Saturday, July 01, 2006

Films Can Further the Gospel

Back in December of 2002, Zenit.org ran an article quoting the president of the Pontifical Council for Culture as saying that movies should be regarded as "an irreplaceable vehicle" of evangelization. YES!!! Cardinal Paul Poupard said we must "listen to men's culture and start again from the beginning, for love of God and of one's neighbor." Despite the often vulgar and violent aspects of many films, he said the cinema "is the most wonderful instrument to dream of and grow in ideals." Given that "traces of the spiritual dimension are found in the cinema," our obligation "is to enlighten and nourish this trace of meaning," the cardinal continued. (full article here) I like to say that Jesus used parables, spiritual lessons wrapped in stories, and today we can use films (with a dose of holy water sprinkled on) to teach the same lessons. But instead of calling them parables, I call them filmables. So, keep your eyes peeled (what a creepy expression) for the first one next week!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Yes, I intend to use the word filmable in my homily this evening when I refer to the lesson to be learnd from last years filmable called the "Nativity."
What a beautiful reminder of the humble and simple birth of Jesus our King of Kings.

Jim T.

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