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Pied Piper of Atheism: Philip Pullman and Children's Fantasy
| Pete Vere and Sandra Miesel
God Is No Delusion: A Refutation of Richard Dawkins
| Thomas Crean, O.P.
Socrates Meets Descartes
| Peter Kreeft
Sermon in a Sentence: Saint Thomas Aquinas
| John McClernon
New Outpourings of the Spirit
| Joseph Ratzinger
Meet Henri De Lubac
| Rudolf Voderholzer
Marian Devotion in the Domestic Church
| Catherine & Peter Fournier
Joseph Ratzinger: Life in the Church and Living Theology
| Maximilian Heinrich Heim
The Greek Fathers: Their Lives and Adventures
| Adrian Fortescue
Ignatius Catholic Study Bible: The Letter to the Hebrews
| Scott Hahn and Curtis Mitch
Chastity, Poverty and Obedience
| Mother Mary Francis, P.C.C.
The Blessing of Christmas
| Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger
Chance or Purpose?: Creation, Evolution, and a Rational Faith
| Chrisoph Cardinal Schšnborn
Island of the World: A Novel
| Michael O'Brien
The Order of Things
| James V. Schall, S.J.
The Judge: William P. Clark, Ronald Reagan's Top Hand
| Paul Kengor & Patricia Clark Doerner
Seek that Which is Above
| Pope Benedict XVI
Jesus, the Apostles and the Early Church
| Pope Benedict XVI
God and His Image: An Outline of Biblical Theology
| Dominique Barthelemey
An Invitation to Faith: An A to Z Primer on the Thought of Pope Benedict XVI
| Pope Benedict XVI
Mother Benedict: Foundress of the Abbey of Regina Laudis
| Antoinette Bosco
Pope Benedict XVI: The Conscience of Our Age
| Vincent Twomey
Ronald Knox as Apologist: Wit, Laughter and the Popish Creed
| Fr. Milton Walsh
Christians in China: A.D. 600-2000
| Jean Charbonnier
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Last week my wife, Marcia, our 13-year-old son, Sean, and I were able to
attend a local movie theater to watch the new national release of Leonardo
Defilippis's little gem of a film, Thérèse.
We had the privilege of attending an advance screening of the film last
November at Sony Studios. But we were eager to see it again, and to find
out what changes were made in the final editing process, and what our reaction
would be this second time around.
 To
see this deeply spiritual, Catholic film featured on the outside theatrical
billboards, on the movie posters inside the theaters, and before our eyes
on the big screen after the usual secular movie previews, was a rather stunning
and delightful experience. And very inspiring.
Our thoughts and emotions in response to this second viewing of the final
edited version were very similar to our reaction and sentiments the first
time around—but even deeper. The final version has been "tightened
up" a bit, and flows a little smoother and more seamlessly than the
screening version. We liked it even better this time. Contrary to what a
lot of the films critics say, everything about this film is an astounding
achievement. As with any film, especially one produced in such a challenging
way with so little funds, people will vary in their praise and criticism
of the movie.
Translating the "Story of a Soul" onto the big screen was a very
daunting effort for Leonardo Defilippis and crew—one that few if any
other filmmakers would even dare to try. No wonder. The risks for making
it work on film are high. But Luke Films has succeeded admirably. The cinematography
by Lourdes Ambrose is exquisite, the costumes and settings beautiful and
authentic, the acting excellent—especially by lead Lindsay Younce,
Linda Hayden and Leonardo Defilippis—and the music score simply glorious.
The film  combines
wonderful insights and vignettes into the Martin family life, life in Carmel,
humorous and touching lighter moments, and profound spiritual insights into
living a simple, holy Catholic life—underscoring the "little way"
of St. Thérèse of Lisieux.
How will you react? It depends on how you approach this film, and your understanding
of the subject’s deeply spiritual theme. It depends on how you appreciate
the incredible challenges that a tiny film company like St. Luke Productions
had to overcome to produce such a feature film and then somehow get it into
secular theaters, without a distributor.
In our theater, almost full with about five hundred people, the reaction
at the end was tears and clapping. And from what we had heard from cities
around the country where Thérèse has been released,
this is the typical audience response. When is the last time you had that
response at the end of a movie in your local theater?
And the crowds around the country for the opening weekend have been huge.
Thérèse ranked second in gross ticket sales per screen
nationwide—amazing  for
such a "small" film with no marketing budget to speak of. Whether
the critics like it or not, the ticket receipts show that audiences have
been giving it "two thumbs up". They come to be inspired and uplifted
by the simple story of "the greatest saint of modern times".
We owe a great thanks and hearty congratulations to Leonardo Defilippis
and Luke Films for this miraculous film achievement. With the amazing box
office success of its opening weekend, hopefully Thérèse will
expand into more cities and theaters across the country and reach wider
audiences with its story of this very appealing modern young saint, and
newest Doctor of the Church.
Anthony Ryan is Director of Marketing at Ignatius Press.
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G.K. Chesterton (1874-1936) was one of the finest Christian authors and apologists
of the past two hundred years. Raised as an agnostic, he embraced Christianity as a young man, ultimately entering the Catholic Church
in 1922. He wrote hundreds of essays, as well as novels, short stories, poetry, apologetics, literary
criticism, and nearly everything else imaginable. Dale Ahlquist, president and co-founder of the American
Chesterton Society and author of
G.K Chesterton: Apostle of Common Sense, writes, "Chesterton was equally at ease with literary and social criticism,
history, politics, economics, philosophy, and theology. His style is unmistakable, always marked
by humility, consistency, paradox, wit, and wonder. His writing remains as timely and as timeless
today as when it first appeared, even though much of it was published in throw away paper." Read more
about the life and work of this remarkable thinker, author, and apologist.
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Confessions of an Ex-Feminist
by Lorraine V. Murray
Confessions is the honest and heart-rending account of a woman who was born into a Catholic family, attended parochial schools and
fully embraced the beliefs of her faith, but ran into major roadblocks in college. Amidst the radical feminist college environment of
the 1960's, she lost her faith, and her morality, jumping aboard the bandwagon of "free love." She indulged in a series of love relationships
in college, all of which crashed and burned. Despite the obvious contradiction between feminist teachings and her own experience,
Murray still believed she had to free herself from the yoke of tradition. Attaining a doctorate in philosophy, with an emphasis on the
feminist writings of Simone de Beauvoir, Murray taught philosophy in college. For many years, she launched a personal vendetta against
God and the Catholic Church in the classroom, trying to persuade students that God did not exist, mocking values Catholics hold dear,
and touted feminism as the cure for many social ills. When she discovered she was pregnant, Murray followed the route that feminists
offer as a solution for unmarried women. Much to her surprise, her abortion was a shattering emotional experience, which she grieved
over for years. It was the first tragic chink in her feminist armor.
Read more about Confessions of an Ex-Feminist, or
read an excerpt from the book.
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