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The
Passion of the Christ
A Review of the
Movie by Mel Gibson
With 3 Addendum
at the End
Congratulations!
The Experience
On Ash Wednesday, February 25, 2004, movie goers began, not to watch, but rather to experience THE PASSION of Christ as perhaps they had never done before, whether during a previous Lent, in reading a Gospel account of it, or in a meditation about it.
A Picture
The old expression that “a picture is worth a thousand words” could not be more true than in regard to this movie, where each picture frame of a thousand words produces a virtual multi-volumed cornucopia of individual books large enough, in Our humble opinion, to fill a football field!
QUO VADIS
It brought back memories of the very first Religious movie We had also not so much seen, but experienced. It was QUO VADIS [1951] with Peter Ustinov in the role of the Roman Emperor Nero. It also contained many violent scenes, such as the burning of Rome, the martyrdom of Saint Peter on Vatican Hill, as well as the martyrdom of countless Christians for their Holy Faith, some by crucifixion, like Christ, others by other ways as enumerated in the ROMAN MARTYROLOGY. But, back then, We do not remember any criticism of that movie being too violent, although it was certainly not nearly as intensely violent as is THE PASSION.
THE MYSTICAL CITY OF GOD
Experiencing THE PASSION also reminded Us of what We first read about many of the horrible details of Christ’s terrible Passion and agonizing Death in THE MYSTICAL CITY OF GOD by Venerable Mary of Agreda ([b. in her family castle at Agreda, Spain on April 2, 1602 - d. 1665 of natural causes; her body is incorrupt], who was a Franciscan Nun) back in 1960, when We were in the Theologate. That is what the Seminary is called where students study Thomistic Theology in preparation for the Holy Priesthood. Some of what is found in that book is either similar or identical, in some places, to what is presented in THE PASSION. Even though Mel Gibson used THE DOLOROUS PASSION OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST by Anne Catherine Emmerich for some of the details in this movie, as you might expect, there are similarities found both in THE MYSTICAL CITY OF GOD and THE DOLOROUS PASSION OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST.
But even the worst scenes for violence and sufferings in THE PASSION fall short of the horrendous actuality recorded in this book! In other words, the real Passion, including the scourging, crowning with thorns and crucifixion were much worse than the wrenching scenes depicted in THE PASSION!
Human Nature of Christ
In THE PASSION, the Human Nature of Christ is, for obvious reasons, center stage, with but a few scenes suggesting His Divine Nature, most especially the very last scene which was a perfect ending to THE PASSION.
Special Effects
The special effects are done so professionally that the average person is probably unaware of them, thus enhancing the seamless quality of the visual impact which shock is so overwhelming that a person is easily swept away with the ferocity of the drama which is almost non-stop throughout! So, for example, when We looked at Our watch for the very first time after the movie began, We could not believe that a full hour had already elapsed!
The Movie
Being drawn into the movie itself, it was almost as if time stood still so that what seemed just a few minutes was, in reality, a full hour! This kind of visual, audio and emotional impact over-rode a sense of time, at least for Us! The intensity of the drama is mitigated from time to time with what is known as “relief”, in this case in the form of “flashbacks” prior to the point in time at which the movie begins. There is one, only one, quasi-comic relief which breaks the severity of the carrying of the cross. There are also several quiet reliefs which flashback to scenes of tranquility. These scenes are “quiet”, not in the sense of the absence of dialogues, but rather of calm, peaceful settings which are used to help a person regain a certain modicum of emotional balance. Yet, despite theseinfrequent, but much needed and much desired respites, the movie flows in its channeled torrent of tragedy and violence.
Every one of the technical and production aspects of this film betokens the experience of many years which obviously has honed the parties involved into cutting edge perfectionism for their respective crafts, thereby transforming the mimimalistic 85 page script, which took about 79 shooting days over about a five month time period, into a VIBRANT, REALISTIC, NATURAL, CREDIBLE, mirror-polished presentation, which takes on a life of its own through the illusionary spontenaity of the cast, so carefully and minutely choreographed as it were with invisible scripted strings which were then cut in an effervescent freedom by which the central figures of the cast became transformed, not only into the stylistic form of their characters, but stepped into the persona of their characters thereby projecting their respective aurae in such a way that what the film captured was akin to a live event which was somehow filmed, not as a movie, but a documentary of real people - as if the camera was transported through a time warp to almost 2,000 year ago to the actual time and place where it recorded what it witnessed happening by actors who were not acting but real, living, breathing human beings living their lives in the roles God gave them in His Divine Script - the Holy Will of God.
Thus it is doubly valuable for bringing, what have become too often, for too many people, the dusty words of the Four Gospels to life coupled with a visual and audio perspective which provide much valuable data for the imagination while simultaneously transforming individual inanimate frames into an inexhaustible banquet fit, not only for the most dilettante, but also, and most especially, for the most Proficient, of Spiritual connoisseurs to use without fear of any shortages, or of even the shadow of satiation, during their Lenten meditations on the Agony, Sufferings, Passion and Death of Jesus Christ, thereby providing the needed grist for the mill of true Spiritual transformation!
The almost two hours long movie seems to pull one into a time-warp where time almost stands still so that other distractions, common with most movies, is almost non-existent, except, in Our case, for one lady's cell phone call and a teenager of perhaps between thirteen to fifteen years of age, crying profusely while exiting with several friends or family members. With this exception, We observed only one person who left about half-way through the movie. There was one young couple who came in, also at about the half-way point, but they left after walking all the way down and up one aisle, even though there were a number of empty seats. Perhaps they were just curious and had paid for a different movie?
The acting is very professional and very credible, not only due to the very talented native abilities of each actor and actress, but also to their methodical direction by a meticulously savvy professional, exuding erudite adroitness, in the person of the multi-talented thespian, Mel Gibson.
The costumes were certainly consistent with that time period. The two languages used, Aramaic for the Jews, and Latin for the Romans, with sub-titles seemed to work well. It was Our understanding that Mel Gibson wanted everything to be as authentic as possible, down to the last detail.
It seems to Us that he succeeded in most areas except for at least three important things.
First was the error of using Latin. Our research indicates that the Romans depicted in that part of the world at that point in time would have spoken Greek, Koine (biblical) Greek, to be exact, the “Koine Dialektos”, i.e. the “Common Dialect”, and not Latin! “In Hellenistic and New Testament times, however, Greek was the language of the empire and was more common than Latin even in Italy and Rome itself” (DICTIONARY OF THE BIBLE, McKenzie, p. 494, Latin).
Second and third are important omissions which the Scriptures clearly state:
21 And the governor answering, said to them: Whether will you of the two to be released unto you? But they said, Barabbas.So, secondly, in THE PASSION, only the High Priest, and sometimes several others, are depicted as saying: Let him be crucified.
