It is not easy to be a Catholic, all is about suffering: fasting, mortification, sacrifices, prayers, confessions and compulsory Mass on Sundays. I used to be a comfortable Evangelic Christian. The word “passion” always brought me to think about lovers, sweet times and soap operas (especially Latino ones). Until the first time I heard the word in church, as in “the Passion of Christ”. I discovered the beauty behind this sufferings after understanding the communion of Saints and the Holy Church. Moreover, when I understood that we form the Body of Christ as St. Paul says in the letter to Corinthians: |
As a body is one though it has many parts, and all the parts of the body, though many, are one body, so also Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free persons, and we were all given to drink of one Spirit. Now the body is not a single part, but many.
By my logic this means that if we are the Body of Christ, we must also help Him to carry the Cross. When He died for us, He was full of passion in both senses, both of suffering and of strong emotion. He died for us, for His love of us - that is why it makes double sense to speak of “the Passion of Christ”. Last Sunday, I was in a Spanish Mass. In the homily, it was mentioned that we cannot be lukewarm Christians. We can not just enjoy good moments ourselves and call Him back when we are hopeless with our lives. We should be like Mary, she stood next to Him in his glory and death, constantly accompanying Him all the time. |
Have a holy Lent and see you soon!
About the Author
Yiran, or Maria Micaela. Born in China as a Protestant Christian but baptised in Spain (2015), being the only Catholic in the family. I came to Turku as an Erasmus exchange student and I stayed for my MSc studies. I'm also a participant of the Youth Weekends at Stella Maris. Cooking, running and photography are my hobbies. |