The Greatest Miracle

I thought it was a pretty good movie overall, but, I am just not sure about some of the content. I understand that the virgin Mary was a pleasing to God person, but, it seems very strange that people are praying to her, and at some points to Joseph too. It seems as though this is potentially - I don't know for sure obviously but - potentially verging on idolatry? It seems everyone in the Bible prays to the Father, or Jesus...I am not sure where this tangent came up from. So that's a little distracting.Also there seems to be a condescending indemnification of praying for life's hardship. We are told that because no thanks is included in the prayer of hardship from the person undergoing financial poverty, there is an implication that the person is just coming up with a list and being totally selfish. I don't know whether this is Truth or not, but I was surprised the message was not one rather of having pity on these people; it seemed to go right to condemnation because the people were overwhelmed with their problems so that they lost sight of gratitude. I am not saying prayers should not focus on and include thanks, it was just kind of jarring - like, it's not okay for these people to legitimately express their fears and needs to God. Or worse, that they should be viewed as selfish if they are left too poor by the rest of society to meet their physical needs. I was surprised at this message because of the Bible's continual admonishment to take care of the needs of the poor. I was pretty sure the movie was going to lead with some kind of injunction to "take care of the needs of one's brother" - but, this seemed to be skipped over. Spoiler alert....the Mom comes home and takes her child out to play, and tries to be less angry. That's great but, I would have thought it could be improved if she maybe takes care of the other people in the church, and they mutually help each other. It seems like everyone still goes off and does their own thing.There is also the confusing concept of guardian angels. And purgatory. These things could exist, I don't know...clearly there are angels but, it seemed like a creepy insertion because - we are told that there are fallen angels / demons, and that they pretend to be angels of light. And that one can tell by testing the spirits. So I fear the movie kind of paints this as an overly simplistic scenario...there are obviously "distracting" and "obvious" demons, but I was kind of left wondering...what about these supposed guardian angels, and this "pure soul" concept. Jesus came to save sinners, and the Bible does seem to imply some sanctification process, and removing impurities. I'm not sure what this pure soul thing is about though. The basis for pure or not pure soul seems to be left strangely subjective; because the old woman "has tried her best to be good" - it seems like she makes the cut, whereas the others have no "offering" to bring. It is confusing. Jesus healed prostitutes and the Pharisees seemed to have plenty of attempted offerings. But I guess it also says in there that people are supposed to be more righteous than the Pharisees, and it's back to a point of confusion. But anyway this is definitely portraying one perspective, and it's unclear whether this is an accurate depiction of Truth or a misleading departure.It seems like the take home message of the movie is good, about praying and turning to God and trying to follow God's commands, and being kind and loving to others through the blessing of Christ's sacrifice. This all seems to make the movie worthwhile. But, obviously, it's very Catholicy. Obviously the temple is not literally a church, but rather the body of believers. So the emphasis on Mass seems kind of strange, and also the priest forgiving sins, although it's pretty clear it's through the power of Jesus and that that person is just a facilitator. I really don't know about these aspects, they are kind of small aspects of the whole thing. These latter ones anyway.I thought the film was overall good but, I just didn't see much mercy for the people's problems. To summarize, it seems as though their problems should have felt minimal because of Christ's sacrifice. So, even though people were dying all around them, and they were feeling loss and heartache, they were supposed to focus on the good parts (salvation), and that hope, despite the incredible loss. And it seems when the question was asked why people had to suffer, the topic of the Crucifixion and our role in torturing Christ comes up, but, strangely, none of the healing that so dominates the New Testament seems to occur. The people are healed spiritually, it seems. So there is that. But curiously nobody is actually literally, physically healed. None of them leave being able to cast out demons or heal the sick. It's like they met the Lord, were forgiven, and left with absolutely no healing power. I guess maybe it's like that, maybe the healing powers were truly confined to the disciplines. I don't know if this is Truth though. So that's a question mark for me still.Anyway, I overall liked the movie and animation. It was a pretty deep movie, and I liked this aspect. It mentioned distraction and other types of sins, and gave a visual representation of the demonic world in a tangible, understandable way for children. Overall I think this was a valuable watch despite the possible complications listed above.

Loved this movie, 100% Accurate

This is an amazing animated movie about the Mass as well as Catholic teachings associated with it. If someone, Catholic or not, wants to understand what Confession, Communion, Mass, Purgatory, the Blessed Virgin Mary, Angels and Intercessory Prayer are, this is the movie that will explain it to you. It is done within the context of three stories, that of a young widow with a teenage son, a man whose son is dying of cancer, and an elderly woman at the end of her life, which makes the movie more profound and will appeal to everyone. My children (6 and 4) can never get enough of this animated movie, yet as an adult I find it to be one of the most amazing movies I have ever seen. I gave it to someone to use it for RCIA (preparing adults to join the Catholic Church) and the people who saw this loved it, as there are few better resources in explaining the Catholic faith clearly and with such strength to adults and children. In addition, the music is simply heavenly. The score is all original by Mark McKenzie (who has written the score for several Hollywood movies) and is simply so beautiful you could close your eyes throughout the entire movie and simply enjoy that by itself, though obviously it is better while watching the movie. There is a Spanish and English language version on this DVD, but there is a separate DVD with the Spanish title "El Gran Milagro" which is Spanish only. The only difference is that in this version the priest in the movie is without glasses (looks younger) and the coins shown are American, while in the "El Gran Milagro" version the priest wears glasses (looks older) and the coins are Mexican. And the texts in the movie are in Spanish vs. English in this movie. So it really doesn't matter which version you will purchase if you want a Spanish version. The experience of watching this movie will move you profoundly and may even rekindle your faith life.

Apologies to Uniqueplace for giving such a poor review before you even had the chance to rectify the situation, just want to let people know I have ordered from you before and had no problem. Thank you for being so nice even though I had been so mean to you.

Don't be put off by the fact that this is an animation! It tells the stories of three different families - which in itself is enough to make it a good film to watch. However it is much, much more! It is a beautiful and most heart-warming educational tool for all the family. Excellent for teaching children what happens during holy Mass and how they should behave. For us adults, there is a deeper understanding of our Catholic faith and just what our Blessed Lord did for us. We are able to see Heaven, Earth and Purgatory faithfully portrayed as described by our mystics (since canonized) and underscored by the Church and Holy Tradition.If you can, watch this as a family - you will get the best out of it this way. We need to understand and appreciate the 'Real Presence' of Jesus in the Holy Eucharist and in all Catholic Churches to be able to explain and defend it whenever called upon.Do buy this film. Watch it several times and share it with everyone you can.

warm beautiful family movie, highly recommended

Excellent delivery and film!

love this movie...Best feel good movie in a long time...I must have seen it 10 times already