Catholic Stuff in the Chosen: Five Scenes

The Chosen is a TV series about the gospel story of Jesus and his followers therefore it is necessarily Catholic. However, sometimes in The Chosen, Jesus and his followers come across as a non-denominational and even non-Catholic. To be fair though, there have been some scenes that were especially Catholic. Here are just five examples.

1. Mary, ‘Most Powerful’: The Wedding at Cana (Jn 2:1-10) takes place in Season 1, Episode 5 of The Chosen. Simon asks Jesus who will be at this wedding in Cana. Jesus tells him “the most important and powerful person I know will be there, my mother.”

At the wedding Mary pleads with Jesus on behalf of the couple whom she knows, 'They have no wine! Please! After Jesus honors Mary’s prayer of intercession and changes water to wine, the waiter makes the proclamation that the best wine was saved for last.

As the crowd cheers and gulps down the exquisite wine, the eyes of Jesus lock on to his mother’s eyes from a distance and she mouths the words, ‘Thank You’. They worked as a team, with Mary's motherly power of intercession and Jesus' divine power, so that the wedding feast may be complete. 

2. Eucharist and Priesthood: In the last episode of season 3, as the crowd of five thousand waits hungrily, Jesus takes and elevates the circular piece of bread, (about the size of a large communion wafer) blesses it, breaks and gives it to the apostles to distribute to the crowds along with the other barley loaves and fish filled to the brim which the 12 baskets could barely contain.

This Chosen scene is eucharistic in that it highlights the four actions that are present in all the gospel accounts of Jesus sharing a meal.These are (1.) the taking, (2.) the blessing, (3.) The breaking and (4.) The giving. We see this at Mass with the (1.) offertory, (2.) the eucharistic prayer, (3.)  the fraction rite and (4.) communion. As Jonathon Roumi, the Catholic actor who plays Jesus, elevates the bread it reminds us of when the priest raises the Host above the altar so that the congregation can adore the Real Presence of Christ. 

The men chosen by Jesus as the apostles literally echo the words of Christ so that the large crowd in the back will be able to hear the Gospel message. They resemble future priests of Jesus who proclaim the gospel. They are the ministers handing out the barley loaves and fish as a precursor to priests distributing Holy Communion.

The viewer is struck by the joy of the crowd who reach out in hunger for the free meal. They are peaceful and united as the apostles slowly make their way through the crowd handing out food in all directions. This unity, peace and joy all point to the spiritual effect of the Eucharist.

There is a sense that the church, while still only in its nascent form, is already in need of more vocations. The apostles will definitely need helpers and successors to feed the church in the future.

3. Redemptive Suffering: In the second episode of season 3, Little James, who walks with a limp, is asking for a miracle of healing but Jesus teaches him about the opportunity for redemptive suffering as an alternative to healing. Jesus tells him, "To know how to proclaim that you still praise God in spite of this—to know how to focus on all that matters, so much more than the body—to show people that you can be patient with your suffering here on Earth, because you know you’ll spend eternity with no suffering—not everyone can understand that. How many people do you think the Father and I trust this with? Not many.”

We know that suffering can be given meaning and purpose by ‘offering it up’ out of love for God and others.While that may be true, we believe that it can be united to the cross of Christ as a powerful prayer of intercession for others. We believe that Jesus allows our suffering to be added to his. As Saint Paul wrote, “Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I complete what is lacking in Christ's” -Col 1:24.

4. Confession and the Certitude of Forgiveness: Mary Magdalene said, “I was one way, and now I’m completely different.  And the thing that happened in between…was Him.”  These are the words of Mary Magdalene referring to the life changing power of the forgiveness she experienced from Jesus. These words could be echoed by any Catholic who experiences a good confession. When we are forgiven in the Sacrament of Reconciliation we are changed. We walk away with grace that restores our life, gives us peace and redeems our sanctity, our life, our baptismal identity and name before God. In Episode 5 of Season 2, Mary, like all disciples especially Catholics, gets tripped up by temptation and falls back into sin. She has to get up and go back to ask Jesus for forgiveness. 

There is a specific Marian dimension to the intercession of the saints that happens in this scene as it is Mary who leads Magdalene into the tent (confessional) and stays there witnessing the confession, no doubt advocating for her in silence. In order for the grace to be received, we need to have an interior disposition in the sacrament of true contrition and a resolve to not offend the Lord again. This comes across when Jesus says, “I just want your heart.  The Father just wants your heart.  Give us that… which you already have, and the rest will come in time.  Did you really think that you would never struggle or sin again?  I know how painful that moment was for you.” By saying this, Jesus restores peace and certitude of absolution of sins in the heart of the penitent. Like Mary, not only are we forgiven but we are showered with unconditional love and an excess of grace.

5. Necessity of Baptism: Season 1, Episode 7 features a favorite Christian scripture which we see on signs at sporting events. Jn 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

It is proclaimed when Jesus is having a secret nighttime discussion with the good pharisee, Nicodemus. Something else is said by Jesus that is very Catholic.  “Amen, amen, I say to you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit.” At Jesus’ baptism and ours, the Holy Spirit descends and the voice of the Father claims us as his son. This scene affirms the Catholic belief in to the necessity and urgency of baptism for salvation which was the main message that Jesus gave to Nicodemus. “The Lord himself affirms that Baptism is necessary for salvation.” -CCC 1257.