November 30, 2013

DAUGHTERS OF ST. PAUL CHRISTMAS CONCERTS 2013

Celebrate Christmas
Daughters of St Paul
2013 Christmas Concert

Ramsey, New Jersey
Tuesday, December 3 at 7:30pm
St. Paul Catholic Church
200 Wyckoff Ave.
Ticket information: Tel. 201-327-0976 | Web: stpaulrcchurch.org

Piscataway, New Jersey
Wednesday, December 4 at 7:00 pm
Our Lady of Fatima Parish
499 New Market Road
Ticket price: $20 / $10 children under 14
Tel. 732-968-5555

Staten Island, New York
Thursday, December 5 at 6:00 pm
Benefit for the Daughters of St. Paul
Staten Island Hilton Garden Inn
1100 South Avenue @ Lois Lane
Ticket price: $125
For more information: 718-477-2100 x 226
www.daughtersofstpaul.com/statenislandchristmas

Cleveland, Ohio
Friday, December 6 at 7:00 pm
Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist
1007 Superior Avenue
For more information: 216-696-6525 x 5510 | Email:heislman@dioceseofcleveland.org

Alexandria, Virginia
Monday, December 9 at 7:00 pm
Good Shepherd Catholic Church
8710 Mount Vernon Highway
Tel. 703-780-4055  www.gs-cc.org  Email: events@gs-cc.org

Framingham, MA
Thursday, December 12 at 7:00pm
St. Tarcisius Church
562 Waverly St.
Tickets: $5
Tel. English: 508-875-8623 | Portuguese: 508-875-6347 | sttarcisiuspar@gmail.com

Marshfield, MA
Friday, December 13 at 7:00 pm
St. Ann by the Sea Parish
591 Ocean Street
Tickets: $10
Tel. 781-834-4953

Boston, Jamaica Plain, MA
Now 3 performances
Saturday, December 14 at 7:00pm
Sunday, December 15 at 3:00pm AND 7:30pm
Daughters of St. Paul Chapel
50 Saint Paul’s Avenue
Tel. 617-522-8911


For more information, visit our Facebook page: facebook.com/DSPchoir



DVDS: "TO SAVE A LIFE" (2009)




See this film! See this film! See this film!

Suicide / abortion / hypocrisy / bullying / Theology of the Body / meaning of life / problem of suffering

NO trite Christian blather. Lots of realistic situations.

What "choice" do men have when it comes to abortion?

This is going in my "Theology of the Body Films for Men" list.

A boy grows up and becomes a man by the end of  high school. What a concept.


November 22, 2013

MOVIES: "HUNGER GAMES: CATCHING FIRE"



 “Hunger Games: Catching Fire”—the film series adapted from the young adult books--has changed directors! (New director: Francis Lawrence, “I Am Legend.”) The difference? A little more slick and polished rather than gritty, handheld. A little more lush, shiny “Harry Potter” and less “Where the Wild Things Are.”

“Hunger Games” is set in a world where young people are like gladiators, hunting each other down for TV entertainment and “distraction”* from their government-run lives of deprivation. (You really need to see the first movie first, 'cause this movie don't explain nothing to ya.)

Jennifer Lawrence (as Katniss, the main character) carries the story through like a pro, showing us why her Hollywood star just keeps on rising. This is a quality, pull-out-all-the-stops, blockbuster production. It’s mostly non-graphically violent, loud, but also very beautiful. “Catching Fire” is well stocked with seasoned and believable actors: Donald Sutherland, Jena Malone, Stanley Tucci, Elizabeth Banks and always-good-for-laughs Woody Harrelson. 

Katniss continues to be her noble self, doing her best to protect others and save lives (starting with her family and friends) in a brutal and impossible Catch-22 situation. But the Districts are starting to rise up—with Katniss as their icon, beacon and sign of hope—something she doesn’t want but can’t avoid. She feels partially responsible for every further death that occurs, but the revolution is bigger than Katniss.

Katniss’ strong romantic feelings for both Gale (Liam Hemsworth) and Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) continue. Who will it be?

