The Real Fr. Stu

Last night, over fifty OLMC parishioners attended a showing of a new movie about a man named Stuart Long. The movie features Mark Wahlberg and Mel Gibson. Stuart grows up in Montana and is wild and rambunctious. His home life is difficult, especially because his brother Stephen died as a child. Stuart excels in boxing and wins the Golden Glove amateur championship. He tries for years to make it as a professional fighter but a severe jaw injury puts an end to his dreams of boxing glory. He then moves out to Los Angeles to be an actor. Through the influence of a Catholic girlfriend and nearly dying in a motorcycle accident, he comes to believe in God and is baptized a Catholic and then studies for the priesthood. Before priestly ordination, he begins to suffer from the effects of a degenerative muscular disorder. He embraces a call to represent the suffering Christ and powerfully impacts countless people through his priestly ministry.

I enjoyed the movie and thought it was well made. There is a lot of foul language, but the movie’s makers say the purpose is to authentically portray Stuart before his conversion. The scenes showing his struggle with life’s tragedies and disappointments are compelling. Also, his sense of humor and direct manner of speech make the movie interesting throughout. I recommend you see the movie and invite others to do so.

I also think you should get to know more about the real Stuart Long. For dramatic purposes, the movie altered some significant parts of his biography. Fortunately, there are some readily available resources to learn more about this remarkable man.

The first is an video interview of Fr. Stu.

This article by the Pillar is an in depth story about him. You can find a well written obituary of him (written after his death in 2014) here. An the National Catholic register has this article listing nine interesting facts about Fr. Stu.

As I’ve come to learn more about Fr. Stu, two things stand out. The mercy of God that found him when he was lost, and the grace of God that enabled him to suffer well.

This post will be shared on Mighty Network where you can comment on your impressions of the movie and what you have learned about the real Fr. Stuart Long.