Father Rich, why is the Passion of Christ important?
The Passion shows us, with perfect clarity, the message we need to hear, especially today. Jesus says to us: God is faithful, and you can trust Him. Trusting God is hard. So often our trust is violated. We have all been wounded by people we trusted, and they hurt us. As a result, we build up walls around our hearts, protecting ourselves from being hurt again. These walls, however, also keep out God. Unless we let God into our hearts, we will never experience the true happiness He offers. So, God breaks down these walls through the Passion of Christ.
This was experienced powerfully by the actress who played Veronica in Mel Gibson's movie, “The Passion of the Christ.” She was an Italian actress in her early thirties, who had grown up Catholic, but long ago stopped practicing her faith. When they began filming the movie, she was at a spiritually low point in her life. She really wanted to believe in Jesus, but she simply couldn't break down the stone wall surrounding her heart.
Her scene in the movie is memorable. As Jesus is carrying His Cross to Calvary, He falls for the second time. The crowds surge around Him. As He lies on the ground, gliding through this confusion is the woman Veronica. She looks at Him with love and devotion, kneels down beside Him and says, “Lord, permit me.” She takes a white cloth and wipes His blood and sweat-stained face. It’s a beautiful moment in the middle of violent suffering. It was a hard scene to film, however. The churning crowd kept bumping into Veronica and disrupting the moment of intimacy, and so they had to film it over and over again. That was providential because after 20 times of kneeling before the suffering Christ, looking into his eyes, and calling him Lord, the actress felt something start to melt inside her. While she looked into his eyes, she found that she was able to believe. That experience re-lit the flame of faith in her stony heart.
Christ accomplishes this, and more, through His Passion. No matter how confusing and difficult and painful life may be, and no matter how many times we may fail or even sin, Jesus still loves us. He wants to penetrate the stone walls surrounding our hearts to experience the assurances of His love. He will take our wounds upon Himself so that we don't have to suffer alone. Will we let Him?
We can start by participating in the liturgies of Holy Week. I encourage everyone to begin on Palm Sunday, commemorating the Lord’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Come Holy Thursday to celebrate the institution of the Eucharist and the Priesthood. Come Good Friday, as we stand at the foot of the Cross and gaze on the Lord as He offers the sacrificial gift of Himself for us. And then we wait at the Tomb, on Holy Saturday as we rejoice in the Resurrection!
By Fr. Richard D. Breton Jr.
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