Industrious Family

The days of waiting and longing are fast closing to an end. In today's O Antiphon we refer to ourselves as captives that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death in need of setting free. Only Our Lord can open the doors to our life of eternal happiness through His passion and death on the cross. Thanks to His choice of becoming man and coming into this world as a Little Child, we will one day be happy with Him in Heaven. As the story of man's redemption is the greatest of all stories, it is most often used in our own storytelling patterns. In A Home for Christmas, the first few minutes of the movie follow the bleak, cold, dreary mundane existence of a young girl. There is a feeling that nothing changes, nothing will get better. This world is her prison but she lives with the promise that she will be rewarded and set free. Halfway though the story is the critical moment of her life: she meets someone who points her in the right direction. This is similar to how Our Lord came into the world in the most unexpected time and in the most unexpected circumstances. He lived for 33 years to point us in the right direction. The girl now transitions into her second life, one of comfort, peace and happiness. Her life of darkness and shadow is a thing of the past thanks to a chance meeting with someone. Our own lives are the same. We life in a Valley of Tears but with the hope of a promise that this is only our temporary home. Then about this time every year, we remember most vividly the miracle of the Incarnation. Lent and Passiontide quickly follow to remind us what it cost to be redeemed. But we are filled with joy in the knowledge that He conquered death and by that death we will join Him, Our Blessed Mother and the angels and saints forever in paradise. If you'd like to help tell stories like A Home for Christmas, please consider sponsoring this year's Christmas Special LIVEstream! DM us for more information about sponsoring the LIVEstream.

I am talking about purgatory a lot in these O Antiphon posts, and that is because it is one of the themes in our upcoming short film, "A Home for Christmas". In the third O Antiphon we ask Jesus to deliver us and tarry not. During advent the Church draws our attention to the symbolism and typologies found in the Old Testament. When we hear the words come to deliver us, and tarry not, we think of God delivering the Israelites out of bondage in Egypt. Jesus delivered us from the bondage of sin when He died on the cross. This one act of redemption satisfied for the sin and Adam and our own sins allowing us to become heirs of heaven. And yet, we must cooperate with grace and follow God's laws to attain heaven. Debt is owed for our sins and if that debt isn't paid on earth by good works, penance, and fasting, it will need to paid in Purgatory. God loves us and is merciful, but we must be pure to enter heaven because we could not be happy with God if we were not perfectly holy. Often after death, souls are not pure enough to enter heaven but first must pass through the purifying fires of Purgatory. These poor souls cry out: come deliver us, and tarry not! Pray for the poor souls and have Masses said for them. We are seeking sponsorships to help cover our Christmas Special LIVEstream. If you have a brand you want to promote we want to partner with you during this special event contact us on our advertising page for more information HERE: https://lnkd.in/gc3rfugy

Mary's Takeaways From Angel Studio’s Bonhoeffer: One of my brothers bought me a ticket to watch Angel Studio's new release, Bonhoeffer. (It has actually almost been out for a month but it just now arrived at our small town movie theater. ☺️) I have written an honest movie review touching on what I enjoyed and what did not resonate with me in the film HERE: https://lnkd.in/grFm23AU

In the second O Antiphon we are reminded that God appeared in the burning bush to Moses. Under the Old Law, it was the prophets who were sent to warn the people to change their ways. Angels often appeared as God's messages in both the Old and New Testaments. Under the New Law God most often sends the Blessed Virgin Mary to warn the people to change their ways. There are also many accounts of poor souls appearing to promote devotion to the poor souls as well as to warn the living to convert their hearts. A poor soul appears in our short film "A Home for Christmas" for an unusual reason: to give thanks and be God's hand in helping his benefactress. "O Adonai, and Leader of the house of Israel, Who didst appear to Moses in the flame of the burning bush, and didst give unto him the Law on Sinai: come and with an outstretched arm redeem us." How happy for us that we have been redeemed! We have also been given a Law and when this Law is transgressed there is debt owed. This debt for our sins is paid in the purifying fires of Purgatory. Join us as we explore these themes at the "A Home for Christmas" premiere. This premiere will be a part of an hour of entertainment made for Catholic families! As our guest appearances list is confirmed we will be announcing other entertainment we have lined up for you. Until then, you can read about ways to observe advent in joyful expectation HERE: https://lnkd.in/gGjqrNvu

We are counting down the days until our Christmas Special LIVEstream as we count down the days until Christmas. We have a full hour of entertainment lined up for you. It is the very best Christmas gift that we can make for wholesome entertainment fans this year. Our first short film is color locked and we are paying a rush fee to get it through post production. In "A Home for Christmas", a young lady spends her last penny to offer a Mass for the poor soul closest to heaven then she meets just the person to turn her life around. "O Wisdom, Who didst come out of the mouth of the Most High, reaching from end to end and ordering all things mightily and sweetly: come and teach us the way of prudence." This O Antiphon that we pray first in the days leading up to Christmas is shone in the right decisions made by the young lady in the movie and how even though feeling desperate she aligns her will to the Will of Almighty God. She is rewarded in this life although this is not always the case. The true reward for practicing the virtue of prudence is the reward we will experience in heaven. Get in the Christmas movie mood by checking out this list of our favorite animated Christmas films HERE: https://lnkd.in/gj6R69Ns

Hello, it's Mary. During the filming of "A Home For Christmas", we made an effort to film in front of some really impressive buildings for the outdoor shots. I still need to study how to film extremely wide shots though because these building did not get very much screen time in the edited film. There were three buildings that I wish would have had more frame height. So, I am going to keep an eye out for how this is done on a bigger scale and try to use the buildings on screen better in the future. We are going to host a Christmas Special LIVEstream so subscribe to our free newsletter to be notified when we announce a date and a time. HERE: https://lnkd.in/g8KtwHV8

Industrious Family Films is currently seeking actors and actresses to fill some very important roles in FABIOLA. Mary here to invite you to join our team that is telling this wonderful story of the Church in the catacombs. If you are interested, fill out the casting call and I will invite you to our January audition! (Link in the comments) We are looking for enthusiastic actors who are eager to help us tell this story. Acting experience is not necessary to get the role though you must make an attempt to participate in at least 6 virtual acting club meetings after you are casted.

An announcement of the day and time for our Christmas Special LIVEstream will be forthcoming. Make sure you are signed up for our free newsletter so you don't miss the announcement!

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