Religious Shows--Pain and Sorrow

Over the last few months, there have been some interesting news programs and shows on TV regarding the Bible, the Pope and Heaven. I'm assuming they were on around the Christmas season for a reason...and of course I took note and watched most of them.

The mini-series about Pope John Paul II's life was a real interest to me. I recall when he became Pope and have known of his life and goodness since then. But little did I know how much sorrow/pain he had endured by the age of 20 or so. His mother died when he was 9, his brother, a Dr., while he was in his teens and then followed shortly there after by is father. I also believe that he had a brother or sister that died before he was born or when he was very young.

Then, during the early part of WW II, while becoming a priest, he witnessed the death of fellow priests and capture of friends in Poland at the hands of the Nazi's. I knew nothing of this before the show and am amazed at the strength he must have had to endure such heartache. Not to compare depths of sorrow or pain, but his seems so much more burdensome than mine. I know that he sought out the good Lord to help him through those times and through the tough times he endured at the end of his life struggling with his illness.

For Christmas, I received a DVD of the Mel Gibson movie, The Passion of the Christ. Since it's release almost two years ago now, I've known that I wanted to see it. Now I will. People that I've talked to about it say...'it's powerful and moving', 'I cried the entire movie', 'I have it on DVD but have not watched it yet', 'I don't want to see all the gore'... I'm certain I'll be watching it soon. I will then be reminded of the true meaning of pain and sorrow. He gave his life for us.