22 Pilate saith to them: What shall I do then with Jesus that is called Christ? They say all: Let him be crucified.
23 The governor said to them: Why, what evil hath he done? But they cried out the more, saying: Let him be crucified.
24 And Pilate seeing that he prevailed nothing, but that rather a tumult was made; taking water washed his hands before the people, saying: I am innocent of the blood of this just man; look you to it.
25 And the whole people answering, said: His blood be upon us and our children. (Matthew Chapter 27:21-25; emphasis added).
On the contrary, the Gospel of Saint Matthew clearly proves that it was ALL of the mob, NOT only the High Priest and a few others. Another Scripture says the same thing, and not only that they cried out, but also that they were shouting because they had loud voices.
18 But the
whole multitude together cried out, saying: Away with this
man, and release unto us Barabbas:
19 Who, for a certain
sedition made in the city, and for a murder, was cast into prison.
20 And Pilate again
spoke to them, desiring to release Jesus.
21 But they
cried again, saying: Crucify Him, crucify Him.
22 And he said to
them the third time: Why, what evil hath this man done? I find no
cause of death in Him. I will chastise Him therefore, and let Him go.
23 But they were
instant with loud voices, requiring that He might
be crucified; and their voices prevailed. (Luke 23:18-23; emphasis
added).
Thirdly, in THE PASSION, the whole people do NOT answer Pilate, they are silent. On the contrary, the Gospel of Saint Matthew clearly proves that it was the whole people answering who said: His blood be upon us and our children. And NOW they wonder why God has cursed them for almost 2,000 years?!
Even the Apostle reminds the Jews that they crucified Christ, as the Scripture testifies:
22 Ye men of Israel, hear these
words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of
God among you, by miracles, and wonders, and signs, which God did by Him,
in the midst of you, as you also know:
23 This same being delivered up, by the determinate
counsel and foreknowledge of God, YOU by the hands of wicked
men have crucified and slain. (Acts of the Apostles 2:22-23).
Not necessarily on the subject of authenticity, but on moral standards, the last few final frames of this movie should have been edited out because they are out of place in a Religious film and tend to demean an otherwise exceptional movie.
Portraying Christ is never an easy accomplishment, but of all of the movies We have seen in which Christ is included, this has to be the most convincing Christ in all of movie history! Too frequently both television and movie depictions of Christ make Him into a quasi-hippie, or a character with a perpetual happy face, or, at best, one who lacks dimension, lacks authenticity, lacks the aura of authority, and fails to exude the immense depth of His Divinity.
But in THE PASSION these shortcomings are non-existent, not so much because of the sparse dialogue, but because of a faithful portrayal of the Christ Who is in the Gospels - the actor himself has an inner light, an inner glow, an inner Spiritual dimension, which the film captures. It is almost as if Christ Himself stepped into the body of the actor for many of the scenes because he bursts forth on the screen as a real person, not as a movie character, the Christ Whose actions show a human nature consumed with love for mankind to which is juxtaposed a faint glimpse, from time to time, of the serene majesty of Divinity in a continual act of obedience to His Heavenly Father, through the intensity of His sufferings and from which human nature naturally recoils, but yet which Christ accepts as witnessed, for example, where He lovingly embraces His cross. The intensity of this scene is but a brief example which must serve as a reminder to each of us that every day we must likewise lovingly embrace the cross which Christ gives us to carry .
For example, in the Seminary the student learns to place a Crucifix near the head of his bed, on his pillow, after making his bed, because, for among other reasons, in doing so the Seminarian must physically pick up the Crucifix to set it in place. For more years than We can remember, We have always said this prayer when placing the Crucifix on the pillow at the start of each day.
We recommend this prayer to you, too, because it will help you to focus on the proper priorities in your life for each day.
Kiss the feet of your Crucifix and lay it upon your pillow, after you have made your bed, saying:
I freely and joyfully pick up the Cross which Thou hast given me to carry today, O Merciful God. Permit me to carry it today for Thy Greater Honor and Glory so that by this, my Cross, Thy Most Holy Will may be done fully in me and by me. Let not prosperity lift me up nor adversity cast me down.THE PASSION fittingly portrays Our Blessed Mother with dignity befitting the Mother of God, the Holy Theotokos, as Our Lady of Sorrows. Throughout the most horrible anguish, grief and sorrow any Mother has ever felt for her child, Our Lady of Sorrows retains her dignity, despite the overwhelming emotional pressures which enrapture her with fresh torments in every successive scene. Truly, she is depicted in art with the Seven Swords of Sorrow, and this Sword was by far the worst of the Seven.
In the MYSTICAL CITY OF GOD by Venerable Mary of Agreda, in which Our Blessed Mother dictated to this Spanish Nun her autobiography, Our Blessed Mother reveals that, in a mystical manner, she felt everything her Divine Son felt, adding to her already overwhelming Sorrow.
This private revelation indicates her role in THE PASSION went far beyond that of a grieving Mother, because it was also a role as Co-Redemptrix, albeit in a spiritual, mystical, unbloody manner. One can choose to disbelieve this role of Our Lady of Sorrows, but to Us it seems foolish to do so.
THE PASSION is a movie of few words, but of a never-ending action which grabs its audience and holds each person in the silent realization that the words of the Gospel are jammed packed with Truth, with emotion, with life, with suffering, and with death, but also with hope!
As We observed people leaving after the credits were running their course at the very end, many of them had large tubs of popcorn which were well over half-full, and others with hardly even a few handfuls which were eaten! They were so absorbed in experiencing this movie that apparently they forgot all about their snacks? From Our viewing area in the back of the theatre, We also noticed that most people seemed to leave their drinks untouched most of the time.
anti-Semitism
As for the charges of anti-Semitism, WHERE have they been for almost two full millennia???!!! There is nothing NEW herein! It is based upon the Four Gospels! Why a SUDDEN outrage over the Four Gospels? Are they so ignorant of the Truth? Do they want to rewrite history?! Please keep in mind that Truth is the great balancer, because it alone can impart and sustain an impartial and fair balance to the Balance Scales of Justice.
Whether or not this ignorance is a case of affected ignorance today is still to be determined. But this does not apply to the time of the actual event, of which the Angelic Doctor writes: “Affected ignorance does not excuse from guilt, but seems, rather, to aggravate it: for it shows that a man is so strongly attached to sin that he wishes to incur ignorance lest he avoid sinning. The Jews therefore sinned, as crucifiers not only of the Man-Christ, but also as of God” (Saint Thomas Aquinas, O.P., [b. 1225 A.D. in Rocca Secca, Naples, Italy - d. Wednesday, March 7, 1274 A.D. in Fossa Nuova, Italy], Doctor of the Church, SUMMA THEOLOGICA III, 47, 5, Reply to Objection 3; emphasis added).
