The X-Games™ have always been the place where over-the-edge athletes throw down adrenaline-pumping stunts that blow the minds of spectators. Those who really excel at these death- defying sports often embrace a dark and murky culture of dissent, dissatisfaction, and dissing anything that resembles rules or conformity.

But a few of these dare-devils have been raising an uncomfortable stir. Sponsors and organizers are nail-biting over what fans will think when they learn their bad-boy, rebel heroes have embraced Christianity. In this lesson we’ll find out who some of them are, and how it happened…

x-treme biker

When motocross racing newcomer Brian Deegan won the1997 LA Coliseum Supercross, he astonished the crowd by hopping off his moving bike at the finish line. It launched riderless into the air. That was to be the first of many shocking stunts from Deegan that would rock the motocross world. The move was immediately banned by motocross authorities and racing rebel Brian Deegan found his bad boy niche.

Deegan was 12 years old when his parents divorced. He found a vent for his anger in dirt biking, and turned pro by age 17. He left small town Nebraska for Southern California, FMX headquarters, promising his father he would come back home and go to college if he didn’t make it.

Brian soon switched from motocross racing to freestyle motocross (FMX), which is more about stunts and tricks than riding laps. He soon joined up with other riders who wielded the same revulsion for authority. With Larry Linkogle, Deegan co-created the “Metal Mulisha”, an FMX team that would eventually compete and perform around the world.

In an interview with Phil Bartsch of the Courier Mail, an Australian newspaper, Deegan said “We formed the Mulisha because we wanted to have our own group of guys who stood up against the (motocross industry) establishment. We’re against people trying to make you do things you don’t want to do, like dress and look how you don’t want to look.”

The Mulisha became known for their raucous, destructive behavior, shaved heads, tattoos, wild parties and busted hotel rooms. Deegan chose a skull with a Nazi helmet for the Metal Mulisha emblem, marketing the symbol in a multimillion dollar clothing line.

x-treme talent

The X Games (formerly known simply as “X-treme Sports”) began to include Freestyle Motocross in 1999. Deegan has taken 3 Gold and 7 Bronze medals, competing in at least one X Games event annually.

He was the first ever to do a 360 in competition - an aerial back flip on the motorcycle while ramp jumping. The trick was named the “Mulisha Twist”. Deegan became internationally known for his willingness to invent new tricks risking everything to entertain an audience.

x-treme attitude

“For me, I would say my whole life was being a rebel; trying to form an image of this guy who has done a lot of sins, a lot of bad things. (I was) trying just to build a name - basically glorifying being a bad person…” Deegan goes on to express his growing emptiness he felt inside. “ I just was hurting the people I loved and doing the bad things.”

x-treme pain

The Metal Mulisha packed stadiums wherever they went. But ripping on a bike in FMX competition has the potential to rip the rider’s body as well as take his life. Like ancient gladiator games, spectators are as eager to see a crash as they are thrilled with a successful death-defying trick.

In May of 2005 Brian Deegan attempted a back flip for the MTV cameras filming Viva La Bam. He tried to slice through a 40 mph crosswind. The jump went bad. He took the handlebars in the gut, exploding his kidney, lacerating his spleen. He crash landed and writhed in pain on the ground.

x-treme promise

“In my head, I knew I was dying.” recalls Deegan. Rushed to hospital, the surgeon told him that he might not make it. Then and there he made a promise to God. “That was the final moment when I said, ‘You know what? If I live through this, I am going to fully follow Christ.’”

The day after his surgery, his wife Marissa fueled his desire to live by announcing that she was pregnant with their second child.

x-treme change

In an interview with Chris Palmer of ESPN Magazine Deegan said, “ That was be being a dumb kid. I tried to uphold an image and shock people. We had to be gnarly all the time. When I realized how stupid that was, people called me a sellout. But I didn’t owe them anything.” He also said, “It took me years to realize that I was a [expletive removed] idiot. It took me another 2 years to get away from it.”

True to his promise, as soon as he recovered he found a church for his family to attend and began opening up his home for a bible study and faith sharing for his biking brothers.

x-treme influence

Soon other members of the Metal Mulisha joined Deegan in his search for God. “I was able to bring Jeremy Lusk into our bible study. Twitch was in our bible study, just our close friends that we really cared about and it started to grow.”

They started taking heat for expressing their Christian faith in a culture that despises religion. But they found strength to stand up for their beliefs in each other. “I think the main thing,” said Deegan, “ is finding people that you can associate with. I continued to grow. Through that, we (all) really started to learn about God and the bible. That was pretty much how our walk started advancing.

x-treme loss

Jeremy Lusk was one of Deegan’s closest friends and a teammate, and he had recently been baptized. On February 9, 2009, while performing a back flip trick called the “Hart Attack” at a show in Costa Rica in front of thousands of motocross fans, he crashed and crushed his skull. The Metal Mulisha were devastated, but continued in their public outpouring of faith.

x-treme wake-up

“At this point, I’d say Jeremy Lusk passing away - you know I see my best friend, and just seeing him laying there – you know after he passed, down there in Costa Rica, I was just like, you know what? I go, this has to be the strongest awakening for me going, ‘You better figure it out, you better just follow Christ from this day on.’ It just really made me see how short that life can be and you don’t know what is going to happen the next day, and so why not live your life to where when you’re gone, you can be like, ‘Man, I lived the best life I could possibly live. I affected people in a positive way.’

x-treme witness

Deegan, when asked about his making his faith public, told The New York Times, “In the end I said, ‘who’s more radical than us?’ Everything we do is full-on. Once we went to church, we were full-on Christians, too. And we’re going to go for it. On the mic, I’ll say it. On TV, say it. The next thing you know, I have way more people pumped on me.”

