It's a Wonderful Life

It's that time of year. The classic Christmas movie, Frank Capra's It's a Wonderful Life, has so much to offer the whole family. Interestingly, the movie did not do well when it first premiered in 1946, but over the years it has endured and endeared many to the timelessness of the themes of family and sacrifice. To watch George Bailey sacrifice his dreams and remain in Bedford Falls, raising a family will bring tears to your eyes. Frank Capra brilliantly portrays small town life and the scraping by of an existence, but the true nature of what transpires overcomes the dull, dreary small town life.

For it is the belief, the very Catholic belief, that each and every life has meaning and that you are created for a purpose. It took George Bailey a financial crisis in his Savings and Loan to find that the answer to all his dreams was not building skyscrapers and bridges, living in the fancy cities. No, the answer to his dreams was always right beside him, Mary Hatch Bailey, and their four adorable children.

Imagine if you had never been born. You may not even be aware of all the good you have done just by your existence, and what you may think are inconsequential actions. Now think how different this world would be if fifty million babies since 1973 were born. It boggles the mind, doesn't it?