The movie doesn’t have a strong beginning at all (visually, action-wise or dialogue-wise), which is a bit of letdown.  It’s even stiff and dry, until the conversation between Katniss and President Snow raises the stakes. But once it quickly gets into the groove, it takes off with a heart-pounding “turn” every  few minutes, all the way to the last frame, which, of course, is not the end of the story.

“Catching Fire” is long: 146 minutes, but extremely watchable and never tiresome. There seems to be an underlying theme of goodness and friendship: “Why can’t we all just get along?” But since we can’t, we must protect our own and forge allegiances, and then be fiercely loyal. It’s never just about saving one’s self, but often self-sacrificing to save others.

Why "Hunger Games" Is a Problem

The one problem with the series—and it’s a big one—is the underlying dystopian setting of young people killing young people (“Catching Fire” includes older tributes, also). There’s even a tribute who filed her teeth so she can kill by biting people’s throats. What are we telling/showing youth and why? That life is war? That this is a future we’re heading to? That we must be vigilant about authority, oppressors, totalitarianism? How to keep one’s humanity in the direst and trickiest of situations? Or is it just a juicy, dark story?

As with most Hollywood films, there is no God (or religion) in “Catching Fire.” Only people acting like God (the State). Of course, human beings are the image of God, so from that standpoint, every movie is filled with God.

Good is good and evil is evil in “Catching Fire.” The good guys are really good and the bad guys are really bad. There is a moral clarity here. But there is not much backstory for any of the characters to tell us why they are the way they are. People seem born good or bad and locked into that categorization. There have been no real transformations or conversions throughout these first two films.

Human dignity (not just human freedom) is what Katniss and her friends seem to be fighting for, so there is a comprehensiveness and a human richness to the “good guys” and their ideals that is lacking on the side of the grotesque, plastic, vain, shallow, ruthless rulers and denizens of the “Capitol.”

As I complained about the first installation of “Hunger Games,” Katniss is almost too perfect. Her flaws are negligible, and she always does the highest moral, heroic thing with great courage. (My friends who have read the books assure me that the books reveal more of her inner dilemmas and shortcomings.) Good storytelling must zero in on the main character’s weaknesses as well as strengths to be realistic.

Despite its shortcomings, “Hunger Games” is a very entertaining, life-is-worth-living-affirming tale.

Age appropriateness? Every child is different, but any 10-year-old used to loud noises and a fair amount of violence and “peril” in their media should be fine.
________________
*So, I thought to myself, I thought: "Here we are in a temple of entertainment (and trust me, the Cineplex at Silvercity, Yorkdale Mall, Toronto, is a TEMPLE) being entertained by a story about people who are being manipulated by, um, entertainment."
http://noam-chomsky.tumblr.com/post/13867896307/noam-chomsky-10-strategies-of-manipulation-by-the  

 OTHER STUFF:

--Wanna see this movie review in chill Web 3.0 rather than lame 1.0 graphics? http://lifeteen.com/catholic-movie-review/hunger-games-catching-fire/

--We missed you, Jena! You, too, Amanda Plummer (Christopher Plummer's daughter)!

--The wedding dress.

--Oh joy. "Hunger Games Theme Parks" http://variety.com/2013/film/news/hunger-games-theme-parks-could-be-coming-1200808710/?utm_source=sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=breakingnewsalert#

--Suzanne Collins (author of "The Hunger Games") dishes on her favorite young adult lit growing up (OMGosh, more than half were MY favs!) http://www.commonsensemedia.org/blog/our-friends-favorites-suzanne-collins-shares-the-books-she-loved-as-a-teen

--There just never was a more "us and them" movie. The game-maker, Plutarch Heavensbee (Philip Seymour Hoffman) even uses this very language.

--Lots of obvious overtones of decadent, ancient Rome this time, right down to the chariots. Can you say "bread and circus"?

--Culture of surveillance.

--I love how Katniss, even when totally gussied up, still looks, talks and acts like a tough backwoods gal.