So many fans began to question what it meant to give one’s life to Christ that Brian Deegan was moved to share his faith with his fans in an interview posted on YouTube called “Faisst Pastor PJ and Deegan Gospel” part 1 and part 2.

x-treme struggle

Brian De­­agan spends a lot of time up in the air flipping motorcycles. But his life is becoming grounded in Christ. He strives to be a better person with God’s grace. “You know we had our ups and downs. We have done a lot of bad stuff and it still happens. I am still a sinner, I’ll admit it. I have my moments. I’m not happy for the things I’ve done. I feel bad the next day and I don’t want to do it again. The thing is, I am trying to become a better person, a better dad, a better husband, a better friend.

x-treme sacrifice

X-treme motocross has something in common with the real Cross. When an FMX biker, rally car racer, or any other extreme sport athlete performs, they offer every bit of themselves to their sport. Risking great injury and maybe even death, they pour it all out on the altar of that dirt track; to feed their fans hunger for a rush, and to gain their prize: the medal, respect, and money.

When such radical people come face to face with the intense, “full-on” love, giving, and selfless sacrifice that Jesus made on the cross (and we witness at Mass), they have a deep understanding of what it takes to do that. They get it, they respect it, and want to follow it.

God’s love for us, and giving that love to others, is the missing element that they were searching for but could never satisfy with an adrenaline high. Their desire to be unique is answered by Christ’s individual love for each of us. And as they continue their Christian walk, they find themselves more radical and different than ever before.

Arrr… Danger ahoy!

From Peter Pan to the Pirates of the Caribbean, everyone loves a good pirate story. But real pirates aren’t silly swashbucklers like the romanticized treasure hunters we know from movies and books.
On Wednesday, April 8, 2009, four ordinary-looking Somali fisherman, all less than 20 years old, used grappling hooks and rope ladders to board the merchant vessel ship Maersk Alabama. Armed with AK-47 assault rifles, they were seeking to take control of the ship and its crew at gunpoint.
The ship was off the coast of Somalia, carrying medical supplies and food destined for refugee camps. Some of these things belonged to Catholic Relief Services.

Violence breeds violence

Somalia is probably best remembered from the movie Black Hawk Down. Recently, however, this north-east African country has been in the news for many of these types of pirate attacks.
Years of civil war and unrest have left the country very poor, and so many people there turn to violent means of providing for themselves and their families.

Somalia has hundreds of miles of coastline along very busy shipping lanes in the Indian Ocean. Ships here are an easy target for these pirates. Sometimes the pirates are interested in stealing the cargo on the ships. However, most of the time they are looking to get ransom money.

Walking the plank

When they learned that there were pirates on board, the crew went below deck and locked themselves in safe rooms. They had managed to capture one pirate. Only the captain and one other crew member stayed on deck to negotiate with the pirates. What happened next is what makes this particular story very different from the other cases of piracy in the news lately.
The captain of this ship, Captain Richard Phillips, was so concerned about the safety of his crew that he did something unthinkable… He asked the pirates to take him as their prisoner, and in return let his crew take the ship and go free. Once the ship and crew were at a safe distance, they would exchange Captain Phillips for the captured pirate.

Tide turns against him

The three armed pirates liked the idea. Capt. Phillips led them to one of the ships small lifeboats, climbed in it, and had it lowered into the water. Captain Phillips was in close quarters with the men who could easily have killed him at any moment. He showed them how to operate the boat. And then the plan went horribly wrong. The crew of the Alabama, as they had agreed, brought out the injured pirate for the trade. But now that the pirates had their friend, they didn’t release their prisoner. They kept Capt. Phillips as a hostage, and were holding him for ransom.

For five days these bandits held him under constant guard. There was water and food, but there were no bathrooms or showers. It was unbearably hot in the enclosed lifeboat; so much so that Capt. Phillips said he dreaded the sun coming up in the morning. The captain and his captors sat, waiting. The pirates weren’t sleeping and were becoming agitated.

At one point, Capt. Phillips even tried to escape. He pushed one of the pirates guarding him overboard, and dove in the water and swam away. He swam towards a US Navy ship, the USS Bainbridge, that was following them. But it was nearly a half mile away. Before long, he was caught again; only now the pirates were very angry with him.

Is Davey Jones comin’?

By this point, the outcome didn’t look too bright for Captain Phillips. “It was just settling everything. Getting ready to die and just settling everything. You know, saying my last thoughts. Andrea, the kids.” He no longer believed he would leave that boat alive. He wondered why the pirates were dragging things out when he was certain they would kill him in the end anyway.

He had known when he went with them that there was a chance he would die. But he had been willing to take that chance freely, to spare his crew. Now, faced with what seemed certain death, he was at peace with his decision.

Watching and waiting

Thousands of miles away, in a tiny town in Vermont, the Phillips family was experiencing the turmoil of wondering what was happening to their husband and father. “We did not know what Richard was enduring while being held hostage on the lifeboat, and that was really the hardest part… the wondering,” said Mrs. Andrea Phillips.

Mariah, the captain’s 19 year old daughter, expressed the shock of learning that this had actually happened to her family: “This is something that happens to other people. Obviously, I am other people.”

They received visits from Fr. Danielson, their parish priest, who prayed with them and told them not to lose hope.  Captain Phillips was unaware that there were other forces at work in his story. There was prayer power gathering and there was planning by the US Navy.

Living the mystery

These events came about at a very appropriate time of year. The day Capt. Phillips was captured was the Wednesday of Holy Week. The time he made his escape attempt was probably around the time we remember Jesus’ agony in the garden.

