Isn't it Morbid to Think About Jesus' Sufferings?
An ancient and venerable practice among Christians is to meditate on the passion of our Lord as it is narrated for us in the Gospels. But many find this practice difficult or wonder what is its purpose.
Actual crucifix used by St. Paul of the Cross in giving a retreat for Benedictine Nuns in Italy. It was from this community that Mother Mary Crucified transferred and became the Superior of the first Passionist Nuns Monastery in 1771.
Isn't it morbid to focus on the details of Jesus' sufferings? No, it cannot be so, because he is alive, risen from the dead!
To meditate on his passion is to begin to be illumined by the fire of divine love that radiates from the heart of Jesus through every moment of his sufferings, to begin to experience that in his passion he loved me and gave himself for me (Galatians 2:20).
Some of the best ways to do so are to pray the sorrowful mysteries of the rosary, to pray the Stations of the Cross, or to read slowly through the passion account in one of the Gospels or an Old Testament passage such as Isaiah 53 or Psalm 22.
- The Gospel of Mark by Mary Healy, page 301