You were pursuing me with Your grace, while I
was frustrating Your benevolence. I see
that I deserve (85) the depths of
hell for spurning Your graces. Jesus
(interrupting): Do not be absorbed in your misery – you are still too weak to speak of
it – but, rather; gaze on My Heart filled with goodness, and be imbued with My
sentiments. Strive for meekness and
humility; be merciful to others, as I am to you; and, when you feel your
strength failing, if you come to the fountain of mercy to fortify your soul,
you will not grow weary on your journey.
Soul:
Now I understand Your mercy, which protects me, and like a brilliant
star, leads me into the home of my Father, protecting me from the horrors of
hell that I have deserved, not once, but a thousand times. O Lord, eternity will hardly suffice for me
to give due praise to Your unfathomable mercy and Your compassion for me.
(Diary of St. Faustina, #1486)
Studio Ghibli makes my heart sing. Over the weekend, I picked up The Cat Returns from the library, and we watched it with some friends who are stuck on campus for break. I love this movie. It's really amazing. Even if you don't like cats, you need to watch this. It's short, sweet, hilarious, heartwarming, and just plain awesome. Make sure that you watch it with the English dubbed track, because Studio Ghibli is awesome at that (and one of the main characters is voiced by Cary Elwes. You know, Westley, from The Princess Bride. Which is another reason why you must see this film).
Food is good. Sacrifice is good. God is funny. On Saturday, I totally had the baking itch. Classes were out, I didn't feel like working on homework, and I had a cookie cookbook from the library. So I made deliciously awesome caramel cheesecake cookie bars, which were fantastic. Then, a couple days later, some of my friends and I decided that we would do a sacrifice of "no cookies" for a week. Very funny, God. But it's really great, for I need to get better at sacrificing.
Friends are marvelous and a blessing! One of our friends had a birthday party on Sunday, so we spent the afternoon eating ice cream cake and learning how to play "Bang!" Three people "died" before me, but I definitely would re-do some things next time I play. 'Twas a delightful game and afternoon!
Such a good game!!! |
Lent is awesome. I decided to do a bajillion small fun things for Lent, which of course resulted in me picking so many things that I can't keep track of them all at the same time. But Lent has still been really awesome; I'm focusing a lot on silence, spiritual reading, Divine Mercy, and doing small sacrifices sporadically throughout my days.
And, being a good student, my homework is coming along. Slowly, but surely. Because sometimes, paper projects (or non-paper projects) are due right after break. And even though I don't feel like working on these a lot, I've been dedicating myself to them a little at a time. I've also had some chunks of quality time with my thesis, and I'm very excited that I'm about a third of the way through draft 1.5. Because I never finished my first draft completely before I started revising it, ergo, I'm working on an in-between draft.
I'm also getting pumped about creating an NFP presentation to give for some friends of mine. I am a big-time believer that single women should have opportunities to learn about using NFP to know about their bodies and fertility. So, over break, I'm going to put together a little talk to give after break for some of my female friends. That way, they will have some tools to learn more about themselves and how God made them.
Oh yes--and one of the best parts of break? WARMTH! Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love snow. But, when the ground has been covered in snow from January onto March, and it's been freezing, even I want the snow to move on. A lot of us have gotten a little stir-crazy on campus, because when it's super cold outside, you're less inclined to want to leave your apartment, dorm, etc. And one of my friends has noted that when the weather is nice, FUS turns into a "Catholic Woodstock," with Frisbees flying, barefoot students traipsing across the grass, students pretending to study as they sit on wooden benches and talk with people walking by, and students sprawled out while strumming their guitars. So...I am very excited and hoping that the warm weather will continue to come and stay for my final two months as a student here.
I should probably get to some more homeworkish activity before evening Mass. Have a beautiful day!
Thursday, March 5, 2015
The Awesomeness of Cooking in Lent!
Happy
Lent, y'all!
I hope
that you are having an abundantly blessed and epic Lent thus far, even if it
may not seem like it (because we all have those times when we feel like we’re
failing Lent—but God continues to bless us through and in it all!).
Lent
provides a chance for extra prayers, sacrifices, and giving of alms (or other
such things) to others. It also becomes a
time for me to think about food. I love food. When I was a young girl
(we’re talking six years old and up), my favorite books all had pictures of
food, descriptions of food, or many important occasions that included food. Want to know how I learned about St. Edith
Stein? I was in a Catholic bookstore, and thought, hey, I’ll totally buy a saint book. Hmm…this Stein lady looks a little
intriguing, I’ve never heard of her, but maybe I won’t like the book. Let me
flip through the book and see what I think. I then proceeded to flip
through the pages of the book, some of which were illustrated. I stopped. One
of the illustrations featured a picture of Edith Stein and chocolate. Yes. I am totally buying this book. TRUE
STORY. I bought this book solely because of the food picture.
