Count of Monte Cristo 

[Mercedés has come to speak with this man from her past that has been thrust back in, the Count of Monte Cristo (Jim Caviezel), aka Edmond Dantés.]

(be forewarned it is a little glitchy)

Ahhh...love.  Ahhh....revenge.  They tend not to go together, but in this clip they happen to occur.  Mercedés uses her powers of reason and virtue of charity & chastity, to cut through this facade that Edmond has put up to seek his plot of revenge and hatred.  She knows who he truly is, and even sees his dignity as a child of God, even though he has forgotten that fact because of his own pain and misery.  Mercedés shows Dantés that she has been faithful to him.  She has loved him, given what she knew about his life.  She has never ceased loving him.  

Alright, what can I learn from this?  Some people just see a love story.  I see transformation.  Throughout the movie Dantés is filled vengeance towards those who had wronged him.  He is so full of hate, and malice.  Love transforms those desires.  True love casts out things that are contrary to its nature.  It calls us to a higher purpose, something beyond ourselves.  She tells him about the faith that he once had, reminds him that God is everywhere.  True love brings us to the ultimate point of all reality, which is Love, Jesus, God.  

Love truly has the power to move us, remind us of our greater calling as a son or daughter of God rather than somebody just pursuing things we think shall make us happy.  Even if Dantés killed, or had arrested all those who had wronged him, what would he gain in the end.  What would be his purpose to live after those tasks are completed?  It is an interesting question to ponder.  Are we holding on to anything that consumes our life?  Who is your Mercedés?  Who is this woman than can change mans heart from vengeance? She is a servant of God, the true mover of our hearts.  Mercedés is a fitting name for her since it is the mercy of God that frees us from our sins.   

First Knight

[Prince Malagant (Ben Cross) is the bad guy.   Lady of Leonesse, Guinevere, is going to marry King Arthur (Sean Connery) soon]

This clip has so many things to teach us about how to live in our culture.  I know often it reminds me of wanting to be the hero I long to be. One of the first things that it teaches us is that Arthur invited Malagant there to listen to what he had to say.  If you notice it was only after Malagant refused to listen to Arthur's arguments that the conversation ended.  Malagant refused to leave his "worldview" and look at Arthur's.  Arthur continued to talk, and listen to his opponent.  So often in our world today in debates, whatever the issue may be people cease to listen to each other, and it becomes only a battle of emotion, not of the subject at hand.  

If you noticed Arthur responded adequately to all of Malagant's questions, however sometimes he re-framed them, which is sometimes what we ourselves need to do in our conversations, and debates.  Arthur talks about how there are "laws that enslave men, and laws that set them free. Either what we hold to be good, and right, and true, is good, and right, and true under God.  Otherwise we are just another robber tribe." This point is critical,  justice comes from something outside himself, in this case God, and things discovered to be true.  Justice is not just a subjective reality, it extends well beyond the self.  Guinevere says it well, "what justice?! you know no law higher than your self!"  Malagant believes in his world view alone.  If we follow the morality, justice, law (same interpretation here) then we are just forcing our opinion, our morality on others.  Rather we are called to discover what is true, objectively outside ourselves, which God is definitely a good source for what is good, true, and right.  

Another source topic, or issue that Arthur speaks, is "where is it written, beyond Camelot live lesser people, people to weak to stand up for themselves, let them die."  Arthur talks about how we have a right to defend the defenseless, the weak.  If we know of their plight, and we have the means, we have a responsibility to defend, and help them the best we can.  It is not a matter of their laws, or our laws, it is about a law that transcends you and me, it is outside ourselves.   

Saving Private Ryan

[The Captain Miller (Tom Hanks) came with his men to save Private Ryan (Matt Damon) because Ryan had lost his 3 older brothers over the course of WWII.  Over the course of the mission the captain lost the majority of his men.]

