The Way

Image from The Way http://theway-themovie.com/media.php

A new movie called The Way written and directed by Emilio Estevez opens in theaters today. I was lucky enough to see a sneak preview about 9 months ago while attending a FOCUS (Fellowship of Catholic University Students) conference. I recommend going out to see The Way while its still in theaters. Hollywood doesn't usually produce faith based movies that incorporate Catholic values, so this is a rare exception. Therefore seeing it in the theaters sends a message to Hollywood that we are willing to pay for something that is important to us and hopefully encourages them to undertake more projects like this one in the future. I always enjoy Martin Sheen's performance in these type of faith based roles, other good movies of his were The Fourth Wise Man and Entertaining Angels.
A few years ago I made a one day pilgrimage to Chimayo en New Mexico on a Good Friday. The memories of that experience are still vivid and cause me to reflect on how I am living out my own calling. I don't know if I will ever have an opportunity to make the pilgrimage along the Camino de Santiago but the panoramic views in this movie inspired me to dream about doing it some day. I still haven't figured out why Emilio Estevez made the cast of characters look like the cast of the Wizard of Oz but that minor detail didn't distract me too much from the movies main theme; What kind of life am I leading and how is God inviting me to conversion. We all are in need of taking a pilgrimage of some kind in our life, undertaking a journey which will lead us closer to God. In reality, the physical setting of our pilgrimage whether it be on the Camino de Santiago or somewhere else is not nearly as important as making the journey within our hearts. Making that pilgrimage means that we are willing to take a risk, to examine our life to trust where God leads us and know that it will cause us to change our life forever.  Are we ready, as the movie asks us, to reflect on "the life we live and the life we choose."