MercyOne Medical Center (formerly Mercy Hospital) is part of Catholic Health Initiatives-Iowa. In a recent medical malpractice case, they made an un-Catholic argument that the death of an unborn baby is not the same as the death of a person when determining damages.
The Iowa Capital Dispatch reports:
“In Iowa, court-ordered awards for noneconomic losses stemming from medical malpractice are capped at $250,000, except in cases that entail the “loss or impairment of mind or body.” Attorneys for the CHI and MercyOne hospital are arguing the cap on damages still applies in cases where the “loss” is that of a fetus or unborn child.”
William Joensen, Bishop of the Diocese of Des Moines issued the following statement in reaction to this story:
I was surprised and dismayed by what I read in a news story about our local Catholic hospital taking a legal position that appears to contradict Catholic Church teaching. I can understand any confusion of readers. Let me be clear: the Catholic Church believes and advocates the foundational truth that life begins at conception and ends at natural death; and that each and every human life – born or unborn – has inherent dignity and, therefore, must be treated with the respect due to a human person.
I have reached out to leadership at MercyOne and have confirmed that the case involves the interpretation of terms such as “patient” in the context of a specific law that is applicable to the case. In no way does the interpretation of that law change or diminish MercyOne’s commitment to Catholic Social Teaching with respect to life and dignity.
We continue to pray for the family involved as they mourn the death of their daughter and for a just outcome for all involved.
“Human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception. From the first moment of his existence, a human being must be recognized as having the rights of a person – among which is the inviolable right of every innocent being to life.” (Catechism of the Catholic Church , #2270)
Resources for learning more about the Church’s teaching on respect for human life:
By Tom Quiner
Carol King is one of the greatest living songwriters. You and I could have a lively debate on which of her many love songs is the best. I vote for “You Make Me Feel Like a Natural Woman” for two reasons: 1. Aretha. 2. The word ‘natural.’
- Aretha Franklin recorded the song in 1967, and no one has ever surpassed it, though many have tried. Including Carol King herself!
- The use of the word ‘natural’ was ingenious. The story goes that a record producer, Jerry Wexler, came up with the phrase and encouraged lyricist, Gerry Goffin (King’s husband) to come up with the words for a song built on that theme, which he did. King added the music.
Romance thrives when couples can ‘just be themselves’ (natural) when around each other. They wither and die when one or the other feels a need to try be someone or something they’re not (unnatural).
Billy Joel said it well in his song, “I want you just the way you are” (a song which did not make my list). You make me feel like a natural woman says the same thing in a poetic way that still sounds fresh today. Couple it with Aretha Franklin’s vocals and you have more than a song, you have a life-changing experience. This is a song worthy of the “52 Greatest Love Songs Ever.”
Aretha’s version hit #8 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart. I posted one of her last performances above.
Carol King sings “You Make Me Feel Like a Natural Woman”
Carol King recorded it four years later in a warm, lovely performance that didn’t try to compete with Aretha’s. Smart move. One of her performances is posted above. She demonstrates how a great song is open to many interpretations. Celine Dion and Mary Blige released their own interpretations of this classic.
Celine’s cover song of “You Make Me Feel Like a Natural Woman
Music journalist, Jenn Pelly, writing for Pitchfork, captures the essence of the contrast between Aretha and Carol King’s interpretation of the song:
King’s version does “carry the bespoke power of a woman reckoning with her history in song … Of course King’s ‘Natural Woman’ does not summon the heavens with the same earth-shattering force as the Queen of Soul’s version … But the grasping of King’s ‘you make me’s and the fluttering of her ‘feel’s are charged with the force of a person attempting to turn herself inside out. In the voice of Aretha, ‘Natural Woman’ is glory. In the voice of King, it is, like all of Tapestry, an act of pure conviction.”
Goffin’s lyrics deserve our attention, especially the second verse:
“O, when my soul was in the lost and found,
You came along to claim it.
I didn’t know just what was wrong with me
’Til your kiss helped me name it.”
The song builds to make the case that this woman’s love comes alive because of a man who loves her for exactly who she is. This is ‘natural’ love, not fake, self-serving love.
‘Natural’ means authentic
‘Natural’ is another way to say true, authentic … even Godly love, although the songwriters might not have thought of it in the same way as I do. ‘Natural love’ is creative, the source of rich family life, the life blood of civilization. The always quotable St. John Paul the Great explained it in one succinct sentence:
“As the family goes, so goes the nation and so goes the whole world in which we live.”
A ‘natural’ woman is open to the creative power of love: the kind of love that gifts her with sons and daughters; the kind of love that says ‘yes’ to God; the kind of love that nourishes a culture with the fruit that flows from a marriage between a woman and her man.