--Most adorbs little baby and toddler with Mom and Dad in front of me in cinema. Toddler very well behaved, baby having a ball screaming and interacting with the ginormo screen. Was I bothered? Nope. The KIDS is what it's all about. We have forgotten this. It's all about THEM.

--Effie (Elizabeth Banks) has a soul. She is a fragile, pathetic, pitiful creature--that's why Katniss and Co. don't hate her. I wouldn't be surprised if she joins the other side....

--Excellent balance of SILENCE in story telling and dialogue.

--Dystopian young adult literature is "so over"? Really? Maybe 'cuz NOW 55% of readers are over 18. (No longer cool when Mom is reading it. Ha ha.) Dystopian literature is so over. What will be the next big genre in young adult fiction?

--Hunger Games author, Suzanne Collins, gives a rare interview to TIME magazine, November 2013. Her father was a veteran and believed children should be taught about the realities of war. Can't read whole interview? You should probably subscribe to TIME! :) http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2157467,00.html






November 18, 2013

BEST CATHOLIC NEWS SOURCES (updated Jan. 2017)




Why keep up with "Catholic news" from (trusted, authentic) Catholic sources? Why also get "secular" news from a (trusted, authentic) Catholic perspective? (If you're reading a Catholic blog, I'm probably LITERALLY preaching to the choir, but here goes.)

1. There's a lot going on in the Church and in the world today, good and bad. We just can't afford not to know. Ignorance is not bliss, it's blindness. It's not knowing where we're going or why. Lack of knowledge leaves us open to be easily manipulated, misled, disillusioned.

2. There's a lot going on in the intersection of the Church and the world today, good and bad.

3. If we don't keep up, we'll drift from our Faith and suddenly be surprised by developments and not comprehend them. Because we weren't keeping up. If we love something, we want to know it always better and keep pace with it. If we love Jesus' Church, we'll do the same.

4. We need knowledge first and then wisdom to understand the times we're living in and the challenges and opportunities for the Faith.

"The sons of Issachar, who were men that had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do...." 1 Chronicles 12:32

5. Jesus admonished those who couldn't "read the signs of the times."

What are some top sources for Catholic news? Here are my picks in order of my preference. (I checked with two mainstream Catholic news radio personalities, a Catholic newspaper editor and young adult Catholic journalist to get their input as well.)

These are not just websites, but can be followed/subscribed to on both Twitter and Facebook (you can usually just go to the site and sign up from there, as well as follow by email: they'll send updates into your email inbox).

www.Twitter.com is my #1 source of breaking Catholic news. Wanna get started on Twitter? It's pathetically simple to sign up. Then just "follow" me: @SrHelenaBurns and click on "Tweets" and then "Lists" at the top of my Twitter page. I only have one list: "news-secular-and-Catholic." Click on it and voila! You are instantly following 150 top Catholic (and secular news sites), as well as some very informed individual Catholics (including bloggers) who will keep YOU informed. I don't agree with ALL the sources/folks on that list, just so you know. I personally read "everything."

However, the following sources ARE vetted, and I recommend 'em:

www.WordOnFire.org   Bishop Robert Barron instantly comments on current issues with solid Catholic guidance via short YouTubes (see also his YouTube channel). Fr. Barron's YouTubes are easily shareable and very popular among young adults. It seems even young atheists will watch his stuff because "at least this guy makes sense." Or as Brandon Vogt says: "Fr. Barron is on a mission to show that Catholicism is smart, and has one of the world's most brilliant intellectual traditions."

www.CatholicWorldReport.com (from Ignatius Press--thoughtful in-depth articles about stuff I promise you you didn't know and need to. They JUST discontinued their fine, fine print magazine which was my all-time favorite Catholic periodical.)  (can subscribe via email) See also: www.IgnatiusInsight.com

www.RelevantRadio.com  (Listen online!) Hi-quality 24hr Catholic radio station mostly in Chicago & Midwest. Get their app for iPhone & Android: www.relevantradio.com/app. Constant secular and Catholic news updates as well as in-depth instruction, talk shows and news analysis from Emmy-winning journalist, Sheila Liaugminas (show: "A Closer Look"). Shows are also instantly archived and easy to find on their website.

www.ThePopeApp.com is the most pathetically simple way to keep with all things papal and Vatican. 

