Pop-Culture for the Win!

Well... let's be honest, we will probably never actually mean that pop-culture is the "winning" side (at least in the spiritual sense). However, two examples, one of a song and the other of a movie, seemed to offer some good and appropriate reflection.

First, the song. It is a short clip of the lyrics from a very popular song, "Sigh No More" but the popular band, Mumford and Sons. They are:

Love it will not betray you,
Dismay or enslave you, 

It will set you free.
Be more like the man you were made to be.
There is a design, an alignment, 

A cry of my heart to see,
The beauty of love as it was made to be.

The second, a short clip from the recently released film The Hobbit, An Unexpected Journey. [Sort of a spoiler so beware.] Bilbo speaks to the company of dwarves about their mission. He says something along the lines of (paraphrasing from memory):

"I have a home, and a warm bed, and food in my pantry, and the Shire. 

You do not. That is why I am going to help you." 

 The idea in both the lyrics of the song and the good will of Bilbo is that home is something that we are moving towards, that we long for, that we seek and search for. I have no intention of getting into the nature-grace debate here; I mean only to say that belonging and resting in something that we belong to is a desire that seems to come naturally to us, and to be shared in common by all people. 

In the lyrics, the idea of the heart being designed and aligned to seek the beauty of love is something that many people, when they pause to reflect on it, will understand and agree with. While the realistic side of us may remember that the world is fraught with suffering and that the love given by our fellow man can be shallow and imperfect, it does not change that whether we are people of faith or not, we often put our hope and trust in love itself, as a pure ideal of self-giving care for others, as a final end or perfect state. For those who do believe, we understand this to be an end in eternal beatitude with God, who is perfect love. 

Looking then at the words of Bilbo, we see someone who knows of his home, of his rest, in something that is good. He has found a place of peace and love where he belongs. Yet, he is so roused by encountering others who do not have such a place of peace and rest, that he will leave his own home to aid them in finding theirs! It is an easy analogy for the spiritual life, where the Christian who knows his end in God then turns to his fellow man who is searching for beauty, truth and goodness, and points him in the right direction. Moreover, he walks with him, assisting him on the path and remaining with him until they both reach that final end. 

This may not be what the average person gleans from listening to Mumford or from watching the Hobbit, but then, on the other hand, I think many people who might not be looking for a spiritual element or the Christian themes present will still understand those truths as they apply to every human heart. 

The Catechism says (356):

"Of all visible creatures only man is 'able to know and love his creator.' 

He is 'the only creature on earth that God has willed for its own sake,' 

 and he alone is called to share, by knowledge and love, in God’s own life. 

It was for this end that he was created, and this is the fundamental reason for his dignity:  

What made you establish man in so great a dignity? 

Certainly the incalculable love by which you have looked on your creature in yourself! 

You are taken with love for her; for by love indeed you created her, 

by love you have given her a being capable of tasting your eternal Good."

Certainly, we require faith (and therefore, God's grace) to truly comprehend all of this, but we can also recall at a young age understanding the feelings of needing a home, of being drawn to the good and beautiful, of love being a safe harbor in the chaos of the world, etc... and these are human experiences that span all peoples in all cultures, because though they vary greatly, at the end of the day, they are united in the need for love to sustain us and for us to give love in return.

There are too many things that could be said about this and too many qualifications necessary, so let us just reflect on this: may we first recognize that it is God who has loved us first, who willed us into being and continues to will our existence even now. It is from Him that we receive life and grace, and the invitation to eternal life with him. It is for us to acknowledge and accept this love that is being offered to us, and to rejoice that we are so cherished! It is then for us to give the same love, as best we are able, in turn to our brothers and sisters, to our families and friends, to our coworkers and to the man or woman on the street. We will do better in our own walk towards eternal life if and when we offer to help the other person to get there too! What great mercy of the Lord would it be for us to arrive in heaven and be assured that we had assisted others in finding their home, too.