Jim Caviezel: "Shamelessly proclaim Christ!"

Jim Caviezel, who played Jesus in Mel Gibson's film, The Passion of the Christ, recently addressed the academic community at Thomas Aquinas College on his experiences in making The Passion. He was introduced to the audience by President Thomas Dillon with these words:

It is not often that we have reason to welcome a Hollywood celebrity to our campus. But today we are honored to have with us a man who in his acting career is known for his uncompromising witness to the Faith."

Caviezel began his talk by talking in a surprisingly hushed voice about how, during the filming of the movie, he stuggled to pick up the cross day after day, of how it "felt like it was a penance," of how it ripped his flesh. He spoke of the five weeks spent filming the crucifixion scene. The hours upon hours of hanging on the cross--in cold, rain, wind, and even lightening--gave him a special vantage point from which to ponder the prophet's description of the crucified Christ as "rejected and alone." It humbled him, he said.

Acknowledging the profound effect the film has had on audiences, Caviezel also revealed the seriousness with which he undertook his own role as Jesus [pictured in The Passion, right]. "Anything good you saw in the movie was the fasting, the prayer and the daily Masses," he said. "That was me simply as an instrument."

Caviezel also recounted his own journey of faith, one in which Our Lady and her Rosary played a central role. It was here that his pace quickened, and his voice began to take on a commanding tone. "A woman is calling us back to her Son," he said. We are being asked "to pray, to fast and to recite the Holy Rosary."

With mounting passion, he decried the pervasive corruption of our time, insisting that "only the faith and wisdom of the Church can save us." He exhorted his listeners to "pray for our bishops and our priests that they will preach an unpopular Gospel in season and out of season."

In a conclusion that mounted to a crescendo, Caviezel ralleyed the Thomas Aquinas College community with these words:

I see before me an army .... With Mary as your shield and Christ as your sword, have the courage to step into this pagan world and shamelessly proclaim Christ!"

Reflecting on Caviezel's visit, Dean Michael McLean stated: "Clearly, Mr. Caviezel's frequent reception of the sacraments and his devotion to Our Lady graced his work in The Passion of the Christ. It was an honor to have him visit the College and an inspiration for our students."

[Source: Thomas Aquinas College Newsletter (Winter 2005), p. 9.]