The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ

January 31, 2005
In 2004, Mel Gibson's controversial film The Passion of the Christ explored the last hours of Christ's life in (literally) excruciating detail, despite the fact that the New Testament says relatively little about this time. How did Gibson extrapolate a full-length feature film from a few minutes' worth of biblical material? One source he drew upon heavily was the visions of the 19th-century German nun Anne Catherine Emmerich (1774-1823), which were recorded in the last years of her life by a secretary, Clemens Brentano. In her visions, Sister Catherine glimpsed scenes from Christ's Last Supper, arrest and crucifixion-including extra-biblical details like how Satan might have tempted Jesus in Gethsemane, or how Mary might have accompanied Jesus to Golgotha. Noel Griese provides a helpful and comprehensive introduction to Sister Catherine's life and the controversies surrounding her revelations, and discusses the status of the campaign to canonize her (she is currently a candidate for beatification, the first step in the canonization process). Griese also ponders the visions themselves-referring, when relevant, to their use in Gibson's movie-in sections that are informative but make the introduction nearly 100 pages long. However, readers who persevere will be rewarded with a balanced and thorough examination of the life and work of a saint-in-the-making.