A ‘natural’ woman and her husband are open to the creative power of God’s love and plan their families using a science-based system, “Natural Family Planning (NFP), that complements, not competes, with God’s creative power.
A ‘natural’ woman rejects the seduction of abortion, which is not only ‘unnatural’, it is an abomination.
Gerry Goffin and Carol King would bristle at my interpretation. That’s okay. I commend them for writing a love song that, even if inadvertently, plumbs the depths of true love with the simple use of the word ‘natural.’
Wait ’til next week!
As good as this song is, do you know what’s truly amazing? It’s only #45 on my list of the “52 Greatest Love Songs Ever.” Better songs are yet to come, including next week’s gem with a melody that is so intense that it pierces the soul without a need for words. And yet when you hear its lovely, sentimental verse, well, surrender is complete. Thus the power of a love song.
Thanks for checking in to this week’s installment of the 52 Greatest Love Songs ever. We’re counting down these songs a week at a time to spread a little love. Love is the greatest antidote to abortion, so be sure to encourage your friends to subscribe to our blog.
[If you like this blogpost, be sure to share it. Then donate to help spread pro-life love.]
Click to Get Tickets HERE
Mark your calendar for Friday, May 2nd and experience “An Evening of Glory” at St. Boniface Catholic Church in Waukee, Iowa. Pulse Life Advocates is sponsoring this event to raise money for our College Scholarship Fund for pro-life students.
So why is this evening going to be so glorious?
Why are you going to find yourself floating to your cars afterward beaming with joy?
Why are you going to have more hope for the future simply by attending this event?
Because there’s power in beauty. Beauty is but a reflection of God’s love for us. Music offers potent ways to showcase His glorious presence in our lives, His unquenchable love for us, born or unborn.
As Pulse maintains, love is the antidote for abortion.
An Evening of Glory will immerse you in love. Your heart will melt as you bask in the glow of timeless classical music as performed by St. Augustin Catholic Church’s music director, Dr. Marion Scott and family.
Then Sacred Heart’s music director, Nate Sparks, will shift gears and perform classic hymns in the style of jazz.
A praise music group, First Monday, featuring Musicians from St. Francis Catholic Church and St. Boniface will uplift you with a set of contemporary Christian music.
Holy Trinity’s music director, Tom Quiner, will premier four new hymns he composed inspired by biblical texts that provide comfort for women in crisis pregnancies.
He’ll be joined by the Catholic Youth Choir who will then end the evening with their glorious, innocent voices invoking our Creator.
Wow!
And there’s more!
Following the concert, we’ll move from the church to the ‘pro-life nightclub’ (the social room) for a wine/cheese/dessert reception with music provided by the dynamic Saints & Sinners band.
An Evening of Glory is more than a concert, it’s an event. Even more, it’s a life-changing event, because politics is downstream from the culture.
We MUST change the culture if we want to end abortion.
We MUST change the culture if we want our kids to leave home and maintain their sexual sanity.
We MUST change the culture if want to restore the traditional family unit to its place of pride in our communities.
YOU change the culture by supporting events exactly like this one.
What’s your alternative?
We suppose you could skip our event and go to a movie instead, let’s say a flick like “Snow White.” But even that classic tale has been corrupted by the culture.
As the progressive, feminist star of this box office bomb, Rachel Ziegler, explained, this iteration of the classic Snow White story is not going to be about true love, she’s not going to be saved by the prince, whom she characterizes as a ‘stalker.’
Female empowerment is in. Love is out in today’s culture.
Pulse addresses the culture in many ways, including our ongoing blog series, “Greatest Love Songs Ever.” Few love songs are written anymore, even though they dominated the charts until around 1994, the age at which the Roe v Wade generation came of age. Be sure to subscribe to our blog so you know when new posts publish.
But Pulse also addresses the culture with live events like this one.
God IS love. His love lies at the heart of each piece of music you’ll hear at “An Evening of Glory.”
Change the culture. Support pro-life students. Have fun. Get to know more members of our wonderful pro-life community.
There’s no downside! Seats go for $20 per person; children/students are free. Go online right now and order. Don’t wait!
By Tom Quiner
Some of you are thinking I’m nuts for including “I’ve Got You Babe”, by Sonny Bono, in our list of ‘The 52 Greatest Love Songs Ever’. A Sonny & Cher song? How corny! What’s my response? You’re wrong.
We live in a time when fewer young people marry. Most cohabitate first, pushing the average age of marriage to 29 for women and 31 for men. The assumption is that a ‘test drive’ creates stronger relationships and ultimately fewer divorces should the couple eventually marry.
