Greater Love By Daniel JonesDaniel Jones - 2 Apr 2010

“He was despised and rejected by men, 
A man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering…
Surely he took up our infirmities 
And carried our sorrows…”
Isaiah 53:3-4

I always thought that unless you were the kind of person who was always clenching their fist and shouting 'Come on!' (think Tim Henman, the British Tennis star after a particularly impressive shot), you weren't a passionate person or weren't invested in what you did. Passion seemed to me to be defined by physical or perceivable demonstrations of emotion.

Over the last few weeks, in the approach to Easter, I've found myself engaging in conversation around this theme. Most people I have spoken to have expressed concern that they either don't have a passion, or don't see themselves as passionate people. This is something I too used to think of myself, until I looked at what the word 'passion' actually meant:

Passion: from the Latin verb patior, meaning to suffer or to endure.

When we look at this definition, we see that passion is rooted in suffering and the willingness to endure it.  To be passionate is to be willing to endure suffering; to have a passion for something or someone is to endure that suffering for their sake. The scream of the tennis star is therefore the response to his passion rather than the passion itself.

We all have things in our life that we are willing to spend most of our time, money and energy on, whether that be our families, our sports team, our job or a burning ambition. We are willing to endure the suffering of going that extra mile in order to pursue that activity or person because we are passionate about it.

How many years of physical training did 25-year-old Lindsey Vonn need to endure to take home the Downhill Gold for the United States at the recent winter Olympics?  How many injuries must she have recovered from? Lndsey came to the games with an “excruciatingly painful” and swollen shin and crashed out from 2 events, one of which resulted in a broken finger! How many pastimes enjoyed by others her age must she have chosen not to do? Was her sacrifice worth it?  As she stood to receive her Gold medal, how much more value must it have held when it came at such a personal price?

We are all passionate about something!

As we walk through Holy Week, we are reminded that Jesus was willing to endure suffering for us and that He calls us to do the same for those around us. Indeed, the word 'compassion' means 'shared suffering' and as we look out to a suffering world, we are called to be there with them in that place, in order that we may bring the hope of the Resurrection that followed.

Without our suffering, our work would just be social work, very good and helpful, but it would not be the work of Jesus Christ, not part of the Redemption. All the desolation of the poor people, not only their material poverty, but their spiritual destitution, must be redeemed. And we must share it, for only by being one with them can we redeem them by bringing God into their lives and bringing them to God.  Mother Teresa

So, what are you passions? What and who are you willing to suffer for? Are you willing to suffer on behalf of others?

“My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” The words of Jesus Christ, John 15:12-13

Why not take a moment now to respond to this invitation. Pray with St Francis who knew perhaps as well as any man who ever lived how to love the cross of Jesus and and how to carry his own.

When our divine Savior beheld the cross, He most willingly stretched out His bleeding arms, lovingly embraced it, and tenderly kissed it, and placing it on His bruised shoulders, He, although almost exhausted, joyfully carried it…

O my Jesus, I cannot be Thy friend and follower, if I refuse to carry the cross. O dearly beloved cross! I embrace thee, I kiss thee, I joyfully accept thee from the hands of my God. Far be it from me to glory in anything, save in the cross of my Lord and Redeemer. By it the world shall be crucified to me and I to the world, that I may be Thine forever.

Extract from St Francis of Assisi’s Stations of the Cross