Clavius, Patron of the Skeptical

Last updated on: May 17, 2016 at 2:24 pm by Leticia Adams

Clavius, Patron of the Skeptical 2016-05-17T14:24:28-05:00 Leticia Adams

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

At the heart of Risen is a conversion story. There are a lot of conversion stories in the New Testament that I can identify with but Clavius is really my spirit animal apparently. I love his story. He was in charge of making sure that the body of Christ was guarded from being stolen and then when that didn’t work out well, he was put in charge of finding out what happened.

In a lot of ways, Clavius was more doubtful than Thomas when it comes to the fact that Jesus rose from the dead. Even when he encountered the Risen Christ, and he decided to follow Him to Galilee, he was doubtful that it was all true. I can relate. I have been Catholic for six years and I’m still pretty doubtful of a lot of things, including the fact that God became man and died on a cross for me. I’ve encountered Jesus in a real way, I know that it’s all true and yet I still find myself wondering.

Risen is a great story for our times because there are a lot of people like Calvius who are seeking peace in their lives but doubt that God exists or that Jesus is the Messiah. God never gives up trying to reach through to them though. He seeks them out to being them to an encounter with Him. For some of us even when we encounter Christ, we follow always wondering at what point we will prove that it’s all fake. I remember going through RCIA (Rites of Christian Initiation for Adults) being suspicious about every single thing, just like Clavius. The greatest surprise has been that I have never found Jesus to be anything other than real. Time and time again He has proven His love for me.

At one point Clavius and Jesus are having a talk and it is clear that Jesus knows who Clavius is which touches Clavius in a way that he was not really expecting, but that doesn’t mean he was ready to jump in the boat with the Apostles to go and preach the Gospel. He stayed behind not really knowing what he was going to do now with this new outlook on life and faith in Jesus knowing that He is real and is Risen.

There are a lot of things that could have been better about the movie some graphics were not the best, and I’m sure that I am never going to like any Jesus other than Jim Caviezel’s Jesus from not until the end of time, but the story was amazing. It is a point of view that we don’t hear very often of a pagan who encounters Jesus, doubts and chooses to follow Him anyway. That is the story of my life.

I love that there are so many different ways that people come to encounter Christ and how that changes their life. Some people are so full of joy and happiness and others, like Calvius and I, spend the rest of our lives knowing that it’s true but still wondering what it all means.

The stories of people who have had life changing encounters with Christ are interesting to me because I love seeing the way that God works in the lives of people who weren’t expecting Him at all. In every single conversion story there is the story of how God loves us, seeks us and meets us where we are and how that meeting changes everything. It’s also great for people to see that not everyone reacts to that encounter in the same way. There are Peters, Pauls and then there are Claviuses.

You can get Risen on DVD on May 24th!

Previous Post

May 14, 2016

Abortion, Religion and Politics

Next Post

May 20, 2016 What I've Learned about Parenting

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category #PopeInUS 7 quick takes Abortion Bad Days Book Review Books Caitlyn Jenner Catholicsim Conversion Crosses Death Dignity of the Human Person Easter Ethics Evil Fall Family Fear Freedom Gay Marriage God Holy Week Homosexuality Jesus Laughter Lessons Love Marriage Mass Motherhood My Life New Evangelzation new year Parenting Peace Planned Parenthood Politics Pope Francis Pregnancy Race Rap Music Relationships Saints Sins Suffering Tempation The Catholic Church The Past Things about me Trust Truth Uncategorized Women's rights Writing

Select a Month December 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 May 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 October 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 August 2011 July 2011 May 2011

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Which Gospel begins "In the beginning was the Word"?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Luke Mark John Matthew