On Easter Sunday morning, Fr. Danielson told the Phillips’ friends and neighbors that they should pray more intensely for Capt. Phillips. Father said he believed Capt. Phillips’ story would serve as an example; just like Christ Jesus’ suffering led to His Resurrection, once again God and His goodness would triumph over evil in the end.

A Storm breaks loose

Later in the evening on Easter Sunday, things became extremely tense on the little life boat. One of the pirates had gone aboard the USS Bainbridge for medical treatment, and to try and arrange the ransom payment. When the other three pirates hadn’t heard from him in a while, they got restless. They climbed out of the hatch of the life boat in plain view, and began firing warning shots in the air. The Bainbridge and the lifeboat were both moving, and the waves were bouncing them up and down in the darkness.

Capt. Phillips had no idea what was going on. As he heard the shots, he dove to the deck and got as low as he could. He thought perhaps the pirates were fighting against each other. Or perhaps they were getting ready to kill him.

Salvation is from the SEAL’s

US Navy SEAL snipers took advantage of the opportunity, firing one perfect shot at each pirate. After what felt like a long time, but was only a few seconds later, Capt. Phillips heard the beautiful sound of a US Navy SEAL’s voice, asking him if he was alright. He was saved.

“Hi, Honey…”

A short time later, back at home, Mrs. Phillips, their daughter Mariah, their son Daniel, and their whole family were relieved and elated to hear Captain Phillips himself, on the phone, telling them he was safe.
Mariah said, “You never know how strong your family can be when something like this happens.”
In a statement about how they survived the emotional torture of the five day ordeal, Mrs. Phillips said, “My family and closest friends held onto our faith knowing that Richard would come home.”

“I need a hero…”

What makes Captain Phillips a hero? Is it in conquering or strength? No. Like Jesus, his willingness to surrender himself as a prisoner, to suffer, and accept even death is where we find his true heroism.
Captain Richard Phillips is an example of love and respect for life. The lives of his shipmates meant so much to him, that he would offer up his own to save them. This is the ultimate sign of love and sacrifice. Whether he realized it at the time or not, Capt. Phillips was imitating Jesus Christ, at the very time when Jesus made the sacrifice that saves us all. He willingly offered himself to save others. He spent a few days in a little “tomb-like” capsule, and on Easter Sunday he got to taste a little bit of Jesus’ Easter victory.

Just doing his job

Captain Phillips does not consider himself a hero. For him, what he did was just part of his job. He had accepted the job as a captain, and that meant putting the safety of his crew above his own. Yet there is something we admire about this attitude. When we see his example, we know we have met a real man, a man who puts others first.
True manhood is about service and sacrifice. These are qualities we also admire in so many women, especially our own moms (Happy Mother’s Day to all our moms!), but there is something we typically think of as particularly masculine about the willingness to face danger and take a huge risk for others. Men were designed by God to be protectors. They are called to protect their family and protect their communities. They are designed by God to overcome the fear of danger, because sometimes real life is dangerous. Sometimes risk is necessary for really important things.

Imitating Christ

Jesus Christ was a real man. He overcame his fear of danger. He put our safety above his own. Christ, by his life and death, helps men discover what it means to be a man. Let’s ask Christ to raise up more real men today.
For those of us who are guys, we can make a resolution to learn to love others so much that we are willing to sacrifice for them.
For girls, let’s start thanking some of the real men in our lives for what they do for us, starting with our own dads, or those other men who help keep us safe. And let’s show the guys that we also know how to sacrifice with courage, putting our hearts and lives at the service of goodness and love. The world will be a better, safer place.
Christ wants us to help him do this. It’s part of the call to love that he makes to each of us.

Fr Jason Smith gave us this awesome Podcast on the Passion of Christ… Check it out…

It is a large file, so be aware it may take a minute to get started…

We like to think that we are really grown up when we can do our own thing. Jesus Christ challenges that assumption. Obedience to God is where the real power lies. It is a different kind of power: the power to set men free.

“By his loving obedience to the Father, ‘unto death, even death on a cross’ (Phil 2:8), Jesus fulfils the atoning mission (cf. Is 53:10) of the suffering Servant, who will ‘make many righteous’; ‘and he shall bear their iniquities’ (Is 53:11; cf. Rom 5:19)”

Obedience is not easy for us. It wasn’t for Christ as a man either. In Mel Gibson’s film, “The Passion of the Christ”, there are many moments in which Christ’s obedience to the Father stands out. Let’s talk about three especially powerful ones.

Agony in Gethsemani
“Let this cup pass… not my will but Thy will be done.” (Lk 22:39-42)

The Gospel of Luke gives a detailed account of the Agony. In the dark, Jesus has his battle about the apparent futility of the Passion.

First, what he is about to undergo seems useless because it is a suffering that human nature automatically rejects; for no one likes the idea of pain. Christ knows he is about to go through the worst type of pain that man can dream up for another man.

Second, Christ’s agony is increased because he realizes that his sacrifice would not work for some souls- those who refuse to obey God and their conscience.

Finally, the gratuitous nature of the Passion makes it seem senseless. It could have happened in another form. However, God wanted to show His love for us in this extreme fashion and wanted Christ to give us the maximum example of obedience: “unto death, death on a Cross” (Flp 2:8).

Back in the beginning of his public ministry, Jesus had been tempted by the devil in the desert. (Lk 4: 13). Jesus had been victorious over the devil in the desert, and the Gospel says that the devil had “departed from him until an opportune time”. That opportune time is now, when Jesus is to make His final decision to obey the Father to the last consequences.

