The Passion of the Christ

The verdict is in: move heaven and earth to see this film. I agree completely with First Things, “it certainly is—the best movie ever made about Jesus Christ.” (March 2004, p. 9)

The film is faithful to Sacred Scripture. Mr. Gibson has made a movie which is thoroughly soaked in the Gospels. While not every note could be struck, in one film, from the complex arpeggios which resonate from the Gospels, Mr. Gibson has made a worthy effort. The better one’s knowledge of Sacred Scripture, the more one appreciates the film’s achievements. For example, Jesus’ prayers throughout the film almost always are lifted straight from the Psalms. This is not only congruous with the New Testament, but it also fits the reality that these prayers would have been on Jesus’ lips from childhood. Indeed, they also form the backbone of the Catholic liturgical tradition. Whenever the film strays from direct Biblical narrative, the addendum is almost always appropriate and within the mainstream of Christian tradition and piety.

The film is wondrously Eucharistic. Mr. Gibson makes the obvious connection between Jesus’ sacrifice on Golgotha, and His institution of the Eucharist. The film links the Passover, Christ’s immolation, and the Eucharist in a golden chain of faith and devotion. One cannot see this film, understand what the Holy Mass is, and walk away unchanged. Watching this movie gives an entire new perspective on the Blood of the Lamb.

The film is gloriously Marian. We see the Passion through the eyes of Our Lady, just as it was. The Romanian actress Maia Morgenstern is superb. The reality of Mary suffering with Christ is made clear from the film. Although it has been clear to Catholics, and is perfectly in step with the Gospels, the visual medium of film allows us to appreciate fully Mary’s participation in the Passion. Monica Bellucci portrays a beautifully poignant Magdalene.

I will post more on this subject later, as thoughts occur and time allows.

Problems with The Passion?

This post will address the two main criticisms of Gibson’s film. Tomorrow I will post on the film’s considerable merits.

WARNING! Spoilers ahead! (But how much of this story can really be spoiled?)

1) Is the film anti-Semitic? I don’t think so. The Jewish High Priests do not come off well, but as Fr. Groeshel said, they don’t come off well in the Gospels anyway. I believe the movie paints a balanced portrait between Jews calling for Jesus’ death, and those who take pity on Him. The film is absolutely clear in showing Jesus’ forgiveness towards Jews (and the Romans). Jesus cries out, “Father forgive them, for they know not what they do.”

This became strikingly clear to me at one point: as the High Priests ascended Golgotha, the scene cut away to Jesus speaking words from John 10:17-18, “For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life, that I may take it again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again; this charge I have received from my Father.” The film is faithful to the Gospels. Jesus was not some passive, helpless victim of a nefarious Jewish plot. Jesus wasn’t forced to take up His Cross; He embraced the Cross.

If any one group comes across as altogether wicked, it’s the Roman soldiers. Those who were directly responsible for carrying out Jesus’ execution are presented as mercilessly brutish and cruel.

As I’ve written before, if this film is anti-Semitic then the Christian Scriptures are inherently anti-Semitic. And if this is so, then the Hebrew Scriptures are even more anti-Semitic. This entire line of reasoning is absurd. Of course anyone searching for anti-Semitism will find it in the Gospels and in the film. Nevertheless, if you’re looking to point a finger of blame at those who caused Jesus’ death, look in the mirror.

As Fr. Groeshel has written, we should be sensitive to Jews who are concerned about the historical precedent of anti-Jewish violence in response to Passion plays. I believe some sort of disclaimer renouncing the sin of anti-Semitism and the preposterous notion of blaming Jews today for events that happened 2000 years ago, might have been helpful.

2) Is the film too gory? One reviewer described it as, “The Gospel as Horror Film.” Again, I don’t think so. Look, our salvation was grotesquely bloody. Jesus paid the price of our redemption with every drop of His Precious Blood. No doubt this film is indescribably brutal and excruciating to watch. But the real thing was even worse. I think people of faith should be mediate deeply on the Passion. The greatest saints and mystics have recommended such meditation. Gibson’s film is a realistic portrayal. It’s a cinematic Stations of the Cross. This film will shake you to the core. He set out to shock us, and succeeds brilliantly. For those who have been held captive to a sanitized Christianity, to a Jesus without the Cross, or to a contemporary abstraction of Jesus leaping off a Cross, this film is a timely, and welcome, alarm clock.

