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See the movie that will change your life! 'The Letters' tells the inspiring story of Bl. Mother Theresa

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Bring tissues.

An amazing new film by Catholic director William Riead features Mother Theresa and her life and struggles in Calcutta. The film holds amazing promise and it is something that every Catholic should see.

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Highlights

By Marshall Connolly, Catholic Online (THE CALIFORNIA NETWORK)
Catholic Online (https://www.catholic.org)
12/2/2015 (8 years ago)

Published in Movies

Keywords: The Letters, William Riead, Mother Theresa, Bl. Mother Theresa, sainthood, Calcutta, movie

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - William Riead spoke to Marshall Connolly of Catholic Online, to discuss the impressive film detailing Mother Theresa's experience serving the poorest of the poor in India.

The movie is so powerful, even the trailer will move you to tears.


Riead spent 14 years trying to bring this film to the screen, writing the script and making changes. Originally the film was intended to cover the life of Mother Theresa, from cradle to grave, but as Riead did research and discovered her letters, he decided to focus more on her holy ministry and very profound struggles.

Riead was inspired to make the film as a means of combating evil in the world, explaining, "I wanted to create a movie to combat the evil of 9/11 with the good of this human being."

As his work continued, he learned something that changed the project. "I heard about letters she wrote to her spiritual adviser, Fr. Celeste von Exem. She wrote a letter to him every evening," Riead told Catholic Online.

The letters detailed Mother Theresa's struggle. Mother Theresa, who went into the slums of Calcutta to live and work in absolute poverty, struggled with what she encountered, both in the streets and inside her heart. Mother Theresa asked how God could allow such suffering in the world. Over time, she began to be plagued by the sensation of a spiritual void, a perceived absence of God in her life."

Such emptiness is common for people of great faith, it has been called the "dark night of the soul" or the "slough of despair" by Christian writers. However, Mother Theresa maintained her faith and served selflessly, in spite of her spiritual struggle.

Likewise, as Riead began work, he noticed that his labor was fraught with challenges. From the outset, studios wanted to control the "final cut" of the movie, a privilege that Riead feared would leave essential parts of her struggle on the cutting room floor and open her legacy to sensationalism.

"This has been a 14 year project," Riead said.  "Many people have tried to take control of the project. But I couldn't let anyone take control of the film and take control of the story and compromise Mother Theresa and her legacy. They always wanted final cut. I couldn't allow that to happen so I had to walk away from money all the time."

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The money for the film had to be crowd-sourced in a time before Kickstarted existed. Many individuals wrote checks to Riead. Most of the people were Catholics, but some were Jews, and even two Muslims, Riead told Connolly. One individual wrote him a check for two million dollars and said, "Make the movie you want to make."

When he finally raised the money to begin the project, the money was stolen.

After producing the film, he encountered people who have been hostile to the project and to Mother Theresa. "We've got al Qaeda, we've got ISIS, and all some people can do is find fault with Mother Theresa," Riead questioned.

The resistance to Riead's project and Mother Theresa herself is puzzling outside of a Catholic worldview. However, for Catholics, we know precisely what is happening. Riead knows too.

He recounted a conversation he had with a friend and priest, who explained the concept of duality to him. "Watch out," his friend warned, "you're going to head straight into spiritual warfare. You cannot do something as good as making a movie about Mother Theresa, without encountering evil... don't think for a second you're going to make a movie about something that's good, a movie about Mother Theresa, without encountering evil."

Despite the evil, which took the form of every conceivable obstacle, from stolen money to planted hecklers at screenings, Riead persevered. "I will not stop until the movie is done," and he persisted.

Riead confided that he felt that God was involved in the success of the film because its quality and success are clearly beyond what even he himself believed he was capable of doing. "This is a much better movie than I would have ever dreamed it would be. I can only attribute it to God Himself having a hand in this," he told Connolly.

Riead's hope is that "The Letters" starts a movement, one that will culminate with the canonization of Mother Theresa. "There's no doubt in my mind she should be canonized right away!" Reid proclaimed.

He could get his wish.

Riead set out to create a film that would "make a better world by bringing Mother Theresa back to life." It is certain that of the possibly one billion people who will eventually see this film across 100 different countries, that many will be moved to greater compassion by Mother Theresa's example. Such an outpouring of support could help her cause for sainthood in Rome.

The film had a transformative impact on Riead's life as well. Riead explained that he has much less ego than before. By getting to know Mother Theresa, and speaking to people who worked with her, reading her letters, and visiting the places she went, he has gained humility for himself and extraordinary love and respect for Mother Theresa. 

It is expected that this film will change your life as well. You will want to put off your shopping to see this film on Friday, Dec. 4, when it comes out in theaters.

Bring tissues.



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