Recalling Reality
The other morning I was praying my daily Rosary and I happened to be praying the sorrowful mysteries. I had arrived to the second sorrowful mystery, namely, the Scourging at the Pillar. For those who may be unfamiliar with this particular mystery, this is where Jesus was beaten and tortured while tied to a pillar in the court of Pontius Pilate.
While I was on the second or third Hail Mary, I stopped, grabbed my iPhone, and pulled up YouTube and searched “Scouring of the Pillar from Passion of the Christ.” I watched maybe 30 seconds to a minute’s worth of the video, and then closed it out.
I had done this for a couple of reasons. One of the reasons I had done this was because quite some time had passed since I had last viewed this particular scene from the iconic movie. The primary reason I pulled this clip up was to remind myself of the reality of what the second mystery was all about; the scouring of the pillar.
What did I need reminding of, exactly? To be completely honest, I wanted to be reminded of the sheer horror of this particular incident that the Son of Man endured. I wanted to be reminded of what I was supposed to be meditating on during the holy rosary. By seeing the vivid video with the graphic scene of Christ being scourged, I am reminded of what was endured for the divine will on our behalf. Once finished with the video clip, I returned promptly to praying my rosary on the verge of tears.
I needed that. It allowed me to meditate much more profoundly on the suffering of Jesus Christ. By revisiting the imagery, I was able to contemplate that scene as if I were there witnessing the atrocity that He underwent willingly. By allowing myself to view the scouring that Mel Gibson recreated in the movie, I noticed that I had a shift in the intensity of my prayer that morning. More of my heart and soul appeared to be present and that is the kind of prayer we should desire to offer to God, for He wants all of us.
Today, in our age, we have become so far removed from the reality of Jesus Christ as the monumental shift in history for mankind. That was 2000 years ago, and because of how far removed we are chronologically speaking, it can become difficult to see the relevance of the entirety of what happened. We are detached from the sequence of events of the Passion because it was a completely different age, different people, different culture, and even language. Those factors would appear to create a distance between what happened and what is happening to us today.
By revisiting that video, I was able to get back to what really happened. I was able to reconnect with the sorrowful mysteries in a way that maybe I hadn’t as of late. I remembered that it was a very bloody and horrendous torture that Jesus experienced. Because of that, I was able to lament for God (even though He doesn’t need it, of course) and bring myself back to proper order; ad oratio with Him. Aligning myself within prayer is how I ought to be; mouth to mouth with God.
Let us remember that Christianity is not some watered down “nice guy” religion. That is not what the Lord trudged through. We in America especially tend to water down the gruesome reality of the Faith. Very seldom do I see a crucifix that is accurately depicting the bloody reality of being scourged, crowned with thorns, physically fatigued from carrying the cross, and then being crucified.
Most of the time I see a crucifix where Christ has His usual markings/piercings from the soldier’s spear and the marks from the nails, but hardly ever do I see a crucifix that blatantly shows us what He actually submitted Himself to.
Men, let us remember the reality of Christianity. Let us not forget what the Son of God permitted Himself to go through to swallow up sin and beat death for us. Let us realign ourselves ad oratio to God to be in communion with the reality of the Passion. The next time you pray the sorrowful mysteries, remind yourself of the real love Christ has for you to endure the gruesome death He bore.
Pax Christi
