Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5
Finally, in addition to the spontaneous words and actions of the monks (part 4), the rich and frequent scenes of prayers, hymns and liturgy, an integral part of the fabric of the film, contributes enormously to the depiction of the monks’ Catholic milieu, their beliefs and spirituality.
We’ve already seen the immense significance accorded to Christmas in a crucial early sequence, with its Christmas hymn recounting how “God has prepared the earth like a cradle / For his coming from above” as “the Child of life divine,” “taking flesh of our flesh,” etc. Later in that sequence, we see the monks tenderly place a manger holding the Christ child in the creche they have set up.
I’ve also cited lines like “Recognizing my weaknesses, I accept those of others. I can bear them, make them mine, in imitation of Christ … The apostle’s weakness is like Christ’s, rooted in the mystery of Easter and the strength of the Spirit.”
Here’s another notable excerpt from the monks’ worship, redolent with powerful passion, resurrection, Eucharistic and Trinitarian language:
Let us turn to the Man of Sorrows
Who beckons us from the cross
Because He is with us as on Easter morn.
Let us not forget the blood He shed.
Let us break the bread
Let us drink from the chalice of passage
Let us greet the One who sacrificed Himself.
By loving us until the end
Through Him, with Him and in Him
You shall receive, Almighty Father
In the unity of the Holy Spirit
All glory and honor,
Forever and ever.
The eucharistic language is reinforced by an actual communion scene in which we hear the repeated words “The body of Christ.” (There is also an important climactic “Last Supper” scene, though the Eucharistic overtones are subtextual, not explicit.)
We hear excerpts from the liturgy of the hours:
Lord, open my lips,
And my mouth will proclaim your praise …Save us, Lord, while we are awake,
guard us while we are asleep;
that, awake, we may watch with Christ,
and, asleep, may rest in His peace.
Scriptural texts include a chanted Psalm 143 (“Enter not into judgement with your servant / For no man living is righteous before You…”) and a reading from Luke 17 (“On that night two people shall be in one bed; one shall be taken, the other left”), followed by “The Gospel of the Lord—Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.” God is hailed as “Father of light, eternal light and source of all light,” who “seeks the prodigal son.”
After five posts, what more can I say? I’ve already stated that Of Gods and Men powerfully expresses the beauty and attractiveness of lived Christian faith in its theological and liturgical richness and uniqueness more memorably and appealingly than any dramatic feature film I can think of in up to a quarter century, and that it is exceptional in offering a portrait of lived Christianity that is wholly positive. To that, I will add that it does these things about as memorably and powerfully as any film I can think of. It has no rivals I can think of in the last quarter century, and few peers in the history of cinema.
I will make a stronger statement still. There are not many outstanding films—I could probably count them on the fingers of one hand—of which I could say to an inquirer, “You want to know what it means to be a Christian? You want to know what following Jesus is all about? Watch this film.” Of Gods and Men is one of the few, and one of the best.
Could it say more? Can one take exception to Christian’s perspective in one regard or another? Well, of course. The Tibhirine monks are men, not gods, and the film isn’t the Bible, or the Catechism, or the Mass.
Then again, we need more than the Bible, the Catechism and the Mass. We need works of art—stories and images, books and films—that make the good, the true and the beautiful alive to our imaginations and senses, that offer persuasive and inspiring human examples of lived faith. We need films like Of Gods and Men.
I don’t necessarily accept or agree with everything I read in, say, St. Alphonsus Liguori, or St. Francis de Sales. (The Practice of the Love of Jesus Christ and Introduction to the Devout Life are not the Bible, the Catechism or the Mass.) My issues, moreover, may not be trivial; they may be worth noting. I would be a fool, though, to allow such issues to deprive me of benefiting, with deep appreciation and gratitude, from the immense riches of their spiritual insights and holy example.
There are immense riches in Of Gods and Men. I am deeply grateful for it. Already in two viewings it’s become a hugely important film to me—one that I expect to revisit again and again, with great benefit, for as long as I continue to watch movies.
