Mary, Mother of Jesus is a made-for-television Biblical film that retells the story of Jesus

Jesus

Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...

 through the eyes of Mary, his mother. It stars Swedish

Swedish

Swedish may refer to:*Swedish cuisine*Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe *Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland...

 Pernilla August

Pernilla August

Pernilla August is a Swedish actress, director and script-writer. Being one of Sweden's leading actresses and a long time collaborator with director Ingmar Bergman, she won the Best Actress Award at the 1992 Cannes Film Festival for her role in his The Best Intentions...

 and Melinda Kinnaman

Melinda Kinnaman

Melinda Rosalie Kinnaman is a Swedish actress.Kinnaman was born in Sweden with two American parents and a brother, Joel Kinnaman, who is also an international actor. By age 13 she made her acting debut, portraying the tomboy Saga in the acclaimed 1985 movie My Life as a Dog, directed by Lasse...

 as Mary, David Threlfall

David Threlfall

David Threlfall is an English stage, film and television actor and director best known for playing Frank Gallagher in Channel 4's Manchester-based drama series Shameless. He has also directed several episodes of the show.-Early life:...

 as Joseph (his legal guardian, not father) and Christian Bale

Christian Bale

Christian Charles Philip Bale is an English actor. Best known for his roles in American films, Bale has starred in both big budget Hollywood films and the smaller projects from independent producers and art houses....

 as Jesus. The film was produced by Eunice Kennedy Shriver

Eunice Kennedy Shriver

Eunice Kennedy Shriver, DSG a member of the Kennedy family, sister to President John F. Kennedy and Senators Robert F. Kennedy and Edward Kennedy, was the founder in 1962 of Camp Shriver, and in 1968, the Special Olympics...

. It aired on NBC

NBC

The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...

.

The film emphasizes Mary's importance in Jesus's life, suggesting that his parables were inspired by stories she told him in his childhood. This, and similar details about Jesus's upbringing, cannot be confirmed, but are certainly not impossible. The resurrected Jesus also appears to his mother privately. This event is not found in the Gospels, but is probably based on an ancient Catholic tradition (not official teaching) that he appeared to her first of all people. The tradition influenced Ignatius of Loyola

Ignatius of Loyola

Ignatius of Loyola was a Spanish knight from a Basque noble family, hermit, priest since 1537, and theologian, who founded the Society of Jesus and was its first Superior General. Ignatius emerged as a religious leader during the Counter-Reformation...

's Spiritual Exercises

Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius of Loyola

The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola, are a set of Christian meditations, prayers and mental exercises, divided into four thematic 'weeks' of variable length, designed to be carried out over a period of 28 to 30 days...

among others. The movie closes with Mary suggesting the disciples should start preaching about her son.