Saint Thomas had just given the basis for his position where he wrote: “I answer that, Among the Jews some were elders, and others of lesser degree. Now according to the author of De Qq. Nov. et Vet. Test., qu. lxvi, the elders, who were called ‘rulers, knew,’ as did also the devils, ‘that He was the Christ promised in the Law: for they saw all the signs in Him which the prophets said would come to pass: but they did not know the mystery of His Godhead.’ Consequently the Apostle says: ‘If they had known it, they would never have crucified the Lord of glory.’ It must, however, be understood that their ignorance did not excuse them from crime, because it was, as it were, affected ignorance. For they saw manifest signs of His Godhead; yet they perverted them out of hatred and envy of Christ; neither would they believe His words, whereby He avowed that He was the Son of God. Hence He Himself says of them (Jn. 15:22): ‘If I had not come, and spoken to them, they would not have sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin.’ And afterwards He adds (Jn. 15:24): ‘If I had not done among them the works that no other man hath done, they would not have sin.’ And so the expression employed by Job (21:14) can be accepted on their behalf: ‘(Who) said to God: depart from us, we desire not the knowledge of Thy ways.’”
“But those of lesser degree, namely, the common folk, who had not grasped the mysteries of the Scriptures, did not fully comprehend that He was the Christ or the Son of God. For although some of them believed in Him, yet the multitude did not; and if they doubted sometimes whether He was the Christ, on account of the manifold signs and force of His teaching, as is stated Jn. 7:31,41, nevertheless they were deceived afterwards by their rulers, so that they did not believe Him to be the Son of God or the Christ. Hence Peter said to them: ‘I know that you did it through ignorance, as did also your rulers’ - namely, because they were seduced by the rulers.” (Saint Thomas Aquinas, O.P., [b. 1225 A.D. in Rocca Secca, Naples, Italy - d. Wednesday, March 7, 1274 A.D. in Fossa Nuova, Italy], Doctor of the Church, SUMMA THEOLOGICA III, 47, 5; emphasis added).
Rather, it sounds to Us as if certain Jewish leaders are once again trying to seduce the common folk among the Jews, by trying to prevent the general Jewish population from seeing this movie? Or, as one Jewish gentleman observed on one TV program after seeing THE PASSION, that the Jews themselves need to re-examine their own scriptures to see if maybe they missed something all these centuries because perhaps such a re-examination would prove that Christ really was the Messias!?
This observation is certainly encouraging to Catholics because it shows a greater thirst for the Truth among the general Jewish population, apparently no longer as controlled by their leaders as previous generations?! Perhaps some of their leaders are attempting to regain this lost control by their fallacious charges of anti-Semitism hoping that somehow this will polarize their own people?
Cutting Social Security Benefits
Because Alan Greenspan, a Jew, the Chairman of the Federal Reserve, chose Ash Wednesday, the same day on which THE PASSION opened in theaters across the U.S., to suggest that there should be cuts in Social Security benefits for the elderly, the disabled, etc., as an experienced researcher, why should We not ask IF he was acting on behalf of an irresponsible, extremist, ultra anti-Christian minority element of Zionists to verbally attack Christ once more?!
If We discount whether or not this was really a subtly disguised attack against Christ, We still have one undeniable fact which remains. This undeniable fact is that Alan Greenspan, a Jew, the Chairman of the Federal Reserve, DID suggest that there should be cuts in Social Security benefits for the elderly, the disabled, etc.!
Why would at least some patriotic Americans consider this suggestion to be blatantly anti-American? Why should an ordinary patriotic American not take umbrage at such a malicious suggestion?
Zionists
So then, IF there really is an issue of anti-Semitism in the air in America which began on Ash Wednesday, February 25, 2004, why can We not posit that it is because the Jewish Greenspan put it there by apparently acting on behalf of an irresponsible, extremist, radical, ultra anti-Christian minority element of Zionists? It is certainly much more LOGICAL for Us to take this position that to waste Our time by claiming that it is the result of THE PASSION!
In speaking with Catholics and Protestants about this, We have thus far been forced to conclude that the charge of anti-Semitism by the Jews against Mel Gibson and THE PASSION is a non-issue which some irresponsible, extremist, ultra anti-Christian minority element of Zionists are desperately trying to turn into an issue!
A REDEMPTION FOR MANY
On the contrary, Catholics and Protestants seem to be focused on Christ as their Redeemer, as it is written: ”Even as the Son of man is not come to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give His life a REDEMPTION FOR MANY” (Matthew 20:28; emphasis added) which is why, in the ancient Rite of the Catholic Mass, one finds this Form for the Consecration of the Precious Blood:
“For this is the chalice of My Blood of the New and Eternal Testament: the Mystery of Faith: which shall be shed for you and FOR MANY unto the remission of sins.” (MISSALE ROMANUM, Canon, Consecration of the Precious Blood; emphasis added).The fact that it is MANY and not ALL MEN is explained by the Synod of Trent in its official Catechism where it teaches in part:
“With reason, therefore, were the words FOR ALL not used, as in this place the fruits of the Passion are alone spoken of, and to the elect only did His Passion bring the fruit of salvation. And this is the purport of the Apostle when he says: Christ was offered once to exhaust the sins OF MANY; and also of the words of our Lord in John: I pray for them; I pray not for the world, but for them whom thou hast given me, because they are thine.” (ROMAN CATECHISM, Part II - The Sacraments, The Sacrament of the Eucharist; emphasis added.)Hence, the Redemptive Atonement for Sin brought about by Christ’s Passion and Death is the focus for Catholics and Protestants because it proves the great love which Jesus Christ has for each and every person, especially the MANY who would avail themselves of it. SO, WHERE is there any vague shadow here of any kind of anti-Semitism? There is none!
ATONEMENT for Sin
Rather, THE PASSION serves to help people SPIRITUALLY, to visualize, to think about, and to meditate upon what THE PASSION IS REALLY about! The Agony, Passion and Death of Jesus Christ is all about ATONEMENT or making satisfaction for sin, the sins of the entire human race! Jesus Christ, as the promised Redeemer of the Old Testament prophecies, came to re-open the Gates of Heaven slammed shut by Original Sin which each of us have inherited from our first Parent, Adam! Worldly, materialistic, secular, humanistic, paganistic people simply are not able to grasp or to otherwise comprehend any of these things!
