A Passionist Blog

“You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind … you shall love your neighbor as yourself.” But what exactly is love?

God can and does make use of everything and everyone in accomplishing His loving Will! St. Paul of the Cross often exhorted his spiritual directees to “take everything directly from the hands of a loving God.” Even in adverse circumstances, He is working for our good!

The First Reading from Ezekiel and the Gospel from Matthew have the same overarching message: God sees us as we are, not as we were.

The Apostles themselves are certainly the first “laborers in the vineyard,” yet they must not for that reason consider themselves superior. They must, rather, be prepared to rejoice in God’s equal generosity with those who are not called to such strenuous labors on behalf of the Kingdom of God.

Writing as he is to potential martyrs, the Apostle wants to instill in them – and in us! – what the saints have often called “holy indifference.” That is, we can be at peace and even joyful in both good and bad circumstances, since we see in all of them the will of our Heavenly Father Whom we trust with all our hearts.

It is the Passionists’ particular mission in the Church, as well as our great joy, to teach people in our deeply wounded world how their pain has meaning when united with the Passion of Christ