That decision was made in prayer, as must our decisions. Here we find our Lord giving the perfect example of how to live our lives. Prayer is not a superfluous addition. Prayer is essential to human existence because we are creatures of God, in need of Him. We are not doing God a favor when we pray, but we are receiving heavenly favors from Him when we pray. This is called grace.

There was certainly the temptation of the devil for Jesus to abandon the idea of the Cross and obedience. The movie shows this very well. Jesus overcomes the devil again because He will obey God the Father. The devil always goes for disobedience.

The Scourging
“Father, my heart is ready” (Cf. Mt 27:26; Mk 15:15; Lk 23:16; Jn 19:1).

There are many moments to comment in this moving scene. First, Jesus does not resist when they fasten Him to the pillar. He is not fighting against the Passion, because of His love for us. He willingly accepts suffering to save us from eternal condemnation. He doesn’t scream and kick, or cause a scandal while they literally rip Him apart with their diabolical instruments of torture. It is horrible what my sins have done to Jesus.

There is an especially moving moment which meaningfully demonstrates Christ’s obedience. After the first round of bruising that they give Him with their switches, Jesus falls to the floor. That is the way the body reacts. When they relent from that onslaught, He realizes He is down and lifts Himself back up. “Father, my heart is ready”, He says. Jesus knows that this is the ransom for sin, and He is no sissy. Christ’s love for us is incalculable. “Why, one will hardly die for a righteous man -- though perhaps for a good man one will dare even to die. But God shows his love for us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us” (Rom 5: 7-8). Loving obedience and obedience for love, that is the mystery of the Christ’s passion and death.

Christ’s death on the cross
“Father into Thy hands I commend My Spirit. (Lk 23:46).

Some perhaps surrealistic happenings during the crucifixion and death of Jesus are depicted in “The Passion”. These are the attempts of an artist to show that all of creation was trembling due to the fact that God, the Author of life itself coming as Man, was being put to death by men. Though this happened in a specific place in the world, it was the sins of all of us that crucified Jesus.

The devil was thinking (his mind so obscured by pride), that this was finally the moment of his victory over Jesus and God. What a dreamer! Jesus, through His humility and obedience was willfully winning our redemption.

Jesus knew he was winning, even though winning meant living all the pain and loneliness that man feels in his soul when he sins. For this reason Christ quoted Scripture from that excruciating position: “My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me” (PS 22)? Then to fulfill the Scripture said: “I thirst”. He is obeying the Father, even through what was written about Him in the ancient Scriptures (because inspired by God) was horrible and full of pain! Jesus is able to recognize God’s will wherever it may come from.

Then He finally says the words the audience is awaiting Him to say: “Father into Thy hands I commend My Spirit.” By that time the tension is overwhelming. When will this torture finish? You feel it is not soon enough; too weighty the expectation.

Jesus wanted it that way. He does not measure out grudgingly his love for us and for the Father. He is not petty but magnanimous, because that is not the way his Father is. Jesus shows the depth of true love. No fair mixing in egotism or personal pleasures. Love is obedient and long-suffering. There is no valid substitute. Either it goes all the way to giving one’s whole life, or it is not true love. Small pieces of the heart will never pump life-supplying blood.

Definitions
Obedience- the virtue of submitting our will to the will of God.

Humility- the moral virtue that restrains the unruly desire for personal greatness. Humility leads us to an orderly love of self based on a true appreciation of our position with respect to God and neighbors; the virtue of being without pride.

Discussion Questions
Do you think that God’s way of saving us (the Passion, death, and resurrection of Christ) makes God still seem distant and uncaring about man? What do you think this way of saving us shows about how much man is worth to God?

Do you think that God wants to force us to love and obey him? Does the Passion of Christ force us to love God? How does it help us to love and obey God?

In what other moments of Christ’s life can we see His obedience? Why is obedience important in the role of the Redeemer?

As a Christian, to whom should I be obedient? God? Our parents? Teachers? Boss? Husband?

Like Jesus, are my decisions made in prayer?

Personal Reflections/Writing
1. What specific incidents in my life have I been disobedient? Is there a pattern in these? Was it pride that kept me from being obedient? What concrete things can I do to root out my pride?

2. Write a page about the Christian virtue of obedience. Be sure to include some Scripture passages. Cite example of saints living out obedience.

Resolution Idea
Mediate on one of the Bible passages below. How does it speak to me and my life?

Biblical texts on obedience (see a concordance) essential passages: 1Sam 15:22; Jn 5:19; 8:29; Rm 5:19, Flp 2:8; Heb 5:8; 10:6.

After seeing Christ’s self-giving love in the movie “The Passion”, we are compelled to ask how do we individually define love, and what is our society’s view of love?  Love is a word whose meaning has been spun so weirdly in our time that it has in many ways lost connection with the divine meaning. In 21st century America, loving someone means making them feel good, emotionally or physically. Feel good, but don’t bind. The fundamental idea of love binding a man and woman together for life is difficult work, so in a culture that promotes self-gratification, we have chosen to cast it aside.

We’ve broken it not because love is wrong, but because there is something we value more than love- our personal freedom. Freedom has become our absolute good, the highest value humanity strives after. If love binds one person to another, it limits personal freedom. See the quandary?

Everyone knows Jesus is all about love, but all he does in “The Passion” is suffer. In the Garden of Gethsemane, his anxiety and fear press him so intensely that he sweats blood. Is that loving? Lashed by the whip, his flesh ripped by the torturer’s cruel instruments, Christ sags to his knees, blood spattering the pavement. Stupidly, insanely, he struggles to stand, and freely chooses to do so-is that loving? The two torture specialists are driven demonic by this display of courage and nobility, and they unleash all the fury their brawny muscles and metal-tipped leather can inflict. How does this brutality relate to love?

