John Gonzalez,
Executive Director, JPIC USA

“Before I became really involved with the Passionists, my focus was heavily on poverty and social teachings. The Passion narrative, the Cross, was not my focus. I understood the Cross as an acceptance of suffering and humility. But then in my study with Fr. Don Senior at Catholic Theological Union, he said something which changed my understanding…”

Questions and Reflections continue…

Fr. Don said that the Cross is a sign of justice, and that Christ’s death on the Cross represents a powerful injustice. That was a key to opening a new interpretation of the Passionist charism and the Cross for me.

Article 65 of the Passionist Constitution says that “we stand with those crucified by injustice.” I began to understand that our Passionist focus on the Cross is not purely devotional, but a call to a sense of solidarity and hope of resurrection for those who suffer, which can become be understood in some cases in terms of social change.

What does it mean for you today to “embrace the Passion?”

I continue to integrate Passionist spirituality into my life. I’m getting more involved in lay formation and I have a spiritual director in Fr. Fred Sucher. While social justice remains a focus of my spirituality, I know I must also go to a core apart from social interpretation.

St. Paul of the Cross was a mystic. And it’s a process, a journey of “coming to the divine.” That journey informs my ministry and my family life. There is a purifying aspect that helps to cleanse one from self-interest; we don’t want to get stuck in self-interest!

In ministry, it’s giving me a new lens. I’m an impatient person; I want things done now. But things may move at a different pace than my own and I can’t control that. There are other perspectives. In my work with corporate responsibility, for example, I have to be able to hear other points of view.

Can you talk a little more about what corporate responsibility is?

It’s a type of advocacy with corporations. The Passionists are members of ICCR, the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility, which encourages companies to be socially and environmentally responsible.

As concerned people of faith, we’re not protesting or organizing against corporations, but we’re trying to work with them, keep channels of dialogue open with corporate leaders on issues that we feel have an impact on people’s lives. Currently there are two main issues we are focused on: first, promoting renewable energy and the reduction of CO2 emissions, and the other is the promotion of human rights which can cover concerns about providing a decent infrastructure for workers, a living wage, or dignity between management and workers.

Does that mean you’re advocating certain political positions?

No. The Passionists have not taken political positions, but we have principles and we go forth from those. We are not seeking to be confrontational; we hope to provide a conduit for just solutions. The core of our faith as seen in Matthew is to feed the poor, clothe the naked, visit the sick. That is part of our Gospel and part of our faith.

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