6:00pm Potluck Community Dinner
6:30pm Cinema Divina (movie viewing)
8:30pm Discussion
9:00 The end
Of Gods and Men
Directed by: Xavier Beauvois, 2010; Runtime: 2 h; Rated: PG-13
Based on the lives and martyrdom of the Trappist monks of Algeria.
Eight French Christian monks live in harmony with their Muslim brothers in a monastery perched in the mountains of North Africa in the 1990s. When a crew of foreign workers is massacred by an Islamic fundamentalist group, fear sweeps through the region. The army offers them protection, but the monks refuse. Should they leave? Despite the growing menace in their midst, they slowly realize that they have no choice but to stay... come what may. This film is loosely based on the life of the Cistercian monks of Tibhirine in Algeria, from 1993 until their kidnapping in 1996.
What is Cinema Divina?
“Video [cinema] divina requires a set disposition which says ‘This evening, I wish to get closer to God so I think I’m going to watch this film which might give me better insights into myself or why my neighbor acts as she or he does….’”
CINEMA DIVINA IS LECTIO DIVINA EXPERIENCE IN FILM.
Daughters of St. Paul developed this helpful outline for "deep viewing":
1. Be attentive. Pay attention to what’s happening outside of you, as well as inside of you as you interact with media (radio, music videos, etc.) What do I see? What do I hear? What do I feel—what attractions, repulsions, inspirations? What emotions are stirred in me? Why? What character(s) do I relate with most? Least? Tell Jesus about these things. Allow Him to look with you at all the positive and negative things you see, inside and out.
2. Be intelligent. What do I think about what I have just seen, heard, felt? Try to articulate the philosophies present or the underlying assumptions and values. What do I think about the characters, personalities, choices, behavior, etc.? About the plot? What bits of information or new insights have I received? Ask the Holy Spirit to give you Knowledge and Wisdom to see things clearly and understand them more deeply.
3. Be reflective. Ponder with God what you have seen, heard, read, felt. Allow questions to surface. Wonder about the things that still don’t make sense. Take time to marvel and appreciate the things that seemed good and true and beautiful. Has it faithfully reflected the reality it attempted to portray? What good did I find in it? And in what way was it good? (artistically, intellectually, emotively, morally, socially, scientifically, etc.) What was bad? What values and nonvalues did I find? How do they compare with the values taught in the Bible and in my Catholic Faith? Has this program, song, article, etc., changed my way of looking at things? Has it broadened my understanding and my imagination? Has it raised new questions in me? Has it made me more sensitive to others’ needs and sufferings? Has it made me less sensitive?
4. Be responsible. What will my response be? What change in my own life might God be calling me to through this song, movie, article, etc.? In what way might God be inviting me to live more fully human (rational, free, loving)? How might He be inviting me to love and serve Him and my fellow human beings more selflessly?