I have found simplifying meals to be a cool
Lenten sacrifice. Sacrifice-ish. We still eat delicious food, but it’s just not
over-the-top extravagant or fancy all the time. Prior to Lent, I realized that
in order to intentionally simplify our meals, planning ahead would be
imperative. Usually, I try to meal plan a week ahead of time. But I decided to
try something a bit crazier. A couple days before Lent, I decided to meal plan for the entire season of Lent. I sat
down one evening, and planned out one main meal for every day, figuring that
the other meals would come from sandwiches or leftovers.
We’ve
been in Lent for about two weeks, and I have been extremely grateful for this
meal-planning binge that I went through! I honestly didn’t know if planning out
a whole Lent of meals was beneficial or a waste of time, but so far, it has
been awesome.
I’ve been able to simplify our meals, yet
make them creative. Instead of getting
caught with an “OH NO! I have no meal planned, um, spaghetti again!” I can know
and plan ahead for meals, so that they can always happen when they need to. And
prior planning allows me to be more creative than just throwing on a pot of
noodles or rice for dinner.
Over-planning has broadened my meal scope. So, I planned one big meal for each day of Lent. Already,
there are at least three days where we didn’t eat the prescribed meal, because
we were still enjoying leftovers. Our Lenten Meal Plan is extremely flexible,
and open to change. There will also be
days where we may be out of town and unable to have the meal we pre-planned. And that’s awesome. It means that I have
a whole host of scheduled meals which we never ate, that I can use on days
where we need more food in addition to the main meal. Also, since I didn’t want
to schedule repeat meals very much, I got to hunt through all of the recipe
documents on my computer, which I have rapidly been acquiring over the past
couple years. And I got to pull out a bunch that I have never used, so that I
can experiment with them this Lent!
Grocery Shopping is so much easier. Instead of thinking, Well,
we don’t have any beef in the freezer. I should buy some beef in case I use it
in the next couple weeks, I can, with all surety, think: We don’t have any beef in the freezer. But
we’re not scheduled to eat beef for another couple weeks, so I won’t buy it
yet. Instead of mentally creating meals for a week and jotting down the
ingredients on a grocery list, I can look at the Lenten Meal Plan—on our
freezer—and focus on buying the necessary ingredients for those dishes.
It takes a huge load off my mind. Meal planning has never been a huge stressor for me, but
there are times when I’m trying to focus on getting meal planning over with so
that I can work on homework. And on these occasions, I usually blank out and
start pulling meals off a list that we have of about 10 basic go-to dinners.
And while this is fine, having meal plans for the next month already typed,
printed, and ready-to-go has been a fantastic relief. I can focus on other
things more, like enjoying time with my husband and friends, doing homework,
playing games, reading books, and making crafts.
It forces me to clean out the freezer and
refrigerator. I figured that if we’re
trying to simplify meals during Lent, it would be worthwhile to find all of the
hidden containers of unidentifiable, once-edible stuff in our fridge and freezer. Now I have a much better idea of
what leftovers must be eaten, what ingredients we do or do not need to buy, as
well as more fridge space in general.
The
basic structure that I used was the following:
~Do
something fun and special on Sundays; whether it’s a full-on brunch, or a meal
of chicken, potatoes, and fritters, it doesn’t matter—but have fun with it!
~Include
a dish with rice and beans every week. Get creative with the rice and beans,
changing up how they are made—make a rice pilaf, do enchiladas with refried
beans and rice, or go all southern with red beans and rice.
Carrot soup! Paired with fresh-baked french bread, it's a lovely, brightly colored meal for a snowy day! |
~Make a
soup and homemade bread one day a week. I’ve been trying to do this early on in
the week, since Mondays and Tuesdays are typically slower for us, and allow
time for sitting at home with a simmering pot of soup or stew. And there’s
nothing better than a hot bowl of soup with bread fresh out of the oven when
it’s cold outside (and it has been cold—it’s still snowing over here in Ohio!).
~Try to
do one noodle dish a week, since they are easy to make and manipulate, and go a
long way!
~Fit in
new recipes, or ones that I haven’t used much, where possible!
