Evangelizing the Passion of the Christ

THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST

Last week, I was reading an excellent new blog posting by Jimmy Akin ( JIMMY AKIN.ORG ) about the priests' duty to call on parishioners to evangelize.  When one thinks of evangelizing, one probably does not first think of a Catholic; maybe a Southern Baptist or a Pentecostal or a Jehovah's Witness or a Mormon...but not generally a Catholic.  We fall short in trying to spread the Good News of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Why is this?  Why are we shy to speak about Jesus' saving grace?  Why should we not ask a friend, coworker, neighbor, family member, or a fallen away Catholic to come to Mass with us?  Jesus established His Church over 2000 years ago.  He founded it with Peter, our first Pope.  It is through His church that we find Him, our Savior.

Two days after reading the blog, my oldest son and I went to see the 8th grade reenact the Stations of the Cross.  We mostly went to see some old friends, as my son had graduated from that school just last year, as well as getting me out of the house with the baby for an hour or so.  What I didn't plan on was how the reenactment of the Passion by a group of 8th graders moved me.  My mind kept wandering to scenes from the movie, "The Passion of the Christ."  I identify so much with Mary as a mother of a son.  I still have great difficulty watching certain scenes from that movie in which Mary is portrayed.  Her pain is unfathomable to me.  I cannot imagine watching my beautiful son that I carried in my womb and nursed and raised and loved be crucified...humiliated, beaten, and crucified.

Those who were closest to Jesus were so passionate about spreading His story - the story of his life, death, and resurrection.  They were so passionate, in fact, that they were willing to lay down their life for it without hesitation.  They actually considered it an honor to do so.  My pastor spoke today about having that passion within us - being passionate about our Lord.  Jimmy Akin would have been proud of him.  Even though he did not specifically tell us to go and evangelize, what better way for him to evangelize to us than to speak with such fire and conviction - at times yelling with PASSION!

So I began to think about the blog, the stations, the homily, the Passion, and I wondered how much better would we be as Catholics if we had witnessed the birth, life, death, and resurrection of our Lord, Jesus Christ?  How would our lives be different?  How much would you really care about the traffic, the weather, your emails, your looks, politics, or differences of opinions?  What would you be doing differently?  How passionately would you be out every day trying to spread the Good News?  Wouldn't you spend every waking hour thinking of Jesus and what he had done for you?  Wouldn't you miss Him and pray for His return?  Wouldn't you worry for all the souls who saw and did not believe?  Wouldn't you worry for all the souls who never saw and didn't know?  Wouldn't you be trying to tell them every detail?  And wouldn't you be doing it passionately?  As Catholics, we are called to believe without seeing.  It is our duty to spread the news that God sent His only Son to earth to save us from sin...that He loves us so much that He suffered and died for us so that we may have eternal life with Him.  We begin Holy week now.  Now is our chance to turn all of our attention to the one who was sent for us.  Easter is coming.  It is the day we are finally allowed to say once again, "Hallelujah!"  Spread the Good News as if you have seen, and be passionate about our Christ - He is passionate about you!

"Eight days later, his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them.  The doors were shut, but Jesus came and stood among them, and said, 'Peace be with you.'  Then he said to Thomas, 'Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side; do not be faithless, but believing.'  Thomas answered him, 'My Lord and my God!'  Jesus said to him, 'You have believed because you have seen me.  Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe.' "   -John 20:26-29

As if Sexualization of Tweens Wasn't Enough...Here Come the Dolls from Hell

Monster High dolls as seen at my local
Target (glare on glass case from lights)

My five year old son today in Target said (with horror in his voice), "Why would anyone make such scary looking dolls for little girls??!!"  My response, "I don't know...frightening."

Up close you can see the fangs and other scary facial features

Last week, I saw a commercial on TV for a new line of Barbie-sized dolls called "Monster High Dolls".  I then received a mailer from Target advertising these dolls.  I had to see them in person.  I naively thought my nice suburban Target would not carry dolls like these.  Not only do they carry them, but they are prominently displayed in a glass case on one of the "girl aisles".  I could not believe my eyes...dolls for young girls that actively promote evil and sexualization of tweens all wrapped up in one.  They have fangs, very pale skin, large eyes (like the Bratz dolls), and sport call-girl type clothing.  Apparently, the dolls are based on a series of books about teen children of famous monsters like Dracula, Frankenstein, etc.  The premise sounds harmless, as we had Scooby Doo back in the day...but I can promise you these dolls are not harmless.

Everywhere we look today, young girls are bombarded with the notion that if they don't look "sexy" they will not get anywhere in life - they won't get the right guy, they won't get the fancy car or house, and ultimately they will not be happy.  For a number of years, one of the most popular high school graduation presents from a girl's parents was breast enhancement.  That's right, what would become of a young lady going off to college without it?  The sexualization of young girls in our society has reached an insane level.

Little girls are the ones who love to play with Barbie and dolls like Barbie.  I had Barbies growing up, and I'm sure they don't convey the right message to young girls either, but at least they didn't have fangs and dress like street walkers!  This new set of dolls are aimed at very young girls and are encouraging them to become desensitized to the evil world.  An entire generation of young women will have only known the likes of "Twilight" and "Monster High".  An entire generation is growing up with this as their "norm".  They are becoming desensitized to inappropriate dress, inappropriate actions, and most importantly...evil.  If you think these movies and books have no bearing on teen life, think again.  There have been many cases of teens biting other teens just because it looked "cool" and "sexy" in "Twilight".  It's anything but...it's frightening.

As parents, we must oppose this as becoming our daughters' norm.  It is not normal.  It is anything but normal for young girls to have fantasy play about teen monsters who dress in short skirts, midriff baring tops, fishnet stockings, and platform high heeled shoes.  This is definitely not the type of fantasy play I would ever want for my daughter.

I have absolutely no doubt that Satan has always wanted to destroy the family unit and what better way than to reduce the amount of mothers and children?  When young girls grow up thinking that their only worth is through materialism and external looks, why would they ever want to give themselves completely over to their children and families?  That probably sounds a little too difficult for today's narcissistic young lady.  Girls today are taught that they are in complete control of their sexuality and this will give them power.  But what kind of control?  Birth control?  Ability to wear short skirts or shorts the size of a bikini bottom? They are ultimately left with an emptiness inside that only listening to their true femininity would fulfill.  They are cheapening themselves when they behave this way, and it does a number on their self esteem.

God designed young girls to become the nurturers of our society.  Without nurturing mothers, what will become of our future children?  Satan will surely have won if he can destroy the God-given role of a woman.  Love your daughters, teach them to love God, to listen to their hearts, and to stay FAR away from anything even remotely evil.  If you open that door, you are inviting evil into your home.  You don't want to do it...trust me, I have seen the destruction that demons can do once you let them in.  If we buy into the commercialism of evil, we are surely and literally playing with fire!