The Sacrifice of Calvary and the Sacrifice of the Mass
THE PASSION focuses on the SACRIFICE of the Cross which is what the ancient Catholic Rite for the Mass is - a SACRIFICE! The Mass is a re-enactment of Calvary as it is written:
“This Sacrifice [of the Ancient Catholic Rite of the Mass] was to re-present the bloody sacrifice which He accomplished on the Cross once for all...the same Christ Who offered Himself once in a bloody manner on the Altar of the Cross [on Calvary]...the only difference is the manner of the offering” (Synod of Trent, Session 22, Monday, September 17, 1562, Chapters 1, 2).This same source also teaches that Christ
“instituted the New Passover (to wit) Himself to be immolated under visible signs by the Church through (the ministry of) Priests...this is indeed that clean oblation...which the Lord foretold by Malachias was to be offered in every place, clean to His Name, which was to be great amongst the Gentiles...that oblation which was prefigured by various types of sacrifices, during the period of nature, and of the [Old] Law; in as much as it comprises all the good things signified by those sacrifices, as being the consummation and perfection of them all” (Synod of Trent, Session 22, Monday, September 17, 1562, Chapter I, On the Institution of the Most Holy Sacrifice of the Mass; emphasis added).It is Our prayerful hope and desire that all “catholic” and “christian” peoples and churches would prayerfully re-examine this beautiful and wonderful gift - the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass - Christ perfectly instituted as a SACRIFICE and which Christ gave to His Church as an act of Infinite Love for us!
For example, the members of certain “catholic” churches must come to realize the Truth that the Holy SACRIFICE of the Mass IS in fact a SACRIFICE! It is NOT a SUPPER, NOT a MEAL, despite what that church would have its members believe where it teaches:
“The Lord’s Supperis the assembly or gathering together of the people of God, with a priest presiding, to celebrate the memorial of the lord. [12]” (THE GENERAL INSTRUCTION AND THE NEW ORDER OF MASS, ICEL-International Committee on English in the Liturgy-Sacred Congregation of Rites Decree, April 6, 1969, Benno Card. Gut, Prefect of the S.R.C., President of the Consilium, Chapter II, # 7; emphasis added). “12. PRESBYTERORUM ORDINIS, no. 5; CSL, no. 33.” (THE GENERAL INSTRUCTION AND THE NEW ORDER OF MASS, ICEL-International Committee on English in the Liturgy-Sacred Congregation of Rites Decree, April 6, 1969, Benno Card. Gut, Prefect of the S.R.C., President of the Consilium, Chapter II, Footnotes; Footnote # 12.)The only difference between Calvary and the ancient Catholic Rite of Mass of the Catholic Church is the manner of the offering because on Calvary it was a bloody Sacrifice and in the ancient Catholic Traditional Mass it is an unbloody Sacrifice, but in BOTH cases, it IS a SACRIFICE!
Even so, after exiting their Churches and Chapels for almost 2,000 years, after assisting at the Holy SACRIFICE of the Mass, do Catholics run around in a frenzy yelling and screaming “Kill the Jews because they killed Christ!”??? Of course not!
Rather, Catholics are focused on the role of Christ as their God-Redeemer, their Savior, and how their sins were partly responsible for his cruel sufferings in His Agony, Passion, Crucifixion and Death on the Cross and on the ATONEMENT of Christ for their sins. The same is true for Catholics who go to the Stations of the Cross. We remember in growing up how 7:00 p.m. every Friday evening during Lent Our Pastor led the Stations of the Cross which were concluded by Benediction of the Most Blessed Sacrament. Not one time in all of those years do We ever recall hearing one word against the Jews, whether in or outside of the Church! The same is true during Our Pastoral Ministry when We led the Stations of the Cross for Our various Congregations.
This responsibility for the horrible sufferings and death of Christ becomes very clear, for example, when, at the foot of the Altar, before ascending the steps to the Altar ofSacrifice, the Celebrant of the Holy Sacrifice of the Ancient Roman Rite of the Catholic Mass recites the Confiteor, a prayer in which he acknowledges that he has sinned:
“I confess to Almighty God, to Blessed Mary ever a Virgin, to Blessed Michael the Archangel, to Blessed John the Baptist, to the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, to all of the saints, and to you brethren, that I have sinned exceedingly in thought, word, and deed: (Celebrant strikes his chest three times, saying:) through my fault, through my fault, through my most grievous fault....”The Mass Servers thereafter also recite the Confiteor on behalf of the Congregation, whether present or absent. So then, WHY should anyone expect Catholics to act differently after seeing the movie, THE PASSION? The focus is on SACRIFICAL REDEMPTION BY CHRIST IN ATONEMENT FOR THEIR SINS.
To claim otherwise is to denigrate the Infinite Value of the Infinite Atonement of the promised Messias of the Old Testament Prophecies for all of the sins of mankind by His heroic Sacrifice on the Altar of the Cross!
Cause of the Passion and Death of Christ
The ACTUAL CAUSE of the horrible sufferings Christ endured during his Passion and Death was SIN - Original Sin and ALL of the Actual Sins, both Mortal Sins and Venial Sins, which every person throughout the entire history of mankind would commit, from Adam and Eve to the last person to be born because Christ ATONED for EVERY SIN EVER COMMITTED by his cruel sufferings, passion and death!
It is this ATONEMENT FOR SIN on which Catholics and Protestants meditate, upon which they reflect, upon which they feel guilt for having been responsible - to the degree to which they will have sinned throughout their entire lifetimes - and by which they perform ACTS OF REPENTANCE AND REPARATION for their own sins which have, in part, caused the terrible sufferings of Christ during His Agony, His Passion and His Death!
For example, in the WAY OF THE CROSS, According to Saint Alphonsus Ligouri, at the First Station the people pray in part:
“I REPENT with my whole heart for having offended Thee. Never permit me to separate myself from Thee again.”At the Second, Third, Fifth, Seventh, Eighth, Ninth, Tenth, and Eleventh Stations the people pray in part:
“I REPENT of having offended Thee.”Also, at the First Station the people pray in part:
“It was MY SINS that CONDEMNED THEE TO DIE”.
Theologians make a distinction between an efficient cause and an instrumental cause. An efficient cause is that which is capable of producing its own effect, e.g. a man pounding a nail into a piece of wood. An instrumental cause needs the efficient cause without which it is not able to act, e.g. a hammer is the instrument used by a man to pound a nail into a piece of wood. Yet the hammer in and of itself does nothing unless it is acted upon by an efficient cause, e.g. a hammer lays in a man’s tool box doing nothing at all until a man removes it from its place and uses it to pound a nail into a piece of wood.
The same is true, therefore, of the Jews. EVERY SIN is the efficient cause of the terrible sufferings of Christ during His Agony, His Passion and His Death - all of which were in ATONEMENT for each and everyone of the sins of mankind from the beginning of the world until the end of the world - while the Jews were only the instrumental cause of Christ’s horrendous sufferings and death!
Not WHO, but WHAT, Killed Christ
The question then of WHO killed Christ is, for all intents and purposes, without merit and irrelevant, illogical, a non-sequitur, because the REAL ISSUE IS WHAT killed Christ, not WHO killed Christ. And WHAT killed Christ? EVERY SIN EVER COMMITTED FROM ADAM AND EVE UNTIL THE LAST SIN AT THE END OF THE WORLD !
THE PASSION IS a Prophetic WARNING!