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Just saw the movie Of Gods and Men open in SLC UT. I lived on a Trappist Cistercian monastery in Huntsville UT for a couple of years and I work there 1 day a week in the monks’ library. Great movie… I have been in Morocco for a little trip, have been in the US ARMY as an officer… having been in huey’s ... did training with Islamic officers from Pakistan, Sudan, Egypt… One “roommate” while I was in the Army 80-84 was from what used to be Uppper Volta… He was # 3 in his country when he came to study at Ft. Gordon GA. During his training on BBC he learned his buddy who was #2 had killed his buddy who had been #1 of the country. If he went back would #2 now #1 also have him killed because he was loyal to the old #1, or would he become the new #2 because he was the buddy of the old #2 now #1? The coup changed the name to Burkine Faso… The monks, like all of us, have life choices… some are easy… some are more difficult… I have heard it said in trying to choose the right thing to do… just do the next thing in front of you the “right” way. Sometimes listening to God’s will means hearing “STAY WHERE YOU ARE”...
I want to learn what happened to the two monks who escaped by hiding? Were they eventually caught, or did they go back to France? This was one of the best movies I’ve ever seen. Loved “Into Great Silence” and this reminded me of it, because of the beautiful, reverent liturgies, Liturgy of the Hours, prayers, etc. They were “real” people with real conflicts, weaknesses, and ultimately the courage to offer their lives for everyone. At one point I thought that perhaps the military were just as capable of killing the monks, because they had dared to care for “the enemy.” Is there a possibility these monks will be named martyrs officially by the Church some day?
I volunteer in a Trappist Cistercian monastery library… we received “prayer” cards for one of the monks, On one side it has Fr. Christophe Lebreton O.C.S.O. May 21, 1996 Monk of Our Lady of the Atlas
Testament
my body is for the earth
so please
no preservatives
just earth and me
my heart is made for life
so please
no affectation
just life and me
hands were made for work
they fold
quite simply
as for my face
uncover it
for an easier kiss
and for my gaze
let it see
P.S.
thank you
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Trappist Cistercians monks have the option at burial to not be in a box.. and they are lowered on a piece of plywood down into their grave just with their habit… after prayers they place a handkerchief usually to cover their face… not all monks do this… some are buried in simple pine boxes… When they have a cause ... is up to the graces granted by God… I petition in prayer the graces via the intercession of the monks… God is in charge of miracles and sometimes the paperwork gets filled out to complete the road to become formal saint.
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a few books on the Atlas monks have been published
I recommend searching with worldcat.org
http://www.worldcat.org/search?q=monks+of+atlas+monastery&qt=results_page
I loved this quote that you cite: “Recognizing my weaknesses, I accept those of others. I can bear them, make them mine, in imitation of Christ … The apostle’s weakness is like Christ’s, rooted in the mystery of Easter and the strength of the Spirit.”
Anyone know the source?
I’m puzzled by Fr Christian’s comment, “For me, Algeria and Islam are something different: it is a body and a soul”. What did he mean by this?
Merely that Algeria has been culturally formed by Islam? That would be rather trite, and something to be remedied by missionary work.
Or, more likely, did he mean that Islam is providentially given to Algeria and that Algerians shouldn’t be converted to Christianity? If so, I have to conclude that his orthodoxy was rather shaky.
(I can hear the protest - he was a holy monk and a martyr, while I’m an iggorant layman. Sure, but such an ad hominem doesn’t address the problematic nature of his comment.)
I was so touched by the hymn “God has prepared the earth like a cradle…” Don’t know who wrote this and am curious to know the hymn writer. Thank you if you can help answer this question.
Lived faith (the fifth Gospel)pretty much is the lesson here. Taking what one has learned from the Catechism, Holy Scripture(Lectio Divina),intimate participation in the Divine Liturgy (the Mass)and obediently “following” the Master to be “servants” to our brothers (and sisters), the children of God, even if the may be our enemies and even if it come to death at the hands of another. Living in relationship with the Incarnate Word in thought, word, and deed, so that we are able to recognize the “Face” when we come to meet it.
Proselytizing was forbidden in Algeria and as stated that is not actively done by contemplatives like the Cistercians of the Strict Observance.
Another great aspect of the film is that the portrayal of the individual struggles and frustrations of the monks as men facing crisis and challenges of faith that they share with all humankind and not some idealized image of what monks are believed to be.
And as a final comment, as far as the economy of words spoken in the movie, how Trappist.
For even more on these examples of “lived faith” check out “How Far to Follow” by Bernardo Olivera O.C.S.O.
who was Abbot General at the time of the martyrdom.
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