In fact, the exact opposite it is true. Divorce rates are higher when couples live together first. Not only that, children fare better when mom and dad are married. They fare better when parents didn’t live together first. They fare better with never divorced parents because stability matters. Home matters.
Stability
“I Got You Babe” is a love song about stability. Here’s what the lovebirds sing in the bridge:
I got you to understand
I got you to walk with me
I got you to talk with me
I got you to kiss goodnight
I got you to hold me tight
I got you, I won’t let go.”
I know, I know, Sonny and Cher got divorced and Cher, in particular, has lived a flakey life. Forget about them. The song’s not about them. It’s about us. It’s about young love, which is a wonderful thing. Think about what this song says: I’m committed to YOU.
A timely message
This is a message the world needs to hear right now.
I was moved by something I read from a book, “Theology of the Home” which was co-authored by Dr. Carrie Gress and Noelle Mering:
“We are incarnation. We want to unite the tangible to the intangible. We want this life we’re living to be beautiful in a deeper way. There’s a reason people write songs and make movies about going home. It’s a universal longing, which also means it’s a universal access point. It’s a force for evangelization. When I first realized I was going to marry my husband, I started to feel he was my home. The language of the home is universal. A deeper meaning of home is about longing and relationship. We find our home in God, which is a foretaste of what heaven will be like.”
“I Got You Babe” somewhat echoes their sentiments by implying that, “Babe, you are my home.” Simple. Universal.
Composed by a Congressman!
As I teased last week, Sonny Bono is the only songwriter on this list who was a former member of the House of Representatives, elected in 1995 after serving four years as Mayor of Palm Springs, California. He was tragically killed in a skiing accident in 1998 at the age of sixty-two. “I Got You Babe” was a number one hit song on the Billboard charts, and to this day, Bono is the only member of Congress to have done so.
His hit song remains a part of our culture, popping up in movies and television shows from time to time. (How many times did we hear it repeated in the movie, “Groundhog Day”?!)
Groundhog Day
“I Got You Babe” means commitment, marriage, stability, home. It means LESS abortion, because 87% of abortions occur with single women who slept with men who sang a different tune.
Love songs are vitally important because the good ones say something important with an impact that sticks with us. Thank-you, Sonny Bono, for writing such a memorable piece of pop music. Here’s the song performed with a reggae arrangement by the British band, UB40, with guest vocalist Chrissie Hynde:
Next week, we take a look at a love song that takes a totally different look at the subject. Many singers sang it well, but only one of them knows how to bring down the house with it. See you then.
And thanks for checking in to this week’s installment of the 52 Greatest Love Songs ever. We’re counting down these songs a week at a time to spread a little love. Love is the greatest antidote to abortion, so be sure to encourage your friends to subscribe to our blog. Go back and check out previous entries on this blog.
[If you like this blogpost, be sure to share it. Then donate to help spread pro-life love.]
Pulse Life Advocates joined 150 national pro-life groups in a letter to Congress urging them to cut their most wasteful budgetary item: Planned Parenthood. PP receives about $2 Million per DAY from you, the American taxpayers. You can read details at the Fox News website.
Tragically, this blood money wastes human lives in violation of the consciences of millions of the country’s faithful citizens.
The letter states in part:
“In November, the American people gave a mandate – it is time for change in Washington. Since then, the White House is taking swift action to stop the Biden abortion agenda and cut government waste. A Republican trifecta presents the opportunity to bolster these efforts by cutting funding for Big Abortion, including Planned Parenthood, through budget reconciliation.”
Many pro-lifers don’t realize that they’re not alone in their belief that our unborn brothers and sisters deserve legal protection from the instant of their fertilization. Pulse Life Advocates is but one of the 150 signatories lobbying Congress to act NOW in ending this obscene expenditure of YOUR tax dollars.
Planned Parenthood has been less than forthright over the years in their assertion that they offer “healthcare” services to women in crisis pregnancies. As the letter states:
“Despite their claims to promote “women’s health,” Planned Parenthood consistently opposes basic health and safety standards for their facilities.”
Susan B. Anthony Pro Life America, Live Action, and The Family Leader are but a few of our fellow signatories.
Pro-lifers: you’re not alone. Pulse Life Advocates is part of growing national movement insisting that Congress act now. Defund Planned Parenthood. We’re tired of waiting.
Read all about it at Fox News.
[Join our pro-life team. Donate today. End abortion. Promote life.]
Please contact your member of the Iowa House in support of legislation requiring schools to show students a video on fetal development.
SF 175 has passed the Senate by a bipartisan vote of 31-13. The bill now is in the House, where a similar bill, HF 391, has already been approved by the House Education Committee.