To those who wonder whether or not to see the movie because of sensitivity to violence I would employ the famous maxim, nosce te ipsum, know thyself. If you think you can possibly take it, with the option of looking away from time to time, I would recommend pushing the edge of the envelope. I think all Catholics should see this film because of the violence. We must know the price He paid for us.

The Passion of the Christ

Tonight I am going to a private screening of Mel Gibson’s controversial new film. A review from the New York Daily News today called it, “the most virulently anti-Semitic movie made since the German propaganda films of World War II.” I pray that’s irresponsible hyperbole.

I have had several friends whose opinions I trust more than my own, praise the film to the skies after private screenings. So someone is dreadfully wrong. I will be weighing in with a verdict ASAP! Stay tuned!!!

"Love Your Enemies"
Homily Notes: 7th Sunday in Ordinary Time (C)

Jesus commands us to love our enemies. To truly appreciate the implications of this commandment you almost need an enemy, one who directly wishes you ill. And so we have yet another challenging message from St. Luke’s Gospel, to put it mildly.

In the present-day culture, love is almost always equated with feelings. Indeed, our contemporaries place a high premium on emotions generally. Thus, to many, “to be in touch with your feelings” is equated with maturity. None of this is wrong per se. However, we might carry it a bit too far in our culture. Indeed, the defining characteristic of an infant is that s/he is in touch with his or her feelings and little else.

Certainly feelings are often associated with love. The trick is not to mistake association with identity. Feelings are constantly changing, like the prevailing winds. Emotions are ephemeral; they do not last. Love is not an emotion.

Three weeks ago I was speaking about the 4 Loves in Greek. Feelings are absolutely associated with each of those loves. In storge, I feel affection for some thing, say Oreo cookies. Of course, if I eat enough Oreos those feelings can change, quite quickly from delight to disgust. Similarly with philia, the love of friend or family, the emotions associated with it can vary widely with the same person. So, for example, a mother who loves her daughter may be enraged at her as a direct result of that love. It’s the same with eros. Obviously there are powerful feelings associated with eros. This is the bread and butter of daytime (and nighttime) soaps and much of Hollywood. However, if a marriage were based merely on the feelings associated with eros trouble would be just around the corner.

In the Gospel Jesus speaks of agape, gift love, cross love, the Love Who is God. It is interesting to note that nowhere in this Gospel does Jesus address the issue of emotion. Our Lord Jesus Christ is telling us that true love is in the doing, the act, the choice, not in the feeling. Jesus does not require us to manufacture feelings for others. He never asks us to do the impossible. And we cannot dictate our feelings.

Liking or disliking, feeling a certain way, is not a sin or a virtue. Sin and virtue come with acts. Often the problem is people say to themselves, “If I don’t feel a certain way towards so and so, then I’m not a loving person.” However, in the Gospel Jesus tells us that the exact opposite is true. Whenever we bless, give, pray for or do good towards another person, in spite of our feelings, we are being more loving than if we had the positive feelings. To love without feeling like it is more noble, more virtuous, more meritorious, more excellent.

We will not be judged by how we treat our friends. Anyone can be good to his or her friends; that takes no effort. We will be judged by how we treat those we don’t particularly like, those who have wronged us. We will be judged on how we act towards them, not how we feel towards them.

A good method to use is: Act as though you love your enemy; not unlike Alcoholics Anonymous’ famous phrase, “Fake it ‘till you make it.” The secret is in the doing. We can’t absolutely control our feelings; we can control our actions. When we do this we learn one of life’s greatest secrets: When we treat well someone we dislike, we come to dislike them less and less.

Special thanks to Fr. James C. Hudgins for providing the inspiration (and key points) for this homily

Priest Disease Process Update:

Dateline: Tuesday February 17th, Fr. David's Temperature: 102.1

Wednesday February 18th, Temperature falls to 101.1

Thursday February 19th, Temperature falls again to 100.1

A pattern seems to be emerging! The trajectory looks good.

Remarkable!

Stay tuned for further updates, and shameless sympathy seeking!!!

Where the heck is Fr. David, and why hasn’t he updated his blog???

I’m sick, or more accurately, ill. *Boo!!! Hiss!!!*

Actually, it’s my own fault. I’ve been working too hard and sleeping too little. Now, basically God has so designed me that I cannot do this for long. I have a pathetically weak constitution; I always have. If I don’t take care of myself then I get sick, and that slows me down for sure. So it’s been too many 18-20 hour days, and now I’m paying the price. So I got 4 bags of Cold-Ease or however you spell that stuff and I’m doing the major-hydration thing.