~Try to
use chicken once a week, but also try for a non-Friday, mostly meatless day.
This is a
very basic, very loose structure, but
that’s how I roll. Also, since I’m the second oldest of six kids, I only know how to cook big family meals.
So, our meals stretch a long way, either by eating them as leftovers, or
tossing them into the freezer for a future meal. This has been a very handy
aspect, since several means are already pre-made! My thoughts on the Lenten
Meal Plan may change as the days go by, but so far, I am quite pleased with how
things have turned out.
On that
note, I’d like to share one of my top-favorite meals to make and eat with my
husband: Falafels on Pita Bread with tzatziki sauce. The falafel recipe is fantastic. Falafels are super easy, very economical, healthy, and all-around epic. To make the falafels, you just throw all of the ingredients into your blender, mold it into balls, and deep fry it. How easy is that??? The pita bread recipe I use was sent to me by a friend, and is way better than most pita bread recipes I had come across. There are a plethora of tzatziki sauce recipes on the internet, and I don't follow any of them perfectly, but blend ingredients together and hope that it works out. I recommend giving it a whirl if you want to change up your cooking routine!
What are your favorite Lenten recipes?
Sunday, March 1, 2015
"Welcome to the Nerd Lab." The Epicness that is "Big Hero 6"
On Friday night, after enjoying a
leisurely dinner with my household sisters, I trekked over to “Disney Friday”
(an event created freshman year by one of my friends, which, as you may guess,
involves watching a Disney movie on Friday). I had been invited to watch Big Hero 6. I saw a preview for
this movie several months back, and I thought it looked weird. And somewhat
dumb. I wanted to watch it, but was not too sure about how good the movie would be. But, my friends were showing it, and I wanted to hang out with them (and
watch it), so I scurried through the chilly night air towards Trinity Hall. The
enthusiasm and joy of my friends was contagious, and I could not help but be
excited for this movie. I didn’t know the plot, I had no clue what to expect
(except a gigantic marshmallow-looking thing that I remembered from the preview),
and I didn’t even know if I would like this movie.
Well.
I laughed crazy hard. I nearly cried. The epic soundtrack resonated in my
heart. And I was blown away by the beautiful exhibition of sacrificial love in
this movie.
This
movie hits you hard. It is hilarious and uplifting, but it gets raw and real, forcing
you to watch things that hurt so bad—because you see the good, the bad, and the
ugly in fourteen-year-old Hiro’s life, and you can realize,“hey, I go through these same things, in slightly different ways.”
This movie helps you to look not just at Hiro’s life, but at your own life, and
to see how hope, redemption, healing, and sacrificial love can always shine a
bright light into the darkness of suffering.
If
you haven’t seen the movie, please—go watch it. It is well worth your time. It
has a bit of darkness that took me back to Up,
so if you have young children, you may want to be sensitive to this fact. There
are also a couple of sexual references in dialogue, but it overall is a very
clean, wholesome film. And hey, if you screen it before showing the movie to
your kids, you have an excuse to watch it twice! So leave this post behind,
watch the movie, and come back later if you so desire.
If
you have seen the movie, then feel
free to continue reading.
SPOILERS
SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SO MANY SPOILERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Healing. So Hiro doesn’t
have parents (because hey, this is a Disney movie, and since when do they let a
main character have both parents for an entire film?), and then he loses
Tadashi, his brother. He shuts out the world, his aunt, and a college career
(and the nerds from college!) and doesn’t want to tell Baymax of his deep pain.
Before Hiro has worked through his sorrow, grieved, and started to heal, he
acts out of vengeance, rage, and deep pain. He has no mercy for Callaghan, and
certainly no love or justice. But Hiro ultimately sees the importance of
admitting the deep pain and loss that he has experienced. It isn’t until he has
let himself grieve and admit his need for healing that he can be healed. Then,
when Hiro has begun to heal, he can find true peace and properly battle
Callaghan out of true justice and mercy. The true strength that Hiro finds when
he has more peace in the midst of the craziness of life totally reminds me of
something cool that I read the other day. So, for Lent this year, I’m praying
through this epic little book that a friend of mine gave to me a couple weeks back:
Searching for and Maintaining Peace, by
Fr. Jacques Phillippe. And there’s some coolness that Fr. Phillippe speaks
about regarding the interior peace that we must strive for:
Community. Yes, Baymax is
a robot. But he’s awesome—and he helps Hiro experience community. Baymax shows
us that things get rough in life, and when we go through suffering, we should
surround ourselves with a community of love, instead of isolating ourselves.
