I have come to light a fire on the earth... - Luke 12:49

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WOF TV > Video Commentaries

Trackback URL: http://www.wordonfire.org/trackback/6353e90d-f64f-46c8-9b02-f3506ef3cdd3/Fr--Barron-comments-on--Eat-Pray-Love-.aspx

Comments

Tara

You may want to read the book. I read the book and saw the movie and I found I liked the book MUCH better. First off, the book explains a lot of the issues you addressed, and the movie left out a lot if her journey. They were just quick glimpses of what she experienced in the book. That moment on the bathroom floor when she prayed that very simple prayer you liked, she explains how that is her first time ever speaking to God, and how before that moment of clarity she was never sure she beleived God exists. While she is not Catholic and explains that she doesn't want to belong to an organized religion, in the book she does quote a lot of Saints, and even speaks with monks and former religious people during her stay at the Ashram. In the book her prayer life is much deeper than what the movie showed, and it also explains why she does everything she does. This is a true story and Gilbert's memoir. I'm not sure if the nuns were really sitting next to her on that bench in Italy or if the movie just did that for added effect... I don't remember that being mentioned in the book, so in real life the writer may have never had that opportunity to speak to them. As for not visiting churches in Italy, she definitely missed out, but she discusses in the book how she keeps the 3 elements separate until Bali when everything comes together. It also doesn't show in the movie how she decided that for Italy and India, she would not get involved with any man, that she needed time to figure herself out and go on that personal and spiritual quest before she can allow herself to love a man again.
I'm not sure I agree with your criticism of her quote "God lives in me, as me." We are taught that we are all a manifestation of God, each a different part in the body of Christ. "Whatsoever you do to the least of my people that you do unto me." I don't think that what she says is selfish, she is not claiming to actually be God, and she is not denying that others are not manifestations of God as well. She is simply saying that we are the projections of God here on earth. I will end with one of my favorite quotes from St. Theresa of Avila that I believe adds to my point: "Christ has no body here on earth but yours, no hands but yours, no feet but yours; Yours are the eyes through which Christ's compassion looks out on the world, yours are the feet with which He is to go about doing good and yours are the hands with which he is to bless us now."

9/3/2010 10:48:58 AM

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michael jaffray king

This will answer so many of your spiritual questions...Father B's latest on the Julia Roberts movie Eat, Pray, Love.....
I love to try and follow this Priest because he takes a popular movie and praises it up where it is good and truthful and then points out all the serious errors.
Of course I like to follow him because he is a died in the wool Roman Catholic... straight down the centre...
Our finding of God will always have the effect of MISSION... It will send us out into the hurting world to try and do something about it...

9/3/2010 12:29:37 PM

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Rob

Tara, I believe St Theresa's quotes are made in the spirit of servitude, as in He is using our hands for His will, not ours.

Many years ago when I too went on a spiritual journey, I chose to shut the world out as I knew the world was my problem. I skipped the eating part(though, obviously I did eat) as a wordly indulgence and focused on prayer so as to focus on God (Father, Son and Holy Spirit). And that led me to understand love, His love. Today I Eat, Pray and Love thanking Him every day to be alive to do those three great pleasures.

I must also note that it has been mentioned (rumoured) that Roberts has turned away from Catholicism and embraced Hinduism, in part because of this movie. I guess her husband, who is also Catholic, is quite upset about it, especially as she is also converting their three children.

9/5/2010 8:33:14 PM

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tara

Rob - I know what St. Theresa was saying and I fully understand that, but you missed my point. my point was that God is in each of us... working through us. it's to verify liz gilbert's quote in the movie, not as a selfish one saying "I am God" but as a realization that God's work on earth is done through us. And that as we look at one another we also see a part of God. I think that quote in the movie was a beautiful quote: "God lives in me, as me." I don't think she's being arrogant by saying that, and she is not denying God's will when she says that either. It is the same thing as St. Theresa's quote about using our hands to do his will. She is saying God is using her to do His will... same difference. She in no way implies that she is actually God himself, or that her will is just as good as God's. You guys are misreading what she is saying, and I really think you need to read the book before you criticize because the book is more complete. Whoever produced the movie is who you should be critical of here, because it's not all the way Gilbert wrote it. While she is still not Catholic in the book, it is a better understanding of her spiritual journey, and takes you deeper into that journey. Unlike the movie that was just a brief synopsis... I honestly didn't like the movie in comparison to the book.

9/9/2010 11:09:58 AM

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Rodney M

Tara - I have to disagree. To try and compare / relate this Liz Gilbert - one of the many kaftan wearing vegan guru types to Theresa of Avila is I think giving her a bit more credence than I think she deserves. I would wager that she would / could not make the nuanced distinction / defence of her beliefs that you are making on her behalf and it is this (her) vague pseudo-theological New Age cluttered thinking and waffle, that almost always results in / masks heresy.

9/13/2010 6:37:41 AM

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tara

First off Rodney, I am not comparing Liz Gilbert to St. Theresa. I never said Liz and St. Theresa had anything in common. I am comparing a quote she made in the movie, which was being criticized, to a quote made by St. Theresa, not the actual people. Again my point is that God is part of each of us and uses us to carry out His will here on earth. This has nothing to do with her "new age" beliefs being right or wrong, that doesn't mean that God cannot work through her. Just because she is not Catholic does not mean that she's a bad person or that she can't be doing God's work. Not everyone in this world is Catholic, but God's mercy and love is endless. Jesus came to redeem sinners, and his death on the cross was not just for Catholics but for everyone who accepts His sacrifice, even in death, and this includes people of other faiths. I'm tired of certain Catholics who think they are more righteous than others. Gilbert is no less worthy of God's will than you or anyone else. You can't assume she can't make that connection herself without actually knowing her, and whether she can or not is not even relevant, because the viewer/reader can make it themself. Sorry, but that is how I feel and I will not comment any further on this.

9/13/2010 1:31:00 PM

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Vince C

I'm sorry-- unless one uses tortured verbal contortions, "God lives in me, as me" means "I am God." It is the classic credo of pantheism.

10/18/2010 9:26:43 PM

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Tara, calm down. We get the point about the book, but this review is about the MOVIE. Within the context of the movie, Gilbert's quote "God lives in me, as me" is clearly identifying the self as God, which is a fundamental tenet of the Yogic philosophy on which many of the Eastern religions, Hinduism in particular, are based. Please stop projecting your desire for Gilbert's quote to be compatible with a Christian paradigm of God onto a film that clearly took great pains to exclude all things Christian!

Also, kindly refrain from sweeping statements like "I'm tired of Catholics who ...." simply when someone asserts a different viewpoint to you. It seems that you yourself are prejudiced against Catholics. What would Saint Teresa think of your attitude? Maybe you should read her works again a little more closely and try to emulate the patience and humility of this great saint. God bless you.

10/19/2010 7:22:45 AM

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