The Myth Pilgrim

This is a short story I was inspired to write, very much inspired by the experience of finding God in the wilderness. Join Pirum the orphan as he sets out to find the treasures of the desert, treasures he hopes will make him wise.  

Here are the first two paragraphs of the story: "Once upon a time, there was a great desert filled with many hidden treasures. At the desert’s edge stood an ancient kingdom, where tales were often told of how the desert’s treasures made their finders wise. Hearing such tales, one young orphan became filled with a great longing.  “When I grow up, I will venture out of this kingdom,” Pirum said to himself. “I will find all the treasure in the desert. Maybe if I become wise, the people of this kingdom will notice me.” For no one ever paid attention to the lonely orphan. 
 

One starlit night, Pirum came across a wise man tending a garden. Pirum could tell the man was fairly wise because his beard was fairly long, and the longer the beard, the wiser you were! 

“Excuse me, fairly wise man,” Pirum said politely. “Could you please tell me where I might find treasure in the desert?” 

The fairly wise man leaned thoughtfully on his shovel and smiled at Pirum. “Once you possess nothing, you will find the treasure. But, the greatest treasure will be found once you reach the desert heart...”

What did you think of the story? Let me know! 

Soundtrack information: The main themes used repeatedly throughout this episode are various covers of Terra's Theme (Nobuo Uematsu), and Gerudo Town (Hajime Wakai)

The experience of grief and broken dreams is often a lonely journey, yet Pixar’s Up gives us language to share it. Journey with the heartbroken Carl, and learn Christian wisdom for our seasons of loss.

Practical Pilgrim reflection: Excellent video talk about the life of St Charles de Foucauld (Fr James Wang)

Excerpt from episode: "... Grief, especially of losing a loved one is always a paradox. It is the paradox of letting someone go in this lifetime, while at the same time, honouring their memory forever. How this works out in real life is always a mystery, and hence grief, is sacred terrain indeed. If we could use the house that Elli and Carl had built as an illustration of Carl carrying his grief, we see how much Carl is very much attached to the house (literally) for most of the film. By the end of the story however, he learns not only to empty the house of its contents, but also to let it go (quite literally) into the clouds. And not because he loved Ellie any less, but because he discovered that Ellie was so much more than the house, and her influence upon him would always be in the heart, not in the external world. There was no shortcutting this realisation though. In some ways Carl had to physically, ritually take the house all the way to Paradise falls, in order to let it go. What’s the message here? 

Wisdom tell us there is something significant about the physical rituals we perform as part of our grieving process. Physical activities like cleaning up the old room of a loved one, creating an album, burning the items of your old sinful life, or even doing something to spoil yourself are all ritualised ways of celebrating and letting go of a love. As embodied spirits, grief needs to be processed physically as much as spiritually. And as Christians, who so celebrate the fleshly, incarnational dimension of our faith, we must also consider how our grief can be processed in physical ways too..."

Within C.S. Lewis' 'The Great Divorce' is a profound story about a man, a lizard and an angel. Enter the real struggle of temptation, attachment and the exhilaration of being set free!   

Excerpt from episode: "...Firstly, note the sheer resistance the Ghost had to allowing God to burn the lizard off. While the lizard represents the man’s attachment to lust, I want to suggest the lizard stands for any attachment or idol or habit that has grasped and possessed us and taken away our freedom. From my pastoral experiences, we all have a Big Sin that seems to have its tentacles firmly around us. But! The stranger thing is, at least part of us is actually quite happy being trapped by it. Look at our Ghost character… how many reasons and justifications he came up with to keep his sinister companion. Most of us, I wager, are like him, and like St Augustine praying about his lust, says to the Lord “Lord, make me pure, but not yet.” But not yet. Friends, one of the greatest obstacles to being free from any sin is that we suffer from this “manana” syndrome. Manana is a Spanish word for ‘tomorrow’ , and it is something Ignatius refers to a lot… that we are somehow duped int believing that grace is only available tomorrow, and that tomorrow will be the actual start of a fresh new beginning. No. Grace can only be received today… and in fact God can only be encountered today. The flaw with tomorrow-itis that tomorrow, tomorrow-itis will strike again. The only way we can be free, is to resolve to receive the grace given today. After all, we pray for daily bread, not bread for a lifetime."

Soundtracks used this episode:
"In the Beginning" (Hans Zimmer, The Bible), and various covers of
"Schala's theme (Yasunori Mitsuda, Chrono Trigger)
"Rosa's theme (Nobuo Uematsu, Final Fantasy IV)"

Even for a person without faith, Christianity’s influence on western civilization is undeniable. How? Here are seven ways Christianity shaped—and can save—the values we take for granted: (1) The inviolable dignity of the person (2) The pursuit of truth (3) A belief that history is linear (4) Love and family (5) The upholding of both individuals and community (6) Meaning in suffering and death (7) The eternal perspective on life.