Pulse Life Advocates supports this bill, which is to make sure students can see and understand the miracle of life and how it develops in the womb. It will show the humanity of the unborn child. This is a secular topic and does not include religious content. The bill does not require the usage of any specific video.
Please put the message in your own words and explain why this issue is important to you.
You can contact find your legislator HERE.
By Tom Quiner
The songwriting team of Bob Crewe and Bob Gaudio wrote songs that delighted we Baby Boomers for more than four decades. Younger generations became acquainted with this talented songwriting duo with the hit Broadway musical, Jersey Boys. Entry #47 in Pulse Life Advocate’s countdown of ‘The Greatest Love Songs Ever’ series is the ultra romantic “Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You,” immortalized by Frankie Valli’s soaring vocal stylings.
If you’re new to this series, Pulse believes that love songs are important to softening the hearts of a hardened culture, one that accepts human abortion as a fundamental right.
What characterizes a good love song?
Love songs like “Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You” are characterized by lovely, catchy melodies and a lyric so right that you can’t imagine it being sung to any other tune.
Frankie Vallie and the Four Seasons introduced the song in 1967, one of many hit songs written by bandmate Bob Gaudio and his writing partner, Bob Crewe.
Their collective efforts helped to sell some 100 million records worldwide. “Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You” reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and #1 on the U.S. Cash Box Top 100.
There’s no question that Franki Valli’s soaring falsetto helped to sell records for the Four Seasons. But it really helps to have a great song as a starting point. And the writing partnership of Gaudio and Crewe had the touch, writing gem after gem for the Four Seasons, such as “Sherry”, “Walk Like A Man”, “Bye Bye Baby”, and “Connie O.”
Great lyrics!
This is a song with wonderful, romantic lyrics that actually rhyme (something with which too many contemporary song writers like to dispense). Take a look at verse 1:
You’re just too good to be true,
Can’t take my eyes off of you,
You’d be like Heaven to touch,
I wanna hold you so much.
At long last love has arrived,
And I thank God I’m alive,
You’re just too good to be true,
Can’t take my eyes off you.
Isn’t it nice to hear the Almighty invoked joyously in a song, rather than profanely, as is the style today? And isn’t it nice hearing love equated with Heaven, instead of being characterized as something base and ugly, as is the style today?
It’s interesting, the title of the song is invoked in the second line of the first verse. It doesn’t use the hook from the refrain, “I love you, baby.”
It doesn’t use the first line of the song, “You’re just too good to be true.” Gaudio and Crewe picked the perfect song title for this beautiful song. It’s so beautiful, so catchy that dozens of artists have covered it over the decades. And it’s still requested at weddings. Here’s how the song is presented in the movie, “Jersey Boys”:
Jersey Boys Scene
Today’s culture blathers bromides such as “love is love.” What they mean is that love is all about the sex act with whomever you want (regardless of gender) without commitment and without self-surrender. Pope John Paul II warned us that this is the exact opposite of love:
“Take away from love the fullness of self-surrender, the completeness of personal commitment, and what remains will be a total denial and negation of it.”
Without commitment and self-surrender, the consequence of sexual union is corrupted by a disregard of the other (the child) in favor of the self.
We need good old-fashioned love songs to soften and expand our hearts. We need a little romance in our lives! “Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You” does exactly that! Just look at this delightful interpretation of the song by the Stunnig Gimnazija Kranj Symphony Orchestra, backed by youth choir and soloists. Awesome! (I think they’re from Slovonia.):
Next week’s entry is the only song on my list written by a former member of the U.S. House of Representatives. You’re going to love it!
Thanks for checking in to this week’s installment of the 52 Greatest Love Songs ever. We’re counting down these songs a week at a time to spread a little love. Love is the greatest antidote to abortion, so be sure to encourage your friends to subscribe to our blog.
[If you like this blogpost, be sure to share it. Then donate to help spread pro-life love.]
Laws matter. Iowa’s abortion rate dropped by 32% in 2023 according to data released by Iowa Health and Human Services. Their new report, 2023 Vital Statistics of Iowa, January, 2025 reported that abortions dropped by 1297 abortions from 2022. And this drop occurred before the Heartbeat Bill even went into effect.
Q & A about Iowa’s abortion landscape
What does the Heartbeat Law really do? It bans abortion at the point when a heartbeat is detectable, which is around six to ten weeks of fertilization. The laws passed in 2018, was struck down by the courts only to later have those decisions corrected by the Iowa Supreme Court. The Iowa legislature re-passed the law in 2023, and it didn’t actually go into effect until July 29th, 2024.
