No more Passion posts...
...until I see the film on Ash Wednesday. So here's one last link and then a few more thoughts of my own.
Barbara Nicolosi - Preparing for The Passion (Via Open Book.)
Face it. We are a People who have grown lukewarm and distracted. We are the pathetic People of the Gospel warning who, ignoring the Signs of the Times - or maybe crestfallen, they both result in the same pastoral paralysis - are "busy about many things; eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage..." In the end, we should be defined by the conviction that "only One Thing is necessary." The Passion of the Christ reconnects us to that essential thread of our identity: We are a People of suffering, who follow the Man of Sorrows through this current 'Valley of Tears.' The Church is supposed to be "The Fellowship" that gets us through this sojourn, but our Sign is inescapably the Cross. The Cross is foolishness to the Diane Sawyers of human history and fury to the Dominic Crossan's. And so are we who claim it as our standard. [...]So, sidestepping the debate of whether kids should see this film (probably not any real young ones - it's case by case with teenagers...), and whether it will cause a rash of pogroms (give me a frickin' break), and whether it is historically accurate (It ain't. It's ART. ART is the selection and distortion of details....Give me another frickin' break already!), I want to suggest a few ways, that the adult members of the People of God, can approach this film so as to receive the maximum spiritual benefit.
Barbara then goes on to make some good suggestions. And not all of them are just "Catholic stuff" either.
When I see the film, I'll post my take, if I can pull my thoughts together and be coherent. Now, I think we all need to remember that this film is (as Barbara pointed out) a work of art. It isn't supposed to be a replacement for Scripture. It isn't supposed to be propaganda. I admit that I've taken things to heart lately and have had trouble keeping things in perspective. I'm going to work on that before seeing this film, because I want to be in the proper state of mind and heart when I see it.