Freedom fulfilled through love

Pope John Paul II teaches that freedom is not greater than love, but rather freedom is fulfilled in self-giving love. Freedom is not man’s absolute goal, love is. Freedom without love is useless, like so many wheels free to roll anywhere; the wheels are useless without a vehicle to harness them-love is that vehicle. Love is far greater then freedom, for a person can be happy without freedom as long as he loves.

Freedom intensifies love, proves it genuine. That is where suffering plugs in. Because genuine love must be freely given, love’s intensity is seen by the amount of suffering it bears-because everyone hates suffering and strives to avoid it. So if a person freely chooses to suffer for someone else, for love, then that love is great. Suffering is a thermometer, which shows love’s temperature, the degree of its reality.

That is why watching “The Passion” moves us to admire and love Jesus Christ. He chose freely to undergo his unfathomable suffering, which forever marks the zenith both of a man’s love for other men, and God’s love for man. This is a love that is best defined as self-giving, as St Paul writes: “He poured himself out for us.” Viewed from the perspective that Christ’s Passion affords, our understanding of love and freedom changes radically. Instead of love giving me something like enjoyment and fulfillment, I look to give of myself, to bring fulfillment and joy to others by serving them, even if in serving others I endure suffering.

Love transforms

Revolutionary- that is Christ’s love. It ignites, breaks up and shakes up our lives. Look at the individuals who were touched by Christ’s love-they all bought a share in suffering, and discovered love. Pilate’s wife Claudia could not prevent Jesus’ scourging; the only thing she can do is offer Mary linen cloths with which to wipe her son’s blood from the pavement. Her sharing in Mary’s own agony upon watching her son flayed alive, opens her to an act of love, offering her friendship to Mary through a humble gesture. Simon of Cyrene’s sharing in carrying the cross opens him to understand the self-giving nature of Jesus’ sacrifice. Simon will not be crucified, is not beaten, but his closeness to Jesus Christ while carrying the cross reveals to him Jesus’ patience, humility and overpowering love for the very men who kill him. Simon’s world is blown to bits, for instead of avoiding suffering, he wants to take it on in order to protect this man Jesus whom he has not known but has experienced.

Freedom’s purpose is revealed in love motivating us to serve others.  Suffering intensifies and purifies love, makes it genuine, real, solid. And the ultimate experience of love IS Jesus Christ, but he is a challenge, the rock against whom the waves of every generation crash and are divided: some follow Christ along the path of self-giving love, others reject Him in the hopes of discovering a self-fulfilling love.  The reality of the resurrection shows us that if we choose Christ’s path of self-giving love, then we will find true peace and everlasting life.

Virtue Verification:

Freedom - the power, rooted in will and reason, to perform (or not) deliberate actions on one’s own responsibility.
Love - the theological virtue by which we love God above all else for his sake, and other people as ourselves for love of God.
Suffering - experience of pain, distress, injury. Suffering with Christ is sharing in his redemptive sacrifice of crucifixion.

Discussion Questions

1. One person commented after seeing the movie, “I forgot. I forgot how much Christ loves me- individually, so much so that He suffered immensely to save me.“
   Did seeing the movie change your perspective on Christ’s suffering for your salvation, and the degree to which Christ loves you?
2. What can we do on a daily basis to remember Christ’s sacrifice for us and his love for us? (Potential discussion tips: contemplate Christ’s suffering in daily prayer, especially through the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary; make a point of remembering Christ’s suffering for us every time we have an opportunity to give of ourselves for another person.)
3. What does the popular culture teach us about love?  Let’s discuss specific things that  we can do in our daily lives to counter these images within our families, schools, and places of work.

Personal Reflections/Writing

1. Consider a time in our lives when someone else freely chose to sacrifice to help us.  How did this act of self-giving love affect us?
2. When suffering is imposed upon us, how do we approach our cross?   Do we run away from the cross?  Do we remember how Jesus accepted the cross?   Do we pick up the cross, and if so, do we do it joyfully? Do we run toward the cross?

Resolution Ideas

1. The next time we have an opportunity to serve someone in a way that involves true sacrifice, we will choose to do so with a joyful heart, remembering that it is an opportunity to imitate Christ’s self-giving love.
2. The next time suffering is imposed upon us, we will choose to accept our suffering with a joyful heart, embracing it is an opportunity to freely offer our suffering in self-giving love for the redemption of other’s sins.

The passion of Christ - both the historical event and Mel Gibson’s film - begins with the Agony in the Garden. In the film, the devil is watching Christ as he prays, agonizing over the indescribable suffering he is about to undergo to redeem humanity. From beneath the devil’s foot emerges a snake that slithers over to Christ, who is shedding tears and sweating blood. He seems not to take note of the serpent until it is directly beneath him; he then stands and crushes the serpent’s head under his foot.

The crushing of the serpent’s head is but one way Christ conquers evil. For a better understanding of this mystery and the hope it gives us, let’s take a look at some of the manifestations of evil in “The Passion of the Christ” and what the characters’ interaction with evil shows us about temptation, sin, death, and salvation.

Overcoming Temptation

The snake as a symbol tells much about temptation and evil. It is low, sneaky, and deadly, lurking in shadows until it is time to strike. It does not roar, but hisses; temptation - especially a first temptation to violate one’s innocence - is not a loud cry in the open but a whisper in the shadows. If we let it, it can wrap around us, making escape all but impossible, strangling us and cutting off feeling. To be the captive of the tempter is to dull one’s senses, particularly the moral sense, one’s conscience.

