There was movie some years ago that most of you have probably seen called Toy Story. It had a deep impact on me, for it came out at a critical moment in my life.
It was my 33rd year of life and the 6th year of my priesthood. As I have related elsewhere, I had suffered a nervous breakdown that required a week in the hospital and a month off to recuperate. What drove me to that point was being asked to take an assignment I really wasn’t ready for. I was asked to pastor a parish that was in serious financial trouble. The stress nearly finished me.
Invincible? I was a young priest at the time, still emerging from my “invincible” stage when I thought I could do anything. I guess it’s pretty common for men in their twenties to think they can handle anything. During those years, opinions are strong, dreams are still vivid, and hard experience has not always taught its tough lessons yet.
So the young priest had said “yes” to the assignment, even though I had reservations. Soon enough, the panic attacks came, followed by waves of depression, and days when I could barely come out of my room. A week in the hospital for evaluation, a month off to recuperate, and years of good spiritual direction, psychotherapy, and the Sacraments have been God’s way of restoring me to health.
Somewhere in the early stages of all this, I saw the movie Toy Story. And right away, I knew I was Buzz Lightyear. Buzz begins the movie as a brash, would-be hero and savior of the planet. Buzz Lightyear’s tagline is, “To infinity … and beyond!” The only problem is that he seems to have no idea that he is just a toy. He actually thinks he has come from a distant planet to save Earth. He often radios to the mother ship and, hearing nothing, concludes she must be just out of range.
At a critical point in the movie, it begins to dawn on Buzz that he is just a toy and may not be able to save the day. He struggles with this realization and resists it. He tries to leap to the rescue, not knowing he can’t actually fly, and falls from the second floor breaking off his arm (see the second video below). Suddenly, Buzz realizes he’s just a toy, that all his boasting was based on an illusion. He then sinks into a major depression, his sense of himself destroyed.
But God wasn’t done with Buzz Lightyear. In the end, Buzz does save the day, by simply being what he was made to be: a toy. One of the kids in the neighborhood takes him up and attaches a rocket to him. In the end that enables Buzz to fly and save the day at a critical moment. And though the boy meant the rocket to cause harm, God meant it for good. The humiliation Buzz suffered enabled him to conquer his pride and made him able to save the day.
The lesson of the movie is a critical one and certainly the lesson I learned in my own mid-life crisis. And the lesson is that our greatness does not come from our own self-inflated notions, but from God. And God does not need us to pretend to be something we are not. What He needs is for us to be exactly what He made us to be. And it is often in our weakness that He is able to do His greatest work.
Similarly, I have come to realize that I am but a man. I have certain gifts and lack others. Certain doors are open to me and others are not. But when I accept that and come to depend on God to fashion and use me according to His will, then great things are possible. If we go on living in sinful illusion and grandeur, we miss our true calling and place in God’s kingdom. Ultimately, each of us must come to discover the man or woman that God created us to be. That is our true greatness. It is often in our weaknesses and humiliations that we learn this best.
All this from a cartoon.
Here is the clip from Toy Story where Buzz discovers he is just a toy:
And here is the scene where Buzz saves the day, reuniting Woody and himself with Andy, the young boy who loves them. But his ability to do this was made possible because another child had strapped a rocket to him. That child had misused him. But in accepting this humiliation, Buzz found his greatness and saved the day. He did so not by his false pride, but by the very thing that humiliated him. In his weakness and by accepting that he was powerless (for toys do not have power of their own) he became strong and received his ability to go sailing once more.
Very touching, Monsignor! The more humility I gain, the better I am able to help others. Trying to be a glamorous beauty queen never brought me (or those around me) any happiness. 🙂
Wonderful post. I’ve been reading you for a while, but did not know of your nervous breakdown, which surprised me a bit because you seem so solid and stable. But on the other hand, it did not surprise me because I too suffered from an anxiety disorder and panic attacks (also at the age of 33) and know that it is from that experience that I became a much stronger person and better disciple. I was a Class-A worrier, and one of the things I had to learn was that I was not God and not in control of the universe–a bit of a Buzz Lightyear complex, I guess.
Thanks for detailing your struggle. So many people suffer from and anxiety and depression and your story offers those dealing with that now a ray of hope.
Thanks so much for posting this. I did not know that your nervous breakdown happened as a result of the breaking point you just mentioned. I remember you telling me that you had also gone through a lot of trauma at that time, and you’ve also posted on here.
I’m very Type A and it’s taken me a long time, due to my own life events, to get to a point where I’m “ok” with things. I’ve learned that I can’t control everything but I can certainly do my best and give everyone my very best.
I have days where I’m not “ok” and I’m fine with that. I can’t be perfect all of the time. Each day is a new learning experience, though.
Thanks for detailing your struggles – it means a lot and lets us know that we are not alone. It’s scary to share a very personal story, but in doing so you have helped so many others.
Msgr., your God given talent to tackle some thought provoking and sometimes contraversial topics very candidly in this blog enables those of us who read it and don’t necessarily have a spiritual director a chance to gain insight and guidance in the daily happenings of our earthly life connected to our spiritual journey in Christ. So I, for one, thank God for using you and speaking through you; and to you for serving Him in this way. You really give me a lot to think about, ponder and relate to and sometimes even give me a good laugh!
82 degrees? I’ll take it! Enjoy it!!
While you were being Father Lightyear I was being Mr. Potatohead. I wasn’t trying to be in control of the situations. I was just trying to keep it together raising a family. The realizations were the same. It was a good movie and story. I admit I did get a little watery eyed but I didn’t let the family in on that.
Thanks Monsignor. An important life lesson for all of us.
Very nice reflection. I can’t believe that movie is 20 years old this year.
Thank you for this post, Monsignor! What a wonderful way of looking at Buzz Lightyear! I’ve enjoyed all the Toy Story movies and you have this marvelous ability to use these modern tales as vehicles for evangelization! I try to read your blog posts daily and have gained so much from them. This one, especially, struck a chord with me. I think I need to go back and examine my own life and see it in the light of this parable. Thanks, too for being open about your struggles.
I missed that movie. I recommend the 1944 film Phantom Lady.
Buzz Lightyear is, curiously, the closest character I’ve ever found to don Quixote.
Here is my comment from another site. I was touched by your sharing and thought I’d make sure you heard my response, so here it is again. ginnyfree says:
February 13, 2015 at 13:17
Oh God bless you for your transparency. You poor man. Hurrah for sharing your life with us on the True Cross. I am glad you got the rest you needed and hope you make retreats a regular part of your Priestly life. There is a wonderful Benedictine Monastery were you can go to take the wrinkles out and it is only for men, Vultus Christi. http://vultuschristi.org/index.php/retreats/ Might help to visit them and show them where it hurts too. God bless. Ginnyfree.