We have entered another Holy Week and Easter Season and with that we want to share with you the following link and video from Catholic Health Association (CHA): 

CHA is offering these video reflections entitled Via Dolorosa, meaning "sorrowful way" or "way of suffering." Each image combines a scene of Christ from the Stations of the Cross with an image sourced from the hospital's archives which captures an experience of human suffering. Through this lens, the local community and its struggles become the backdrop against which the suffering and sacrifice of Christ unfolds.

Fr. Donald Senior, CP (who passed away this past year) shared this powerful insight when describing the Passionist sign and how this religious community understood the passion of Jesus.

Jesus' death on the cross was a death in the cause of justice. He was executed because he challenged accepted values. He sided with the poor and the outcasts. He condemned oppressive structures. Jesus was a prophet and prophets meet strong opposition.

This quote has been a great source of meaning for how we understand our own sense of mission and ministry. To venerate the Passion of Jesus is not simply to recall an historical memory but to see the significance of the passion in the lives of people today. This gives meaning to our own suffering as we see it embodied in our compassionate God who shares in our suffering.

It is with this in mind that we would like to share the following CHA video for us to journey and meditate on the Passion of Jesus while calling to mind the reflection from Fr. Senior and consider what the Passion narrative has to tell us about our sense of mission and ministry.  

Thank you,
John Gonzalez and Josefa Castro,
Directors of Parish and Community Relations,
Catholic Charities of Brooklyn and Queens