The ACLU-IA characterized the Heartbeat Bill as a “near-total abortion ban.” Is this accurate? Sadly, no. Their overheated rhetoric fails to acknowledge that 40% of abortions take place within the first six weeks of gestation. Another 39% occurs between seven and nine weeks, a point at which the heartbeat may or may not be detectable.
In other words, the vast majority of abortions are NOT affected by the Heartbeat Bill. In addition, the law allows exceptions for rape, incest, and the life of the mother. According to the Charlotte Lozier Institute 90% of Iowa abortions occur in the first trimester.
How big of a factor is the abortion pill when it comes to Iowa abortions? Big. Seventy percent of Iowa abortions were drug-induced. But abortions via the abortion pill dropped 35% from the previous year.
Do many Iowa women go to other states to procure abortions? According to the Iowa Abortion Access Fund and the Chicago Abortion Fund, 194 Iowa women sought abortions in other states in 2023. The number tripled in 2024 to 625 Iowans who went out-of-state for abortions.
Do you have any 2024 data showing how the July 29th implementation of the Heartbeat Bill affected abortion rates in Iowa? Yes. The Guttmacher Institute’s “Monthly Abortion Provision Study” said Iowa’s monthly abortion average dropped from 400 a month to 250 a month after the law went into effect.
Laws matter. Although the Iowa abortion landscape is encouraging in light of significant declines in 2023, we still have a long ways to go. Iowa needs a total ban on abortion.
By Tom Quiner
Renown British novelist, Kingsley Amis, once drolly observed: “Nice things are nicer than nasty ones.” This obvious truth is belied by the radical replacement of the nice by the nasty in popular music. Which is why Pulse presses on with ‘The Greatest Love Songs Ever’ series. Number forty-eight on our list is the Beatle’s hit song, “And I Love Her.”
Why on earth have nice love songs like “And I Love Her” been replaced by nasty ones like “Love is Embarrassing” by Olivia Rodrigo?
The Claremont Institute’s Chairman, Thomas D. Klingenstein, explains:
“In order for any revolutionary regime to succeed, it must supplant not just the political order but the cultural order of the regime that preceded it … If we hope to defend and restore the American regime, and the West more broadly, we must reclaim both the moral and the aesthetic sensibilities on which they have long been founded.”
The decline began in the 90s
Pulse Life Advocates has tracked the beginning of the precipitous decline of aesthetic sensibilities in popular music to around 1994. That marked the entrance of the Roe v Wade generation into the world of popular songwriting.
This generation grew up in a milieu that degraded the sex act from an expression of mutual self-giving that produces something beautiful, a child, to one of self-taking that viewed the fruit of the sex act as an interloper to their pleasure, and in need of eradication when inconvenient.
These young songwriters weren’t much interested in writing love songs, and the output of love-themed arias dropped like a songbird in free fall. Their songs were increasingly characterized by an alarming degradation of the aesthetic sensibilities to which Mr. Klingenstein refers.
That leads us to the sweetness of one of Paul McCartney’s early hits. Written when he was but twenty-two, the song is a classic of the young-love genre. There’s nothing sophisticated about the lyric, because it’s all about that beautiful, first blush of love:
“I give her all my love, that’s all I do,
And if you saw my love, you’d love her, too.
I love her.”
Contrast these lyrics, written when McCartney was but twenty-two, with those of Olivia Rodrigo’s “Love Is Embarrassing,” written last year when she was twenty:
“An now it don’t mean a thing,
G*d, love’s f*&%ing embarrassin’,
Just watch as I crucify myself
For some weird second string
Loser who’s not worth mentioning.
My G*d, love’s embarrassing as hell.”
How sweet. Rodrigo and her mentor, Taylor Swift, specialize in break-up songs. Rodrigo, in particular, loves to be profane, which only dissipates any aesthetic sensibilities she hopes to bring to the table. Sadly, these ladies have more influence over our daughters and granddaughters than most parents do.
What a contrast to “And I Love Her.”
Writing credits attribute the song to both Paul McCartney and John Lennon. Lennon claims he wrote the middle section:
“A love like ours, could never die,
As long as I have you near me.”
But McCartney says Lennon only helped out on that section. Unlike his earlier entry to our list (#52, “Silly Love Songs”), “And I Love Her” has been recorded by a diverse group of singers over the decades, something that is unlikely to happen with Rodrigo’s “Love Is Embarrassing.”
Harry Connick Jr. sings “And I Love Her”
A choral arrangement of “And I Love Her”
Pulse believes that love songs are important to softening the hearts of a hardened culture. We’ll be back next week with a wildly popular love song written by a song writing team you’ve probably never heard of. But you’ll certainly know this song and the singer who took it to #2 on the Billboard charts.
