DEEPAGAM-THE CITADEL, KILPAUK-CHENNAI, LENT 2025: Deepagam organized Lenten Catechesis – 2025 in twelve parishes within Chennai Province. Over 7000 Parishioners and Faithful visiting Catholic Shrines took active part in this Lenten observance, reflecting the Passion of Christ as against the passions of the World. The Theme of the Passion-Play was: Conversion of Heart set within the consumerist trends of today.

Deepagam conducts the voice-over miming passion-play called “Sound and Light” Program (ஒளியும் ஒலியும் காட்சி in Tamil) every Lenten season. This year, the one-hour play was titled, Yesuvum Naanum – “Jesus and Myself” (இயேசுவும் நானும்).

The play is the blend of Biblical Passion Narrative and today’s life contexts; it is also centered on Biblical characters and our contemporary characters. The play portrays Blessed Mother Mary, Nicodemus, Judas Iscariot, Peter, and Pilate and their personal relationship with God and His values for our life. BVM was awaiting God’s plan while living in faith; Nicodemus visits Jesus secretly who tells him that we are ‘to be born in Spirit’. The contrary scene portrays consumerism vs Christian charity, fellowship and Christian Witness as against cowardice of Nicodemus. Judas Iscariot’s betrayal and his fall is associated with acts of modern of corporate deceits, corruption, greed and sabotage for money. Peter’s denial and repentance is likened to lack of parental trust/confidence in children; in similar manner, Pilates’ engrossment and greed for power, position and status linked to contemporary corporate, civil and bureaucratic practices.

The interplay of reading the passion narrative with the signs of the time ends with violent arrest of Jesus and way of the cross begins with the audience reaching up to the main stage. BVM’s lamentation ends with resonating “God’s will be, our will”. And Jesus is seen praying before his crucifixion for the conversion of heart. The aside-scene depicts Judas’s repentance and confession before Pharisees and Chief Priests who rejects it and distances from Judas, which leads to his unforgivable suicide.

Jesus crucified on the cross dialogues with humanity that mocks and challenges him through his last words: “My God, My God why have you abandon me”, “I thirst”, and “Into your hands I commend my Spirit” and so on. The play ends with Blessed Virgin’s lamentations (dialog from the previous play) followed by the charitable act of Joseph of Arimathea preparing Jesus’s body for the burial, thus ending with the resounding note of hope.

The play portrays that Jesus gave up his spirit by Himself for he has the authority give-up his life and take-it up again. (John 10:18).

The concluding message of the passion play is a change in life leads us for a change to new life; hence, ‘as pilgrims of Hope, let us celebrate faith in the Lenten season’. Few popular devotional songs for this passion play were இயேசுவே ஏன் இந்த பாடுகள்? and எனக்காகவோ? Unlike multimedia, the uniqueness of the Sound and Light Program is that it is more a human media. Deepagam has been staging Sound and Light program for nearly 25 years as Lenten catechetical ministry.

Common Program Schedule for the Deepagam’s Lenten Observance was Rosary, Holy Eucharist, Passion Play, Felicitations of the actors and often children and youth were seen shooting photos and capturing videos using their Smartphones during and after the passion play.

Lenten Passion Play Schedule

Lenten Sermons Snippets

This two millennia is really a “Gospel World”; in our modern life contexts, we are facing household corruptions and socio-relational sins and crimes. Let us be reminded of our sins with the sufferings of Christ. Cross is the symbol of temptations in all sphere of our lives. No one can cope with the experience of hate on the Cross that Jesus has underwent for our sake. Let us not implant hate into the minds and hearts of others, if we do this, we would be hurting Jesus. (Our Lady of Consolation Church, Vyasarpadi, Chennai)

Moses encounters burning bush that is never consumed (முட்புதர் தீயவில்லை). Our life will not be consumed if we are with God. Our God is no distant Being; He who sees, hears, thinks and comes to save us. He is the Identity: I Am Who I AM – இருக்கிறவரும் இருக்கின்றவரும் நானே! In Old Testament, God’s Mission of Liberation is from the state of slavery, enslavement to sickness, death, sins and conflicts. Life is burning in every way through sufferings leading to loss of hope, and a sense of end to everything (“தனிமையில் எண்ணங்கள் அழுதால், கண்ணீரே படுக்கையாய் மாறினால்…”). In all our dead ends, God will rollover the tombstone and resurrect us – for he will raise me up and will restore back what is lost (cf. Psalm 71:20, Joel 2:25). Christ is our Rock and the sign of His call and mission is that He has come down “to bear fruit”. (Sacred Heart Church, Tirupattur)

Epilogue

It appears that human evil is louder than the Word of God as perceived in this இயேசுவும் நானும் - ஒளியும் ஒலியும் காட்சி (Sound and Light Program). Today’s evil such as, consumerism, money-mindedness, inequality, corporate corruption, real-estate evils, smartphone abuses, abuse of authority and position, misinformation, betrayal of trust, false accusations/condemnations were highlighted in the passion play. This play is a call for Conversion and Change of Heart during the Lenten Season – 2025.

The Plot of the Passion Play: