Hello Everyone, welcome to the most important week in the church’s calendar year. The passion, death, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Their love for each other began before they met. They shared a desire for true love that had not been found yet. They looked for a faithfulness that would never end and an intimacy that would overcome every obstacle that would come between them.
At last, they met, it was the perfect match, it seemed impossible at first, but through heavenly grace, they were together at last. They pledged an eternal love, the two became one, and from this blessed union a precious gift was born, giving life to all around them, spreading out like a shock wave of love that rippled through all creation. This new love dispelled all darkness and led people to join in holy embrace.
Now you would think such a love with such miraculous powers would be a joy to all people. Sadly, some could not admit to themselves that such a love was possible or that such a love could even exist. Some even thought of it as dangerous, harmful, sinful, and a threat to all humanity.
As people began to challenge its sincerity, the more passionate it became. The greater the effort to destroy it, the more it grew and flourished. Finally, the demands to stop it turned to desires to kill. Even through this unspeakable evil came a burst of passion so strong that it was death itself that was destroyed and with it all that could possibly separate them from one another.
This is the Passion of Christ. It’s as passionate as any love story we could ever imagine. More than a story or event, it’s the very passion we were created in, the passion of God as Jesus made man who died for us so that we might live forever. The passion of Christ shows us the depth and sincerity of this love and how we can share in it. It is always going to be hard for us to accept something that seems too good to be true, because there are too many imitations and imposters professing it.
There are many things in life that can cause us to be fearful, none of which is death itself. In His death, Jesus provides us the greatest opportunity to find life. When His persecutors tried to take away everything that He had, His friends, His family, His life, even His clothes, Jesus in turn offered it all up along with His spirit as a sign of how far he would go for us.
If we want to love as God loves, then we need to go beyond our human assumptions about what we think it is and allow the passion of Christ to penetrate deep into our soul. The extent to which we give ourselves over to this passion and come to deeply appreciate His sacrifice for us all, will be the extent to which we enrich our lives and truly set ourselves free. Free from all the things that hold us back, from a love that has no limits and life that has no end. May this week’s passion be yours.
Special food for thought this week from Fr John Orban. May this Holy Week bring you closer to our Lord Jesus Christ and bring you profound inner joy and peace over this Easter weekend.
Love MJ xo
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