Excerpt from episode: "... what is the significance of the belief in that God is Truth? Well, today we say things like ‘oh there’s no such things as truth, or ‘we live in a post truth society’ or ‘your truth is just as true as my truth’, or ‘there’s only personal truth, but no objective truth’ etc. Truth has been subjectivised to the individual interpretation of it – something Pope Benedict XVI called the dictatorship of relativism.  Further, with digital media we now have an era filled with fake news, deep faking, and wilfully biased journalism oftentimes infatuated with leaders who are notorious for not telling the truth, and getting away with it. Surely, the west is in a truth crisis. Yet Christianity maintains truth as not only valuable, but insists that all truth ultimately is a reflection of the God who is truth. Hence, we believe that any pursuit of truth – whether it be in science, psychology, philosophy, mathematics, music, are in fact, a pursuit of God. This, incidentally, is also a reason why Christendom empowered the flourishing in all these fields – because truth cannot contradict truth and we believe there is a great harmonising between say, science and faith, medicine and meditation, psychology and spirituality, mathematics and mysticism. All truth can lead to God, and God himself inspires man’s reason to pursue that which is true..."

Being creatures of habit, when God calls there is often resistance! Allow the calling stories of Abraham, Jeremiah and others shed new light on Rey Skywalker, as the Force calls her out of desert scavenging into Jedi deliverer.   

Excerpt from episode: "Biblical call narratives are fascinating to follow because they inspire and challenge us, to respond that way too! And if you ask me, one of the reasons why the Star Wars saga has been so popular for like four decades, is precisely because each of the three heroes from all three trilogies: Anakin, Luke and Rey Skywalker, all respond to a radical call from the Force. Today’s episode could well have been written for Anakin and Luke, but I’ve chosen Rey because there are some features of her call narrative which are particularly biblical...

... in terms of Rey’s narrative, I love the detail that her final destiny wasn’t defined by her Sith blood. One of the last things Luke said to her was “some things are stronger than blood”. Hence, Rey could choose to heed the call to Skywalker, and not to Palpatine. So it goes in the spiritual life. We are not defined by our past, or bound to our broken family’s legacy. Rather our true identity is in Christ, of the Spirit, who bestows an identity which is divine in origin. Like Rey on Jakku, we literally have no idea what our story could look like if we heed God’s call … but at the end of our lives, would you have it any other way?" 

Soundtrack information: All background music is from the Star Wars OST (Binary Sunset, the Force Theme, Rey's Theme, Yoda's theme composed by John Williams). 

Rediscover Cinderella's profound Christian roots and storyline! How do glass slippers, fairy godmothers, ash-covered princesses and a cat named Lucifer echo the biblical story of salvation?

Excerpt from episode:  "... If I were to quickly retell Cinderella through the Christian framework, it would go something like this. Cinderella symbolises fallen humanity, with our true dignity covered over by the ashes of sin. We are held captive by the vanity and vices of the world, represented by the wicked stepfamily (who have a cat named Lucifer). The prince stands in the place of Christ, who takes the initiative to reach out to us and love us back into our original dignity. If we choose to respond to the prince’s invitation, supernatural grace is given to us—symbolised by the fairy godmother. Like Cinderella and the prince at the ball, there is a fleeting connection with God in our limited time here, but we sooner flee his presence, ashamed that our true unworthy selves might be rejected. Jesus as the prince then proves that we needn’t feel unworthy, and proves this to us by lavishly clothing the part of us we are most ashamed of, symbolised by the foot and the glass slipper. Finally, Christ betroths us and marries us, taking us into his kingdom. Blessings are poured out on friend and foe alike and for eternity, all live happily ever after. Can you see how the general story arc of Perrault’s Cinderella is faithfully Christian? Not to mention the explicit detail of a godmother right? But anyway, let’s now dive into each section and explore it in more detail... "

My thesis paper: Mythology, Fairytale and the New Evangelisation
My Masters of Theology thesis can be accessed here as a PDF. The section mentioned in the episodes is on Page 21.

Soundtrack information: Music taken from covers of the OST of Disney's Cinderella (composed by Al Hoffman, Patrick Doyle). Chant for Instruments (composed Margaret Riza) was also featured.

