Letters

The Passion - Suffering (letter)

Dr Arnold Jago

Contents - Jun 2004 - Buy a copy now Editorial: Pentecost: As it was in the beginning ... - Michael Gilchrist Abortion: 'Pro-choice' issue emerges in US presidential campaign - Michael Gilchrist News: The Church Around the World Marriage: Statistics highlight the precarious state of marriage and family - AD2000 REPORT Theology of the Body: Why the silence on the Church's moral teachings? - Audrey Dillon Society: Why Chesterton is needed now more than ever - Dale Ahlquist Education: Chavagnes en Paillers: a Catholic college with a Catholic culture - Paul Russell The importance of beauty in the Liturgy - Christopher Pearson Poetry: The power and beauty of religious poetry - Star-Life, Identikit, Ministers - Bruce Dawe Poetry: The power and beauty of religious poetry - Cast fear behind thee, I am come! - Marion and Delia Craig Letters: New Liturgy document (letter) - John Schmid Letters: Disrespect (letter) - John Casamento Letters: Behaviour at Mass (letter) - Michael Ryan Letters: Options (letter) - Maryse Usher Letter: Signs of hope (letter) - Daniel Attard Letters: Priestly vocations (letter) - Monsignor Robert Egar Letters: The Passion - Suffering (letter) - Dr Arnold Jago Letters: The Passion - Not overdone (letter) - Monique Onezime Letters: The Passion - No ordinary man (letter) - Jony Joordens Letters: Faith and reason (letter) - John Kelly Letters: Gospel Dating - The Jesus Papyrus (letter) - Paul R. Smith Letters: Media Standards Australia (letter) - Denise Den-Bakker Letters: Name changes? (letter) - Frank Mobbs Letters: US Survey (letter) - Errol P. Duke Letters: Catholic books (letter) - Frank Carleton Events: Window Shopping for Non-Catholics - Fr Paul Newton Books: The Free Press, by Hilaire Belloc - John Ballantyne (reviewer) Books: The Outline Of Sanity, by G.K. Chesterton - Peter Westmore (reviewer) Books: Catharine With An 'A', by Edna Keir - Joan Graham (reviewer) Books: Looking Again at the Question of the Liturgy, Reform of the Reform? - Paul Russell (reviewer) Books: More new titles for 2004 from AD Books Reflection: The Holy Spirit: like a bed for the weary traveller - Fr Leo Duck

Some critics of the film The Passion of the Christ call it "anti-Semitic", saying it blames the death of Christ on the Jewish race alone.

That is wrong. The producer obviously wants us to ask ourselves: "Is the death of Christ my fault?"

You see the same message in Caravaggio's famous painting, "The Deposition". It is on the net at: www.usc.edu/schools/annenberg/asc/projects/comm544/library/images/628.html

The man burying Jesus is not looking round at the Jews - he's a Jew himself - he's looking at you.

In God's sight, any suffering accepted for his sake has merit and deserves to be rewarded. The reward for Our Lord's infinite suffering is the hope of seeing God face to face and enjoying him forever in heaven. This hope, thanks to his Passion, is now open to every member of the human race.

Only God himself, says Saint Anselm, could merit such a grace. We cannot save ourselves. We are too full of sin and pride. Only Christ, who was himself God, can merit salvation for us.

ARNOLD JAGO (DR)
Mildura, Vic

Reprinted from AD2000 Vol 17 No 5 (June 2004), p. 14