So how does Christ deal with the tempter? He crushes it underfoot. He allows it to come just close enough so he can kill it. Throughout the ages, the Church’s symbolic language has assured us that Christ is not alone in this victory: his Blessed Mother in painting and sculpture is almost always portrayed with a serpent underfoot. The sinless Virgin Mary is party to her Son’s conquest over temptation and death.

These symbols are fruit for prayerful meditation: What temptations slither in our lives? Do we try to resist temptation on our own? Or do we invite Christ into our lives, asking Him for courage and resolve, with confidence in his victory over evil?

Maintaining hope amidst suffering

Another striking manifestation of evil comes as Judas Iscariot faces what he has done. He betrays Christ with a kiss but soon suffers deep regret. He tries to give back the thirty pieces of silver and have Jesus freed, but it is too late; he cannot change the course of destruction that he has set in motion. Overwhelmed by his sin and lacking faith and hope in the mercy of God, Judas decides the only way to free himself is by suicide.

From one point of view, Jesus and Judas end up the same way: hanging dead on an old tree. But Judas died at his own hand because he had no hope. He had betrayed his Lord and left himself with nothing but anguish, regret, and despair. The despair is key, because it signifies the total absence of hope.

Christ, on the other hand, suffers an even worse death than Judas except for this: he never loses hope. He is hope. He, God, has decided to accept a brutal death as a way to change forever the meaning of suffering and even death. By offering His suffering as payment for our sins, Christ turns suffering into a means of salvation. By rising from the dead Christ defeats the most radical of all evil — death itself.  This radical transformation renders the devil’s work meaninglessness if we will but “believe, take up the cross and follow” Christ by uniting our suffering with the suffering of Christ.

In our lives, let us resolve to unite our suffering with the suffering of Christ, for the redemption of our own sins and the sins of the world.  And during those times when it appears there is no hope, we can remember to place our hope, our confidence in Christ’s resurrection and His victory over evil.

Confronting cruelty with forgiveness

Another manifestation of evil in “The Passion” is the laughing cruelty of Christ’s torturers. In the face of evil imposed by others, Christ calls on us to ” forgive them, they know not what they are doing” (Luke 23:24). Christ is truly the king of mercy.  The Passion teaches us that if Christ can forgive others whom have inflicted horrible pain on him, can’t we forgive those that hurt us?

Confronting cruelty with humility

The mob’s calling for Christ’s death is another manifestation of evil.  Jesus had all of the power of heaven and earth to stop the madness of the crowd, yet humbly chose to follow the Father’s will.  His silence, his resolve to bear the cross, is the ultimate act of humility: God-made-man choosing to suffer the most despicable of deaths.

How often in our lives do we become “part of the mob” out of peer pressure and the desire to be accepted by a group, by saying or doing hurtful things to others?  And when we are the victims of hurtful comments and actions, do we imitate Christ by “forgiving those whom have trespassed against us” and by approaching difficult situations with humility?

Evil will always exist in our fallen world. Christ is the model for how we as Christians should confront evil with hope in the resurrection, forgiveness towards others that hurt us, and humility in obeying God’s will.

Virtues Highlighted

Faith- the theological virtue by which we believe in God all that He has revealed to us, and that the Holy Church proposes for our belief, because he is truth itself.

Hope- the theological virtue by which we desire the kingdom of heaven and eternal life as our happiness, placing our trust in Christ’s promises and relying not on our own strength, but on the help of the grace of the Holy Spirit.

Humility-the moral virtue that restrains the unruly desire for personal greatness. Humility leads us to an orderly love of self-based on a true appreciation of our position with respect to God and neighbors.

Prayer: Christ, as we face temptation and evil in our own lives, may our faith and hope in the resurrection lead us to resist temptation and evil as You did.

Discussion Questions

1. Mel Gibson said in an EWTN interview: “That’s how the devil is, to me….It’s frightening that it can be deception itself  -- that it takes the form of something harmless, but there is a ravenous beast underneath.”

Discuss the status of our culture today:

What temptations does our culture promote, which may at first appear harmless, but in reality cause great damage? Consider TV shows, movies, music, magazines, internet usage, our dress, and our activities.

What are the virtues that we can focus on to resist some of these temptations?

Personal Reflection/Writing

1.  Have there been times in our lives where we were part of a “mob psychology” in just going along with the crowd, not standing up for what we know is right?

What was the root cause of our going along with the crowd? Fear? Wanting to be accepted? Lack of moral courage to be counter cultural?

Was it out of laziness?

2. What situations in my life am I most vulnerable to this type of temptation? Standing up for a person? Standing up for a belief? Standing up to defend my faith?  What virtues can I work on to rid myself of this weakness?

3. Christ deals with the tempter by crushing it underfoot.  What temptations slither near my foot?  Do I crush them or let them take control? At these times of temptation, is my immediate response one of asking for God’s help and looking to Christ my inspiration and hope in resisting the temptation?

4.  When I fall to temptation, am I truly sorry for my sin and do I humbly seek God’s mercy?

Resolution Ideas

Make a nightly examination of conscience considering each day what specific temptations you faced, and whether you were successful in resisting them.

Make a commitment to identify someone who has harmed you in some way and forgive them, both in your heart and through a personal approach.

The next time we face a difficult situation, pray for the virtue of hope, contemplating the reality that by uniting our suffering with Christ, our suffering has redemptive value.

Resolve to go to confession on a more regular basis.

A product of the Roman military, Pilate is a “results-oriented” ruler who finds himself in a most uncomfortable situation; he must determine Christ’s fate.

Should he give the enemies of Christ the blood they desire?  Should he stand up for the rights of an innocent man?  A pragmatic man to whom everything is relative, he simply does not know.  His political skills face a moral dilemma and come up wanting.