In the final analysis, THE PASSION is a prophetic WARNING! It is a prophecy. Why? Because this movie reminds Us of that very first Religious movie We saw, QUO VADIS. In QUO VADIS, Saint Peter is shown fleeing the city of Rome to escape the bloody persecution of the Roman Emperor Nero. Saint Peter is trying to save his life. As he hurriedly walks along one of the major Roman roads, the movie depicts him suddenly stopping and kneeling down.
Here Saint Peter sees Christ walking towards the city of Rome. Saint Peter asks, in Latin: “Quo vadis, Domine?” “Where are you going, Lord?” Christ answers him that He is going to the city of Rome to be crucified a second time! Saint Peter instantly understands what this means! He, Peter, must return to Rome and die for his Faith in Christ. And, that is what he did, ending up in being crucified, head downwards, on Vatican Hill. We understand that a Chapel marks the spot of this vision, which is called the Quo Vadis Chapel.
THE PASSION is another QUO VADIS
But what does this have to do with THE PASSION? How is THE PASSION another QUO VADIS?
A friend of Ours, who is an Archbishop, told Us a few days ago that THE PASSION is as if Christ has returned to be crucified a second time in order to save as many souls as possible, just before the advent of anti-Christ and the bloody persecutions are unleashed by it (the Beast, possessed from his birth by Satan), upon the whole world!
In other words, this Archbishop is saying that God, in His Infinite Mercy, has permitted THE PASSION to come to bring true repentance to the hearts of mankind for their many, many sins, so that when the bloody persecutions of anti-Christ begin, perhaps these people will be spared?!
Why is it necessary for Christ "to come again" in THE PASSION? First, apparently to reach as many people as possible, as quickly as possible, because the time is short? Also, because most people have ignored God's Peace Plan which Our Blessed Mother gave to the world at Fatima in 1917! Finally, because too many people seem to be very apathetic about the contents of the Third Secret of Fatima - NOT the apparent forgery the Vatican released - but rather the genuine Secret! (For more data on the Third Secret of Fatima, please click on this link. Thank You!)
Advice to Mel Gibson
and to all Others
who may be Victimized
by Extremist Zionism
The Apocalypse shows how militant Zionism will attain its apex during the reign of anti-Christ and their human agents. Some years ago, a Bishop friend of Ours said that he thought some of the members of the Mystical Body of Christ were experiencing some of the same things which the physical Body of Christ experienced.
One finds this even in the Scriptures where the anti-Apostolic hate crimes of radical and extremist Zionist Sadducees of almost 2,000 years ago persecuted the Apostles, as the Bible testifies:
12
And by the hands of the Apostles were many signs and wonders wrought among
the people...
16
And there came also together to Jerusalem a multitude out of the neighboring
cities, bringing sick persons, and such as were troubled with unclean spirits;
who were all healed.
17 Then
the high priest rising up, and all they that were with him, (which
is the heresy of the Sadducees,)
were
filled with envy...
18
And they laid hands on the Apostles, and put them in the
common prison...
21
Who having heard this, early in the morning, entered into the temple, and
taught. And the high priest coming, and they that were with him,
called together the council, and all the ancients of the children of Israel;
and they sent to the prison to have them brought...
25 But
one came and told them: Behold, the men whom you put
in prison are in the temple standing, and teaching the people.
26
Then went the officer with the ministers, and brought them without violence;
for they feared the people, lest they should be stoned.
27 And
when
they had brought them, they set them before the council. And
the high priest asked them,
28
Saying: Commanding we commanded you, that you should
not teach in this name; and behold, you have filled Jerusalem with your
doctrine, and you have a mind to bring the blood of this man upon us.
29 But
Peter and the Apostles answering, said: We ought to obey God,
rather than men.
30 The
God of our fathers hath raised up Jesus, whom YOU put to
death, hanging him upon a tree.
31
Him hath God exalted with his right hand, to be Prince and Saviour, to
give repentance to Israel, and remission of sins.
32 And
we are witnesses of these things and the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given
to all that obey him.
33 When
they had heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they
thought to put them to death...
40
And calling in the Apostles, after they
had scourged them, they charged them that they
should not speak at all in the name of Jesus; and they dismissed
them.
41
And they indeed went from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they
were accounted worthy to suffer reproach for the name of Jesus.
42
And every day they ceased not in the temple, and from house to house, to
teach and preach Christ Jesus. (Acts of the Apostles 5:12, 16-18, 21, 25-33,
40-42; emphasis added).
So today, just because the born-again radical and extremist Zionist Sadducees are not able to crucify the physical Body of Christ again, and because they are apparently still filled with hatred against Christ, all this yelling and screaming about THE PASSION being anti-Semitic seems to be a smoke screen to cover their historical hate crimes against the Apostles, and Catholics of succeeding generations?
In any event, their rabid fury forces Us to conclude that this can only be but one more arrogant attempt to try to continue their hate crimes against innocent, Faithful Catholics who are the members of the Mystical Body of Christ who believe that Jesus Christ IS the promised Messias of the Old Testament prophecies!
Should not the United States government begin an investigation of such hate crimes in the making against Catholics by these born-again radical, extremist Zionist Pharisees and Sadducees who are once more stoking the fires of hate crimes against Catholics in their anti-Catholic propaganda?
Therefore,IF there is a real issue here, it is NOT anti-Semitism, rather, it is anti-Catholicism which a small minority of born-again radical, extremist, hate-filled Zionists have attempted to force center-stage, thus attempting to UPSTAGE the REAL, profound, Spiritual and Mystical messages of God's love for mankind found in this movie, THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST!
To Mel Gibson and to the other members of the Mystical Body of Christ, We would remind you to imitate Christ in that same spirit which was capsulated in these few lines by the pen of a holy Archbishop We had the privilege of knowing, which he wrote to Us so long ago, and which reminds Us of how fitting they are for all of us today in what seems to have become the Generation of THE anti-Christ, THE anti-Christ whom the Jews will accept as their "Messias":
“Their vilification remind a person of the activities of the Scribes and Pharisees whose descendants they seem to be. Those poor people of old did not rest until they could nail Christ to the Cross, and they have persecuted the Apostles likewise until each one was killed. They did not leave one stone unturned to suit their ego and fancy.”
“It is a great comfort to remember the words of Christ who promised the cross, persecution, slander, incarceration and even death to those who want to follow Him. And, if we really want to follow Him, then we must be prepared for all those things, and we must do as He did, Who, dying on the cross, said: Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” (Archbishop Joseph Maria).Ad Maiorem Dei Gloriam,
It has come to Our attention that there are certain apologists who are taking the position that the Jews were absolved by Jesus Christ Himself for everything the High Priests, at least some of the 71 Council (Sanhedrin) members, and the Jewish mob did to Him
This includes their yelling with loud voices (Luke 23:23) over and over again, because they cried out the more (Matthew 27:23), Let him be crucified (Matthew 27:22), Let him be crucified (Matthew 27:23), Crucify Him (Mark 15:13), Crucify Him (Mark 15:14), Crucify Him, crucify Him (Luke 23:21), Crucify Him, crucify Him (John 19:6), crucify Him (John 19:15).
