The Book of Eli

 Scenes from The Book of Eli

How Can You Mend a Broken Heart - Al Green's version (1972)

I can think of younger days when living for my life
Was everything a man could want to do
I could never see tomorrow, but I was never told about the sorrow

And how can you mend a broken heart?
How can you stop the rain from falling down?
How can you stop the sun from shining?
What makes the world go round?
How can you mend a this broken man?
How can a loser ever win?
Please help me mend my broken heart and let me live again

I can still feel the breeze that rustles through the trees
And misty memories of days gone by
We could never see tomorrow, no one said a word about the sorrow

And how can you mend a broken heart?
How can you stop the rain from falling down?
How can you stop the sun from shining?
What makes the world go round?
How can you mend this broken man?
How can a loser ever win?
Please help me mend my broken heart and let me live again

We had no idea what was precious

Solara: "Do you remember what it was like? I mean, in the world before?

Eli: "People had more than they needed. We had no idea what was precious and what wasn't. We threw away things people kill each other for now."

Walk by faith

It's a flower of light in a field of darkness, and it's given me the strength to carry on.

Solara: "Didn't think anything could make you give up that book."

Eli: "You know, for years I've been carrying and reading it every day. I got so caught up with keeping it safe I forgot to live by what I learned from it."

Solara: "Yeah? What's that?"

Eli: "Just to...Do for others more than you do for yourself. It's what I got from it anyway."

From Magnificat - Aug 7, 2022

Putting our faith in God can seem like walking blindly into the dark simply because God has asked us to—with no assurance that we have heard correctly or that God is there to catch us if we fall. 

Yet that is what Eli did. Let us pray for the gift of that same unshakable faith.

Ending prayer

Dear Lord, thank you for giving the strength and conviction to complete the task you entrusted to me.

Thanks you for guiding me straight and true through the many obstacles in my path.

And for keeping me resolute when all around me seemed lost. Thank you for your protection and many signs along the way. Thank you for any good I may have done. I am so sorry about the bad. Thank you for the friend I made. Please watch over her as you watched over me. Thank you for finally allowing me to rest. I am so very tired but I go now to my rest and peace. Knowing that I have done right with my time on this earth. I fought the good fight, I finished the race, I kept the faith (2 Timothy 4:7-8)

An Ultimate Tribute

... a stairway to heaven

One sign of a classic song is its power to drive us to meaning and Stairway to Heaven is just such a song. 

The True Meaning of Led Zeppelin's Stairway to Heaven

"Here it is, therefore; our stairway to heaven: our goal in life, according to Led Zeppelin, must be to discover the power of the community, the need to live together, in harmony with our souls and with nature. Only in this way can we we really improve ourselves and others, escaping the real evil of society, framed in its materialism, selfishness and disinterest towards others (“When all are one and one is all / To be a rock and not to roll”).

Stairway to Heaven, in conclusion, is everything but a perverse ode to evil and darkness. In fact, it’s quite the opposite, a splendid message of solidarity, brotherhood and equality. Together, we can really change the world around us. To be a rock and not to roll. Maybe it’s just an illusion. Perhaps we will never be able to really get together and do something concrete to make our lives better. But the message is there, and that’s what Led Zeppelin wanted from us."

 .Stairway to Heaven

There's a lady who's sure all that glitters is gold
And she's buying a stairway to heaven
When she gets there she knows, if the stores are all closed
With a word she can get what she came for
Ooh, ooh, and she's buying a stairway to heaven

There's a sign on the wall, but she wants to be sure
'Cause you know sometimes words have two meanings
In a tree by the brook, there's a songbird who sings
Sometimes all of our thoughts are misgiven
You know

There's a feeling I get when I look to the west
And my spirit is crying for leaving
In my thoughts I have seen rings of smoke through the trees
And the voices of those who stand looking
That's you

And it's whispered that soon, if we all call the tune
Then the piper will lead us to reason
And a new day will dawn for those who stand long
And the forests will echo with laughter
Remember laughter?

Oh yeah, yeah, yeah...

And it makes me wonder
If there's a bustle in your hedgerow, don't be alarmed now
It's just a spring clean for the May queen
Yes, there are two paths you can go by, but in the long run
There's still time to change the road you're on

Your head is humming and it won't go, in case you don't know
The piper's calling you to join him
Dear lady, can you hear the wind blow, and did you know
Your stairway lies on the whispering wind?

And as we wind on down the road
Our shadows taller than our soul
There walks a lady we all know
Who shines white light and wants to show
How everything still turns to gold

And if you listen very hard
The tune will come to you at last
When all is one and one is all, that's what it is
To be a rock and not to roll, oh yeah

And she's buying a stairway to heaven

Songwriters: Robert Plant / James Patrick Page