Twilight - The Cullens

I’m not gonna lie I am a huge Twilight fan and I definitely don’t hide this fact. Who doesn’t love a good teenage love story with a human girl stuck between a vampire and a werewolf? Not only does the Twilight saga give us an awesome teenage love story, but it is full of unbelievably rich Catholic imagery! Let’s start with how the very first Twilight movie shows a very powerful, yet oftentimes forgotten, principle in the Catholic Church, the idea of mortification.

When watching the first Twilight movie, there is absolutely no question as to who the good vampires are and who the bad ones are. Without a doubt the Cullens are the good guys, while James and Victoria are the evil ones. Now we need to ask ourselves: what’s the difference between the two groups of vampires? As vampires, both are soulless monsters perfectly designed to kill. However, there is one major difference between the two groups that makes all the difference in the Twilight movies. Coincidentally the very same thing could make all the difference in our relationship with God. What is this magical element you may ask?

The major difference is that the bad vampires indulge in human blood whereas the Cullens only eat animal blood. While the Cullens acknowledge that they can never be fully satisfied by animal blood alone, they make this sacrifice because they don’t want to be monsters like the other vampires.

In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus tells us “If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” (Luke 9:23). The Cullens deny themselves the human blood which they crave so much in order to be better and stronger people, in the same way if we Christians would practice the virtue of mortification, denying ourselves some of life’s pleasures that we are constantly craving, we would also become better people, as we would grow closer to Christ. Of course depriving ourselves from some of the pleasurable activities we enjoy so much will leave a hole in ourselves, we will feel unsatisfied in a way, but Christ himself will come down and fill that hole. In this way through fasting we can make room in our heart for Christ to enter and fill us with his love. This of course is much easier said than done, we see how Edward Cullen longs for Bella’s blood throughout the Twilight movie, but Edward is a better person for practicing the virtue of mortification. With God’s help, we too can practice this very powerful virtue.

Some simple ways to put this into practice in our daily lives: don’t reach for that second helping of food or dessert after dinner, give up some time normally spent in front of the computer or television, don’t complain after someone mistreats you in some way, offer to help your parents with some more of the chores around the house. These are clearly not easy things to do, as they all involve denying ourselves, but through this fasting we can each do our part to bringing the love of God to all we meet.

Before you try to deny yourself and practice the virtue of mortification, offer up a prayer like this: “Lord Jesus you know I really desire _____, help me to deny myself and offer up this sacrifice to you. Help me to persevere so that I may offer it up joyfully to you. Allow it to help me to grow closer to you. Amen”