The Reluctant Saint

Today is the feast day of St. Joseph of Cupertino!  So, in honor of this fine and fascinating saint, I shall add my first movie review to Catholic Inklings.

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This is one of those movies that I remember from my childhood.  One of my dad's favorites, we watched in a lot, as I recall.  And it really is a great Catholic family movie.

Maximilian Schell stars as a humorously clumsy Giuseppe, a young man in 17th century Italy who you know means well but is really quite hopeless in all matters of practical life.  His mother desperately blackmails, er, persuades her brother to get him into the monastery.  There, Joseph is quite happy and comfortable working in the stables, but God has other plans for him. 

One of the things that I think this movie illustrates beautifully is that it is not necessarily the smartest and the most learned who are closest to God, rather it is the ones who are most childlike and trusting.  Giuseppe's love for God and for Mary is so simple and unassuming, and God chose to bless him with miracles and levitations, not the smarter, wiser monks.

St. Joseph of Cupertino is the patron saint of Aviators, Flying, and Studying.

I highly recommend this movie for all ages.