And the Oscar goes to...

The 83rd Oscars were last night. I was unable to see the entire award show because we had Confirmation and my duty was to my catechumens...precious.

Our night was about the Eucharist and how it is the "Source and Summit" of our Faith. While the presenter was speaking, he solicited responses from the 150-ish juniors about times when transformed different things/people in Scripture (hinting at how simple bread and wine are transformed into the Body and Blood of Christ). One of my students yelled out from the back row, "The Incarnation!" I sat there...shocked. One of MY students yelled that. What the what?
The speaker, using a very Socratic method, asked, "So, what did God transform?"
My kid yelled back, "He became a baby." Kind of sassy-like, now that I think about it.
"Well, how did God do it?" the speaker went on.
After a short pause, my student shouted, "Carefully."
Touche, student. Touche.

That little moment, albeit hilarious, made me so proud. My students are kind of understanding the faith and want to know more. Praise the Good Lord! All Glory to God, right? Right.

Coming home from Confirmation last night, I walked into the house to see the Oscars on TV. Zachary Levi and Mandy Moore were singing the nominated song from Tangled (which was awesome) and I was hooked, sitting comfortably in my favorite chair. The Oscars went on for a while and I enjoyed it for the most part. The clincher was the end. Please watch the video....now.



That group of public school kids was adorable. They sang my favorite song, "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" as the Emerald City glistened in the background. Then, all of the Oscar Winners walked forward to join the little dreamers themselves.

I loved that moment. Dreams come true. As strange or weird or just plain wrong that some of the movies may have been, all the actors chased their dreams. They went for it. And didn't stop. And last night, some of their dreams came true. They will forever be remembered as "Oscar Winners". I could go on to say things like, "you can gain the whole world and lose your soul", which is a truth...but I don't want to focus on that today.

Listening to some of their acceptance speeches truly moved me. Colin Firth was beside himself for winning "Best Actor", thanking his wife for her support. Tom Hooper, who won the Oscar for Directing The King's Speech thanked his mother above everyone else. The Social Network won for "Film Editing" and the two gentlemen thanked their wives and families. Natalie Portman said in an interview after winning "Best Actress" that she was taking on the most important role of her life now, as a mother. Wow. Her acceptance speeches all awards season have been family oriented. She thanks her parents for giving her life and her fiance for helping her bring life into the world. Granted, she did things a little backwards, but still, she seems to have her priorities right.

It was refreshing to see people in Hollywood know what really counts. It gives me hope. Last night edified that God gives us each gifts to use to bring Him glory. Those gifts are necessary for the world to know Him. They are not our own...but they are very good. Knowing the Giver of the Gifts and putting our priorities right is necessary too. It's important to be careful with how we utilize our gifts and what we do with them. Just as God came into the world "carefully", like my student said, we must practice humility with bringing God into the world using those gifts He's given us. He transforms waht he gives us so that the we may be transformed and be lights in the world around us. Natalie Portman's acknowledgment of her most important role as a mother reminded me that each of our most important role's is to be a child of God and to let Him love us. That's how we can use our gifts best....by loving God and others as He loves us.

Dreams come true, somewhere over the rainbow. They become most beautiful when we can point to God and say, "That's where the dream came from, and that's where it goes." Know what is important.