Most Reverend Jerome E. Listecki
Archbishop of Milwaukee
 

Our secular media usually connects the word passion to sexual connotations. A variety of TV programming about island paradises entice individuals to make sexual connections under the guise of looking to fulfill their passion. If these shows elevate their understanding a bit, they may even refer to a person’s devotion to a particular hobby, sporting activity, or social cause, as a passion. You may hear that a contestant has a real passion for baseball, cooking, biking, or whatever. The limited part that secularists get right about passion is the intensity of desire a person feels toward the object. This desire can become all-consuming, to the point that all attention and energy are devoted to the desired object, and we often say someone “lives and breathes” this passion (i.e. baseball, golf, etc.).

It must be strange to our secular world to think that we begin the most sacred time of the liturgical calendar with Passion Sunday (Palm Sunday). On Passion Sunday, the congregation listens to the presentation of the Gospel that proclaims the suffering and death – the Passion – of Jesus.

The word passion comes from the deponent Latin verb patior, which means to suffer. In the real sense, passion is suffering to attain our connection to the desired object. In the Passion of Jesus, He suffers to save us from sin and death and restore us to the life the Father promised to us. Because of our sin, we have lost our connection to the loving action of the Savior, but He has redeemed us from our debt. “In this is love, not that we have loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an expiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also must love one another” (1 John 4:10-11).

The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is the action of Jesus giving Himself freely out of love for us. We are sinners. Therefore, we need to acknowledge our desire for God’s love and to be living examples of that love in this world. St. John Paul II said that society would be reformed in the third millennium only through the two sacraments of the Eucharist and Reconciliation.

On March 23, parishes throughout the Archdiocese celebrated 12 hours of Reconciliation. I was informed that at the Basilica of St. Josaphat alone, over 800 confessions were heard, and the Basilica even extended their confession times for an additional two hours. From informal reports, the celebration of the sacrament was equally impressive at other locations. For me, it is inspiring to see the humility of our Catholic community, coming together to profess their trust and confidence in the sacrament, to receive forgiveness, and begin the journey of Holy Week. I hold in esteem the priests who heard confessions during this time and shared their priesthood so generously.

As we engage in the meaningful celebrations of Holy Week, let us take the opportunity to discover our Lord’s Passion for us and pledge our support to demonstrate our love for Him as we LOVE ONE ANOTHER.

Note: This blog originally appeared as the March 30, 2021 "Love One Another" email sent to Catholics throughout the Archdiocese of Milwaukee by Archbishop Jerome E. Listecki. If you are interested in signing up for these email messages, please click here.