Scarlet and Black Reflection Essay Example for Free

Scarlet and Black Reflection Essay After seeing what type of life he has lived, the priesthood may look appealing to many. He is constantly helping people and getting in and out of trouble. The situations he finds himself in may not necessarily be because he is a priest, but rather because of the type of person he is. Fr. O’Flaherty’s drive and desire to help people makes him a saint to many people. Many priests probably would not have gone to the extent that Fr. O’Flaherty went to in helping the soldiers. He was close to death many times, but continued to fight for freedom. Some parts of this film, to me, seemed over done in the idea that Fr. O’Flaherty was some type of superhero. There is no doubt in my mind that he was an awesome person and helped many people, but do I believe that he fought evil ninja priests? Not necessarily. The spousal meaning of the body is defined as the ability of the human body, in its masculinity or femininity, to express and realize our call to a communion of persons through self-giving love. Fr. O’Flaherty lives out the spousal meaning of the body by giving himself to the Allied soldiers. The priesthood calls priests to serve the people and to try and live like Jesus did. Fr. O’Flaherty lives out this call in a greater way than most priests would. In his masculinity he is able to take matters into his own hands and protect as many people as possible. Fr. O’Flaherty was a real father figure to many people in the film and also many people who were not shown in the film. He was a prominent father figure to Francesca and her daughters because, much like a father, he was concerned for their well-being and watched out for them. Fr. O’Flaherty was also known for personally taking care of children whose parent had been killed in the war. So he was very much so a father figure to all people he encountered. Priesthood is solely as masculine call because of the very fact that priests are called to be like Jesus. Jesus was a very strong leader so the people left to be priests must be strong and masculine too. Priests are also called to live â€Å"in persona Christi. † This literally means â€Å"in the person of Christ,† and it is the act through which a priest pronounces the words of the sacramental rite. Men must do this through Jesus, so it would not be possible for a woman to become Jesus. Women marry Jesus when they become nuns, but priests marry the church, which is considered, as a whole, to be feminine. Overall I think this movie was very good in demonstrating how the church has had an affect on the world throughout history. They do not simply just sit back and pray for things to turn out right, but some members of the church (aka Fr. O’Flaherty) took action. Fr. O’Flaherty is not a prototypical hero, but I think almost every priest would want to live the type of life he did.