{"id":39495,"date":"2013-05-02T08:00:57","date_gmt":"2013-05-02T13:00:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.austincnm.com\/?p=39495"},"modified":"2013-05-02T11:05:39","modified_gmt":"2013-05-02T16:05:39","slug":"superman-and-catholic-spirituality","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2013\/05\/superman-and-catholic-spirituality\/","title":{"rendered":"Superman and Catholic Spirituality"},"content":{"rendered":"<p dir=\"ltr\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.austincnm.com\/index.php\/2013\/05\/superman-and-catholic-spirituality\/supermansymbol\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-39500\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-39500\" alt=\"SupermanSymbol\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/SupermanSymbol-630x393.jpg?resize=456%2C285\" width=\"456\" height=\"285\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\" id=\"docs-internal-guid-3a713d7e-6547-1a3c-8309-42f6facf0467\">This Friday, millions of Americans will flock to theaters to see <em>Iron Man 3<\/em>, the latest expansion of the Marvel universe series of films. \u00a0Early reviews are good and I\u2019ll likely go see it, even after the failure that was<em> Iron Man 2<\/em>. \u00a0But, honestly, you can have Tony Stark. \u00a0My focus is on the June 14 release of <em>Man of Steel<\/em>, the latest Superman movie, (yes, even after the unwatchable 2006 <em>Superman Returns<\/em>).<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">If you haven\u2019t already watched the trailer for <em>Man of Steel<\/em>, I highly recommend you check it out here:<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/T6DJcgm3wNY\" height=\"315\" width=\"560\" allowfullscreen=\"\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Of course, it\u2019s impossible for me to offer my opinion of a film that I haven\u2019t seen. \u00a0Regardless, I can\u2019t seem to stop watching that trailer which plays up the aspect of <em>Superman<\/em> I\u2019ve always found most interesting: the Christ-nature of the character.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">I have to recognize that Richard Donner\u2019s 1978 <em>Superman<\/em> also played up the Christ theme in the story of a boy who came down from \u201cthe heavens,\u201d eventually growing to embody superhuman abilities which made him the protector of humanity. \u00a0Superman, of course, lays himself down for us, physically speaking, time and time again. \u00a0At one point in the film, Christopher Reeve is actually cruciform flying through space, near death, only to be \u201cresurrected\u201d to vanquish evil.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">While this element of the story has been played up before, if the trailer for <em>Man of Steel<\/em> is any indication, Director Zack Snyder has taken the spiritual dimension of Superman to an even deeper level, capturing an element of Catholic-esque spirituality. \u00a0Consider again, the words spoken in the trailer by Jor-El, Superman\u2019s Father, played by Russell Crowe:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">What if a child dreamed of becoming something other than what society intended?<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">What if a child aspired to something greater?<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">[To his son]<br \/>\nYou will give the people of earth an ideal to strive for.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">They will race behind you. \u00a0They will stumble. They will fall. But in time, they will join you in the sun.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">In time you will help them accomplish wonders.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">It\u2019s one thing to recognize a Superman who will lay down his life for humanity. It\u2019s quite another to posit Superman as an ideal to whom we should strive.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">It\u2019s one thing to talk about Jesus as one who laid down his life for the forgiveness of our sins. \u00a0It\u2019s another to posit him as the example of holiness and relationship to God to whose example we should strive to emulate.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\" style=\"text-align: left;\">This, I think, is one of the biggest things I\u2019m learning as a Catholic. \u00a0Each day, I make a little step towards sainthood. Some days I stumble. \u00a0Many days I fall. \u00a0But, I want to accomplish wonders on this earth to the glory of God and, one day, step into the sun with him.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This Friday, millions of Americans will flock to theaters to see Iron Man 3, the latest expansion of the Marvel universe series of films. \u00a0Early reviews are good and I\u2019ll likely go see it, even after the failure that was Iron Man 2. \u00a0But, honestly, you can have Tony Stark. \u00a0My focus is on the&#8230;&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2013\/05\/superman-and-catholic-spirituality\/\">[Read&nbsp;More]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false},"categories":[3,4],"tags":[55,112,50,168,1674,1676,859,1675],"class_list":{"0":"post-39495","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-acnm","7":"category-blog","8":"tag-catholic-2","9":"tag-catholic-church","10":"tag-faith","11":"tag-holiness","12":"tag-man-of-steel","13":"tag-sanctification","14":"tag-spirituality","15":"tag-superman","16":"entry","17":"has-post-thumbnail"},"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":29064,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2012\/12\/two-guys-a-girl-and-a-catholic-podcast-episode-77-ikea-monkey\/","url_meta":{"origin":39495,"position":0},"title":"Two Guys a Girl and a Catholic Podcast Episode 77: Ikea Monkey","author":"2GGCP","date":"December 14, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Episode 77 [powerpress] Current Events: Supreme Court to take up gay marriage...revisiting George Weigel\u2019s article http:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/blogs\/right-turn\/wp\/2012\/12\/09\/the-supreme-court-takes-on-gay-marriage http:\/\/www.firstthings.com\/onthesquare\/2012\/11\/the-crisis-of-a-second-obama-administration http:\/\/canonlawblog.wordpress.com\/2012\/11\/14\/some-first-thoughts-on-weigels-call-to-reconsider-civil-consequences-for-catholic-weddings\/ North Carolina Barred from using \u201cChoose Life\u201d license plate http:\/\/news.yahoo.com\/north-carolina-barred-issuing-choose-life-license-plates-184735990.html Critics wary of Catholic teaching hospital for new UT medical school http:\/\/www.statesman.com\/news\/news\/local\/plan-for-public-medical-school-catholic-teaching-h\/nTQZk\/ Church News: \u00a0 ACNM Q4 Meetup Tuesday, December 18, 2012\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Two Guys, a Girl and a Catholic Podcast&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Two Guys, a Girl and a Catholic Podcast","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/podcast\/2guysagirl\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/2GGCP-LOGO2-300x231.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":39292,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2013\/04\/two-guys-a-girl-and-a-catholic-podcast-episode-91-pray-for-west\/","url_meta":{"origin":39495,"position":1},"title":"Two Guys a Girl and a Catholic Podcast Episode 91: Pray For West","author":"2GGCP","date":"April 19, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Episode 91 [powerpress] Current Events: Boston What do you think about Cardinal O\u2019Malley\u2019s statement http:\/\/www.firstthings.com\/blogs\/firstthoughts\/2013\/04\/16\/cardinal-omalley-we-turn-to-the-light-of-jesus-christ\/ West, TX Fertilizer Plant explosion \"If you would like to help the citizens of West, we are needing O Negative and O Positive blood donors, as well as platelet donors. For information on hours and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Two Guys, a Girl and a Catholic Podcast&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Two Guys, a Girl and a Catholic Podcast","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/podcast\/2guysagirl\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/2GGCP-LOGO2-300x231.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":46325,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2014\/05\/origin-story-reflection-easter-discipline\/","url_meta":{"origin":39495,"position":2},"title":"Your Origin Story: A Reflection on Easter Discipline","author":"Trenton Henrichson","date":"May 1, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"After much anticipation and preparation the season of rebirth is upon us. Christ has risen, Alleluia! So, now what? 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