The True Passion of Christ.

The Catholic Liturgical Calendar this week has entered into the second Sunday in Lent which started on Ash Wednesday, 17^th February 2010. Roman Catholics are required to observe fasting and abstinence during the Lenten period.

Pope Benedict XVI likened the season of Lent to a "long retreat," a period of spiritual combat.

At his Angelus audience on the first Sunday of Lent on February 21, the Pope commented on the day's Gospel which recounted Christ's temptation in the desert. The Pope remarked that Jesus taught not merely by example but by actions, "by struggling personally with the Tempter, all the way to the Cross."

Stations Of The Cross, or Way of the Cross, or Via Dolorosa refers to the depiction of the final hours (or Passion) of Jesus, and the devotion commemorating the Passion. It is being observed once a week on Fridays. In the Roman Catholic tradition, the meditation is often performed in a spirit of reparation for the sufferings and insults that Jesus endured during His Passion.

The Passion cannot be more cruelly depicted than what has been shown in the film “The Passion of the Christ’.

The Passion of the Christ is a 2004 religious film directed, co-written and co-produced by Mel Gibson. It is based on the New Testament accounts of the arrest, trial, torture, crucifixion, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. (Source: Wikipedia).

In early December 2003, (the late) Pope John Paul II had seen the film before it was released for public viewing, and he was reported to have commented on the film: "It is as it was."

Mel Gibsons Passion of the Christ depicts only the physical suffering that Jesus endured for us, but what Christ actually did endure was beyond physical comprehension.

The film is about the last 12 hours of Christ’s ministry while he was still on earth. These last few hours, before the most profound victory in the earth’s history, were the most strenuous in Jesus’ ministry. It focused on the physical suffering of Christ prior to His crucifixion and death.

The salvation of the human race was dependent on the outcome of these last hours.

Where then was Christ’s true Passion depicted?

I would like to share with you this video “The True Passion of the Christ" (below) which is befitting for every Catholic Christian to watch during this Lenten period.

To my surprise, little did I realize that there is a profound deeper meaning of Christ’s sufferings and death on the cross than what has been depicted in the film "The Passion of the Christ".

The Sacrament of Reconciliation

"What Is Reconciliation?

“Reconciliation or “confession” is a sacrament instituted by Jesus Christ in His love and mercy to offer sinners forgiveness for offenses committed against God. At the same time, sinners reconcile with the Church, because it also is wounded by our sins. We know this sacrament by various names: the Sacrament of Penance, Confession, or Reconciliation.

“Many Catholics avoid the Sacrament of Reconciliation simply because we don't remember how to confess our sins. We simply don't know what to say, and are too embarrassed to ask”. 

Read More Here

Who Killed Jesus?

"He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all" (Isaiah 53:5-6, NIV).

The death of Jesus Christ is the most famous in history. The state-sanctioned murder that took place almost 2,000 years ago is still in today's news. No other crime against the innocent has remained so widespread in the consciousness of humanity for so long. This one lives on as a story that is told again and again.

The injustice of the arrest, trial and death of Jesus Christ is profound in that no person was ever so innocent, so sinless, so blameless, so undeserving of such punishment. Peter testifies that He "committed no sin, nor was deceit found in His mouth" (1 Peter 2:22). He was the most virtuous man who ever lived.

Jesus challenged His enemies, "Which of you convicts Me of sin?" (John 8:46). The centurion, the officer in charge of His execution, was convinced that He had executed a righteous man (Luke 23:47). One of the thieves crucified with Him understood that Jesus had done nothing wrong and didn't deserve to die (Luke 23:41).

Pilate, the governor who issued the final command for the execution to proceed, proclaimed twice to the Jews that he found no fault in Jesus (John 18:38; 19:4). Yet the deed was carried out, in all its horror and intensity, not sparing this innocent Man.

He did nothing to deserve the horrendous death imposed on Him, for He was "holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners" (Hebrews 7:26). He was, after all, the Son of God, as the centurion recognized (Mark 15:39). This was not the injustice of the century, or the millennium, but the injustice of the history of the human race.

 READ MORE HERE.