Passione

     Fruits are receptacles of seeds and contain the sweet food source required for the development of the seeds.  Seeds are the source of life. The passion fruit is said to be named for the plant's flowers resemblance to symbols of Christ's crucifixion.  Christ's Passion is the food source for the growth of  faith seeds.  As faiths grow, souls are sweetly nourished.  

      

Without passion, man is a mere latent force and possibility, like the flint
which awaits the shock of the iron before it can give forth its spark.
~Amiel, Journal, 17 December 1856

    Each of us also have passions which can nourish our souls.  Some passions are blessings while others are crosses to bear. Passion can be an intense driving force....an enthusiasm or affection......which moves us to our true purpose, or it can be a dangerously violent emotion of the ego which moves us further away from our destiny.  The passions which I refer to are those which involve a strong affinity, desire, or devotion to an activity, object, or concept that leads us to elation....a strong sense of happiness.  Happiness catapults us to our destiny and to a pure love for what we do.

      How is a passion identified?  Look around ........REFLECT.........
What holds your attention or interest? What gets you off of the sofa of slothfulness?  What brings out the best in you?  What are you willing to do for no compensation or personal gain?  What do you enjoy discussing?  What abilities come naturally to you?  What inspires you.......speaks to your soul.....producing a warm feeling in your heart? 

      Oliver Wendell Holmes once stated that as life is action and passion, it is required of a man that he should share the passion and action of his time at peril of being judged not to have lived.   Doesn't it make sense that as we experience our passion, we share our passionate actions with others in order to continue the transformation of energy behind the catapult of happiness and love?.....in order to sweetly nourish the hearts and souls of others?......Christ's passion nourishes our hearts, but we are not meant to keep that nourishment to ourselves.  Just as the passion fruit nourishes its seeds to continue its life, we should share our love and passion with others in order to support humanity. 

As passions develop and grow, a balance of its actions should be maintained.  Passions should not go to extreme monopolizing time, and keeping us from our responsibilities.  St. Thomas Aquinas and St. Francis de Sales always emphasized temperance which is simply a disposition of the mind which binds passion........restrains passion. Passions should help our faiths to grow...........engaging our souls to guide others to their faiths.........not away from their faiths.  An unbalanced passion leads to an emphasis on the ego which can extinguish the energy of our soul, then we are back at square one with empty receptacles of happiness.  Energy and motion are interconnected. IF we want to be moved.....IF we want to move others.....our soul's energy must flow, so remember BALANCE.  

 Rest in reason.  Move in passion.
- Kahlil Gibran 

What moves me?  reading and discussing a good book, quiet time, playing in the rain, expressing myself on canvas, teaching, a Salesian smile, writing, playing a game with my family, keeping up with old friends, a mountain top, meaningful music, and paying attention to God "winks".