I accidentally watched the 2011 movie The Way on the Feast
of St. James the Apostle while on retreat. (I mean, of course, that I intentionally viewed
the movie, but it was a happy accident that I saw it yesterday.)
Admittedly, I have never been a huge fan of
either Martin Sheen or Emilio Estevez (except in Repo Man …
and, okay, The Breakfast Club),
the star and director, respectively.
However, the spiritual undertones of the film caused me to load it on
the iPad and bring it along with me. On
my own “way.”
Explicitly, the title refers to a literal path: the Camino de Santiago – or the Way of St. James – a 500 mile journey close to the north coast of Spain. Implicitly, though, it also references the various ways in which a human being can live a life. (One of the movie’s tag lines is “You don’t choose a life, you live one.”)
The Way combines
beautiful location scenery with a challenging story of complicated
relationships, and ultimate redemption and reconciliation.
It struck many chords with me, and I highly
recommend it.
I hope we’re all living our lives today. I hope we’re carefully discerning life’s vocations. I hope we’re treating each other with compassion and understanding. And I hope we’re joyfully (and healthily) engaging in authentic relationships. And if we’re not doing these things, I hope we … I hope I … have the courage to start.
