Whew!

It's a hot day today. Thank God for Willis Haviland Carrier (he invented Air Conditioning).

Watching a movie at home has it's advantages. Especially if the movie is "The Passion of the Christ". You can look away, bury your face under a cushion, get up and take a walk or simply change the channel if what you are seeing bothers you. Fortunately (or perhaps, unfortunately), the small screen does not have the impact that a theatre screening of the film has had for viewers all over the world. I was very moved by the movie, but I could sit through the film. The scourging is tough to watch and makes you want to plead for forgiveness for being responsible for putting Him through this in the first place. The other bit that I liked was the flashbacks to Jesus' childhood, his life as a carpenter and Mary's memories of him. Very nice.

The movie succeeds in doing what the Church has been trying for centuries. I'm convinced that it WILL bring people back to the church, in a genuine sort of way. This is a film that shocks, hurts and makes one feel terribly guilty. One wonders why the makers of the movie had to be so deliberately graphic with the violence, but I guess it's an effective way to drive the message home. And who's to say that it wasn't this way (or worse) when it actually happened?

Even Pope John Paul approved. Who am I to question it then? :)