By David Colhour, C.P.
I am curious. As you have aged, what has been the biggest surprise for you in a positive, wonderful way? I would invite you to think about this question beyond just changes in your physical body. Rather than aches, pains and diminishment, what has bloomed for you as you have aged and matured? Has a particular virtue or spiritual advancement surprised you?
Several years back, I found myself fascinated with the issues and questions around solidarity. What is the value in finding solidarity with others? How can I be in solidarity with people who are outside my proximity? Is it possible to be in solidarity with people I have not met? As I have aged I certainly have wrestled with this moral puzzle. To my astonishment, I was not expecting it to challenge me like it has.
The news media has reported on numerous conflicts over the years, yet specifically, when the war broke out between Russia and Ukraine I was really torn up. I found myself reading the Russian newspapers in an attempt to glean even the slightest glimpse into something that did not make any sense. This daily exercise led me into the life and stories of people who were suffering, many of whom were not allowed to freely speak about their suffering. Solidarity was taking on a new meaning. After several months of the stories and images of this war before me, I was re-reading the Passionist Rule and Constitutions. This time, even though the words were the same, they sounded different.
We are aware that the Passion of Christ continues in this world until he comes in glory; therefore, we share in the joys and the sorrows of our contemporaries as we journey through life toward our Father. We wish to share in the distress of all, especially those were poor and neglected; we seek to offer them comfort and to relieve the burden of their sorrow.[i]
Even the introduction in the recently promulgated Passionist Way reminds us,
We understand that Christ’s Passion and death are “no mere historical events. They are ever-present realities to people in the world of today, ‘crucified’ as they are by injustice, by the lack of a deep respect for human life, and by a hungry yearning for peace, truth, and the fullness of human existence”[ii]
The Passionist Charism is a constant reminder of how connected we are even with people whose homes and families are being destroyed, even though we may have never met them. The Passionist Charism is not just about responding with compassion, it is also deeply rooted in justice because Jesus' trial and execution was extremely unjust. Even the centurion who had nothing to gain proclaimed Jesus as innocent.
When the war began I questioned myself. If I lived there would stay and fight or would I leave the country? Observing the people trying to escape both Ukraine and Russia, I could not help but wonder, were they any different than people trying to leave Afghanistan, Syria, South Sudan or Venezuela? Why is life so bad for people that they have to leave their homelands and their loved ones? What a deep gashing aching loss! Frequently, displaced people initially tell themselves this will only be till things settle down. Yet, their lives and families are uprooted and the trauma lasts their whole life. I am still questioning, how do I respond with compassion? Is there something I can do about this injustice? The Passionist Charism connects us to the displacement of human life evolving into massive migration problems.
Last year, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees estimates 103 million people have been forcibly displaced.[iii] The categories include internally displaced people, refugees, asylum-seekers and those seeking international protection. The pain of splitting families apart and vacating the very land a person calls home is heartbreaking. Frequently, the escape itself pushes people into the struggle of human survival, and sometimes even to the threshold of life and death. Merely trying to sustain life while navigating the ultra-complexities of fresh water, food chains, overcrowding and other hardships certainly is unfathomable. The duration of the trauma is unpredictable. Yet, to finally come to a place that is somewhat safe, even a place where one can put down roots, is remarkably comforting. However, they are still far from the place they call home. Internationally, it is amazing how some countries extend hospitality knowing the shifts will lead to instability in their economies.
The Passionist Charism asks us to not be ignorant of these realities and to stretch ourselves by asking about systems and structures which lead to suffering. Pope Francis invites us to engage questions regarding how we live on this planet and what is our relationship with our Earth? His reflection on the global crisis in which we find ourselves speaks of having an integral ecology by which the economic, environmental and social interconnectedness of people can contribute to a healthier humanity. As we do, "any place can turn from being a hell on earth into the setting for a dignified life."[iv] It is easy to see the connection. Looking through the lenses of the Passionist Charism we begin to see the multiplicity of threads so interconnected. What is our Passionist response? I anticipate the upcoming Provincial Chapter to move beyond highlighting the interconnectedness. Can we respond as people of faith?
For many years we have all seen that Catholic bumper sticker that says, Think Globally, Act Locally. So, if I continue to ask questions, I challenge myself and ask, “do I care as much about the people on the South Side of Chicago as I do about those trying to escape the war?” If I am willing to make a financial contribution for the people in Ukraine but I am unwilling to help the neighbor of Hyde Park, then I hear Jesus' words questioning me, "Who is my neighbor?" Are there really differences between the gun violence here and the shootings and bombings in any other city, including Kyiv? Do I understand the similarities that many of my own neighbors here in this city are the decedents from those who came here fleeing the violence, injustice and terror in the American South?[v] Growing up in a small town in Colorado, I never realized this migration of people were unwelcomed as they looked for new lands and new opportunity in the cities in the North? Knowing this, does it change the way I live in my own city and the people I relate to on my own streets?
On one level, life would have been simpler if I never started thinking about solidarity. In picturing my life, if years ago I would have chosen a different career where I was not very challenged, I could have been like an ostrich, sticking my head in the sand and not pay attention. Yet somehow I did not choose that path. God led me to the Passionists, and the Passionists have invited me to ponder life through the lens of the Passion of Jesus Christ. This has certainly changed me. I continue to think of the interconnectedness of humanity and the place which the Passion of Christ has in the midst of humanities' suffering. And I am left pondering Pope Francis' challenge wondering what will we truly pass on to the next generation?
Once we start to think about the kind of world we are leaving to future generations, we look at things differently; we realize that the world is a gift which we have freely received and must share with others. Since the world has been given to us, we can no longer view reality in a purely utilitarian way, in which efficiency and productivity are entirely geared to our individual benefit. Intergenerational solidarity is not optional, but rather a basic question of justice, since the world we have received also belongs to those who will follow us.[vi]
[i] Passionist Rule and Constitutions, Chapter 1 "Fundamentals of Our Life" #3. 1984.
[ii] The Passionists of Holy Cross Province, "The Passionist Way" 2022. Also referenced in the Passionist Rule and Constitutions, Chapter 4, "Apostolic Community" #148. 1984.
[iii] UNHCR:The UN Refugee Agency, "Refugee Data Finder" October 27, 2022. https://www.unhcr.org/refugee-statistics/
[iv] Pope Francis. Laudato Si': On Care for Our Common Home. #148 Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2015. https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/encyclicals/documents/papa-francesco_20150524_enciclica-laudato-si.html
[v]Fox 5 Atlanta. "MLK Day keynote speaker: Bryan Stevenson, Founder of Equal Justice Initiative." YouTube, January 16, 2023, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5fId7nn5Y8 @12:33.
[vi] Pope Francis. Laudato Si': On Care for Our Common Home. #160 Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2015. https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/encyclicals/documents/papa-francesco_20150524_enciclica-laudato-si.html
