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Wednesday, August 17, 2016

Liturgy and Children’s Movies

Liturgy and Restful Teaching @ Mt. Hope Chronicles

“Liturgy” has been on my mind all summer long. I have several long blog posts in the works, and The Quotidian Mysteries: Laundry, Liturgy and “Women’s Work”; The Monk Who Grew Prayer (picture book); and Wisdom from the Monastery: The Rule of St. Benedict for Everyday Life are on my night stand.

As I was watching (again) Jenny Rallens’ video lecture The Liturgical Classroom and Virtue Formation, I was reminded of the above passage from The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery—”leisure” also having been on my mind for the past couple years. The Little Prince has important words for children and adults alike on the subject of being human. Our culture is so focused on efficiency and entertainment, we forget that walking at our leisure toward a spring of fresh water is often the point.

The Little Prince has recently been made into a beautiful children’s movie. The original story is something of a book within a book movie, as the movie does not follow the original plot (because it doesn’t have much of one—it’s more of a dreamy philosophical ramble). The movie keeps the theme and spirit of the story, however, and it is masterfully rendered.

Bonus: The Little Prince is on Netflix streaming.

 

And then today, in a discussion on Facebook (truly, one of my favorite places because of the friends I’ve made, the pages I follow, and the groups to which I belong), I discovered Shaun the Sheep Movie. I’ve loved the animated shorts, but I didn’t realize that a movie had been made.

The Liturgies of ‘Shaun the Sheep’ @ Christ and Pop Culture connects all the dots for me. Delightful synchronicity

When we think of liturgical worship, our minds probably jump to its verbal components. If we do, drawing analogies between Shaun the Sheep Movie and church life might appear odd, given the film’s complete lack of comprehensible dialogue. Yet as Smith points out, liturgies are deeper than mere rational exercises, and they are meant to embody loves through habit. God’s Word itself reflects this fact.

Bonus: Shaun the Sheep Movie is free streaming for Amazon Prime members.

Stay tuned for more on Liturgy.

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