Hi Nadine - 274 posts since I last logged on - I am not going to read them all.
You're right, at the very end you see a brief shot of the resurrection, but it's not emphasized. There are brief bits about his childhood, his relationship with his mother as a young man, Christ teaching (Sermon on the Mount), the Last Supper, but these are flashbacks.
The main story is familiar to Catholics - it's the Stations of the Cross, the fourteen that are in common use today, and others which are part of the larger tradition.
During Lent, a lot of Catholic churches (not sure if all) have images of each Station of the Cross inside the church, and a service where the priest goes from station to station, reading at each station what happened, and people sing and pray. When I was in Catholic school, I know we did this at least once a week.
The modern stations:
1. Christ condemned to death;
2. the cross is laid upon him;
3. His first fall;
4. He meets His Blessed Mother;
5. Simon of Cyrene is made to bear the cross;
6. Christ's face is wiped by Veronica;
7. His second fall;
8. He meets the women of Jerusalem;
9. His third fall;
10. He is stripped of His garments;
11. His crucifixion;
12. His death on the cross;
13. His body is taken down from the cross; and
14. laid in the tomb.
The other main elements of the film are drawn from these stations (no longer in general use but formerly in use in older times):
- the Agony in the Garden;
- the betrayal by Judas;
- the scourging;
- the crowning with thorns;
The modern Stations of the Cross correspond to the Way of the Cross, that is, the Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem.
More from the Catholic Encyclopedia:
newadvent.org
The movie came out on Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent, and appears to have been intended to assist meditation and prayer during Lent.
I don't feel like being a movie critic about it - it wasn't an ordinary Hollywood film, nor intended to be. I did not see anything which was inconsistent with the Gospels. There were lots of fleshed out bits but the additions seemed trivial, for example, in a flashback, Christ is shown making a table. That's not in the Gospels but the Gospels tell us he was a carpenter. Pontius Pilate is shown discussing the trials with his wife. The conversation contains elements which are not in the Gospels, but the Gospels tell us that she urged him not to kill Christ, saying that she had a bad dream.
Regardless of the sideshow about Hutton Gibson, the Roman Catholic Church in America likes the movie and is promoting it.
arlingtoncatholicyouth.org
daughtersofstpaul.com
Excerpt:
3. With all of the press concerning this movie, it would be helpful for you to be able to teach your young people what the Church says about our treatment of Jews. The Second Vatican Council Declaration, Nostra Aetate (1965), (4) states: "Even though the Jewish authorities and those who followed their lead pressed for the death of Christ, neither all Jews indiscriminately at that time, nor Jews today, can be charged with the crimes committed during his passion." Also from Nostra Aetate: "Christ in his boundless love freely underwent his passion and death because of the sins of all, so that all might attain salvation." Furthermore, in time for the release of the movie, the USCCB has written, “The Bible, the Jews and the Death of Jesus: A Collection of Catholic Documents,” No. 5-618, paperback, 128 pp., $11.95 ISBN 1-57455-618-5. To order this resource or to obtain a catalog of other USCCB titles, call toll free 800-235-8722. |
