THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST MAGAZINE

Book of the Month, September 2004

This issue of this particular magazine, originally published in Italian by the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate, is now reprinted in an English translation.  Its 52 pages are totally devoted to an analysis of The Passion of the Christ movie.  The magazine contains many scenes from the film plus an excellent commentary. 

Here is a sample of the commentary on the section "The Olive Grove"

"As described in 'The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ' of the Venerable Anna Catherine Emmerich, the moon and the light it sheds are symbols of the Father.  In fact, after the temptations of the devil, Jesus turns His gaze to the moon to find comfort but it is covered by clouds.  At that moment, Jesus is shown all of mankind's sins that He has been called to redeem.  These are symbolized by the clouds which obscure the divine light, causing Him to collapse to the ground before finally getting up and crushing the snake's head."

Mel Gibson has this to say about evil:

"I think the devil exists but I don't think he manifests himself with a pitchfork, smoke, and tail.  The devil is much more intelligent than that.  Evil is seductive, attractive.  It even seems normal, almost beautiful.  This is what I tried to do with the devil in the film.  The actress' face is symmetrical, beautiful in a certain way, but not really.  For example, we shaved off her eyebrows, we shot her scenes in slow motion so that you never see the eyelids closing.  We added a male's voice:  this is what evil is, taking something good and distorting it a bit."

This commentary regards the Eucharist:

"Calvary represents the pinnacle of the love that Christ manifested toward sinful humanity.  That love is perpetuated to the end of the world, extending itself to all times and places through the Eucharistic Sacrifice of the Mass, which renews in an unbloody manner the divine Sacrifice of the Cross."

The magazine also includes an analysis of Mary in the Passion, an interview with Mel Gibson, an article by Vittorio Messori entitled "this film is a Mass," and a documentary on Matera, the city in which the Passion was filmed.

The magazine is available for any donation to the Confraternity of Penitents.  Please also include a donation for shipping and handling.

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Thank you and God bless!