It is a fact that in the midst of life we are faced with death. It’s also a strange kind of irony that after a lifetime of defeat sprinkled with a few thrills of victory, we gather at the memorial service or graveside of the “dearly departed” with eloquent eulogies and tributes. At such times, it seems that all the deceased’s works were not only good, they were magnificent.

Mel Gibson’s film, The Passion of the Christ took the world by storm, big time. I did not see it, preferring not to want a gory Hollywoodized spectacular to get imprinted on my mind. The response wherever shown, however, may have exceeded even Gibson’s expectations—the gripping focus on suffering, brutality, and human madness.