Essay - Entertaining Angels Introduction Entertaining Angels Covers the Early Bohemian and...

Entertaining Angels

Introduction

Entertaining Angels covers the early bohemian and activist life ***** the later Catholic conversion of a woman many refer to as "America's Mother Teresa," Dorothy Day (Rhodes). The film, directed by Michael Ray *****, w***** produced ***** the Roman Catholic Paulist Fathers, a cleric*****l order that promotes Catholicism through the media. The film is at its best *****hen it portrays the ***** ***** of Day, a woman who drank heavily, chain-smoked, had affairs and an illegal abortion, and who actively fought for feminism and pacifism. In her 30s, ***** searched for something deeper and more lasting ***** fulfillment and discovered Catholicism ***** life devoted to helping ***** homeless and dispossessed of New York's lower East Side.

W*****h the aid of her mentor, Peter Maurin, she founded the Catholic Worker, channeling the profits from the successful publication to her Catholic organizations that helped feed ***** shelter the homeless and dispossessed. While the film does an excellent job at showing wh***** Day did, it fails at showing who she was. For Day spent most of her life sleeping, working, and eating among the poor, but the producers portray her as pious and remove the very earthy qualities ***** Day's character ***** made ***** a true Christian.

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Entertaining Angels portrays Day as pious and as one of God's chosen. When ***** has a crisis ***** f*****ith and heads ***** a nearby, vacant church to speak with God, the soundtrack plays ominous thunder at her entrance. Likewise, the ***** producers show her crying ***** heart out in prayer to God during this crisis of faith. Such heavy-handed tactics are used only to remind audience members that even the most dev***** Christians can temporarily doubt but the Lord ultimately provides. In addition to these flaws, the filmmakers show ***** conversion but they show none of the emotional or spiritual forces that prompted the conversion. When Day dis***** the ***** Church is against her efforts, we are provided little in the way of ***** perception or reaction to the opposition. Despite such flaws, the film ***** an excellent job of demonstrat*****g Day's devotion ***** others, particularly the homeless and po*****. ***** ***** manner, we see Day is a ***** Christi*****n because she mirrors the life of Jesus, as affirmed in the Gospels. Her life equates to Matthew 25: 31-46, "When you ***** it for the le*****t of these my brothers (and sisters) you did it for me" (Holy Bible).

***** see ***** her tireless devotion to keeping her organizations funded, ***** soup kitchens and *****s represent true Christian brot*****hood ***** compassion in an era before Social Security and welfare. In times of travail, whether it be a crisis ***** faith or a ***** of fund*****g or sup*****rt ***** the C*****tholic Church, the film expresses *****'s charity toward others, ***** the poor ***** troubled. Her diligent work among ***** poor on New York's lower East Side is akin to the life ***** Jesus as noted in Psalm 41: 1, "Happy are those c*****cerned