CATHOLIC RADIO!
Support Catholic radio in your area (and online)! Radio apps for mobile technology means you can take it wherever you go, too.


TEXT ALERTS!
From U.S. Bishops regarding religious liberty (free): text "FREEDOM" to 377377 (for Spanish: "LIBERTAD")

OTHER WAYS TO KEEP UP WITH THEOLOGY OF THE BODY:
--www.TOBinstitute.org
(get on their e-newsletter list) AND simply put "Theology of the Body" in Google alerts!

www.EWTN.com Global Catholic TV and radio network. Multimedia, tons of resources, streaming online. Also in Spanish. (Full disclosure: I'm on their Sonrise Morning Show once a month--radio.)

www.NCRegister.com  (Owned by EWTN) National Catholic Register (can subscribe via email) print edition also available. Simply the finest, most balanced, faithful-yet-super-contemporary take on Church and world news. Bravo.

www.Zenit.org (daily headlines from Vatican--unofficial, but quick & easy way to get Vatican news)

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/BadCatholic THE voice of faithful millennial Catholics. But are you hip enough to read it?

www.MarysAggies.blogspot.com The Catholic news blog of Texas A & M's amazing Catholic campus ministry, St. Mary's (a model for the nation). Young adult friendly.

www.News.VA/en  The new, revamped Vatican media site!!! Includes the official Vatican Newspaper (L'Osservatore Romano), Vatican Information Service, Fides New Agency, Vatican Radio, etc.

Blessed James Alberione reading his favorite newspaper:
L'Osservatore Romano (with Bro. Silvio de Blasio, SSP)
Below is L'Osservatore Romano (the official Vatican Newspaper, I believe it's weekly in English). Print edition is well worth the subscription price. It was printed in English in the USA (for USA and Canada) for a little while, but is now mailed directly from the Vatican. Full texts of Holy Father's talks and doings and other important stuff from the Vatican Offices.    



Email. subscriptions@ossrom.va 
www.CatholicNewWorld.com  This is Chicago's Archdiocesan newspaper. Subscribe to your own diocese's! You'll get international, national and local Catholic news. (Full disclosure: I was the movie reviewer for Catholic New World for 6 years.)

www.CatholicRegister.org (Canada) Voted BEST North American diocesan newspaper (weekly). From Archdiocese of Toronto, but goes all over Canada. Canadians are just so classy and literary and in-depth on the issues and such. Especially read Fr. Raymond J. de Souza column: it's incisive like a Ninja. Digital subscription available.

www.OriginsOnline.com  Weekly news from the U.S. Bishops (important statements from Bishops individually and as a whole). Pricey, but worth it. Print or online.

www.CatholicNews.com  This is the user-friendly "CNS" news service of the U.S. Bishops. This website compiles a lot of news resources, including movie reviews (which are short, dry and focus mostly on what is appropriate for children or family viewing, don't look for an appreciation of artistry). It includes links to top news stories from Origins and international  Church news. See at bottom of website: www.InterMirifica.net --int'l Catholic multimedia directory!

www.LifeSiteNews.com A lot of my trusted Catholic sources think this site is a little radical, sensational and inaccurate (I disagree), but boy does LifeSiteNews crank out pro-life news in a constant, exciting fashion! They are not mean-spirited or confrontational, and they REALLY know how to use new media and graphic arts. I often hear about important life issues news from them first.

www.MarsHillAudio.org This is a monthly NPR-style audio magazine (CD or mp3-download subscription, well worth the shekels, about $40 a year) that keeps you up on the latest books (often by Christians) examining our culture under many different aspects. Lots of interviews with authors and professors. MHA is not Catholic, but very Catholic friendly.