Thanks for checking in to this week’s installment of the 52 Greatest Love Songs ever. We’re counting down these songs a week at a time to spread a little love. Love is the greatest antidote to abortion, so be sure to encourage your friends to subscribe to our blog.
[If you like this blogpost, be sure to share it. Then donate to help spread pro-life love.]
By TOM QUINER
As far as I’m concerned, there are three types of religious movies:
- Biblical/Religious narratives.
- Movies about faith and inspiration.
- Movies that aren’t about faith and inspiration, but really are, without coming right out and saying it.
The weakest of these categories tend to be #2. Sometimes Christian movie makers try so hard that they forget about artistry and storytelling in their zeal to pound a message into your skull. In fact, there are not one of these in the list that follows (although some made my list in previous years, such as “The Case For Christ”).
On the other hand, Category #3 has produced some great films that invoke Judeo/Christian themes without being about religion. These film makers focus on the story first and foremost. A classic of the genre would be “Grand Torino” listed below.
I’m a sucker for category #1. I love a good Biblical epic. Some are clunkers, such as Netflix’s “Mary,” which I wrote about a few months ago, or the 2014 movie, “Son of God.” But the ones on my list below are solid gold.
I try to mix the list up a little bit every year. As a result, you’ll find five new entries this year. Some will surprise you. It’s possible you’ll even be scornful of a pic or two. That’s what’s fun about this blogpost. Different films move different people in different ways.
Some of the films address themes especially relevant to this age, exploring them with wildly different artistic approaches.
Ultimately, good artists, regardless of the genre, draw us closer to the good, the true, and the beautiful. And the movies are special, as they combine light and sound, a combination that is irresistible in the hands of a good director. What an art form for drawing us deeper into our faith this Lent!
Put the popcorn on. It’s showtime!
Top Ten Religious Movies for Lent 2025
#10. THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO. This isn’t the Jim Caviesel version from 2002, although I loved that one, too. This beautiful, new adaption (2024) comes to us from France, starring Pierre Niney as the Count of Monte Cristo. It’s three hours long, but it didn’t seem like it. The story is that good. The casting is spot on. The script is outstanding, as is the soundtrack. It’s subtitled, which might deter some readers. But I think it’s worth it, as the story explores man’s primal impulse for revenge verses God’s will for forgiveness. Frankly, most viewers are probably cheering for revenge as the film progresses. Christianity’s call for justice and mercy often seems to pit these two virtues against each other. This film will hold you in its grip to the very last minute as you weigh the ethical implications of the Count’s actions.
#9: HOUSE OF DAVID. King David is one of the coolest guys in the Old Testament. Shepherd boy. Musician. Hero. Renegade. King. Sinner. Try plotting his life on a graph. Talk about ups and downs!
Amazon Prime Video released an 8-episode series on the young David called “House of David.” It’s kind of like an Old Testament version of “The Chosen.” And I mean that in a totally positive way. My wife and I are loving the series.
As of this writing, only 4 episodes have been released. My understanding is that the series ends with David’s battle with Goliath, a scene with which we are teased at the outset of episode one.
The series fills out the Davidic story taking artistic license with details not revealed in sacred scripture without compromising the message.
Casting, scripting, direction, and sets are all outstanding, as is the Greek landscape that serves as the backdrop. Why do I recommend House of David? Because God is at the center of the story, and the story is packed with action.
Our faith is dynamic. House of David reveals just how dynamic. God chooses an unlikely young man to lead Israel to greatness and conquer its enemies. Why did God choose David? Because God looked beyond outward appearance and saw a passionate heart. God likes passion. As the Book of Revelations (3:16) says:
“So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will vomit you out of My mouth.”
House of David tracks the life of a passionate young man on the cusp of changing the world. Here it is, 3000 years later, and we’re still talking about him!
#8: POLLYANNA. “Don’t be a Pollyanna!” is a slur that’s been around the block for over six decades. It kind of suggests that a Pollyanna is a person who incessantly promotes an unreachable level of syrupy happiness. How unfair to this marvelous lass, as portrayed by Hayley Mills in the 1960 Disney Film by the same name!
One of the joys of being a grandparent is revisiting these old movies. This a family film about a girl around twelve years of age whose parents have died. She is sent to live with her stern aunt in her attic bedroom. Despite the bad breaks life presents to Pollyanna, she always looks at the bright side of life.
Her late father had taught a game called “The Glad Game.” Here’s how it works: when life gets you down, think of something that makes you glad. Thanks to Pollyanna, the game spreads like wildfire, raising the happiness quotient in the entire town.