Other than that life is fine. The brides are mostly tamed (I’ve spoken to at least 20 over the last few days).

The hardest part for me is not being able to return phone calls. For example, there’s this one lady who has called me and wants me to call her back. Now I have tried to call her THREE TIMES. Once her phone was busy, and two times it just rang and rang. No answering machine *grrr*. So anyway, I have tried to get in touch with her, but from her perspective I’m an insensitive @*%!#. Oh, well, I’ve got to be detached from what I can’t control. If God wants me to be a @*%!# in this lady’s eyes then so be it.

So, there you go folks, a little window on the priesthood, at no additional cost, for mid-February!

I want to put some version of this text in the bulletin for next week. Let me know what you think of it. I take your comments EXTREMELY seriously. As always, however, let’s remember charity.

Anti-Semitism in Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ.

Over the last several months the media has been reporting and editorializing voluminously on the question of whether or not Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ is an inherently anti-Semitic film. I have been following the discussion on and off during much of this time. Since the film is set to be released on Ash Wednesday, and since I have promoted it, I have decided to weigh-in on this question of the possibility of anti-Semitism in the movie.

Unfortunately, the ugly plague of anti-Semitism lingers, like a foul stench, in our own time. Everyone knows of the nightmarish tragedy of the Holocaust when at least 6 million Jews died in concentration camps for the "crime" of being Jewish. I myself have visited the gas chambers and incinerators at Auschwitz-Birkenau, the ghettos of Warsaw, Anne Frank’s house in Amsterdam and Yad Vashem in Israel.

I would also expect the good people of St. Thomas Aquinas to be familiar with the centuries-old Catholic sin of anti-Semitism. We Christians, unfortunately on many occasions throughout history, have been absolutely Christless towards our Fathers in the Faith. There is no excuse for such hatred and bigotry; as a Church we must repent of such sin, make amends, and forcefully condemn it where it is found today.

This should be a no-brainer for Christians. The Great Commandment is “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” (Matthew 22:37) The Second Commandment is like it, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22:39) According to Jesus Christ these are the preeminent commandments. A kindergartener can see this, but it must be repeated: THIS. LEAVES. NO. ROOM. FOR. HATE. PERIOD. Not hatred towards the Jews, not hatred towards Muslims, not hatred towards those we find personally offensive, towards no one! So, anti-Semitism is out for Christians. Absolutely out. Enough said.

In the reading I have done, from The New York Times, to statements of The Anti-Defamation League, the main criticism arises from the assumption that after seeing this film, people will blame the crucifixion and death of Jesus on the Jews. The critics claim that the film paints the Jewish leaders, conspiring with a bloodthirsty “Jewish mob” as the architects of Jesus’ death. Further, the concern is that such a depiction will incite anti-Semitic violence.

Now, I have not seen the film, so I turn to one who has. Cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos after seeing the film commented on the issue of anti-Semitism saying,

Anti-Semitism, like all forms of racism, distorts the truth in order to put a whole people in a bad light. This film does nothing of the sort…It captures the subtleties and horror of sin, as well as the gentle power of love and forgiveness, without making or insinuating blanket condemnations against one group. This film expresses the exact opposite, that learning from the example of Christ there should never be any violence against any other human being. (Source: Inside the Vatican, December 2003, p. 12.)

Of the criticisms I have read, there often seems to be a direct condemnation of the New Testament itself, claiming that the Gospels themselves are anti-Semitic. I cannot accept this proposition. Indeed, if the New Testament is anti-Semitic, then the Old Testament is even more so, since it records a longer and bloodier record of “Jews behaving badly.” This entire line of reason is absurd. The Bible is not anti-Semitic. Christianity is not intrinsically anti-Semitic. Indeed, Christianity is an outgrowth of Judaism. Christianity began as a movement within Judaism. Jesus was a Jew. And we have not repudiated that family bond, on the contrary, its constitutive of who we are.

There is a fundamental misunderstanding here. Consider Matthew 27:25 where the Jews, at the trial of Jesus cry out: “His blood be on us and on our children.” Now, Mr. Gibson has decided to cut this line from the film. Nevertheless, some see this text from the Gospels as inherently anti-Semitic. No doubt, this text has been abused in order to justify hatred and violence against Jewish people throughout history. However, just because a text can be misunderstood and manipulated, does not mean that it cannot be properly understood and appreciated. Fulton J. Sheen, commenting on this passage described that blood as “redeeming blood.” I say that in this passage from Matthew, the Jews, without knowing what they were saying, were speaking prophetically, as God’s chosen people. Indeed, I join my cry to theirs, “May his redeeming blood be on all of us and all our children.” The people say these words on Palm Sunday every third year when Matthew’s Gospel is read. We appropriate them as our own.