www.EnvoyMagazine.com Wicked fun, non-highbrow apologetics. Gorgeous graphic design. Patrick Madrid.

www.MercatorNet.com  Weird title, good info. Dedicated to any issue dealing with human dignity. In-depth and thoughtful digest.

www.LumenChristi.org  Like philosophy? Me, too!!! Watch world-class Catholic (and other) philosophers on video. This amazing Institute (set up by Cardinal George at the University of Chicago, his alma mater) is revitalizing Catholic philosophy. Kind of a think tank. If you live in Chicago you can go to these talks in person. FREE.

www.RelevantMagazine.com My hipster Catholic young adult friends swear by this Evangelical mag. Even the ones who never read. Please note the amazing layout/graphics.

www.BooksandCulture.com  Just like it says. It's a Christian review from www.IntervarsityPress.com Not high-brow, but definitely meant for ministry and often examining intersection of pop culture and faith. You can get their e-newsletter or print edition. Or both.

www.OSV.com (Our Sunday Visitor) Weekly online and print. Looking for a FUN, positive, family-oriented, EASY-READ-but-still-informative Catholic news source? Look no further. Best of its kind.

www.GetReligion.org  One of my consultants swears by this site. It's where religion journalists and editors go to vent. And analyze religious stories in the news.

www.CatholicCulture.org  (top stories) (I've never used it, by all 4 of my "consultants" do)

www.CatholicTV.com (out of Boston) 24 hr, streaming online.

www.NETTV.net  (out of Brooklyn) 24 hr, streaming online.

www.CatholicVote.org

www.CardinalNewmanSociety.org What's going on on "Catholic" college campuses....


Oh yes, and a last-but-not-least reason to keep up with Catholic news:
Papa B asked us to be "an engaged, articulate and well-informed Catholic laity"
specifically in the United States! He said this to a group of U.S. Bishops on their ad limina visit (Jan. 2012)
because of  how religious freedom is being threatened in this country. 


PUHLEEEEZE do not get your Church news from the New York Times. 
When it comes to religion (especially Catholicism) they are intellectually dishonest (misrepresenting, withholding information, pretending they don't grasp the issues) and hostile.
f

As a matter of fact, why trust secular news to:
1. report accurately (it's just all that draconic mumbo-jumbo that doesn't make sense anyway, right?)
2. care
3. comprehend
4. be honest (see #1.)
5. interpret what it all means for us?

AND our dear Papa Francis can be seriously misunderstood by the secular press. I have recently been embarrassed by my fellow Catholics whose ignorance of what Jesus and their Catholic Faith say, coupled with blind trust of secular media has caused them to react in all kinds of unCatholic ways to statements of the pope (and sometimes faulty translations of his words, too). 

Stop it, people! Time to wise up, keep up, and get your Best Catholic News Sources on!


End rant.


November 17, 2013

NOVENA OF BLESSED JAMES ALBERIONE: NOV. 17--25


Join us in the Novena of Blessed James Alberione, leading up to his feastday, November 26!
(He died November 26, 1971.)

Read his biography, "James Alberione--Marvel of Our Times" free online!


Want prayercards, 3rd class relics? Comment below with your snail mail.
God bless!

Join us in praying for the good health of:
Sr. Anne (migraines), Sr. Paul (migraines), Debbie S. (back injury), Angela (seizures)
Conrad (cancer from asbestos), Anthony (young father with debilitating mystery illness)
Allen (seriously injured in industrial accident)

Lord, glorify Blessed James Alberione in your Church.
Let him be for all of us a light, guide and support in the work of our sanctification
and in our apostolate. Open the way for evangelization through the media
so that the presence of Jesus Master, the Way, Truth and Life
may shine on the world through Mary, Mother and Queen of Apostles.
Grant me the grace I am praying for at this time.....

            Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be.


