HOLY WEEK'S SORE LOSER

zna ^ | April 1, 2010

[NYer]

ROME, APRIL 1, 2010 (Zenit.org).- Every year, the forces of evil get very anxious as we reach Holy Week. After six weeks of purification and prayer, we reach the great celebration of Christ’s victory over sin and our reconciliation with God. Satan is a sore loser.
 
So the Christian celebration of the Lord’s passion, death and resurrection is accompanied by the yearly ritual of Christ-bashing in the mainstream media. You will recall that just a year ago Newsweek Magazine celebrated Easter with a cover story titled “The Decline and Fall of Christian America,” while the Discovery channel aired a documentary that portrayed Jesus as a political opportunist.
 
This Lent, the attacks have been more pointed, targeting Christ’s vicar, the Pope. The last few weeks have seen a frenzy of accusations against the clergy, the bishops and the Pope himself regarding cases of sex abuse in Germany, Ireland and the United States. The strategy has been that of pre-Geneva Convention warlords: fire as many shots as possible into the air and hope that something will hit the mark. Since the media are held to no rules of engagement, innocent casualties and wanton destruction are welcomed as tactics to weaken the adversary.
 
Daily headlines pairing Benedict XVI with sexual abuse reveal little substance and much specious reasoning, while the editorialists have been vying, like bullies in a school yard, to see who can deliver the sharpest kick.
 
To the secular minded it seems inexplicable that the Holy See doesn’t leap to its own defense, brandishing sheaves of files, swiftly rebutting each accusation, and decrying this defamation from the cupola of St. Peter’s. This is not Rome’s way. Not when the Landsknechts sacked Rome in 1527, forcing Pope Clement VII to flee for his life; not when 86-year-old Pope Pius VI was trundled off by Napoleon and driven around Europe until he died; and not when the Italians claimed Rome and drove Pope Pius IX into exile within the Vatican walls.
 
There are two main reasons for this. For all their pretensions, newspapers are not a court of law. They are bound to no rules when considering evidence, nor is there a process for establishing the worthiness of witnesses for the prosecution. They can pick and choose what to publish and what to silence, or simply ignore. The media’s self-styled tribunals bring more sales for the editors and more reasons and resources to keep attacking the Church, but little in the way of justice.

Moreover, in media courts, you are assumed guilty until proven innocent. In this arena, the press calls the shots, and slings the mud while all the Holy See can do is wipe it off. Much like the trial of Christ, there is no chance of acquittal here.
 
Christ’s unjust trial and condemnation, however, never was a story about those who betrayed and beat him. Jesus is the hero and brought out the best in many, even as he went to his death. Simon of Cyrene, who helped bear Christ's burden, Veronica who became the custodian of his image, and even the late convert Longinus, who pierced the side of Christ with his lance -- all these are remembered by name, while the reviling mob and persecutors are lost to history.
 
The trials of Benedict XVI have similarly produced some heroes. Bill Donahue of the Catholic League has brought the battle to the doors of the newsrooms. Relentless and inexhaustible, he has extracted apologies and forced retractions like David repelling the wolves and lions from his flock.
 
Among many others: George Weigel, Sean Murphy, Father Raymond de Souza, and most recently, Cardinal Levada himself, have spent hours sifting through each accusation, checking facts and brandishing their writing talents to persuasively rebut each new accusation randomly thrown by the press. Why do they do it? So the Holy Father won’t have to.
 
The tempestuous fury of the mainstream media stands in sharp contrast to the Roman mood. After record numbers for Palm Sunday Mass, the atmosphere in Rome is prayerful and serene as we approach the Holy Triduum.
 
While the secular world wrestles with its fascination with sex and scandal, the Christian faithful join the prayers of the Holy Roman Church in this the most blessed time of year. The Pope’s job is not to jump when the New York Times calls, but to reap and distribute the graces won for us by Christ. Here in Rome, that is our fixation.
 
The often overt hatred of the Catholic Church these days constitutes a last Lenten temptation for us. Like Jesus' three temptations in the desert, Satan offers us three as well: a temptation to despair for the future of the Church, a temptation to turn our attention from our Paschal renewal, and a temptation to despise those who have shown such scorn for our faith and our Holy Father.
 
Like Jesus, we must resist. It is up to us to remember that our Kingdom already has a news service, and it is the Good News that we proclaim this week.

[ArrogantBustard]

Thank you, and may The Lord bless you abundantly.

[Pyro7480]

The whole thing has obviously been a leftist/secularist attack on Benedict—especially considering that the organs pushing it probably think that pederasty is a perfectly legitimate “lifestyle choice.”

Thank you, ZC.

[Biggirl]

It hurts me so much to see all the Catholic bashing going on in the Religion forums by those who are Protestants. Why all this bashing, I just do not understand? How IRONIC, this year, considering ALL the Christian churches are doing Holy Week/Easter. May God have MERCY on all of us!

[vladimir998]

Good for you, ZC!

