One of the most moving religious movie I have seen is a fairly new one entitled THERESE, a film by Leonardo Defilippis..No scenes of Angelic visitations or appearances of the Virgin Mary or some mighty upheavals like the parting of the Red Sea. It is a simple story of a young girl's search for the meaning of her life, and she found it at the end of her 24- year existence, bedridden with tuberculosis. She wrote a "blog" of her life on pen and paper and after her death, this autobiography inspired millions of people to find fulfillment in their own lives. It is said, Mother Teresa one of the best loved figure of our era adapted this name and this way of life because of this autobiography. By the way, Cornelia Soberano while she was in Toronto had a photo with Mother Teresa in front of the Toronto City hall. This photo I have to find in that debris of paper I call my filing cabinet.
The summation of her life is this: She loved only one: and that is Jesus. She focused her life, her love her all to Him. Then all her subsequent actions sprung from this consuming love. She curbed her will to a Higher Will ( something hard to do even for priests and nuns ) so even if people around her mocked her she would not mock them back. The final scene of the movie is similar to THE SONG OF BERNADETTE made earlier ( in the 50s), and introduced Jennifer Jones to movie goers everywhere. Therese died peacefully after a painful bout of body pains brought about by the advanced stage of the disease. Someone appeared to her then she fell into an endless sleep.
Some scenes appear disturbing like the early one when she said to her Mom "I wish you will die.." But the complete meaning of her statement was .." so you can go to heaven soon"..Ironically her Mom afterwards had breast cancer and she died when Therese was still very young.More touching scenes followed. You will need a lot of Kleenex before the movie ends. Especially in the scenes between her and her dad who loved her to a fault. If such a daughter-father love existed, why did she still have to enter the convent?
You will be compelled to Google for her life story or maybe you can visit this site http://www.theresemovie.com/
If you have to watch this movie, watch it without distraction. And keep a box of Kleenex nearby.---#
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