One of my favorite movies is Groundhog Day starring Bill Murray as a self-centered, narcissistic, pompous, weatherman from Pittsburgh who travels to Punxsutawney, PA to report on the National Groundhog Festival which occurs, you guessed it, on Feb. 2 each year. In the film, Bill Murray must relive the date, Feb. 2, Groundhog’s Day, continually until he makes the day (and all days) what it’s supposed to ultimately be, a gift to be celebrated and cherished.
Bill Murray finds himself falling for all the usual traps that can come to a person who knows the outcome and structure of a day lived over and again: indulgence, sex, money, etc. When these eventually fail to fulfill him (which they always fail to do), he moves into a state of total despair and spends each day giving up.
The dramatic turn comes when Murray begins to sanctify the time he is given each day by living life to its ultimate fullness. He changes and begins to see how much good can come from one person who dedicates themselves to living each day for others and not selfish ambitions.
Not sure if the director of Groundhog Day is a Catholic, but the message of the film is ripe with imagery of what happens when we live holy, dedicated lives. Check it out!
