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A TRUE PASSIONIST
It seems like God
very often works amid two distinctively opposed forces. It is
like a hurricane that blasts the sea and the land with such
force that it brings great fear and trepidation into the hearts
of mankind. The boat is rocking and reeling in the force of the
storm and the apostles cringe as they hold onto the sides of the
boat for some kind of assurance of safety. But all the while
they had the greatest force of security and care close to them.
It was Jesus Himself. The only trouble with this is that he was
asleep. Asleep or awake He was the Power of God. So often people
are confused by what they see but do not understand. They see
the horrible power of evil and forget there is a greater power
of Good that can completely wipe out the power of evil and make
it shrink away to a mere wisp or shadow. Man continually seeks
out the mysterious, the hidden or extraordinary and is barely
moved by the ordinary because it very often cannot be seen and
only grasped by faith. But this is the way God generally works.
He imbeds the miraculous or extraordinary in the unseen depth of
faith. At times, when God chooses to lift the veil of faith and
reveal Himself or His works it is like a storm or hurricane that
rocks the senses of the beholder. St. Francis of Assisi is
calmly rapt in prayer when the Power of God comes upon him and
knocks him off his chair. He felt like he was dying and the pain
was excruciating. His hands, feet and side felt like they were
plunged in fire and only when he saw the blood did he realize
that he was pierced by the Power of God, and like Jesus, he was
crucified.
We marvel at the stigmata of St. Padre Pio. How wonderful. What
a grace! O Yes! Pain, bleeding and anxiety for over fifty years.
Change the bandages. Dry up the blood. Wear gloves so as not to
frighten people. St. John of the Cross, the Carmelite tells us,
"seek the Lord in the ordinary way and not in the extraordinary
way. For the extraordinary way is often filled with deception
and illusion."
Jesus is the Son of God. So often He reminded His hearers that
God was His Father. What the Father had He also had for He and
His Father were One. His Father loved Him and was always with
him.
You are members of the Passionist family. You live in the spirit
of the Passion and walk continually in the shadow of the Cross.
This is all great and wonderful. But what is the true meaning of
your Passionist vocation? Let us clear away the sentiment of the
Passion. Let us look at the Passion in its bare roots. The best
example is to see Jesus in His Agony in the Garden.
Jesus enters the garden in deep sadness, so sad that it reminds
Him of death itself. He needs some human consolation, some
assurance. But the humans are asleep. He reminds His Father that
He is His Son. The Father cannot hurt Him. Only the best care
and love will come to Him. But the Father only reveals to Him
the awful sufferings that await Him. No consolation, only a firm
determination that His Will be done. In His tears and bloody
sweat only one way. "Your Will be done." Only Faith will bring
some understanding and conformity. Not the end because on the
next day a far more profound and demanding suffering is willed
by the Father, "O My Father, why have You forsaken Me?"
Yes my dear brothers and sisters, this is the true meaning of
the Passion and this is what you profess. No miracles, nothing
extraordinary. Just a road to Calvary. We walk behind the One
who walks ahead of us. It will go to Calvary and then beyond. We
will climb yet another mountain. Tabor will await us and Jesus,
the Son of God will teach us what it means to be a son or
daughter of the Father.
This is a true Passionist.
Fr. Joseph Dunstan Guzinski C.P.
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