[media presentation below] GospelThink Friday, March 3 MATTHEW 5:20-26 I want you to work at truly forgiving everyone in your acquaintance. Prayerthoughts a. What do I think is the meaning of “righteousness”? Do I try to practice it in my life? b. Is there anyone in my life right now with whom I am very angry? Is there any way that I can reconcile with that person? c. Is my language toward some people especially toward those I do not like too strong? How can I be more gentle? d. Jesus puts the decision to do something on me—“and you recall that your brother [or sister] has anything against you, go first and be reconciled.” I should spend some time thinking of the people like that in my life right now, and how can I say “I’m sorry.” e. There is the possibility that I am “going to the altar,” that is a church-goer, and still     holding a grudge. I should spend some time thinking about that possibility. f. Jesus’ point is that I must always be working at reconciliation in my life. g. My prayerthoughts…   Today, I will read Ezechiel, chapter 18 and write an important thought from it. Some Thoughts on the Liturgy THE LAW AND CONCERN FOR OTHERS  + Everyone who reads the Scriptures knows that Jesus had real problems with the Scribes and Pharisees           – during the Sermon on the Mount which is part of today’s Gospel, he says:           Unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter into the kingdom of heaven.           – it is helpful to analyze what the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees was                      – their idea of what made a person holy and righteous was law                                – they gave their entire lives to it           – and Jesus attacked that idea of law throughout his life                      – yes, worry about the law against murder, for example, he says today, but that’s not far enough                                – it is the anger you have in your hearts and how you treat other people that you should worry about           – basically saying that law is not the important thing at all, it is what is within your heart + Americans have a great respect for the law           – in fact, our American system is set up in such a way that in order to make things work, we have to have law and lawyers to make it operate                      – it may be a respect that is too pronounced           – the writer Alexander Solzhenitsyn has much to say in his writings about law                      – he says that a society without any objective legal scale is a terrible one indeed—he lived in one most of his life                                – but he also points out that a society with no other scale but the legal one is not worthy of man either                                – he feels that a society that spends so much time on law breeds an atmosphere of what he calls “moral mediocrity”                      – it could well be that Jesus had this type of thing in mind as he talked of righteousness which must be greater than the scribes and Pharisees  + I have always thought that Jesus’ example in today’s Gospel is one of the most significant statements of his preaching           – he says that what is necessary for a true moral conscience is a concern for neighbor that goes so far as to say that if we are in the act of worship of God—the highest act there is—and certainly the highest for a Hebrew           – and there we realize that our brother or sister has something against us—notice the language—not that we have anything against them, but they have something against us                      – then we leave the worship of God to take care of our concern for neighbor  + The prophet Ezechiel talks about evil today, and in particular a virtuous man turning away from the path of virtue to do evil           – that could easily be interpreted in terms of the Gospel today—people of righteousness missing what righteousness really means                      – righteousness—what is morally correct—has less to do with law, and more to do with how we treat others                                – that is something to remember as we continue our Lenten resolutions. MEDIA PRESENTATION Movie: “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close” — final session TRUE LOVE OF A PARENT The Gospel JOHN 2:4-11 Jesus said to [his mother], “Woman, how does your concern affect me? My hour has not yet come.” His mother said to the servers, “Do whatever he tells you.” Now there were six stone water jars there for Jewish ceremonial washings, each holding twenty to thirty gallons. Jesus told them, “Fill the jars with water.” So they filled them to the brim. Then he told them, “Draw some out now and take it to the headwaiter.” So they took it. And when the headwaiter tasted the water that had become wine, without knowing where it came from (although the servers who had drawn the water knew), the headwaiter called the bridegroom and said to him, “Everyone serves good wine first, and then when people have drunk freely, an interior one; but you have kept the good wine until now.” Jesus did this as the beginning of his signs in Cana in Galilee and so revealed his glory, and his disciples began to believe in him.

Gospelthink: At my mother’s request, I perform the miracle to help people enjoy themselves. Do I try to make every situation I am in a good one?

Oskar Schnell missed his father when his father was one of the over 2500 killed as a result of the World Trade Center tragedy. In his young mind, he thought he could find him in some way when he discovered a key that in his mind fit some lock with a message to him from his father. Literally traveling all over New York City, he discovered that people were for the most part very open and loving to him as he asked them about his father. As he commented later, perhaps all of them were looking for something themselves. Thinking that his mother was oblivious and somewhat removed from what he was doing, he finally discovered in the end that his mother had been with him all along. He discovered that she had loved him just as much as his father had.

