THE LORD IS RISEN!
CONGREGAZIONE DELLA PASSIONE DI GESÙ CRISTO
P.ZA SS. GIOVANNI E PAOLO, 1300184 ROMA – ITALIA
TEL: (39)-06.77.27.11 – FAX: (39)-06.700.8454
Il Superiore Generale
Prot.n.2009.044
HAPPY EASTER 2009!
Letter to the Religious of the Congregation and to the Passionist Family
Dear brothers of the Congregation and the Passionist Family,
The Lenten journey has brought us to Jerusalem together with Jesus, with the disciples and with the people who asked if Jesus would go there to celebrate the Passover: "What do you think? That he will not come to the feast?" (Jn.11:56).
Could they do without the unblemished lamb to sacrifice for Passover together with the bitter herbs of his Passion? "You know that in two days' time it will be Passover, and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified." (Mt.26:2) Jesus said to his disciples who had tried to dissuade him from returning to Galilee: “Rabbi, the Jews were just trying to stone you, and you want to go back there?" (Jn.11:7). From a human perspective it was a reasonable and prudent question; but Jesus was “resolutely determined to journey to Jerusalem” (Lk.9:51), to the extent that even Thomas is acquiescent, yet faithful: "Let us also go to die with him." (Jn.11:16)
Even the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, seated on back of a colt, seemed to indicate a change in the situation and in the future. In fact a large crowd waved palm branches and cried out as they went to greet him: “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, the king of Israel!” But he was only the lamp that was placed on the lamp stand for a day as if on a new Mount Tabor: Jesus is the golden crop of wheat in the valley that is ready to be harvested.
His Passion is not an accident or a twist of fate; rather it is a deliberate choice and an act of love: “By giving his life for us He reveals God’s love for all people.” (Const. No.5)
Similar to the seven days of creation, Holy Week shows us the love of the Father whose most sublime expression and “overwhelming work” is the Passion of Jesus, as our Founder reminds us.
And we also want to live the mysteries of the Passion and Resurrection of Jesus, in this year 2009, in the light of the Constitutions, whose 25th anniversary of approbation by the Church we are celebrating. The Constitutions re-mind us that “Baptism immerses us in the...death and resurrection of Jesus” and “observing these evangelical counsels, both individually and as a community, enables us to contact Christ at a deep level of His Paschal Mystery.” (Const. Nos. 7; 9)
“We Passionists make the Paschal Mystery the centre of our lives.” (Const.No.65) “The Eucharist is central to the life of each community... (it) nourishes the life of our community, constitutes its norms and fosters unity among ourselves.” (Const. No.43)
The Constitutions plow furrows of the Passion deeper and deeper into our lives. In fact, we are most authentic and we have a reason to exist in the Church and in the world if we safeguard, as consecrated people, the “sacred fire” of the Passion of Jesus. This is the mandate that Jesus entrusted to the Founder by means of the gift of the charism and it has been entrusted to us through our vocation.
“Be crucified with Jesus Christ”, St. Paul of the Cross writes in a letter to Teresa Palozzi, and the Rule of 1775 prescribes that the missionaries should “be given up to religious quiet and pious meditation at the feet of Jesus Christ crucified.” (Rule 1775, VI) For the Founder, writes Zoffoli, the time of Lent was particularly characterized by great devotion, so that “when Holy Week arrived, he was totally consumed by compassionate love for Jesus in his Passion” and he wrote to Agnese Grazi on Holy Thursday, 3 April 1738: “Jesus is dead to give us life…Make yourself a companion of the poor Mother of the dead Jesus; it is a miracle that she does not die being so totally immersed in the pain of Jesus... Imitate her.. and then allow yourself to be flooded with the sea of the pains of Jesus and Mary. Remain at the foot of the cross.” This is the invitation that St. Paul of the Cross also extends to us today and we accept it as sons and faithful people “aware that the Passion of Christ continues in this world until He comes in glory... We wish to share in the distress of all, especially those who are poor and neglected... (so that) all may come to know Christ and the power of His resurrection.” (Const.3) In fact, Easter does not end with the lamb that was slain, the blood that was shed, Jesus taken down from the Cross and placed in the tomb during the afternoon of Good Friday when “darkness came over the whole land.” No!
The “it is finished” of Jesus on the Cross is the conclusion of the former time and the former man, and the beginning of the new world, the heavenly Jerusalem that descends from the sky as a new creation. The “it is finished” is the grain of wheat that hung upon the cross that died in order to bear fruit; it is “when I am lifted up I will draw everyone to myself.” The “it is finished” is the empty tomb on the morning of Easter, the first day of the week when Mary Magdalene went to the tomb, while it was still dark and she saw that the stone had been removed; it is when she went to announce to the disciples: “I have seen the Lord!”
The “it is finished” is when the Risen Jesus appeared in the midst of the disciples who were gathered behind closed doors and said: “Peace be with you!” When he had said this he breathed on them and said to them: “Receive the Holy Spirit...” It is the Mission; it is the Church! It is us! “The Lord is truly risen and he has appeared to Simon.” O Lord, make us recognize you in the breaking of the bread as did the disciples of Emmaus and make our hearts burn when you walk with us along the road of our lives and throughout the history of the Congregation, and explain your word to us and the plans that you have for us.
You know how Peter responded to you on the shore of the Lake of Gennesaret. We, too, love you even though at times we have denied you, or we have been incredulous as was Thomas or afraid as were the disciples during your Passion. Lord, open our hearts to greater trust and solidarity among us and with those who are “the crucifed of today” by injustice and by a hunger for peace. Lord, may we be open to the newness of life which is your Resurrection, to trust in your presence among us and in what we are undertaking to give new vitality to the mission to which we have been called. Alleluia! Alleluia! Happy Easter to all the Religious of the Congregation, especially to the “sick brethren who share in the Passion of Christ at a deeper and more personal level.” (Const. No. 29) Happy Easter to the elderly who, by means of their experience and witness, can enrich the communities, formation personnel and the young who today live in such a difficult world. Happy Easter also to the Passionist nuns who share in our mission through their prayer. Happy Easter to the men and women religious and to the laity of the Passionist Family who share our charism. Happy Easter to the Passionist Bishops, to the Major Superiors and to the General Consultors who in their ministry share with us fraternity and mission.
We affectionately remember our deceased who already live the eternal Easter. We especially remember those in Italy who have lost their lives in the devastating earthquake in L’Aquila, as well as the wounded and those who have been left homeless and those who share in the suffering caused by this situation.
TO ALL: HAPPY EASTER!
Rome – Sts. John and Paul
7 April 2009
Fr. Ottaviano D’Egidio, CP
Superior General