It was Drew Christiansen, S.J., even more than Thoreau or Aquinas, whom I was surprised to encounter amid the German landscapes on the Upper East Side.

Martyrdom finds perhaps its most powerful cinematic expression in Carl Theodor Dreyer’s “The Passion of Joan of Arc” (1928), a classic of the silent film era and widely considered one of the greatest films ever made.

On Good Friday, the role of the preacher is to get out of the way.

A Homily for the Good Friday of the Lord’s Passion, by Father Terrance Klein

A Homily for Holy Thursday, by Father Terrance Klein

A Homily for the Mass of Easter Day, by Father Terrance Klein

Pope Francis, 88, will visit Rome’s Regina Coeli prison “in a private way” on Holy Thursday afternoon if his health condition allows it.

The church remembers Christ’s death on a cross in a spiritual and sacramental way during Holy Week, but some people actually experience the Passion in a tangible and personal way in their very lives.

For me, there are three themes that I draw out of our tradition and that I emphasize in my preaching: solidarity, empathy and gratuitousness.