[Belteshazzar]

You are quite right that this new attack is a leftist/secularist one. There is a new one every year right before Easter, just as there is one every year right before Christmas. And, yes, even non-Catholic Christians recognize that this attack is one whose motivation is not a sincere attempt to right any wrongs, it is motivated by a hatred of Christianity and of God Himself. Benedict XVI just happens to be the chosen target this year.

Here is a sensible Lutheran appraisal:

http://www.logia.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=121&catid=39:web-forum&Itemid=75

[NYer]

I was going to watch the Passion of the Christ last night before reading the part of the Narrator in today’s Gospel, but I chickened out. I couldn’t do it.

Ditto ... it's too painful to watch.

[NYer]

The whole thing has obviously been a leftist/secularist attack on Benedict—especially considering that the organs pushing it probably think that pederasty is a perfectly legitimate “lifestyle choice.”

They're hypocrites.

Thank you and a Blessed Easter to you and your family.

[tiki]

I didn’t see it but our priest saw a Capuchin monk on EWTN, he said that a Jewish friend told him that this is what they did to Jews before WWII.

That is extremely paraphrased and 2nd hand but I agree with him.

[MarkBsnr]

Far too painful. I did the reading tonight; and I only blew one word - read (past tense) versus read (present tense). I did notice that people were paying attention - my reasonably clar and loud baritone and intonation and my habit of looking at people in the congregation might have something to do with it.

[MarkBsnr]

I didn’t see it but our priest saw a Capuchin monk on EWTN, he said that a Jewish friend told him that this is what they did to Jews before WWII.

A very illustrative point. Perhaps with the help of us here and elsewhere, it may not come to those straits for the Church.

[MarkBsnr]

For what it’s worth, as anti-Catholic as I am, I have never taken part in the pope-bashing over the current sex-abuse brou-ha-ha.

And I appreciate that. Thank you.

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST

***Ditto ... it’s too painful to watch.***

There is always KING OF KINGS. Either the C B DeMille silent version or the Samuel Bronston - Jeffery Hunter version.

[NYer]

There is always KING OF KINGS.

Yes. One of my most favorite interpretations of the gospels is this one.

Editorial Review

Originally made for TV in 1977, this in-depth (six hours plus) version of Jesus' life is so thorough that the first hour is devoted solely to the story of his birth. The film doesn't skimp on some of the other landmark events of this famous story either. Director Franco Zeffirelli gives more than 12 minutes screen time each to the Last Supper and the Crucifixion. Passages of the Bible are quoted verbatim, the locations have a Palestine-like authenticity, and, aside from some of the principals (Robert Powell as Jesus, Olivia Hussey as Mary, and Stacy Keach as Barabbas), many of the non-Roman characters are actually played by Semitic-looking actors. Zeffirelli diligently provides the sociopolitical background that gave rise to Jesus' following and the crisis in belief it caused for the people of Israel (and one or two Romans). While not graphic by today's standards, some of the scenes--baby boys being ripped from their mothers' arms and slaughtered, nails being driven into Jesus' hands--may disturb young and/or sensitive children. --Kimberly Heinrichs

Now, an interesting thing happened to me back in 1987, when part 2 of this film was broadcast as an Easter special on television. I had recently moved into an older home in a lovely neighborhood. Baby asleep in her bed, I sat down to watch the movie. I had been looking forward to seeing this movie again. Opening credits rolled when, suddenly, the power went off throughout the entire house. I checked the electrical panel expecting one of the breakers had switched off. The breakers were fine. Suspecting it might be a power outage, I looked out the window. To my utter amazement, mine was the only house on the block without lights. Even more unusual is that around the time the movie ended, the power returned.

This was one of several strange phenomenon that occurred in that house. The following year, I sold it and moved again. The purchasers never encountered any similar problems.

[livius]

Thanks, ZC. I have noticed that and appreciate it. This is definitely the attack of the left (and the homosexuals) on something and someone that they regard as one of the last bastions against them.

[Zionist Conspirator]

I didn't post that to get kudos; the whole thing is just sickening.

And you're right, NYer, they're the worst sort of hypocrites, and not only for the reason you think. Yes, they condemn the Catholic Church for homosexual priests even as they champion homosexuality, but it's even worse than that. They all held up their hands in horror when the Pope's personal preacher compared all these attacks to anti-Semitism. But why did the Jews suffer? For refusing to change. And now they hypocritically condemn for likewise refusing to change or modify its religious teachings. How can they condemn anti-Semitism with a straight face?

Actually, I know how they do it. From being the faithful people of HaShem who cling to His Torah even unto the death, the Jews have been recast as nonconformist, dissident freethinkers who suffered for eighteenth century style "religious freedom." But of course, the Jews had to be turned into icons of "religious freedom." Otherwise their survival for over three thousand years would constitute troubling evidence for the existence of G-d. Better just to pretend they're a nation of Lenny Bruces.

Sorry. I'm riding my hobbyhorse again.

[MarkBsnr]

Sorry. I'm riding my hobbyhorse again.

When you're heading this way, I can only say Yippee Ki Yay...