Pope John Paul II at Fr. Alberione's tomb






November 10, 2013

MOVIES: "MARY OF NAZARETH"



The newest film on the life of the Blessed Virgin Mary, “Mary of Nazareth” (www.MaryFilm.com), is coming from a good place--directed by acclaimed European film director Giacomo Campiotti (BAKHITA, DOCTOR ZHIVAGO--2002, ST. GIUSEPPE MOSCATI) and written by Francesco Arlanch (RESTLESS HEART—ST. AUGUSTINE, PIUS XII, POPE JOHN PAUL II). It’s another attempt to depict what it may have been like for the Mother of God and those around her to believe and live the unimaginable. As biblical films go, this is not a departure. It looks and feels like so many other Bible movies, which are, in a sense, their own genre. On this count, it feels comfortable and familiar.

There are many inspiring elements in this film, as well as many distracting and detracting elements—almost a 50:50 ratio. For enthusiastic believers (“the choir”) who are not concerned with demanding dramatic standards or rigorous historical accuracy and just want to see Our Lady (and Jesus) walking and talking through Gospel events, “Mary of Nazareth” will fill the bill. For the rest of us, I’m afraid we won’t be able to fully get behind this work, and I’m especially concerned what savvy young people who are used to today’s smart secular acting/dialogue might think of it. Can religious films that are lacking in certain modern sensibilities actually turn people OFF on their subject IRL (in real life)? Are borderline laughable-when-supposed-to-be-solemn moments in these films opening up the sacred to mockery and ridicule? Or just opening up subpar filmmaking to mockery and ridicule?

My biggest objection in “Mary of Nazareth” is that Mary often appears—for a good chunk of the film—well,…simple-minded. Perhaps the thirtysomething actress is trying to appear wide-eyed and youthful, but it doesn’t work. Mary is constantly overgrinning and mincing about without ever seeming to have any tasks to do (she also has a favorite boulder that she rests on a lot). This portrayal of Mary is pretty much the opposite of the teenage actress in “The Nativity Story,” who is sullen and hardly ever smiles (until Jesus is born).
The sullen teenage Mary from "The Nativity Story"
Newborn Baby Jesus (finally sporting brownish skin!) is adorbs, and you have GOT to see how he worshipfully (no heretical pun intended) gapes at and gives Mary the gummiest little smiles. Joseph: “Just like any other little boy….” (Joseph has all the best lines.)

Joseph (as in “The Nativity Story” and “Joseph of Nazareth”) is pretty awesome. Maybe it’s just harder to get Joseph wrong or something.

The grown-up Jesus is not bad. Looks something like Jeffrey Hunter in “King of Kings.” Wears Carl Bloch red and blue colored garments. He’s not goopy, and he’s not the typical hang-ten, laid back, California surfer Jesus.

The 153-minute “Mary of Nazareth” is a tad on the slow side, but is consistently so, lending itself to a new contemplation of oft-pondered Gospel pericopes. Mary begins to be much more sober and somber at the Dedication/Purification in the Temple when Simeon prophesies that Jesus will become a problem for his nation and fellowmen, and that she will suffer along with Him. At this point, Mary and the whole story feel much more grounded. She almost becomes Our Lady of Sorrows from this point on (not in a morose way, but with the approaching Passion a constant undercurrent). There are even flash forwards to the Passion when she is with the boy Jesus (similar to Mary’s flashBACKS during the Passion in “The Passion of the Christ”). Great idea, but could have been better executed.



My absolute favorite part of the film is the recurring sense of Jesus Bridegroom and Mary (the Church) Bride. It is so obvious (after the death of Joseph) that only THEY truly understand each other, only THEY get this Big Divine Secret for now, and their love is so pure and so tangible. If I didn’t know Theology of the Body, I don’t think I would have appreciated this dimension, and I think I would be annoyed by the long, loving, comprehending looks Mary and Jesus engage in. But how else could they communicate/convey this supernatural reality? How else can actors do it? How else can lovers* do it?

There is some truly awful dialogue and some truly spectacular dialogue.
Awful: (Pregnant Mary on donkey to Joseph, halfway to Bethlehem) “Exactly which town are we going to, Joseph?”
Spectacular: (Jesus to a fretful Mary before His Passion) “Remember, whatever happens, it’s all out of love. It’s all love.”

