Below. Review about a movie to be released on April 15 th.
Looking to get a group together for a "Movie Night" on Saturday April 23 rd. Interested ? Contact Charlie Ernst 410-859-8298 or cfe1215@gmail.com
Mark Wahlberg has been wanting to make a movie like ‘Father Stu’ for years
Mark Walhberg is the title character in
‘Father Stu’ . Will open in theatres April 15, 2022
“The
religious types were all very nervous, and they all wanted me to make a faith-based
movie that was very safe, very middle of the road, and very kind of, you know,
bland,” says Mark Wahlberg. “And we’ve seen those movies, and they don’t really
move the needle much.”
It
is early March, and Wahlberg is deep into an intense promotional campaign for
his new film, “Father Stu,”. Wahlberg spent the previous night screening the
film at Loyola University Chicago for an audience that included a group of
young Jesuits. He is holding screenings all across the United States beating
the drum for “Father Stu,” a true story about a rough-and-tumble failed boxer
who became a priest.
Wahlberg
recently called the film the “most important movie I’ve ever done, and…the best
movie I’ve ever been a part of.”
The
film is clearly important to Wahlberg, a very public and committed Catholic with his
own violent past,
on personal, professional and spiritual levels. “I’ve always talked about my
faith, which is good and fine and dandy and people know that,” he says. “But then
at the same time, you’ve got to kind of put your money where your mouth is.”
For
Wahlberg, “Father Stu” represented a level of engagement around his faith and
his work life that he had been considering for years.
“I’ve
always been like, O.K., as soon as I get to a certain place, and I have a
certain voice and reach and platform, then I’ll start doing more things that
will move the needle in terms of my faith, and things that I think could be
productive, helpful and in service. So when this project came to me, I was
like, ‘You know what? I need to go make this.’”
Wahlberg
first came across the story in 2016 and had been developing the film with David
O. Russell, who directed “The Fighter.” But he felt the script they had wasn’t
going in the right direction. “I just had a sense of urgency that I didn’t
really feel like [Russell] had or anybody else had,” he says. Wahlberg wanted
complete creative control, so he decided to finance the film largely with his
own money..
In
“Father Stu,” Stuart Long (Wahlberg), is a Golden Gloves-winning boxer who leaves
his native Montana after his prizefighting dreams fizzle. Chasing stardom, Long
moves west to become an actor in Hollywood. While looking for his big break in
Los Angeles, he works as a bouncer and gets into his own share of trouble,
getting arrested for fighting and drunk driving.
A
near-death experience on his motorcycle leads him to explore religion, and he
agrees to become a Catholic in order to marry his Mexican-American girlfriend.
At his baptism, Long feels a powerful call to ordination. After significant
resistance and numerous roadblocks put up by the seminary rector—played by
Malcolm McDowell—he is finally admitted to study for the priesthood.
While
in seminary, Long is diagnosed with inclusion body myositis, an extremely rare,
incurable autoimmune disease that mimics the symptoms of A.L.S. (Lou Gehrig’s
disease). The disease causes his once powerful body to weaken significantly,
creating new roadblocks to his ordination.
Ultimately
ordained in his hometown diocese of Helena, Mont., in 2007, the real-life
Father Stu had only a brief career in ministry. In the seven years before his
death in 2014, his physical condition deteriorated rapidly, though the
spiritual impact of his ministry grew exponentially. When he was confined to a
motorized wheelchair, people lined up to meet with him outside the Big Sky Care
Center, a rehabilitation center and nursing home where he lived and worked as a
priest, confessor and spiritual advisor. Father Stu came to see his illness as
the best thing that had ever happened to him, because it enabled him to let go
of an unhealthy sense of pride he’d had for most of his life.
Wahlberg
was convinced that Long’s story of redemption could have a real impact on a
wide range of audiences, not simply on Catholics and Christians. “Tough grace
and tough mercy is what Stu earned through his suffering, and through his work
and giving back,” he says. Wahlberg hopes the film amplifies “the importance of
redemption and rooting for people to change and grow as opposed to turning our
backs on them.” In very troubled and uncertain times, Wahlberg says, his
intention is to “give people hope, and encourage people to pursue their faith,
whatever that is.”
In
order to show the reality of what tough mercy truly is, Wahlberg needed the
freedom to tell Father Stu’s story as unapologetically and realistically as
possible. The film’s R rating might scare off more pious religious audiences,
but he believes strongly that the roughness of the film is also the source of
its power.
“We
wanted to make a movie that was edgy, and real and relatable to everybody,” he
says. “And Stu was one of those guys that when he did his prison ministries, it
was where he was most effective, because he could speak with [prisoners] on
their level and he understood that he was one of them and that he had been in
those seats. And now he was on the other side, and he was reminding them that
God’s not going to give up on you and neither is he.”
Now,
he brings to the screen the story of the hell-raising Stuart Long, who is moved
to change his life only to find his life transformed in ways he could not have
foreseen. These choices of film roles suggest that Wahlberg is compelled to
move beyond rhetoric and piety. “Father Stu” will likely appeal to church
audiences, but it is not a story of holiness or triumph; it is a story of
struggle and accompaniment. It is as if Wahlberg wants to shed mere ideas and
abstractions and move toward embodiment.
“Stu
really wasn’t so much about church,” he says, “as he was about the guy who died
to build it.”
HOLY THURSDAY AND GOOD FRIDAY SERVICES; APRIL 14TH
AND 15TH @ 7 P.M.
HOLY THURSDAY APRIL 14TH @ 7 P.M.
GOOD FRIDAY APRIL 15TH @ 7 P.M.
Please consider joining
us for both of these special, prayerful services
We are partnering with four other charities to
host a Cinco de Mayo event at the Anne Arundel County Fairgrounds on Thursday,
May 5th from 5-9 p.m. Food, drinks, music, and fun, all for one price, will
support HOPE For All, The Table Foundation, Blessed in Tech Ministries,
Marshall Hope, and Center of Help.
Father Leo Patalinghug, a
Catholic priest, author, and speaker who brings together food and faith, will
be there, and is coordinating food trucks for the festivities. Tickets will go
on sale in April. We are excited to be a part of this Charity Bash!
A look at
our Lives with the Saints
What
people are saying about My Life with the Saints;
“In a cross between Holden Caulfield and Thomas
Merton, James Martin has written one of the best spiritual memoirs in years.”
—Robert Ellsberg, author of All Saints “It isn't often that a new and
noteworthy book comes along in this genre, but we have reason to celebrate My
Life with the Saints”
After Mass On Sunday April 24th :
We will be reading some brief selections from the new James
Martin book. The focus will be on how he
started his connection and friendship with these Saints. That will be how we start and introduce the
main portion of the presentation.
We will share his insights into his relationships, but more
importantly, we would like to hear from you !!
What Saints do you admire ?
What stories can you share about your relationship with these Saints
? What is it about their life or their
stories do you find interesting ? , Inspiring or helpful in your own spiritual
journey ?
We will meet and discuss this topic in the hospitality area. See you then. The Parish Life team will prepare and have available some tasty refreshments to enjoy during this presentation.