The reason this clip strikes me is the same reason why most manly movies do, which is because it contains sacrifice.  There is a reason why throughout the history of the world that the military has attracted men.  It asks them to sacrifice so much of themselves for the good of others.  Men long, and women too (but men especially), to give their lives as a ransom for others.  It is Captain Miller who ultimately gives his life for Private Ryan.  Miller not only gives his life, but the lives of his men.  True authentic living is given meaning in sacrifice.

So why is it that Miller tells Ryan to earn this?  It is because we want to make sure that our sacrifices are not made in vain.  We want to know that the causes that we gave our lives for, and the lives of those we are responsible for meant something, that it mattered.  This is what this movie has to speak to us, that sacrifice is meet with gratitude for what was done.  We are called to live in honor of the sacrifices that have been made on our behalf.  

The most powerful sacrifice that was made on our behalf is the sacrifice of Christ, God, dying for us, so that we may be free, and live with Him.  This is the devotion of His love.  He laid down His life, and even inspired His best friends to lay down their lives for the sake of you!  He loves you, and he asks you to honor the sacrifice He made.  We don't have to earn it, but to truly let it sink in and change the way we see the world, because somebody loved/cared for us that much that they gave their lives for you. 

Braveheart
[main character here is Robert the Bruce (king of Scotland), this is at the tail end of the movie the Bruce has betrayed William Wallace, the hero of the film, a hero who stood up to the tyranny of England]

Now granted to come to the full grips of this scene it is better to watch the whole movie (be forewarned it is violent, and graphic at times, rated R).  Why is this scene though so moving?  We are watching a person who was not the hero, become the hero.  Robert the Bruce had betrayed William Wallace, the man who fought so uncompromisingly for freedom of Scotland.  Robert the Bruce betrayed his friend, and his country.  He committed a terrible folly, but here at the end of the movie he redeems himself.  He knows where he belongs, fighting for the memory of his friend, for his country, and most importantly for freedom.  

So why is it then that this transformation matters to us, in our lives?  This reminds me that redemption is possible, it is attainable.  No matter how vile the deed I fell into, it is possible to rise out of the stench of my misery. We want to know that our past is not the sum total of who we are.  It reminds me of a phrase I learned from a commencement speech I recently read. Nunc Coepi (Now I Begin).  This is the moment to live, to fight for freedom, to honor the memory of our friends, and to rise above the sins of our past, by fighting for goodness/freedom.  

Thor

 [Thor is the god of Thunder (Chris Hemsworth), and Loki (guy sitting on the throne) is his brother.  Loki is controlling the big metal guy)]

So why is this clip so meaningful you might ask, it is just another super hero movie, they don't exist in our world so how could this have anything to do with my life?  Heroes do exist in our world, maybe not super, like Thor, but they do exist, and their qualities are the same.  Thor had not been the best of persons at the start of this movie, but over the course of the film he had learned the virtue of humility.

Humbly he walked out to meet and talk with his brother.  It is meeting his brother like this that he chose to apologize for the wrongs he had done.  One of the amazing things about humility is that if it is true humility it leads us to be courageous.  It was courageous to go out against this metal guy knowing full well that he might die.  He was offering his life freely to save those that he loves, those that are innocent of any crime against his brother.  He offers his life to end the destruction of this town.

At first we might think that Loki accepts the apology of his brother, but he doesn't.  We fear being Loki, the villain, so cold-hearted.  Loki was unable to forgive his brother so he decides to kill him.  We fear becoming a villain in this story, because we know that we can easily become this character.  We watch the movie to be reminded that forgiveness, humility, and courage are noble attributes that we seek.

Thor by giving his life for others, becomes worthy of his calling, of being a god.  Is this not the same message that Christ himself gave us.  "Unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces much fruit." Jn. 12:24  It is by giving of yourself that we come to have a full life.  We are meant to give our lives for the noble cause, and what could be nobler than laying down your life for the sake of others?  Christ taught us to love one another, to give our life to one another, and that is what Thor did in this clip.  He sacrificed himself, this is what we look for in our heroes.  Because true authentic love is always sacrificial.