MOTTO: I looked at him and said, „I don’t believe in God,” he replied, „It doesn’t matter, Edmund, He believes in You.”
|Above; JIM CAVIEZEL IN PASSION (The Passion of the Christ) DIRECTED BY MEL GIBSON
Author: Małgorzata Pabis
Andrzej Jaron provided the service for naszepismo.pl – We invite You to watch the video interview „Time for the warriors!”James Caviezel’s
Time for the warriors! James Caviezel’s message to the world
The name Saul means great, the name Paul means small. During the making of this movie [“Paul, an Apostle of Christ”], I learned that by changing one small letter, we can become great in God’s eyes.
However, it requires us to be small if we want to be great. But this is the way of the saints. This is the way of holiness. And this is the way from Saul to Saint Paul. Vocations come when we don’t expect them. I remember my own well. I had this experience when I was sitting at the cinema as a 19-year-old in my hometown of Mount Vernon, Washington. The movie ended, I was sitting in the dark. I only knew basketball. But I felt such a desire in my heart that maybe I should become an actor. I wondered if this was what God had in store for me. Is that what He expects of me. Yes. My reason interfered. I had no idea about acting, about agents, about managers. But I was deeply convinced that I had been called.
This is not the time to give up!In the spring of 2000, I was offered the role of Edmund Dantes in The Count of Monte Cristo. It was a new adaptation of the Alexander Dumas classic.A very stressful period.For the first time, I had to bear the weight of the film myself and who I was and what I was going to achieve.
But I had no peace. Everything in this movie was a struggle. My character – Edmund Dantes, unjustly imprisoned, both in the book and in the film, writes on the wall „God will give me justice”. Against all odds, this lonely man tries to break free and resist evil. Even the evil in itself. There is a great scene between Edmund and a fellow inmate, a priest played by the great Richard Harris.
In a moment of self-pity, in a moment of great despair, when the dying priest falls to the ground, he turns to Edmund and teaches his final lesson: „Do not commit the crime for which you are now serving sentence.” Remember, God said, „Vengeance is mine.” I looked at him and said, „I don’t believe in God,” he replied to me, „It doesn’t matter, Edmund, He believes in You.”
And that’s the way it is! God loves each of us separately and is with us even in the darkest moments of our despair. After shooting at Monte Cristo, I unexpectedly received a call from Mel Gibson. My agent didn’t call, my manager didn’t call. I did not know Mel Gibson, I did not apply for the role, after all, no one knew about his plans.Gibson wanted me to play Jesus Christ, find a man with the initials J.C., who happens to be 33, to play Jesus Christ.
Coincidence?I do not think so. Is your life a coincidence? Is there an opportunity for you? Maybe some of you are unhappy now, lost, unsure of the future, hurt… This is not the time to give up or withdraw. As I hung there on the cross, I learned that our redemption was in His suffering. Remember that a servant is not greater than his Lord. Each of us must carry our own cross. There is a price to pay for our faith, for our freedom. I was literally hit with a whip, crucified. I was struck by lightning.
Yes, I had open heart surgery which happened after five and a half months of hypothermia. One day while shooting, my arm got stuck under the beam, then someone pulled it in a different direction. My muscles were torn. My shoulder split apart. I fell to the ground face down in the sand. This moment was captured in the movie. Later in the film, Jesus experiences a shoulder separation. Now I know what it feels like. I felt it every day. It was like a penance. It dug into my arm, tearing my body apart with each passing hour. It was getting heavier and heavier. If it was shot in the studio, you would never see such realism. This suffering made me real.
The same is true of our lives! Some of us, you know them, have adopted a false Christianity where everything is based only on happy conversation. I call it „happy Jesus and glory.” Dear ones, there was a lot of pain and suffering before the resurrection. Your path will be no different. So embrace your cross and go towards your goal. I want you to go out into this pagan world. I want you to have the courage to go out into this pagan world and express your faith in public without shame.