Among other things, it also includes the whole people answering, said: His Blood be upon us and our children (Matthew 27:25).
The ironic thing about this claim that Jesus Christ Himself absolved all of these people from their sins against Him is that such apologists are admitting the guilt of all of these people because people who are innocent, who have not sinned, have no need of forgiveness, of absolution! And it was only AFTER they crucified Him (Luke 23:33) that Christ said: Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do (Luke 23:34; emphasis added).
Christ did NOT say this one nanosecond AFTER the whole people cried Let him be crucified and Crucify Him, crucify Him! IF Christ forgave the whole people, then WHY did not Christ say Father, forgive them at THAT time BEFORE He was led away from Pilate and the whole people to be crucified so that the whole people could hear Christ forgive them? After all, it is extremely doubtful that the whole people actually heard Christ say Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do (Luke 23:34) while He was hanging on the Cross!
In other words, there is no logical reason, IF Christ was going to forgive the whole people, WHY Christ, Who hath done all things well (Mark 7:37), would have DELIBERATELY missed the perfectopportunity to forgive the whole people IMMEDIATELY AFTER the whole people answering, said: His Blood be upon us and our children (Matthew 27:25), and Who instead waited from saying Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do (Luke 23:34) until He was hanging on the Cross at a time and place at which it is VERY DOUBTFUL that the whole people actually heard Christ said this!
But is this claim true that Christ actually absolved the whole people from their sins against Him when He said: Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do (Luke 23:34)?
Such apologists clearly admit that the whole people WERE GUILTY because they needed to be forgiven or absolved from their sins against Christ. What makes a bad situation even worse for them is where the whole people answering, said: His Blood be upon us and our children (Matthew 27:25).
Thus, the whole people recognized and publicly admitted their sins, otherwise they would not have said: His Blood be upon us and our children (Matthew 27:25)!
So, is this claim of the forgiveness of the whole people for their sins against Christ by Christ while dying on the Cross, true?
What does the INTERNAL evidence tell you?
Lest We be accused of quoting out of context, here is the entire verse preceded by one verse and followed by one verse:
33 And when they were come to the place which is called
Calvary, they crucified Him there; and the robbers, one on the right hand,
and the other on the left.
34 And Jesus said: Father, forgive them, for they
know not what they do. But they, dividing His garments, cast lots.
35 And the people stood beholding, and the rulers with
them derided Him, saying: He saved others; let Him save Himself,
if He be Christ, the elect of God. (Luke 23:33-35).
What is the sequence of events as herein recorded by the Evangelist, Saint Luke?
1) Arrival at Calvary.
2) Crucifixion of Christ.
3) Christ hanging on His Cross between two robbers.
4) Christ says: Father, forgive them,
for they know not what they do.
5) They divide His garments and cast lots.
6) The people and the rulers deride Christ saying: He saved
others; let Him save Himself, if He be Christ, the elect of God.
What said apologists seem to have lost in all of this, perhaps themselves overwhelmed by the intensity of the drama of the events, is that Jesus Christ did NOT forgive anyone!
WHAT does Christ actually do? Jesus Christ asks His Heavenly FATHER to forgive them, for they know not what they do.
Therefore, for these apologists to claim that Jesus Christ FORGAVE the Jews is NOT TRUE! For anyone to say that Jesus Christ forgave anyone or everyone with His words: Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do is oblivious to WHAT Christ ACTUALLY SAID! Such people are totally focused on the forgive them, for they know not what they do, while they ignore the FIRST WORD - Father.
In other words, the Evangelist did NOT write that Jesus Christ said: “I, JesusChrist, FORGIVE....”
As a matter of fact, THERE IS NO PROOF that God the Father forgave anyone, either, even though Christ ASKED His Father to forgive them!
It is a gratuitous statement to claim that ANYONE was actually forgiven!!
No doubt such apologists will immediately be wont to claim that the Father, “forgave” them?
But, does the Evangelist write: “The Father forgave them”? NO!
Now the apologists will no doubt claim that the Father would most certainly honor the dying WISH of His Son, Jesus?!
But is such a claim credible?
37 And taking with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee,
he began to grow sorrowful and to be sad.
38 Then He saith to them: My soul is sorrowful
even unto death: stay you here, and watch with Me.
39 And going a little further, He fell upon His face,
praying, and saying: My Father, if it be possible, let this chalice
pass from Me. Nevertheless not as I will, but as Thou wilt. (Matthew
26:37-39).
Another passage says:
42 Again the second time, He went and prayed, saying:
My Father, if this chalice may not pass away, but I must drink it, Thy
will be done.
43 And He cometh again and findeth them sleeping:
for their eyes were heavy.
44 And leaving them, He went again: and He prayed
the third time, saying the selfsame word (Matthew 26:42-44).
Another Evangelist writes:
36 And He saith: Abba, Father, all things are possible to Thee: remove this chalice from Me; but not what I will, but what Thou wilt. (Mark 14:36)
Still yet another Evangelist writes:
41 And He was withdrawn away from them a stone's cast;
and kneeling down, He prayed,
42 Saying: Father, if Thou wilt, remove this chalice
from Me: but yet not My will, but Thine be done.
43 And there appeared to Him an Angel from Heaven, strengthening
Him. And being in an agony, He prayed the longer.
44 And His sweat became as drops of blood, trickling
down upon the ground (Luke 22:41-44).
Each of these Scripture passages PROVE that God the Father did NOT do what His Divine Son, Jesus Christ, asked Him, namely to remove this chalice from Me.
Not only that, but even Christ made it conditional - Father, if Thou wilt. In other words, even Christ Himself knew that God the Father would NOT necessarily grant this WISH of Christ.
Therefore, with this background knowledge of the fact that God the Father did NOT grant the WISH of Christ during His Agony in the Garden by removing the CHALICE (which here symbolizes the Holy Will of God the Father) from Him, WHY would anyone automatically assume that God the Father would NOW, with Christ on the Cross, grant another Wish of Christ, namely, to forgive them?
On the contrary, it seems to Us that just as God the Father did NOT remove the Chalice (His Will that Christ suffer and die for the sins of mankind to effect Redemption) from Christ during His Agony in the Garden, so also, since God the Father had NOT removed the Chalice - from which Christ was still “drinking” during His Agony on the Cross - so also God the Father, again, did NOT grant this WISH of Christ to forgive them because they were also mingled in with the contents of this Chalice (the Will of the Father) and hence, they, too, were required to drink from this same Chalice of the Holy Will of God the Father!