For Pilate, the ends justify the means.  He wants to keep peace, to prevent civil unrest.  In his final analysis, the death of an innocent man is an acceptable price to achieve his goal.

Are there Pilates in our own time?

The film compels us to ask whether there are Pilates in our world today.  We have all seen and heard politicians say and do just about anything in the hope of getting votes.  In the 2004 election cycle, some candidates have openly stated that their views will reflect the wishes of the majority, even if those wishes run counter to their personal moral or religious beliefs.  Like Pilate, they hope to give the people what they want.

Corporate executives face the pressure of meeting shareholder expectations, and face the personal temptation of throwing out ethics to maximize personal financial gain.  Some  have given into these pressures and temptations by misstating  financial statements, and in some cases eliminating jobs with little consideration for the value and dignity every person deserves.

A little Pilate in all of us?

In the movie, Pilate is torn.  He thinks Jesus is innocent.  His wife, Claudia, tells him that Jesus is a holy man and should not be punished.  Jesus has many supporters, who will be angry if he is harmed.  On the other hand, the church leaders want Jesus to be crucified; if they are not placated, Pilate might have a revolt on his hands.  And a revolt would displease Pilate’s boss, Tiberius.  How often in our lives do we place strategic objectives such as power, money, or even the desire to be popular ahead of truth and doing what is morally correct?

The Roman Governor doesn’t turn to the law or a moral code of right or wrong to help him.  He sits and hangs his head, asking “what is truth?”  He hasn’t a clue.

Pilate truly is between a rock and a hard place.  And without a sense of truth, he tries everything he can think of to weasel out of a decision.  He sends Christ to Herod; Herod sends him back.  He scourges him; the crowd asks for more.  He offers to release him; the crowd wants Barabbas freed.  In our lives do we at times place too much importance on pleasing others, instead of focusing on the truth and doing what is morally correct?

Pilate washes his hands, literally, of the affair.  But he looks to be a broken man.  Deep within, he knows that he cannot escape his part in Jesus’ fate.  Washing his hands will not bring him peace, will not erase the pain he feels, will not bring him closer to the definition of truth.

He feels the emptiness we all feel when we make a decision without relying on the truth,  without determining what is right and sticking with it.  Like Pilate, we can decide to make a decision that seems to maintain the peace.  But if it isn’t based on the truth, can it really give us peace in the long run?

Definition:

Truth— John 18: 37  “For this I was born, and for this I have come into the world, to bear witness to the truth.  Every one who is of the truth hears my voice.

THE SPLENDOR OF TRUTH shines forth in the works of the Creator and, in a special way, in man, created in the image and likeness of God  (cf. Gen 1:26). Truth enlightens man’s intelligence and shapes his freedom, leading him to know and love the Lord. Hence the Psalmist prays: “Let the light of your face shine on us, O Lord”  (Ps 4:6). – Veritatis Splendor

Discussion Questions

1. Pilate believes Christ is innocent, but still allows him to be tortured and killed.  Why didn’t he release him?
2. Pilate tried to satisfy everyone.  Did he satisfy anyone?
3. Pilate asks, “What is truth?”  What does this suggest about his decision-making process?
4. We have witnessed major business scandals in the past several years and business schools are increasingly concerned with teaching ethics.  Are there parallels between Pilate and modern corporate executives who have become embroiled in financial scandal?
5. At times we all find ourselves between “a rock and a hard place”.  Let’s discuss hypothetical and real-life scenarios where doing the right thing may be unpopular.

Personal Reflections/Writing

Pilate joins a very select group of named personages in the Nicene Creed:  The Father, the Holy Spirit, Christ, Mary – and Pontius Pilate.  “For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate.”  He was one man, but was he in some ways a proxy for all men?  Think about Pilate’s dilemma and how it led to his infamous role in history.

Review times in your life when you made a decision just to keep people happy.

Did it work out?

Would it have been better to simply play it straight?

What choice were you confronted with?

What was the motivation behind your decision?   What were the ethical dimensions of the choice? (why each option is right or wrong)

Resolution Ideas

I will meditate on an area of my life in which I have acted like Pilate, and take a concrete measure to correct this weakness.

There are numerous university websites that offer articles and case studies on business ethics.  A reading of the history around cases such as Enron can give insight to the ultimate results of executives not acting morally.

Do a biographical sketch on Pilate and what happened to him after his encounter with Christ.

Resource Links

For biographical information about Pontius Pilate www.newadvent.org/cathen/12083c.htm

Business Ethics magazine’s site has numerous articles:  www.business-ethics.com/

Loyola Marymount University’s Center for Ethics and Business has a wealth of information about business ethics:  www.ethicsandbusiness.org/

For the history and text of the Nicene Creed:  www.newadvent.org/cathen/11049a.htm

In Mel Gibson’s “The Passion” of the Christ”, we see Mary in a way that is very different from Hollywood’s traditional depiction.  We are used to seeing Mary as beautiful, young, with a warm smile, loving eyes, and of course a character born without sin.  In “The Passion”, Mary retains her sinless character, her sweetness, her gentle manner, but she is no longer the teenager who carried the Son of Man in her womb.

She is nearing 50 years of age.  She has the wrinkles of an aging mother, the worry lines of one who knows the suffering that is to come – but pleads in her heart that it not be so.  Her robe is dusty and stained with blood – the blood of her own son.  Physically this depiction of Mary is very different for us.  Emotionally, however, we may have felt more connected to Mary, as the reality of how Mary suffered in witnessing the suffering of her son speaks to our lives in a more relevant and powerful way.

