Jesuit On Mel Gibson's Passion Of The Christ

The Christ story doesn't get old with the telling; it's as newsworthy today as it was 2,000 years ago. In 2004 The Gospel of John, a word-by-word filmed version of the Gospel which found favour with Christian groups, was both denounced by some as a "pop-up" book and praised by others as an accurate and compelling portrayal of the life of Christ.

Mel Gibson's controversial movie The Passion of The Christ is based on the four gospels, the writings of a 19th-century German nun, Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich, and other sources. Gibson has said that he did not try to make a religious movie, but rather something that was real to him. He wanted the movie to be a contemplation of the last hours of Christ.

Why do we go to the movies? We want to be entertained, to be distracted, to be informed; we are fond of one of the stars; we like the particular genre; it's a social outing; the issues and topics attract us; we are curious; or if you are a movie reviewer, it's an assignment. These are all fairly common reasons for heading off to the cinema. But when we look more closely, there's something deeper going on, something suspiciously spiritual.

Link (here) to the article by Fr. John Pungente SJ entitled, Pilgram's on a popcorn strewn path. Photo is of Fr. John Pungente, S.J..