Closing Out The Triumph Toronto Screenings

Closing out the Triumph Toronto Screenings at the Fox Theatre

On Saturday, January 4, I had the pleasure of joining the Triumph Team to help close out the last Toronto screening of The Triumph at the Fox Theatre in the Beaches area.

It was a truly wonderful experience welcoming movie goers to the theatre and seeing so many joyful and enthusiastic individuals. Although I had previously viewed the documentary at two other screenings, the anticipation of seeing it all over again was built up with the arrival of each individual.

It was especially nice to see families in attendance, children, young people, and the elderly, all age groups were well represented at Saturday's screening. My best guess is that attendance reached approximately 75% of the theatre's seating capacity. It was a great turn out. At the end of the film, many patrons were moved, expressed their joy and extended their gratitude to us for presenting this film. It was all the evidence we needed to conclude Saturday's screening was a great success.

If you are somewhat new to The Triumph film, it is a documentary of the Marian apparitions at Medjugorje that began on June 24th, 1981, and continue to this day. The film reveals much about Medjugorje primarily through the narrative of a young American man's life, "Ben," who struggled with drug and alcohol abuse. Ben's arrival at Medjugorje was his reaching out to God and Our Lady for help.

Many people are drawn to Medjugorje seeking the answers to life's questions. Once there they open themselves up to God and Our Lady's love, which pours down from heaven in abundance upon each individual. This is what happened to Ben and it was through Ben's journey that we too experienced God and Our Lady's love.

It was obvious that Ben's life was changing, that he was going through a conversion. It was a conversion that needed to be finalized in Belgium with one more relapse into heavy drinking, that brought Ben back to Medjugorje for good where he entered into the Cenacolo Community. The Cenacolo Community is a community for young men recovering from drug and alcohol abuse, who work, live and journey together in the Catholic faith.

As of the release of this documentary, Ben has been in the Cenacolo Community for a year, continuing to make progress with his brothers in Christ. The Cenacolo Community is a wonderful Catholic ministry, just one of the many beautiful aspects of Medjugorje.

In addition to Ben's journey, the documentary took the audience on a tour of the many daily life scenarios and scenic views in Medjugorje: people praying at Apparition Hill; hiking up the rocky paths to Cross Mountain; the many outdoor confessionals where pilgrims received daily confession; brief interviews with many young pilgrims from the International Youth Festival and scenes from the festival itself; the beautiful architecture of Saint James Catholic Church; and the panoramic views of the vineyards and mountain landscapes.

It all spot lighted the great amount of peace, hope and joy emanating from Medjugorje, a place where many fruits are harvested at this spiritual orchard. Ben's conversion is just one of those fruits.

Our Lady Queen of Peace, pray for us.