If Jesus would have had a “campaign manager,” he would have wanted Jesus’ first sign to be something special, perhaps one of maximum exposure, something for thousands of people. Such a manager would have wanted the miracle to present Jesus’ major doctrine to get it “out front” so that everyone would know. Perhaps, it would be a miracle extolling the Kingdom he was going to promote or giving the people his command to love. But instead, as his first sign recorded in John’s Gospel, the first sign that he was the Son of God, he chooses to do something that only a couple people realize. And he did it, it seems, because his mother wanted him to. Such was the importance of Mary the mother of Jesus and the love that they had for each other. Perhaps the most important part of a mother’s love for a son or daughter in today’s world is giving the child time so that love can grow. Linda, Oskar’s mother in the movie “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close” is a great example of such love. She knew that Oskar was having a difficult time with his father’s death, she knew that he was not going to open up to her just yet, and she knew what he was doing to cope with the pain. So, she give him time. She worked with him, discovered what he was doing, and unknown to Oskar, helped him with his quest and made it easier. One is led to believe from the movie that Oskar found that he could live without his father because he had the sincere love of his mother. Two conclusions come as a result of the consideration of the tragedy that enveloped the life of the Schnell family. One is the obvious one–we need loving parents in our world. Every young person who will eventually choose marriage and bring forth children must be aware of the best way to love as husband and wife and the best way to be parents of their children. Secondly, we are all called to understand the love that our own parents gave to us, and the need we have to take the time to thank them. At times, to be sure, such love was not as it should have been, but we can spend some time to honor our parents, at least in prayer, at least, for what they should have been.

PRAYER Good and gracious God, you set up the family as the fundamental place for your love to come into our world. Give us the grace to be good members in our families, and help us always understand the need to be loving whatever we choose in life. Be with us, we pray.

+++++ GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT Theme: The sincere love of a parent is perhaps the greatest example of love there is in our modern day.    DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: (session: approximately 60 minutes) 1. What scene during this session of the movie is most striking? Why? 2. The Gospel scene of “The Wedding at Cana” is a profound theological event that John the evangelist uses to explain Jesus’ beginning in public life.     a. The water (the Old Testament) was changed into wine of the highest quality and surprising quantity (the new messianic age). In your opinion, what was the most important doctrine that Jesus taught in his time?     b. John the evangelist introduces his theology of “glory” that is, God’s manifested presence in the world through Jesus. In our world today, what is the best proof of God’s presence? [Jesus uses the word “Woman,” a relatively “cold” way of referring to Mary, and it seems that he will not respond to her request. Theologians suggest that the sentence means the more important fact of the event was the theological meaning of the event.] 3. Text analysis: “Do whatever he tells you.” If Jesus would address the world today, what would he say to us in general? 4. The meditation assigns the love of his mother Mary to be the reason why Jesus performs the miracle. Why is Mary important for the Church today? See Catechism of the Church, second edition, numbers 963-975. 5. The meditation says that perhaps the most important part of a mother’s love is giving the child the time to grow. What are some other important parts of a mother’s love? 6. What is most difficult for a mother in today’s world? 7. In your opinion, should a young mother who has lost her husband for some reason re-marry? Yes or no and why? 8. What is the most important thing that grown adults can do for their aging parents?  9. Scene analysis: Oskar plays the answering machine for the person he believes is his grandfather. Some things are too painful to re-visit. What is the best way to deal with this much pain? 10. Dialogue analysis: William: “The most amazing thing.” Do you believe that there is such a thing as “luck” or that God is directing everything? 11. Dialogue analysis: William was hoping his Dad would say “I love you.” Why is it so necessary to actually say “I love you” to people that we love? 12. Scene analysis: Oskar discovers what his mother has been doing as he went about his quest. This is the subject of this session of the movie. In your opinion, could Oskar’s mother have treated the situation better than she did? Yes or no and why? 13. Analysis: Oskar talking to his mother says that so many people that they visited had lost something. What are most people in the world searching for today? 14. Analysis: the story/tragedy told in the movie ends with reconciliation–Oskar and his mother, Oskar’s “grandfather” and grandmother, the note in the swing. Is it true that most tragedies end with some type of reconciliation? Yes or no and why? 15. What does the movie “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close” teach young people?