I’ve been watching ‘Big Night’ this evening, a small yet great film from 1996 where two Italian brothers risk everything to save their business on one night of food. I was led to this film whilst looking at material for a confirmation course, the themes relating to Eucharist are replete and muti-dimensional throughout it, however to get back to the title of this, Sara Miles was speaking about a food distribution center she ran in LA and the film reminded me that she had commented that: “We should give food to the poor, not because we want to do good to them, but because we know what it is like to be hungry” It is very much the same with Eucharist, one reason why I guess this film strikes a chord with me, is that it is not good enough to prepare for and preside at the Eucharist in a second rate manner, hungry people deserve to be fed the best food, just as much as those who are fed regularly. I’m not suggesting that there should be one particular way of doing this, just that it must be without compromise. I don’t (surprisingly enough) subscribe to the idea from the film that “if you give people what they want for long enough eventually you get to feed them what you want to give them” I think, like Primo, I would rather not prepare anything than serve ‘meatballs with spaghetti’ as it were!
Greenbelt thoughts
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2 responses to “Greenbelt thoughts”
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so what material have you found? I have been asked to consider being part of a group who put together a book on confirmation starting to work on it during the autumn!! not sure yet whether I have enough time or not!!
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I’m using what am I doing here by Hilary Brand and Dave Walker as a basis for discusion, however the main thrust is looking at films which depict the presentation of themes around the Eucharist, hence Big Night. I’ve also got Babette’s Feast, for a similar idea. I’m looking at the preparation of meals and how we prepare to receive the Sacrament as a meal prepared for by our whole lives and by the liturgy. I’m also going to use Amistad, life is Beautiful, and about a boy for other themes and am writing discussion ideas based around scenes from them. I may look at ‘Chocolat’, but that has a book which I still haven’t read for lent, so might leave that one. There are others which I haven’t had time to look at yet, but it’s coming along! (Mainly the book ‘What am I doing here’ is for the cartoons, I must admit!!)
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