Nonetheless, the question remains: Who is responsible for the death of Jesus? Newsweek poses that question as its cover story this week. Mel Gibson answers the question in his movie. Mr. Gibson appears only once in the film, and only his hands are shown. Gibson’s hands are those that drive the nails into Jesus. Mark Shea said it best when he wrote, “‘Who is responsible for the death of Jesus?’ (hint: look in the mirror).”

Homily Notes: 5th Sunday in Ordinary Time (C)

At the beginning of the new millennium, Pope John Paul wrote an Apostolic Letter aptly entitled, At The Beginning of the New Millennium, Novo Millenio Ineunte. The Holy Father took as a theme for that Apostolic Letter, a line from today’s Gospel “Put out into the deep” (Luke 5:4b). It sounds better, with fewer words and syllables, in Latin, Duc in Altum “Put out into the deep.”

In these words, the Pope discerns an invitation from our Lord Jesus Christ to leave mediocrity behind by entering profoundly into the depths of His love. Many Catholics, myself included, say to ourselves at this invitation, “Frankly, I’d much prefer to splash on the shoreline. Besides, every now and then I see a minnow!” Nevertheless, the “high adventure,” romance, inspiration, treasure and excitement are only found out in the deep water.

Most fundamentally “going deep” with Our Lord Jesus Christ is about our relationship with Him. This love relationship ought to be the point of everything we are and do as Christians. All the sacraments, all our worship, all our educational initiatives, everything, ought to have as its ultimate goal the fostering of a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ.

So the question becomes: How? How do we do this? We properly seek a technology, a middle term, a means to this end of relationship. How do we do this? Prayer. Prayer. Prayer.

I could get rich if I devoted myself to writing books about prayer. Barnes and Nobles, Borders, Schulers, all the big booksellers make a bundle each year selling books on prayer. People are curious and hungry to learn more about it. Yet prayer is so simple. Prayer is a surge of the heart towards heaven, a close sharing between friends, conversation with God.

The only wrinkle when it comes to prayer is that it is tremendously personal. The love relationship between Jesus and each of us, grown in the soil of prayer, must be personally appropriated. Prayer is a personal art which each of us must, to a certain degree, learn for ourselves. But how do we learn? By doing. “Just do it” is the perfect advice on how to pray. For we best learn to pray by praying. Like anything else, practice makes perfect.

Although prayer is tremendously personal, and each of us must to some degree find our own way, there are certain well-traveled routes which others through the centuries have found helpful. We do not need to reinvent the wheel as we approach prayer. One example is Lectio Divina, divine reading, Scripture reading. Essentially Lectio Divina is time spent praying over a passage of Scripture. However, unlike reading a book or newspaper, with Lectio Divina we must take our time. The goal is not to read a huge passage, but to slowly savor each word, as though we were relishing each bite of a fine meal. And when something from our reading moves us, or strikes us deeply, we stop, for that is the Holy Spirit speaking to our hearts through His Word. So the goal is to have a profound encounter with God through His Word where He speaks and we listen and respond. For one who is new to Lectio Divina I would suggest beginning with the New Testament, preferably the Gospels, and if really pushed, The Gospel of Mark since it is the shortest and simplest.

Another great means of going deep with Jesus is the Rosary. Now I usually find two opposite reactions when I bring up the Rosary. Some who sincerely appreciate it ask, “Is there any other prayer?” Others, who do not understand the Rosary react with the exclamation, “Boring!” Yet prayed properly, the Rosary is anything but dull. At its heart the Rosary is a prayer of meditation on the mysteries of the life of Jesus and Mary. Essentially, the Rosary is meditative prayer on the central events described in the New Testament. The Rosary can be a profound means of communion with Jesus in the depths of His Sacred Heart.

Eucharistic adoration enables us to come into the very presence of Jesus Christ. Jesus, truly present in the Blessed Sacrament is available to us in informal adoration, before the tabernacle, and in formal adoration, when He is exposed in the monstrance. Come and give your soul a tan! We can literally be close to His Heart and pour out our troubles in His presence. Through His Eucharistic Heart He draws us into the infinite depths of His love.