United with Mary through suffering

We all experience sadness through our own suffering, and have witnessed the suffering of those close to us.  In “The Passion” we see how Mary witnessed the terrible ordeals of her own son being humiliated before the church elders, dragged before Pilate for judgment, scourged nearly unto death, and finally nailed to a cross to die.  We now realize the fullness of Mary’s humanity as we saw the intensity of her shock, disbelief and intense sorrow as she remained with her son into his death.

The ordeal of Jesus’ persecution and death are so horrific that nearly all of his followers abandoned him, yet Mary, Mary Magdalene and his apostle John remained.  What enabled Mary to remain with Jesus and persevere through this suffering? How does the answer to this question speak to our lives today? Mary’s love for Jesus as his mother, and her faith and hope in his divinity enabled her to endure the path to his death.  And 2000 years later it is this same love for our fellow man and faith in God that enable us to persevere through any suffering the world may present.

Often when someone else is suffering, the best way we can help is in simply being with them, and praying for them.  We wish we could do more, yet often we cannot cure the illness or remove the injustice that causes the suffering.  In “The Passion”, Mary knew she couldn’t stop the torture and death of her son, yet her love for Jesus compelled her to remain with him despite the suffering this caused her.  For Mary, her suffering was so intense that she had to be supported by Magdalene and the apostle John as she lingered between consciousness and unconsciousness.

The intensity of both Mary’s suffering and her love for her son are vividly portrayed in the scene where Mary and John scurry through the narrow streets in an attempt to see Jesus.  Christ appears from behind the buildings ahead.  His body weakened by scourging and the crown of thorns; he bends under the weight of the cross and falls to the rocky street.  Mary stops short of the scene.  She slumps on a doorstep, sighing in grief, immobilized by shock and fear.  She knows that her son is divine.  She knows that this was to be his earthly fate.  But she remains a human mother watching her child suffer.

She is brought back to action by a flashback in her mind.  It is an image of Jesus as a little boy, falling and calling for his mother.  Stirred by that memory, she runs to her son weighed down by the cross and comforts him.  Although Mary couldn’t save Jesus from death, she did everything that she could, and we can only imagine how much Mary’s simple act of love meant to Jesus in the midst of his suffering.

Mary as our model for witnessing suffering

Was Mary’s ability to endure her son’s death a story of the past, or does it in some way speak to each of our lives today?  The answer is definitively the latter- for all of us suffer and witness suffering.

Each of us can resolve to imitate Mary in our own lives, by reaching out in love and compassion to assist and comfort others whom are suffering.  At times this can be relatively easy, such as simply spending time with a friend whom is suffering with a problem and may need someone to listen.  At other times the witnessing of suffering may require much greater effort, such as when a loved one is dying from a painful illness.

During the times when our suffering is most intense, we can remember Mary in The Passion. Yes it can be hard, and at times we may feel as Mary did- that we can’t go on.  Yet Mary teaches us that through our love for others, rooted in our love for God, and faith in the resurrection and power of God’s grace, we have the strength and courage to persevere through any suffering the world presents.

Virtues Highlighted

Perseverance – trying hard and continuously despite hardships and obstacles

Love – the theological virtue by which we love God above all else for His sake, and other people as ourselves for love of God.

Discussion Questions

Mary, more than anyone else, knew what would happen to Jesus.  She also had unflinching faith in his resurrection.  Why, then, did she still suffer so much during his trial and passion?

Mary was able to stand at the cross while other fled.  What gave her that strength?

We all have things in our life that don’t turn out as we would like.  What does Mary’s example teach us about coping with our disappointments/sufferings?

At the end of the movie Mary cradles Jesus in her arms, supporting him much like Michelangelo’s Pieta.  Her eyes rise and look directly outward, directly at us.  Her eyes seem to ask:  why?…how?…how could you?  How did this scene affect you and how would we answer these questions?

Communications technology enables us to become better informed of the suffering of people throughout the world.  At times the vastness of the world’s problems may seem overwhelming, and it is a natural tendency become desensitized.  How does Mary’s witnessing to suffering speak to these issues?

With our nation at war, some American mothers have faced the loss of a son.  How can Mary’s example be a comfort?

The 12 apostles had following Christ for three years.  They had the benefit of seeing his amazing miracles and listened to his teaching.  Yet, when it would seem he needed them most, why was John the only one to be found?

Contrast this with the actions of the apostles after the resurrection and receiving the Holy Spirit through Pentecost.  What does this tell us about the power of God’s grace and the Holy Spirit?

Personal Reflection/ Writing

A) Was there a disappointment in your life that you felt you simply could not endure?  Was there a time when it seemed that your closest friends, those you loved most, had abandoned you?  Write about such a time and how Mary could serve as a model for helping you to persevere.

B) Write a personal prayer to Mary that you can use the next time you have an opportunity to witness suffering.

Resolution Ideas

The sorrowful mysteries of the rosary give us a wonderful way to meditate on Christ’s suffering during his passion.  Pray those mysteries, meditating on Mary during each of those mysteries, where she was, what she was enduring.

Organize a group to pray at an abortion clinic.  At these clinics the most innocent of life is being taken, and here we have the opportunity to imitate Mary as a prayerful witness to their suffering.

The United States has dozens of Marian shrines.  A visit to one can be a wonderful way to honor Our Lady and grow closer to her.

Resource Links

For a directory of Marian shrines:  www.udayton.edu/mary/resources/shrines/us.html

For a listing of various Catholic shrines:  www.catholicshrines.net

For an illustrated, detailed version of the sorrowful mysteries:  www.rosary-center.org/sorrow.htm

The University of Dayton’s Mary Page has a wealth of resources about the Mother of Our Lord:  www.udayton.edu/mary/