What happens at the moment of our death? The last judgement is often a confusing and anxiety-ridden topic. Allow C.S. Lewis and his Narnia Aslan to open up a conversation about Christ the judge! Discover how this neglected doctrine can inspire within us love, life and the pursuit of truth!

Excerpt: "...but even so, what person in their right mind would want to not choose God? What Narnian creature would not want to enter the door, and instead swerve away into Aslan’s shadow? Well, this passage gives us a clue. Remember that detail that when the animals approached Aslan, some saw his face and hated it and swerved into the shadow, while other gaze on Aslan’s face and loved it, and went through the door? This is very rich in symbolism, and in it lies in an important truth. In the same way God doesn’t force anyone into heaven, he also doesn’t sentence anyone to hell. If anyone ends up in hell, they are there by their own choice. People choose hell because in this lifetime they have grown to be disgusted and repulsed by the idea of heaven."

For a summery of the Catholic position on the two judgments, here is Ascension Present's Fr Mike Schmitz - 'The Lesser Known Last Judgment'

Soundtrack used this episodes is from the OST of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (composed by Harry Gregson-Williams). I also used a cover of "Be Still for the Presence of the Lord" by Elite Artists Trio 

Shame is crippling and difficult to discuss openly. Yet Quasimodo and Frollo provide an excellent platform to explore shame, its effects and the means to be free from it. Learn what this Disney classic can teach about vulnerability, and the God who became an outcast first.

Watch here the: Esmerelda encountering Quasimodo scene referenced this episode

Scripture quote for meditation:
“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.” (Romans‬ ‭8:1-2)‬

Excerpt from episode: "Yet without acknowledging shame, it can drive our lives, and grossly limit what’s possible for our lives, as it did for Quasimodo at the start of the film, locked up in the bell tower. But let me posit this up front: shame can be even more destructive than something that cripples us… look at the example of Minister Frollo – who compared to poor Quasimodo, is actually a far more monstrous image of shame, or more accurately, shame aversion. It is Frollo’s suppression of his sexual fantasies and own murderous past that jeopardises Quasimodo's dignity, Esmerelda's safety, the wellbeing of the gypsies and eventually, the safety of the entire Paris. Unrecognised shame is toxic for our psyche. Carl Jung called it the "swampland of the soul", and in another place a "soul eating emotion." And worse, if it remains unchecked, it can then project its sorry state onto others within its reach, as it did with Frollo. As the old maxim goes, "we are only as sick as the secrets we keep."

Soundtrack: All soundtracks used this episode are from Disney's 1996 The Hunchback of Notre Dame OST (songs written by Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz), or covers of those tracks.

Despite many iconic superheroes in the MCU, the ‘ordinary’ Cap tops most polls as favourite. Why is this? Fr James Baptist explores the origins and inspiration of Steve Rogers, and describes his own connection with the character’s virtues. Journey with the superhero that has been dubbed by foe and friend as “God’s righteous man.” 

Here are some of the clips mentioned in the podcast: 

• Dr Erskin's chat with Steve Rogers ((Captain America: The First Avenger)
• The Grenade scene (Captain America: The First Avenger)
• The Portal scene ((Avengers: Endgame)

Here also is the clip from Fr Mike Schmitz: Superheroes analysed

How does a Disney movie open up a conversation about The Baptism in the Holy Spirit? Join Bernadette MGL, myself & Encanto's cast (and mansion) as we explore our church in crisis and the incredible grace poured out for its renewal!

'Deeper' Retreat (June, 2022)
“Delve deeper in your experience of Baptism in the Holy Spirit, be encouraged in discipleship, activate the charismatic gifts and be equipped for mission through inputs, discussion, prayer and practical workshops.”

• Target: Those who want to grow deeper in the grace of the Baptism in the Spirit
• Dates: 1-5 June, 2022
• Venue 1: Varroville, NSW Australia &
• Venue 2: Canberra, ACT, Australia
• For more information or register, click here for Canberra, and here for Varroville

'Open Wide' Retreat (Oct, 2022)

"This is a retreat for deepening in God’s love, seeking restoration, and empowerment to live your life open wide to the Holy Spirit, and an opportunity to be prayed with for Baptism in the Holy Spirit."

• Target: Those who are new and open to the grace of Baptism in the Spirit
• Dates: 28 - 30 Oct, 2022
• Venue: Varroville, NSW Australia
• For more information or register, click here!

Catholic Resources for Baptism in the Holy Spirit

• Catholic and Charismatic (introduction to history and FAQ of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal)
• The Baptism in the Holy Spirit and Fire | The Wild Goose
• Charis International website (Charis is the international body, established by the Holy See, to coordinate the Catholic Charismatic Renewal)