Spiritual reading is an excellent way to encounter Jesus Christ. Although there are many outstanding contemporary authors, I’m partial to the spiritual classics, those works that Christians have found helpful throughout the ages, all over the world. And I must admit that in this matter, as in others, I’m partial to the ladies. The women doctors of the Church have superlative expressions of the faith that have literally changed my life, and the lives of countless others. I have also found that often the women do not get as caught up in technical vocabulary as some of the boys do. I think here of St. Catherine of Sienna, St. Theresa of Avila and St. Therese of Lisieux. Of course there are many other spiritual classics, Introduction to the Devout Life by St. Francis de Sales, St. Ignatius of Loyola’s Spiritual Exercises, The Imitation of Christ, and so many others.

Experiencing some sort of Christian community is foundational to a balanced relationship with Jesus and His Body, the Church. We cannot do this alone. Some sort of small faith community is requisite, be it a Bible study group, the Knights of Columbus, a Charismatic prayer group, or just a good group of Christian friends who talk seriously from time to time. To live a life of faith in Jesus Christ takes the support of Christian peers.

The sacraments are the superlative means of going deep with Jesus Christ, because the sacraments are the very touch of Jesus. Sacraments do not depend on us; they depend on Him. The holiness of the priest is tertiary at best. The disposition of the Christian is secondary at best. Jesus is primary in the sacraments. Through the sacraments God acts, and we react. God’s perfect power and mercy and grace cover our weakness and sin. So they are ideal for encountering Jesus.

The Sacrament of Reconciliation, Confession, is indispensable. Through Confession we receive the forgiveness of Jesus Christ. There we find freedom from all the wickedness, silliness and garbage that we bring on ourselves. Catholics are often accused of being guilt-mongers. In fact the opposite is true. Confession is the great “anti-guilt.” One of its primary effects is the removal, the destruction of guilt. Psychologists have told me time and time again how much they admire this sacrament. Liberation from sin and darkness with no case notes, no insurance to pay, no cost at all. Just freedom, forgiveness and union with Christ. It can’t be beat.

Of course the sacrament-par-excellence, the source and summit of our faith is the Holy Eucharist. When we receive the Eucharist we literally have communion, union-with, Jesus Christ. This is the Marriage Supper of the Lamb where the two are made one. When we receive the Eucharist we are transformed into His Body. The Bread of Life puts death to death in us. There can be no closer union this side of heaven. We have a tangible, corporeal, edible union with Jesus in this Great Sacrament. How much more can be said. We have this great sacrament available to us every day, if we wish.

Jesus Christ calls us, “Duc in Altum!” He says, “Pull out into the deep! Leave the shallows behind!” In doing so we contemplate the One we love and we are immersed in the depths of His love for us. As St. Augustine said, “To fall in love with God is the greatest of all romances; to seek Him, the greatest adventure; to find Him, the greatest human achievement.”

I am preparing a talk for engaged couples, which I have to deliver on Saturday. What could a celibate priest possibly have to say to hot young couples getting ready for marriage in 2004? Here’s a snippet from it:

There is so much joy surrounding the day of a wedding. As the Rite of Marriage states,

You have come together in this church so that the Lord may seal and strengthen your love...Christ abundantly blesses this love. He has already consecrated you in Baptism and now He enriches and strengthens you by a special sacrament so that you may assume the duties of marriage in mutual and lasting fidelity.

I invite you to take as the model of your marriage the Holy Cross of Our Lord Jesus Christ. If the Cross is your model, today will be only the beginning of your happiness. If the Cross is your guide, you will grow more and more in love with each other as the years go by. If the Cross is your inspiration, you will be a good spouse. The Cross is not to be feared; as Jesus said, “My yoke is easy, my burden light.” This is the heart of Christian life; this is the heart of married life.

St. Paul explains it well in Ephesians 5:21-22, 25.

Be subject to one another out of reverence for Christ. Wives be subject to your husbands, as to the Lord…Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the Church and gave Himself up for her.

The heart of the Greek word “be subject” (hypotassomenoi) is consent, or receptivity. So both husbands and wives ought to consent to, be receptive to one another. Wives are to be receptive to, be subject to, consent to what? To the self-sacrificing cross-love (agape) of the husband. What woman wouldn’t be subject to that? What woman wouldn’t be receptive to that? What woman wouldn’t consent to that?

This is the pure divine gift-love that Jesus came to bring and He shares it with you in the Sacrament of Matrimony. Your love for your spouse is a communion with God Himself. This sort of love endures forever. May this love be yours all the days of your life.