[Jesus said:] “As you go, make this proclamation: ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, drive out demons. Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give.”

In the movie “The Bourne Legacy,” after the CIA directors had discovered that the organization was at severe risk because of Jason Bourne’s testimony, they turned to violence. In their minds, the only way to save the organization was to eliminate both the operatives and the personnel involved in a specific program called Operation Outcome. Finally realizing what was happening, Agent Aaron Cross and Research Scientist Dr. Marta Shearing could only run from the madness. As they worked together to discover what had to be done to protect their own lives, they began to see and understand their own personalities and what they truly believed in. At first only companions to each other, they soon developed a true friendship, a friendship that would show in the way they gave completely to each other.

When companions share difficult times, times in which both must suffer in one way or another, something happens to the companionship. It transforms it, and leads it to something deeper. Deep friendship often results, friendship that will always be shared, even if the companions have to part company.

What makes a friendship? There are no doubt many answers to the question because there are many good feelings that friends experience with one another. But if one had to narrow down one characteristic that would be present in every friendship relationship, it would probably be that the friends give to each other as completely as possible. Even if the relationship ceases for some reason, a friendship formed by such complete giving will always last.

One can easily understand the concept of complete giving when it is portrayed in the extreme circumstances of movies like “The Bourne Legacy,” but the friendships that we have are much more ordinary. If we want to work at making our friendships what they should be, we must study whether we are giving completely to our friends in the circumstances of our lives.

And in the end, it comes down to how much we are giving to our friends. In the Gospels, Jesus and the Apostles show examples of continual giving to the people of their world–curing, raising from the dead, cleansing leprosy, driving out demons–all examples of complete giving. If there is to be friendship, we begin with being the friend that we should be by giving to our friends no matter what the circumstances.

We form friendships by complete giving to one another, and it begins with us. As Jesus put it, “Without cost you have received, without cost you are to give.”

Good and gracious God, your Son gave us examples of complete giving in his life, teaching his Apostles to do the same. Give us the grace to understand what giving means so that we can understand what it means to be a friend to others. Be with us, we pray.

True friendship includes giving to each other no matter what the circumstances.

1. What scene during this session of the movie is most striking? Why?
2. What is your understanding of the Kingdom that Jesus proclaimed. See Catechism of the Catholic Church, second edition, numbers 2816-2821.
3. The meditation uses this passage of Scripture to remind us of the importance of giving in a friendship. What are the characteristics of “giving”?
4. The meditation says that the fundamental part of a friendship involves giving to one another. What are some other characteristics of friendship?
5. One of the common ways of describing friendships in high school and college is with the words “Friends forever.” In your opinion, do people who have early friendships remain friends forever? Yes or no and why?
6. What is an example of complete giving between friends in high school and college?
7. Analysis: Do you think that most Christians follow Jesus’ directive to give without counting the cost? Yes or no and why?
8. Analysis: As Cross and Shearing travel to Manila, a whole host of people from the CIA are looking for them. It shows how deep the corruption is. In your mind, could there be such deep corruption in any government organization? Yes or no and why?
9. Analysis: Larx-03, a man programmed to be a lethal and emotionless killer. Given our technology, do you think that there are human beings like him in our world today? Yes or no and why?
10. Analysis: are there “emotionless” people in our world? Yes or no and why?
11. Analysis: are there people in our world who have no conscience? Yes or no and why?
12. Scene analysis: Cross thinks back to his recruitment by Byer. He freely chooses to be in Operation Outcome. Why would someone want to join the Operation?
13. Scene analysis: Cross wants Shearing to leave in order to save herself, but Shearing refuses. It is part of the “complete giving” that the meditation focuses on. In general, in our world between friends, are people willing to die for one another? Yes or no and why?
14. Dialogue analysis: Cross writes on the mirror: “No more.” Why did he do that?
15. Scene analysis: The chase through Manila. What is most striking about the scene?
16. Dialogue analysis: Shearing says that she was hoping that they were lost. Evidently she wanted to pursue their friendship. What is your guess about what could become of them?
17. What does the movie “The Bourne Legacy” teach young people?