In other words, God the Father set a PRECEDENT by NOT granting the WISH of Christ during His Agony in the Garden. Now, because of this PRECEDENT, it seems logical to Us that there is a much stronger chance that God the Father, following His own PRECEDENT, again did NOT grant the Wish of Christ during His Agony on the Cross, namely to forgive them.
However, in the final analysis, no one can know with any total certainty, until the Day of the General Judgement, whether or not God the Father actually DID or DID NOT forgive them because the Scriptures do NOT actually tell us specifically, they only hint at the answer by giving us the PRECEDENT God the Father set when Christ was in the Garden when God the Father DENIED the WISH of Christ.
So also, while Christ explicitly united and conformed His Will to His Father’s Will in the Garden, there is nothing to suggest that Christ did not follow His own PRECEDENT in this regard by at least implicitly, by means of an internal intention, also unite and conform His Will to His Father’s Will regarding His WISH for His Father to forgive them while hanging on the cross.
The final point in all of this is EXACTLY who is the them in the forgive them, for they know not what they do?
What is the CONTEXT of the Scripture? What does the Scripture tell you?
And Jesus said: Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. But they, dividing His garments, cast lots. (Luke 23:34; emphasis added).
Please notice that right after Christ says Father, forgive THEM He immediately adds for THEY know not what THEY do. Thus the THEM and the THEY obviously refer to the SAME people! And exactly WHO ARE the THEM and the THEY? According to the Scripture, the answer is in the very next sentence which says: But THEY, dividing His garments, cast lots.
This seems to logically answer the question of who the THEM and the THEY are, namely the SAME THEY, dividing His garments, who cast lots. In other words, the EXECUTIONERS of Christ are the THEM and the THEY for whom Christ is NOT forgiving, NOT absolving from their sins, but rather ASKING HisFATHER to forgive.
But there is further proof that it is the EXECUTIONERS for whom Christ asks His FATHER to forgive because Christ gives His FATHER a REASON WHY He, Christ, is asking His FATHER to forgive THEM, namely by what He says immediately after that: for THEYknow not what THEY do.
WHO could possibly have NO IDEA of what THEY do? These were Roman soldiers who crucified Christ. You do NOT read where the Jewish High Priest, nor any member of the Council, nor any Jew, physically grabbed a hammer and began pounding a nail in the wrist of Christ!
Also, remember it was ONLY to the Jews to whom Christ went. It was the APOSTLES who LATER went to the Gentiles. But CHRIST Himself NEVER went to the Gentiles, including any of the Romans or the Roman soldiers! Christ Himself testifies to this where He says: “And He answering, said: I was not sent but to the sheep that are lost of the House of Israel.(Matthew 15:24; emphasis added).
Also, that it really was the ROMAN EXECUTIONERS, those who were His CRUCIFIERS, for whom Christ was asking His Father to forgive, is the testimony of no less a personage than the very one who translated the ENTIRE BIBLE from its original languages into the Latin Vulgate, namely Saint Jerome, who would be, by far it seems to Us, the absolute BEST exegetic to quote in this matter?
He writes that Jesus Christ “prayed for His CRUCIFIERS, saying, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Saint Jerome [b. Stridon, Dalmatia c. 340 A.D. - d. Bethlehem 420 A.D.] Doctor of the Church, LETTER L, To Domnio, ¶ 5; emphasis added). Saint Jerome does NOT mention anyone else here - ONLY His CRUCIFIERS!
Therefore, based upon the above reasons, it seems to Us that the only conclusion is that Jesus Christ ONLY “prayed for His CRUCIFIERS, saying, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” and that all apologists who take the position that the Jews were absolved or otherwise forgiven by Jesus Christ Himself for everything the High Priests, at least some of the 71 Council (Sanhedrin) members, and the Jewish mob did to Him, are in error!
We say to the apologists that is unfortunate that some of you, who are apparent heuristic adepts, are able to disseminate your erudite errors of serendipity Sophisms, which certainly sound good, but are not good and sound, via television from your podiums which serve as the fulcrum of your pendulumed prebendaries awash in the coin of the land of fallacies, e.g. the Argumentum Ad Ignorantiam or perhaps the Ignoratio Elenchi, plus your subtle Pelagian peripateticism, which Lilliputianizes your innocent victims, whether by your own ignorance or by learned, deliberate deceit.
Time, the duration of that which changes, does change, but because Truth is absolute, Truth does not change. Yet some choose not to see the Truth, whether out of fear, insecurity or other negative emotions or reasons. This helps to explain why “There is sufficient light for those who wish to see and sufficient obscurity for those who do not wish to see” (Blaise Pascal [b. at Clermont-Ferrand, Monday, June 19, 1623 - d. in Paris, Saturday, August 19, 1662], PENSÉES SUR LA RELIGION, Section VII, Morality and Doctrine, ¶ 430, 1660 A.D.; emphasis added).
A graphic appeared on the movie screen at the very end of the movie, THE SONG OF BERNADETTE. This graphic summaries the position of those who believe the Truth and who, in trying to explain the Truth to others, are frequently blocked by minds which do not desire to believe the Truth or which are incapable of understanding it for whatever reason(s).
It seems to Us also to be a fit summary of this movie, THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST, by Mel Gibson, and why those who have deliberately provoked the unnecessary controversies about it remain in the darkness of confusion and error, while those who recognize the Truths it contains, are able, according to their own individual abilities, to mine the depths of its Spirituality, its Asceticism, and its call to the Faithful to repent of their sins, to amend their lives, to sin no more, and instead to live a life of virtue in the imitation of Jesus Christ as they meditate upon its Supernatural Truths, filled with Mysteries, which only lovers of the Truth can begin to comprehend and can begin to appreciate to some finite degree.
This is in contradistinction to those who are condemned to believe falsehoods and errors as the Scripture testifies: becausethey receive not the love ofthe Truth, that they might be saved. Therefore God shall send them the operationoferror, to believe lying: That all may be judged who have not believed the Truth, but have consented to iniquity (2 Thessalonians 2:10-11; emphasis added).
But such Supernatural Truths, permeated with Mysteries, are byond the reach of those who are worldly, materialistic, paganistic, and those who have espoused those falsities called "secular humanism", not to mention all those who hate the Truth. None of these will ever begin to understand such Truths because these Truths are like a foreign language for which these have no facility to translate.
Alas! These poor people, spiritually and/or morally bankrupt, are driven by their own whips of inflated egos and learned ignorance, who are ever learning, and never attaining to the knowledge of the truth (2 Timothy 3:7), go, like quarry slaves at night, scourged to their dungeons which are locked by falsehoods and lies, but in each cell hangs the key to unlock it, the key of Truth, which they refuse to use, not wanting to acknowledge the Truth that the Truth shall make you free (John 8:32)! And so they are prisoners of their own making, lest an explanation of the Truth, which they do not want, would make them free, because the last thing it seems they want to believe is the Truth?!