Let’s pause and take a quick look at St. John Paul II’s words (I bolded some text for added emphasis):
“In itself human suffering constitutes as it
were a specific "world" which exists together with man,
which appears in him and passes, and sometimes does not pass, but which
consolidates itself and becomes deeply rooted in him. This world of suffering,
divided into many, very many subjects, exists as
it were "in dispersion". Every
individual, through personal suffering, constitutes not only a small part of
that a world", but at the same time" that world" is present in
him as a finite and unrepeatable entity. Parallel with this, however, is the
interhuman and social dimension. The world of suffering possesses as it were
its own solidarity. People who suffer become similar
to one another through the analogy of their situation, the trial of their
destiny, or through their need for understanding and care, and perhaps above
all through the persistent question of the meaning of suffering. Thus, although
the world of suffering exists "in dispersion", at the same time it contains within itself a singular challenge to communion and solidarity. We shall also try to follow
this appeal in the present reflection.”
(St.
John Paul II, Salvifici Doloris #8)
Big Hero 6 continues to
show us the communion and solidarity in a world of suffering. Baymax contacts
Hiro’s nerdy friends, and we see that with them—and Baymax—Hiro is able to heal
and reorient his life.
The witness of sacrificial love. As the movie
begins, we see Hiro in the bot fighting rink. Hiro, acting like any typical
genius teenager might, goes to the bot fights and makes money, adding to his
own personal glory. On the other hand,
we begin to see Tadashi’s self-sacrifice as we meet Baymax: the healer robot
that Tadashi has spent many hours creating, in order to help other people. Hiro
sees how amazing (and weird) Tadashi’s life, work, workplace, and friends are,
and due to the witness of Tadashi, he is encouraged to seek more in life than
bot fighting. Tadashi is a witness of what sacrificial love is: he works to
help other people, and he ultimately gives up his life for Callaghan. Later on,
we see how Tadashi’s sacrifice was for Callaghan seems to be in vain, since
Callaghan started the fire (and survived). But
the witness of Tadashi’s sacrifice remains.
Hiro,
following in the footsteps of his brother, ultimately grows in this sacrificial
love himself. Risking everything, he dives into the portal to save Abigail.
Yes, she’s the daughter of the villain, but Hiro and Baymax recognize her
dignity and worth, and give all that they have to save her. When they try to
get out, not only does Baymax offer up himself to send Hiro and Abigail out,
but Hiro makes a huge sacrifice as well. He has to accept the sacrifice of
Baymax, knowing that he has lost yet another close friend. How many times have we experienced something like this in our own
lives? We’ve already gone through so much suffering, lost so much, and then—BAM.
We lose something or someone very dear to us. And we’re left wondering what we’ve
done to deserve this.
“But in
order to perceive the true answer to the "why" of suffering, we must
look to the revelation of divine love, the ultimate source of the meaning of
everything that exists. Love is also the richest source of the meaning of
suffering, which always remains a mystery: we are conscious of the
insufficiency and inadequacy of our explanations. Christ causes us to enter
into the mystery and to discover the "why" of suffering, as far as we
are capable of grasping the sublimity of divine love. In order to discover the
profound meaning of suffering, following the revealed word of God, we must open
ourselves wide to the human subject in his manifold potentiality. We must above
all accept the light of Revelation not only insofar as it expresses the
transcendent order of justice but also insofar as it illuminates this order
with Love, as the definitive source of everything that exists. Love is: also
the fullest source of the answer to the question of the meaning of suffering.
This answer has been given by God to man in the Cross of Jesus Christ.”
(St. John
Paul II, Salvifici Doloris, #13).
There is hope in death. We see Hiro
setting up his new life after losing Baymax, and we’re trying to pull ourselves
together. He’s just a robot, we try
to remind ourselves. Obviously, the
sacrifice was the most admirable thing. But this is so, so, lame. But we
try to wipe our eyes and take joy in the fact that Hiro has accepted his many
losses and is starting out his life anew and with purpose. And then we have
that glimmer of hope, which bubbles up into deep joy, peace, and elation: Hiro
discovers the identity chip of Baymax. Plus, it’s a Disney movie, so of course
they wouldn’t kill off the cute, giant, marshmallow character. In all
seriousness, we can remember that just as Hiro discovers this new life and hope
after all of the sorrow and death, so too, shall we. God is continually
blessing our lives, and desires to bring us to the fullness of joy.
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