It makes me think of Dennis Prager’s book, “Happiness is a Serious Problem.” His thesis: each of us has a moral responsibility to be happy, because of the impact happiness has on others. Perhaps Prager viewed Pollyanna before writing his book! Says Prager:
“We do not enjoy being around others who are usually unhappy … In general, people act more decently when they are happy.”
This movie has so many great scenes. But let me tempt you with Karl Malden’s, as the town’s preacher (below), delivering a fire and brimstone sermon for the ages. Watch Pollyanna’s expression. Watch the entire movie to see how she melts the heart of his character, the reverend Paul Ford. “Pollyanna” makes you feel better about life. In fact, it reminds you that ‘life is beautiful.’ A nice thought to remember in a culture saturated with abortion.
#7: LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL. This achingly wonderful film is relevant more than ever in light of the growing anti-semitism among American youth since the terrorist attack on Israel on October 7th, 2023.
“Life Is Beautiful” tells the tale of Guido, an Italian-Jewish waiter in 1944 who is forced into a Nazi concentration camp along with his young son, Giosuè.
Robert Benigni co-wrote the script, directed the film, and portrays Guido.
In the camp, rather than playing “The Glad Game”, as Pollyanna does, Guido plays an imagination game with young Giosué to protect him from the reality of their dire situation. And dire it is.
There is something so profoundly moving in the father’s brilliant attempts to transform an horrific situation into one of beauty and grace. I dare you to maintain dry eyes at the film’s conclusion.
Everything you need to know about “Life Is Beautiful” is summed up in the title.
Everything you need to know about your life … or your dad’s life … or that of an unborn son … is summed up in the title. Even though life has its ups and downs (see the Count of Monte Christo; Pollyanna; and House of David above) God is in the midst of everything, whether we know it or not. [This movie is subtitled.]
#6: WILDCAT. This is a wonderfully weird film. It’s a unique telling of the life and literature of the one and only Flannery O’Connor. Try reading some of her short stories. They’re weird. They suck you in with their exploration of unlikeable people who create situations so grotesque that they make you gasp. Her genre is called Southern Gothic. She wrote 31 short stories and two novels in a career cut short by an early death at thirty-nine due to Lupus. Bishop Robert Barron is a big fan of Flannery. He writes:
“Flannery O’Connor’s influence on contemporary culture, particularly literature and film, is profound. Her novels and short stories have been described as shocking, convoluted, funny, and violent, and they are filled with unforgettably strange characters. But they are also, from beginning to end, haunted by Christ. O’Connor radically changes our idea of what religious fiction can be. Her startling prose awakens us to sin and, consequently, to the need for salvation.”
Ethan Hawke (director and co-writer) collaborates with his daughter, Maya Hawke (who portrays Flannery), in fusing O’Connor’s life and characters from her writings into a single story. So Maya Hawke not only plays Flannery, she plays characters from stories to suck you into “an inquiry into the broken nature of grace.”
You may recall that one of O’Connor’s lasting quotes took place at a dinner party she attended. There, some snooty literary types denigrated Catholic’s belief in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist, suggesting it is only a symbol, at best. To which O’Connor sniffs:
“If it’s only a symbol, to hell with it.”
The Eucharist was at the core of who Flannery O’Connor was. This scene is beautifully presented in Wildcat.
As a side note, the Georgia-born writer had an Iowa connection. She attended the prestigious Iowa Writers’ Workshop at the University of Iowa in 1945.
Fr. Damian Ference, writing at Word On Fire, said:
“I am convinced the primary reason Flannery O’Connor was so serious about her Catholic faith is that it was the one place where she experienced being seen and understood and loved; it was the one place in which she felt that she fit—that she belonged, because at the center of Catholicism is a crucified misfit. If Jesus is God, and if he was like us in all things but sin, including suffering and death, and then rising from the dead, well, then that means that O’Connor’s suffering can be redemptive too. It means that life is worth living and that the struggle is worth it and that somehow grace will break through even and especially when the pain and heartache is severe.”
Watch Wildcat this Lent. There’s no other film like it on this list.
#5: GRAN TORINO: Surprised to see a Clint Eastwood movie on the list? No one less than Bishop Robert Barron called Gran Torino “one of the great presentations of the Christ story.” Eastwood, who directed and starred, portrays grouchy Walt Kowalski, an old geezer whose wife just died. His kids want to move him into an old folks home. His working class neighborhood in Detroit is getting dangerous as gangs move in. Walt is a cantankerous, racist s.o.b. who hides his decency under the surface. He’s a heroic figure who uses violence to ward off violence directed at his Laotian neighbors … until he realizes it’s just not working. Violence begets violence. I really don’t want to say much more, because you need to see this film if you haven’t. Be warned that there’s violence and there’s no shortage of profanity. Suffice it to say, Bishop Barron said it was one of the best examples of what the church fathers called the “Christus Victor Theory.” Watch it.
