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Good Friday—a holiday in just 10 states—is celebrated by most Christian denominations, with fasting and somber worship services that often end in silence.Before Christians joyously celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus Christ on Easter Sunday, they first must make a gruesome stop at a hill called Calvary. Two days before the trumpets sound, and churches—many opening for the first time in a year—fill their sanctuaries with lilies, dogwood, and alleluias, we first must witness the hideous trial of the sinless Lord, the bloody brutal scourging by Roman soldiers and his anguishing suffering and suffocating death on the cross, a day called...

Mel Gibson confirmed he's working on a sequel to his 2004 film "Passion of the Christ." "And you know, it's not the 'Passion 2.' It's called 'The Resurrection,'" Gibson told evangelist Greg Laurie at SoCal Harvest, according to IndieWire.com. Gibson explained that the sequel will focus on Jesus' resurrection. "Of course, that's a very big subject and it needs to be looked at because we don't want to just do a simple rendering of it — you know, read what happened," the actor added. "Passion of the Christ" screenwriter Randall Wallace told The Hollywood Reporter that "there's a lot more...

Archdiocese of Washington Becoming Witnesses of the Resurrection and the Truth of the Gospel. A homily for the third Sunday of Easter. By: Msgr. Charles PopeThe Gospel for this Sunday speaks to the necessity of becoming witnesses of the Resurrection of Jesus. It begins with the necessary foundation of the proclamation of the Church: “The Lord is risen indeed, he has appeared to Simon!” This solemn declaration of the Church forms the doctrinal certitude of the resurrection. But on this foundation of the truth the personal witness of every Catholic must be built. In this gospel we see how the...

The Resurrection Appearances “Chronologically” Arranged By: Msgr. Charles PopeToday’s post is a follow-up to yesterday’s blog.When we encounter the resurrection accounts in the New Testament, we face a challenge in putting all the pieces together in such a way that the sequence of events flows in logical order. This is due to the fact that no one Gospel presents all or even most of the information. Some of the accounts seem to conflict. I have opined before (HERE) that these apparent conflicts are usually not in fact true conflicts. Another difficulty with putting all the facts together in a coherent manner is that...

When Did the Resurrection Go from Rumor to an Official Declaration of the Church? By: Msgr. Charles PopeIn the early hours of the first Easter Sunday, the news began to circulate that Jesus was alive and had been seen. These reports were at first disbelieved or at least doubted by the Apostles. They dismissed various reports from both women and men. But suddenly that evening there was a change, a declaration by the Apostles that the Lord “has truly risen!”  What effected this change? We will see in a moment. But first, note the early reports of the resurrection and how they...

This Easter many will go through the robotic motions of celebrating Easter without any possession of the reality of the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. They will gather with love ones, family and friends, color Easter eggs, have Easter egg hunts, eat baked ham and fine deserts, watch a sports event and will even attend church for the first time since Christmas. All in a never ending cycle of tradition and hypocrisy. Oh my friend, what is truly needed this Easter is a dose of the heavenly reality of Christ’s triumphant resurrection from the dead (John 4:24).