Oblates of St. Francis de Sales

New DeSales World Newsletter - Summer Edition

Palm Sunday of the Lord's Passion (April 13, 2003)

Suggested Emphasis

"He saved others; he cannot save himself."

Salesian Perspective

Francis de Sales invites us to think of the passion in terms of the love with which God embraced us. All Christ's suffering, his passion and death was for love of us. Opting for love of God is to opt for eternal life.

A young girl came home; 'Mommy, teacher taught us how much Jesus loves us.' The mother set aside her work and asked about the good news of Jesus' love. Enthusiastically the little one replies: "He loves us this much", as she stretched her arms in the shape of the cross.

This week invites us to reflect on that cruciformed expression of God's love. The Letter to the Philippians captures God's outpouring in the Incarnation of Jesus: 'he emptied himself...even to death on a cross." We are not being invited to gaze upon the crucified in order to put ourselves on a guilt trip. De Sales invites us to think of the passion in terms of the love with which God embraces. The passion was for love of us. 'It is certain that on the tree of the Cross the heart of Jesus beheld your heart and loved it.'

Today is the gateway to remembering that love.

The mission of Christ was to embrace our wounded nature, to be in solidarity with us. However He was not just to be present to us in our misery and sin but rather to deliver us from its muck and mire. Jesus embraces our frailty and triumphantly leads us from a shadowed existence to share his victory. The Easter vigil will bring this to a culmination when we are reminded: 'He has been raised, He is not here.' Through the paschal mystery not only are love and death mingled, love and life are eternally sealed. Christ is not only wounded with us in love, Christ extends through that same divine love triumph over death. Today is the procession that leads us to Calvary where we encounter the heart of God. On this mount Salesian perspective is clear: the death and passion of Our Lord is the sweetest and most constraining motive that can animate our hearts in this mortal life. Out of love for us, Christ empties himself to give new life to his disciples.

We are now enfleshed in Christ; we become the Christ who now walks in solidarity with all God's children. What Christ has done out of love for us, he calls us to do for others.

Rev. James Behan is an Oblate of St. Francis de Sales