#4: THE PASSION of the CHRIST. This was more than a movie, it was an event that either united or divided people, much like Christ Himself. Mel Gibson’s movie was controversial. The violence is grotesque. It is not a fun movie to watch. I have seen it thrice, and I will see it again … someday. Jim Caviezel was perfect as Jesus. The movie is important because it gives modern man an inkling of what Christ did for us. I heard Fr. John Riccardo once say about Christ’s crucifixion: “If this is the cure, can you imagine the disease?” This movie forces us to think about that question seriously. The scene of Christ’s scourging is horrendous. Do you know why He was lashed 39 times? Because 40 was considered “death” by the Romans. It was unsurvivable. I would recommend the edited version with some of the violence excised. After watching this film, fall to your knees and thank Christ for what He did for us.
#3: HACKSAW RIDGE. Courage and conviction are in short supply these days. So when a movie comes along about a man who stood up for his religious convictions regardless of the cost, it’s worth checking out. I finally got around to watching Mel Gibson’s Hacksaw Ridge this year (it came out in 2016). The movie marked his return to directing after a ten year hiatus. Gibson knows how to tell a story. Hacksaw Ridge tells the story of Desmond Doss, a simple man from Lynchburg, Virginia, who enlists when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. He had a catch: not only would he not use a rifle, he would not even carry one. Although the ‘cancel culture’ didn’t exist in the 1940s, Doss felt the brunt of the military establishment who attempted to ‘cancel’ him via a court martial. They failed. He went on to become an invaluable member of his unit as a medic, rescuing some 75 soldiers at the brutal battle of Okinawa. His courage was contagious. Following a particularly brutal attack, Doss was wounded and exhausted after saving countless of his fellow soldiers. It was a miracle he was still alive. The soldiers were once again called to battle (the entire campaign lasted 83 days). The soldiers wouldn’t go unless Doss was with them. The commanding officer said to Doss: “These men don’t believe the same way you do. But they believe so much in how much you believe. They want a piece of it. They’re not going up there without you.” The moral: courage is contagious.
#2: JESUS of NAZARETH. This film is an epic work of cinematic craftsmanship. Robert Powell is an extraordinarily effective Jesus. It was originally broadcast as a 382 minute mini series on television in 1977. Every single minute of this film is worth it. Nothing is wasted. Director Franco Zeffirelli has created an artistic masterpiece. He is true to the Gospels and creates an ancient Holy Land that seems real to modern man. His presentation of Jesus’ telling of the Prodigal Son is a work of genius, surely inspired by the Holy Spirit! Interestingly, one of the writers was Anthony Burgess, also the author of “A Clockwork Orange.” What a cast. Each star was at the top of their game. In addition to Mr. Powell, James Farantino was a Peter for the ages. Ian McShane was a complex Judas whose motivations are slowly revealed in his deft political maneuverings. Olivia Hussey as the Virgin Mary, and Anne Bancroft as Mary Magdalene both shine. The list is endless: Christopher Plummer fleshes out the human weakness of Herod Antipas. You can’t stand him in the end. And James Mason brings Joseph of Arimathea to life. The conversation he has with Jesus about the idea of being “born again” draws you irresistibly into the essence of the Gospels. That’s why this film is so good. You feel like you’re walking right alongside of Jesus. Everything seems so authentic.
#1: THE CHOSEN: Not a movie, but rather the first original TV series about Jesus Christ. Four seasons are completed, and the fifth season will be released to theaters in weeks. Two more seasons are planned. What’s interesting is that this was made outside of the Hollywood system. It was financed via crowd funding. The writers let us get to know Jesus through the eyes of key players from scripture: His disciples, Mary Magdalene, even little children. You can watch the first four seasons free on The Chosen app. They claim over 770 million views so far! Like most of the Biblical movies mentioned above, the creators of “The Chosen” have taken some respectful artistic license with the series. Most notably, the dialogue is somewhat modernized. It works for me, but not everyone. The sound track is modern and hip. But the writing and story telling are simply outstanding, presenting the story of Jesus in a fresh new way, drawing millions of people into the faith. My personal favorite episode is titled “Matthew 4:24.” It is brilliant.
Season 5 will be in theaters on March 28th. Watch the trailer (below).
Those are my picks. What are yours? Please let me know. I want to watch some great, new faith-filled films this Lent, starting today. So let me know your favorites right away in the comment box below!
[Tom Quiner is board president of Pulse Life Advocates. If you enjoyed this essay, be sure to subscribe to our blog. Every donation helps us expand our reach!]