Harry Potter’s magic at work in the Church

by Ronan

With the release of this year’s blockbuster film, ‘Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix’, does the popularity of such a story have anything to say to us about the spiritual health of our country’s youth?

In recent years the list of top children’s films has included such titles as the ‘Harry Potter’ films and ‘The Chronicles of Narnia’. What significance, if any, does this hold for the survival of faith communities in this part of the World? Stories about magic and witchcraft twinned with a ‘good’’s struggle against the forces of evil have topped the charts. This in the supposed spiritual vacuum into which many of today’s children are born. The ‘Chronicles of Narnia’ is well documented as a childrens tale intended to mimic the story of the resurrection. Teaching children the lessons learned in the Bible through such the trials and tribulations of a small girl who wanders into a magical land….this has been extremely successful.

Does the popularity of such films, not only amongst children but also with older viewers, point towards a sense of the spirit which lies dormant in much of our population? Does this suggest a spiritual yearning amongst that generation from the earliest age? Most importantly, it has been stated that as everything in history that lasts seems to move in cycles, does this trend of interest suggest that this coming generation is the one to return to the Church?

The interest in a reality beyond the physical seems to be present in this forthcoming generation but without information to spur such interest on in coming years there can be no reawakening. Just as in the time of the last international cycle of faith, the reformation, a response to the calls of the faithful is needed. I’m not calling for a response because I can see that the Church is doing all it can…but I wait in anticipation for the time to come when those to hear will hear.

If anyone can say that they don’t see a connection do but I see one! A sermon is a sermon after all!