Hail, Mary!

Mary, now streaming on Netflix ,isstirring the cauldron of faith, while also firing up admiration for facets of Mary that shone in the movie.

- JOANNE RAE M. RAMIREZ

The movie tells the story of Mary, one of the Bible’s mos t signif icant people, from the time she was conceived till the time she gave birth to Jesus Christ. Some 2.4 billion people on this planet, including this writer, believe in Jesus Christ. And He was brought forth to this earth by a human named “Mary.”

When I visited the site of the Annunciation in Nazareth during a pilgrimage in 2018, I asked the pilgrimage’s spiritual director Fr. Dave Concepcion how important the Annunciation was.

“Aba, eh ‘di iba sana ang naging kasaysayan ng mundo,” Fr. Dave said, if Mary had not said “Yes” to be the mother of God. That “Yes” changed the world. Still does, as more and more each day become Christians, not just by birth but by choice.

Mary is venerated by Catholics, and last week, we celebrated two feasts in which she is the central figure: the Immaculate Conception (Dec. 8) and the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe (Dec. 12).

The movie Mary is told from the view poi nt of d i rec tor D. J. Caruso and writer Timothy Michael Hayes. According to online sources, both are Catholics. But in making the movie, they reportedly also consulted with resource persons of other faiths as well.

Despit e ques t ions about the accuracy of locations, timelines and character portrayals in the movie ,