Review of Holy Mystery
Niamh Brennan
(Niamh Brennan, from Tramore County Waterford, has recently completed her Masters
in Culture and Spirituality and works as a writer and facilitator in this area.)
Holy Mystery tells the story of the time-developmental Universe and its unfolding
tale of life. It is a story of wonder and awe but primarily of celebration – a celebration of
the Universe itself and the gift of existence. It is also a story of God, the God whom we
have come to know through science, the God who has enabled the Universe to unfold and
who guides it through its many manifestations, the God who is ultimately, Holy Mystery.
It uses the insights gained from science about how the Universe developed and marries
these with spirituality, thus presenting a story of the Universe that is awesome (in the
truest sense of the word), celebratory and sacred.
Holy Mystery is performed by children and told from a child’s perspective and a
child’s sense of wonder. It is enhanced and illuminated by song and music and dance as
well as by beautiful images. The images used of Earth and of life are a visual treat which
capture the grandeur and majesty of the planet and evoke a sense of awe and gratitude in
the viewer while the music stirs the listener in those places beyond words and invites
them into the mystery that is at the core of this creation. This use of the arts lifts the story
from the purely scientific and takes it from the head into the heart and the senses. This is
hugely effective because the power of this Universe Story lies in not just ‘knowing it’ but
‘feeling it’, feeling part of the 14 billion year journey, feeling connected, feeling
responsible.
Throughout the Dvd, the viewer is taken on a reflective journey through time and
shown how all things have come from the same beginning, from that first light or sound
14 billion years ago and evolving into the array of life we witness today. When the more
technical parts of the story are told, they manage to be explained in a way that is
comprehensible to children and to people who do not speak the language of science.
Perhaps the greatest achievement of Holy Mystery, however, is that it does not
gloss over the destruction wrought by humanity in the short time we have been on the
Earth but highlights this reality in a way that is gentle and reflective and causes viewers,
me at least, to ask the big questions of how could we have done this to our home and how
should we be living now? It leaves us explicitly with the challenge to see humanity and to
be human in a new way, by virtue of our connection with all of creation. To help with the
question posed by the Dvd, there is an accompanying resource booklet for group
discussion and sharing which allows the viewers to go deeper into the meaning of what
they have just seen, to reflect on it and let the story seep into them. The booklet also
contains a ritual which encourages people, if moved to do so, to make a commitment to
how they feel they should be living now in light of what they have just learned and this in
my view, is what underpins the entire Dvd, it is a call to action, a call to right relationship
between the entire Earth community as well as the Earth itself.
Holy Mystery tells a beautiful story in a simple way. It is based on scientific
insight and presents a world that is full of meaning and at the same time full of mystery.
This story has the capacity to change how we think about ourselves and our place in the
world, to change how we treat others and this beautiful and rare planet we live on. It is
the power of Holy Mystery that this Universe story is told in a gentle and graceful way,
told by children for children, where words won’t suffice, song and music does, where
song won’t suffice, dance does. While providing us with our history it is also deeply
probing and begs us to ask the big questions. It is a must-see for any person – child or
adult – who struggles with the question of where we come from and what are we here for,
who struggles to find meaning in the world, it is a must-see also for any person who is
trying to relate God to science. The Universe Story is a new way of understanding the
world and in Holy Mystery it is presented in a way that is accessible, reverent, thoughtprovoking and uplifting.