And so it is that the graphic at the end of the movie, THE SONG OF BERNADETTE, is likewise a fit explanation of the a prioriFaith required to understand, appreciate, and to cull the many Spiritual precious gems contained in this movie, THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST:
For those who believe, no explanation
is necessary.
For those who do not believe,
no explanation is possible.
Schindler's List is an historical movie which came out in 1993. Hailed as one of the finest American movies about the Holocaust, it depicts the horrible atrocities of the pagan Nazi leaders against the Jewish people. It is self-evident that this movie depicts scenes which are, at the very least, dripping with anti-Semitism in a Satanic hatred and fury against innocent Jews. This is the true story of one, Oskar Schindler, a German businessman in Poland, who begins a company to make cookware and utensils for the Nazi military.
Schindler staffs his manufacturing facility with Jews from Krakow's ghetto. Schindler strikes a deal with Nazi war lords to get more Jewish workers for his plant which has been redesigned to make ammunition for the Nazi military. The need for more Jewish workers is due to his awakening conscience which sees that his factory is the only thing which prevents his workers from being sent to the death camps.
As time goes on, Schindler eventually requests even more Jewish workers in an attempt to save as many of them as possible from the death camps. In order to do this, he bribes Nazi leaders so that he can keep his Jewish workers on his worker list and therefore out of the death camps.
At the end of the war, when Germany finally falls to the Allies, Schindler's entire fortune has been wiped out. But, in the process, he did save about 1,100 Jews from certain death.
This movie was nominated for 12 Academy Awards, winning seven of them, including the one for Best Picture and also for Best Director. We understand that this movie is frequently used as a teaching tool. Plus, some feel that it has helped to ensure a public awareness, both of anti-Semitism as well as Nazi atrocities, for many years to come.
However excellent this historical movie might be, as a Researcher, We are left to wonder why Hollywood has NOT made any movies about the Holocaust of somewhere between 7 million to 11 million Ukrainians who were annihilated by Stalin and Kaganovich in the artificial famine between 1932 to 1933? These Ukrainians were the ones who lived in Central and Eastern Ukraine under Soviet rule in the 1930’s and were thus Orthodox Christians. In other words, they were not the Catholic Uniates who lived in the Western Ukraine, where Catholics were in the majority, and lived not under Stalin’s rule but rather under Polish rule.
Why is it that one only hears about the Holocaust of the alleged 6 million Jews killed by the Nazis and seldom one word in any of the media, let alone in Hollywood movies, about how over 7 to 11 million Oxthodox Christians were killed by the Red Communist butcher Stalin?! WHY!!!???
Should not the Director/Producer of Schindler's List, Steven Spielberg, who won his very first Academy Award for being the Director/Producer of Schindler's List, seriously consider trying for his second Academy Award by producing yet another historical Holocaust movie, considering his obvious great interest in informing the public about the terrible atrocities and blood-baths which happen when a particular ethnic group is scheduled for extermination, this time about the Holocaust of over 7 to 11 million Oxthrodox Christian Ukrainians by the Red Communist butcher Stalin?
We would certainly hope that the omission to do a film thus far about an even worse Holocaust than what the Jews experienced, namely the Holocaust of over 7 to 11 million Christians who were killed by the Red Communist butcher Stalin, is not even the shadow of an indication that the said prestigious Jewish Director, Producer is somehow prejudiced against Christians?
Schindler's List obviously reeks of anti-Semitism which blatantly hits one in the face in various scenes. Yet We do not recall hearing even ONE person yelling and screaming and having a temper-tantrum that this movie should never have been made because it has so much anti-Semitism!
Yet, when certain people try to strain the gnat and swallow the camel in THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST, hunting for anti-Semitism, there is no shortage of critics yelling and screaming and having temper-tantrums that this movie should never have been made because it is overflowing with anti-Semitism!
Is there not a DOUBLE STANDARD here?! What hypocrisy! What Spiritual blindness! How unfair!
In the final analysis, it seems ironic to Us, and not a "coincidence", which one of Our Archbishops is wont to say that "There is no such thing as coincidence!", that Schindler's List has just now, after 11 years, come out on DVD and one sees many television ads for it. Is this a planned attempt, with a thinning smokescreen, to divert attention from THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST? After all, in Hollywood, it seems timing is everything?!
James Caviezel - Jesus
Christ, God the Son, the Divine Logos, the Word of God, the promised Messias
Monica Bellucci - Saint
Mary Magdalene
Claudia Gerini - Claudia
Procles
Maia Morgenstern - The
Blessed Virgin Mary, Our Lady of Sorrows
Sergio Rubini - Dismas
Toni Bertorelli - Annas
Robert Bestazzoni - Malchus
Francesco Cabras - Gesmas
Giovanni Capalbo - Cassius
Rosalinda Celentano - Satan
Emilio De Marchi - A
Scornful Roman
Francesco De Vito - Saint
Peter, Apostle
Lello Giulivo - A
Brutish Roman
Abel Jafry - Second
Temple Officer
Hristo Jivkov - Saint
John the Apostle and Evangelist
Luca Lionello - Judas
Jarreth Merz - Saint
Simon, Apostle
Mat Patresi - Janus
Fabio Sartor - Abenader
Mattia Sbragia - Caiphas
Hristo Shopov - Pontius
Pilate
Roberto Visconti - A
Scornful Roman
Giancinto Ferro - Joseph
of Arimathea
Olek Mincer - Nicodemus
Adel Ben Ayed - Saint
Thomas, Apostle
Chokri Ben Zagden - Saint
James, Apostle
Luca De Dominicis - Herod
Pedro Sarubbi - Barabbas
Angelo DiLoreta - The
5th Elder, The Accuser
Ivano Marescotti - Pilatus
Ted Rusoff - 2nd
Elder
Francesco Gabriele - 3rd
Elder
Romuald Andrzej Klos - The
Roman
Mel Gibson - Director
/ Producer / Screenwriter
Bruce Davey - Producer
Stephen McEveety - Producer
Ben Fitzgerald - Screenwriter
Caleb Deschanel - Cinematographer
John Debney - Composer
(Music Score)
John Wright - Editor
Francesco Frigeri - Production
Designer
Daniela Pareschi - Art
Director
Nazzareno Piana - Art
Director
Luscri Pierfranco - Art
Director
Enzo Sisti - Executive
Producer
Carlo Gervasi - Set
Decorator
Maurizio Millenotti - Costume
Designer
Sergio Ercolessi - First
Assistant Director
Rachel Griffiths - First
Assistant Director
Maurizio Argentieri - Sound/Sound
Designer
Shaila Rubin - Casting
Greg Cannom - Makeup
Special Effects
Stefano Mioni - Stunts
Coordinator
Ted Rae - Visual
Effects Supervisor / Second Unit Director
Keith Vanderlaan - Visual
Effects / Makeup Special Effects