Time of the warriors
The world needs proud warriors. Animated by their faith. Warriors like St. Paweł and Łukasz. Who will risk their name and reputation to bring Jesus’ faith and love to the whole world. God calls each of us to do great things. But how often do we fail Him by dismissing it as a passing thought. It is time for our generation to accept this call. God’s call calling us to give ourselves completely to Him. To see the gentle hand guiding you on your way. But first, you must make a commitment to pray, study, and meditate on the Scriptures, and take the sacraments seriously. Our culture is now in decline. We are people in danger of surrendering to our excesses. Our whole world is immersed in sin. And there, in the silence of our hearts, God calls to us. To each of us that we may give ourselves completely to Him.
And how often we ignore Him. We ignore that sweet call. Great Saint of Auschwitz St. Maksymilian Kolbe said that indifference is the greatest sin of the 20th century. Brothers and sisters, they are also the greatest sin of the 21st century. We must break this indifference. This destructive tolerance of evil. Only our faith in Christ’s wisdom can save us. But that takes warriors! Willing to risk their reputation, their name, and even their own lives to stand up for the truth. Cut yourself off from this spoiled generation. Be saints. You were not made to conform. You were born to stand out. In our country, we are only happy when we do what others do. Now we all have an equal choice regardless of the consequences. Do you really think this is true freedom?
Battle for Freedom!
Pope John Paul II said: „Democracy cannot be sustained without a shared commitment to certain moral truths about the human person and human society.” The basic question posed by a democratic society is: „How are we to live together?” Looking for an answer to this question, can society exclude moral truth and moral reasoning? Every generation of America needs to know that freedom is not about doing what you want, but about doing the right things. This is the freedom I wish for you. Freedom from sin, freedom from weakness, freedom from the enslavement that sin causes.
This is freedom to die for. This reminds me of what Mel Gibson said in his award-winning film „Brave -heart”. He said it to his army, and I tell you this today: „I see a whole army of my countrymen opposing tyranny here.” You have come to fight as free people. Free people that you are. What would you do with freedom? Would you fight? They say, „No. We will run away and we will live. ” You fight, you can die. You will run away, you will live. At least for a while. Dying in their beds many years later. You would give a lot to have one chance, only one chance, to come back here and tell our enemies that they can take our lives, but they cannot take our freedom! Every man will die! You! You! and You! But not everyone lives for real.
We must all fight for this true freedom! And we must live, my dear, we must live with God! With the Holy Spirit as our shield, with Christ as our sword. Join Saint Michael the Archangel and all the Angels and let us send Lucifer and his minions straight back to hell where they belong. Saul means „wonderful.” What does Paweł mean? „Little”. So if we want to be great in God’s eyes, what should we be? So what should we be? „Mali”. May God love you and lead you all the days of your life. I can’t see you from here, but I can’t wait to see you in Heaven. I love you. God bless you!
James Caviezel
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From the editor naszepismo.pl: Speech given on January 5, 2018 to young people. The title and subtitles come from the editorial office. / Source NDz /
The film aroused a lot of controversy long before its completion, especially UNPLEET also among Catholic circles. The doubts concerned, inter alia, whether the way of showing the fate of Christ will not border on blasphemy. Jewish circles also protested, seeing in the film strong anti-Semitic accents in the matter of directly blaming the Jews for the death of Christ. Shortly before the premiere, copies of the film were presented to Catholic clergymen who approved the film, encouraging them to watch it. However, there were numerous voices criticizing the artist for showing excessive cruelty and sadism (any abuse of a defenseless person is sadism!) Such a critic was also the Sydney poet, who, after watching the film with his Colombian wife, lamented the excessive display of the blood of Jesus.
Accusing the Passion of its anti-Jewish significance quickly faded away when the Jewish opinion itself did not decide to „uphold” this „accusation”. Pointing to the incompatibility of the Passion, in all its content with the Gospel, is artificial and groundless.
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Good article.
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Thank You John, I had trouble posting a comment to express appreciation to the editors for posting articles in English. I watched this movie myself and I remember the rage of anti-religious circles that demanded that the screening of this great movie be banned.
Cheers Mate
Perth