I read with interest the article in the Villanovian on the movie, The Passion of the Christ. I too have seen the movie. I believe that the movie was realistic and true to the gospels in depicting the passion and death of Christ. Throughout the ages we Catholics as well as many other Christian denomiations have medicated on the passion of Christ. It was what it was — a violent, terriblr deatrh in which Our Saviour dies for our sins. I now realize that the many pictures of the Crucifiction and statues are in fact very unrealistic — we generally see “drops” of blood coming from the wounds. Mary is never depicted with any blood. If Mary did indeed hold the boday of her dead son after the Crucifiction she would get dirty with this blood — lots of it. It is interesting to note that if one reads the relavations of Our Lady and Our Lord to Saint Bridget regarsing the passion of Christ you will read descrptions of the passion similar to the Gibson script. Futher, there is a patining by St. Alphonus Liguori, a great doctor of the church, that bears a stricking resemblance to the Gibson movie scene of Christ on the Cross.I for one thank Mel Gibson for this realistic version of the Passion of Our Lord especially during this season of lent.

Dr. Daniel R. Longo, Class of 1974