Still grinding away on the Big Project but…

Dale Ahlquist writes:

Dear Friends of Innocent Smith,

Attached please find a Novena to Nine Saints for the Success of the Manalive movie.

Each of the saints has been selected because of his or her connection to this project (and one of the saints is Chesterton).

If you know of other people who are interested in this movie and would be willing to join in this novena, please ask them to join in.

We will begin the novena on Sunday, Feb. 20, and conclude on Tuesday, March 1. Pray the entire novena each of the nine days.

To update you on the status of the project: the last few pennies in the budget have been spent on a new sound editor who will be working full time on the final sound edit for the next two weeks. We sincerely believe we will have a final product in three weeks or less. I will meet with two significant Distributors in Hollywood the first week of April, both of whom are very interested in the movie already because they are fans of Chesterton.

I will send out another reminder before the novena begins.

Thank you and God bless.

Your servant,

Dale Ahlquist

The Novena is as follows for any of youse guys who are interested in lending prayer support to the Manalive project:

Novena to Nine Saints for the success of the Manalive movie

Sign of the Cross

Our Father

(Psalm 17)
Leader: Hear a just cause, O Lord; attend to my cry.

Response: I call upon you, for you will answer me, O God;
Incline your ear to me, hear my words.

L: Wondrously show your mercies,
O Savior of those who seek refuge.

R: Keep me as the apple of your eye:
Hide me in the shadow of your wings,
From the wicked who despoil me,
My deadly enemies who surround me.

L: St. Genesius, you are the Patron Saint of Actors. Through your artistic gifts and sacrificial witness, men came to believe the Gospel. We pray that the movie Manalive will give honor and glory to God and by reaching a wide audience, minister to souls that would not otherwise be reached.

R: St. Genesius, pray for us.

L: St. Lucy, you are the saint of vision and of light. G.K. Chesterton said “All depends on what is the philosophy of light.” We pray that through the medium of film, the story and message of Manalive will bring the light of eternal truth to many who literally and figuratively sit in darkness.

R: St. Lucy, pray for us.

L: St. Francis of Assisi, you are “the Clown of God,” who understood “that the greatest kind of giving is thanksgiving. We thank God for the opportunity to make the movie Manalive. We pray that it will bring laughter to many, and with that, gratitude and an appreciation of God’s good gifts.

R: St. Francis of Assisi, pray for us.

L: St. Thomas Aquinas, you are the defender of reason and scourge of the skeptics. You are embodiment of G.K. Chesterton’s words, “Angels can fly because they can take themselves lightly.” We pray that the movie Manalive will bring both the light and lightness of truth, and that we will remain humble and virtuous in glare of the world’s false lights.

R.: St. Thomas Aquinas, pray for us.

L: St. Thomas More, at a time when the State and the social trend had turned against the faith and the family, you defended the teachings of the Catholic Church and the Sanctity of Marriage. We pray that the movie Manalive will be a compelling witness to our present society of the beauty of true marital fidelity and the joy and holiness of the home and the family.

R: St. Thomas More, pray for us.

L: St. Dismas, you are the Good Thief, who demonstrated holiness and in the most unexpected time and place. As G.K. Chesterton wrote in the novel Manalive, “The saints might well be hidden in the criminal class.” We pray that the movie Manalive will help gain respect for Distributism and Catholic social teaching.

R: St. Dismas, pray for us.

L: St. Patrick, You are the Patron Saint of Ireland, a people dear to the heart of G.K. Chesterton, and the only saint mentioned by name in the novel Manalive. We pray that our faithful witness may help miraculously transform an entire nation and lead many people to turn to God.

R: St. Patrick, pray for us.

L: G.K. Chesterton, you have been a good and faithful servant who used every opportunity to point to the truth. We pray that the success of the movie Manalive will provide support for the work of the American Chesterton Society and Chesterton Academy.

L: For the repose of the souls of Frank and Ann Petta, we pray to the Lord:

R: Lord, Hear our prayer.

Hail Mary

Amen.