A Passionist Heart

A life giving gift,
our Charism
– experiencing the Passion of Jesus –
draws us into the Heart of God.
It enables us to be who we are,
and is the foundation of all that we do.
For it is by entering into the pain and suffering of Jesus
that we are strengthened to enter into our pain and suffering,
and so we are able to stand with others in theirs.
Although the Passion of Jesus
offers no hope without the Resurrection,
this Resurrection Hope cannot be experienced
unless first we are willing to stay with the suffering.
When God is discovered in the ordinariness of life,
the Charism and inspiration given to St. Paul of the Cross remain alive.
The Spirituality flowing from the Charism
enables us to enter into relationships
that may not otherwise be humanly possible.
It thus creates and is sustained by a sense of community
and expresses itself in empathy, depth of prayer,
down to earthness and a willingness to be vulnerable.

The Passionists – Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea – 2003