There are also some cool scenes that throw things into a beautiful new light/interpretation:
--a snake approaches Mary under a tree before the Annunciation
--The Magnificat
--Mary and Joseph’s relationship
--Mary clambering up the hillside to the Cross

In my book, “The Passion of the Christ” is still the gold standard for any Mary, Jesus or biblical film, with “Peter and Paul” running a close second (this amazing three hour drama in which Paul is played by a young Anthony Hopkins with hair needs to be much more known and watched). “Jesus of Nazareth” and its follow-up “A.D.” (Acts of the Apostles) are also of unimpeachably high quality.

See “Mary of Nazareth”? Yes!


1995
OTHER STUFF:

--There is another, earlier film with the title “Mary of Nazareth” (1995), and one called “Mary, Mother of Jesus” (1999) (produced by Eunice Kennedy Shriver with Christian Bale as Jesus!) Each with their own merits like this present film.

--Blessed James Alberione www.MediaApostle.com produced the FIRST color film ever done in Italy: “Mother of God” (1950), in neo-Realistic style. The government of Italy restored it in 2000 for its 50th anniversary!

--Mary’s simpleton qualities for the beginning part of the film make her very unrealistic. Perhaps she was an outwardly joyful person (who wouldn’t be, without original sin and filled with the Holy Spirit?), but she seems, instead, to be living on her own planet and incapable of gauging actual human nature and reactions around her.


1999
--Much of the acting is stiff human interactions with people speaking in DECLARATIONS!, overblown melodrama and general mugging, but that is rather par for the course in Bible films.

---Some more great Joseph lines:
“This is too much for me, I’m just a man.”
“Do you think people will understand a family like ours?”
“The Baby will take care of us.”

--The Annunciation is pretty hideous. I’m still waiting for a good one, maybe modeled on some masterpiece artwork.

--Awful: Mary trying to explain her pregnancy to Joseph. Oy vey!

--Annoying: If Mary had nothing to do before her pregnancy, you should see her after. Her hand is just constantly holding her belly and the camera keeps zooming in on that.

--WOULD Joseph have proposed to Mary directly? WOULD Mary and Joseph have had a wedding celebration with her very pregnant? WOULD the townspeople just suddenly have “forgiven” her?

--“Mary of Nazareth” is way better than “The Nativity Story” in that we see Mary’s FAITH/relationship with God.

--Love the birth/stable scene, and especially the shepherds. The Magi are ALL wrong (they did not arrive right after the shepherds—that’s why Herod had all boys up to two years old murdered), and they were all Persian, not from different countries. Love that the animals, domestic AND wild, know that something big is going down this night (Isaiah 1:3).

--Following along the lines of traditional art/piety (as with the Magi and many other), Jesus drags His cross as a big, flat, smooth, already-assembled affair.
Olivia Hussey ("Jesus of Nazareth")

--Mary kind of looks like Olivia Hussey (dimples, eye teeth). 

--Mary quotes prophesies from Isaiah about HERSELF. Oy vey! Oy vey!

--Mary to Joseph: “Without you, Jesus wouldn’t be the man he is.” J

--Nice pauses, not all yakking.

--Mary asks God if she can suffer in Jesus’ place. J True mother!
Alissa Jung ("Mary of Nazareth")

--The Apostles even try to stop Jesus’ Passion by telling Mary: “He’ll listen to you like He did at Cana!”

--Mary Magdalene is a harlot. Sigh. And she starts off as one of Herod’s bimbos. But I like the actress.

--Love Mary’s last line in film.

--The end of the film has a beautiful dedication to all mothers and some words of Pope Benedict!
__________
*By “lovers,” I am in no way suggesting even a hint of Oedipal-complex type love. The heavenly Bridegroom/Bride love is of a nature that we can’t fully grasp yet: “Eye has not seen, ear has not heard…” (1 Corinthians 2:9).

Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready.

Revelation 22:17
The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let the one who hears say, “Come!” Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life.

Revelation 22:20
He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.