The Third Miracle Essay, Research Paper
“ There are merely two ways to populate your life. One is as though nil
is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle. ”
Albert Einstein
Director Agnieszka Holland has produced a thoughtful and challenging
movie in The Third Miracle. It centers on the complicated character, Father Frank
Moore. This troubled priest late found by Bishop Cahill? s secretary concealment
in a business district soup kitchen is besides the diocesan postulator for any alleged
supernatural activity in the part. He is most known for earlier exposing what
many considered a saint, as a sexually anguished adult male who finally committed
self-destruction. This incident branded him the? miracle slayer? . In the beginning,
even he had begun to believe in the intercession of this legendary Fr. Falcone.
Detecting the truth left him with a scarred mind filled with sorrow from
old ages of hiting holes in people & # 8217 ; s beliefs.
While in a crisis of religion he is asked by his archpriest to look into a new
instance & # 8212 ; Helen O? Regan and a miracle at St. Stanislaus parish in a bedraggled
urban country. The miracle was a miss named Maria, cured of terminal Lupus after
praying for the intercession of the late deceased O? Regan. Included with
the physical healing was a annual manifestation where a favourite statue of Helen? s
would cast cryings of blood. The blood matched Helen? s type. Maria went on to
go a cocotte and drug nut taking her female parent to claim? God wasted a
miracle? . Additionally, Helen? s girl Roxane struggled with the
probe since she had resentment toward her female parent for go forthing her at age
16 by traveling into the parish parsonage. For her faith was? hapless? and
her resentment prevented her from seeing how God could work miracles through a
flawed human being like her female parent. The added dimension of a romantic
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relationship between her and Fr. Malone was unneeded and incidental to the
narrative, except to demo the solitariness and humanity of the postulator. This new
enterprise reinvigorates Fr. Frank. He sees it as a possibility to deliver his
yesteryear, this is manifested in a affecting scene where he cries out, ? I want God
to demo his face once more? . He acknowledges his failing in position of her character
by declaring, ? Her [ Helen? s ] bosom was full of love. I? m non even a good
priest. Make me worthy?
Miracles are an invitation to faith. I think this is an appropriate subject for
this film because the primary miracles associated with Helen become invitations
to faith for each of the characters in the film. For Fr. Frank, they are an
invitation to regenerate and rediscover his ain religion, and his priestly vows through
his relationship with Roxanne. For Archbishop Werner, who plays the portion of the
spiritual yet disbelieving Satan? s advocator, they besides issue an invitation. His
biggest job is the beginning of the miracle. Sainthood, harmonizing to him,
should be reserved for the heroic sufferer non for an American homemaker. Yet
ironically, he was one of the few informants of Helen? s miracle when she was
merely a kid. As a German soldier go throughing through her town he witnessed how her
intercession appeared to halt bombs midair. So for him it was an invitation to
religion in miracles coming from unexpected and even flawed mediums. A ulterior second
miracle which saves Maria? s life once more? it is an invitation for Maria? s
female parent and Maria to consequence alteration in their lives and embrace the Christian religion
and morality which are connected with the events. These miracles, as invitations
to faith, open up the possibility of release, mending and transmutation for
each of the characters, in their ain manner. We are left to inquire to what degree
they each respond to this compelling invitation