Madam, - The Mel Gibson film The Passion of the Christ has opened up debate on whether Christians really know, or care, that God sent his son Jesus as redeemer and saviour (the central tenet of Christian faith).
I saw the film last week and was appalled and revulsed; my companion was enchanted. Despite its heavy marketing as a "must see" for all Christians, not everyone will want to subject themselves to a viewing.
There are alternatives. As we move towards Holy Week, might I suggest a few quiet hours in the National Gallery of Ireland, with pocket-size New Testament and drag-along seat (available at the cloakroom). A start could be made with The Last Supper (Giovanni Lanfranco), followed by The arrest of Christ (Matthias Stom), The taking of Christ (Caravaggio), and Titian's Ecce Homo (Jesus scourged). There are many depictions of the Crucifixion itself, from small devotional images to Byzantine icons.
The pathos of the taking down from the cross is movingly conveyed in The Lamentation over the Dead Christ (Nicolas Poussin), or the same scene by Perugino. Easter meditation could open with Noli Me Tangere (Master of Verucchio), The Supper at Emmaus (Jacob Jordaens), and Kitchen Maid with the Supper at Emmaus (Diego Velázquez).
The gallery is very responsive to market demand and, I am sure, would produce a brief list with room numbers to assist new visitors.- Yours, etc.,
JACINTA PRUNTY, Holy Faith Convent, Celbridge, Co Kildare.