I thought the movie full of grace was excellent and of value to all Christians up until the last few minutes, which were not suitable for Catholics learning the faith, in that it showed the Virgin Mary being carried on a stretcher covered and presumably dead. Catholics believed not only in the virgin birth of Jesus Christ (as well as the fact that Mary was a virgin her whole life – ergo the title Mary ever-virgin, which makes sense since God never dies and remarrying with a living spouse is adultery according to Christ, see Romans 7:3) which seemed to be implied by the movie (at least it was not denied), but also that she was assumed into heaven body and soul and therefore is not buried anywhere. This also makes sense since there is no designated known holy place where she is buried like other great saints and she is arguably (in Catholicism she is undoubtedly) the greatest saint.
The devotion of many Catholics to Mary is confused with the fact that we seemingly pray to her. This is because Catholics believe in the communion of saints (see the end of the Apostles Creed prayer), that all, in the state of grace can communicate and ask help of each other, like you would ask someone to pray for you. When Catholics say pray, as an unfortunate problem with our language or the fact that two words were not made to represent talking to someone, or more correctly some being, in the next life, whether the being is an angel or a saint, which is one sense of the word or whether the being that is being addressed is God. Catholics, like protestants believe that God alone is worthy of worship but we can ask Mary as our spiritual mother to pray for us and that is why the Hail Mary ends with “pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death.” Romans 6:23 tells us “the wages of sin is death,” but we as Catholics think she is the female exception/example as Christ was the male example of how to live a life without sin and Catholics believe, as a special gift to her for bearing His Son, God the Father exempted Mary from the stain of original sin. Since we Catholics believe the Blessed Virgin Mary mother of God – Jesus Christ (Second Person of the Trinity), had had no sin, God would be unjust to pay Mary the wages of sin if she did not “earn” it since he is all-just.
The movie itself was situated toward the time at the end of Mary’s time on earth. There were flash backs to her youth but it was mostly talking to and encouraging Peter and recalling Peters life and her helping to give him the courage to fearlessly lead the church. She gives words of wisdom that should illuminate some of the words of the gospel in a way that should encourage us.
Traditional Thomistic Catholic 