The Wisdom of the Cosmological Cross

In the Epistle to the Colossians St. Paul the Apostle develops a cosmological identity for Christ. In offering us these verses found in Chapter one of the Epistle Paul expands the theology of Christ’s Passion and Resurrection by placing it beyond human history:  

He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together. He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross.

Passionist spirituality is centered on the image and salvific purpose of the Cross throughout the development of humanity and creation. Beyond the vast letters and the diary that St. Paul of the Cross wrote the only booklet that we know he ever produced was an intense spiritual exercise based on the devotion to Christ’s passion which he called “Mystical Death”. In this work and in some of his letters St. Paul of the Cross, the founder of the Passionist (not to be confused with St. Paul the Apostle), centers much of his spiritual direction on a mystical transformation that we are all privy to and from which we grow ever deeper into our relationship with Christ. This mystical transformation occurs to us within our life journey when moments of great suffering happen to us. For St. Paul of the Cross all suffering has the capacity to bring us closer to the redemptive suffering of the Cross, this is the part of the journey that he calls “Mystical death”. It is not an actual death but in a sense it is a part of us that is dying. We let go of something that we have been used to or comfortable with. When we can allow this suffering to transform us and to be redefined by our suffering in way that will change our actions, behaviors and way of thinking  then we begin to participate in a “Divine Rebirth”. In our life journey major events like suffering will give us mini passion and resurrection moments that can transform us towards God and Christ if we allow ourselves to be transformed into a greater existence.

But Fr. Thomas Berry, CP also suggested that the “Wisdom of the Cross” as defined in Colossians challenges us to see the wisdom of suffering as it impacts creation as well. Since humans have the gift of consciousness then we are called to reflect on “a certain coherence between the grandeur of the universe and the majesty of the cross of Christ”.  In the following passage from his article titled “The Wisdom of the Cross” Fr. Berry applies the Passionist spiritually of “mystical death” and “divine rebirth” to the evolving universe.

This coordination can be understood quite clearly when we consider the central role of sacrifice in the redemption process and then observe the central role of sacrifice in the unfolding of the emergent universe. We might even say that the redemptive suffering of Christ lies in the line of creative transformation moments revealed to us in the universe throughout the entire course of its history.

Fr. Thomas Berry integrated the Christian principle of redemptive suffering to the contemporary situation of environmental devastation. In doing this he challenged us to see how we can transform our own relationship with creation. Our world is in the midst of suffering and we bear some responsibility for this suffering. Catholic social teaching has called us to reflect on these environmental issues and to transform our relationship with the earth in order to respond to this level of suffering that will have an impact on us all.

We are called to address the issue of toxic chemical pollutions:

Nor can the moral character of development exclude respect for the beings which constitute the natural world…. We all know that the direct or indirect result of industrialization is, ever more frequently, the pollution of the environment, with serious consequences for the health of the population.-  Pope John Paul II, Sollicitudo Rei Socialis, #34

We are called to address the issues of global warming and climate change:

At its core, global climate change is not about economic theory or political platforms, nor about partisan advantage or interest group pressures. It is about the future of God’s creation and the one human family. It is about protecting both “the human environment” and the natural environment…. We seek to offer a word of caution and a plea for genuine dialogue as the United States and other nations face decisions about how best to respond to the challenges of global climate change. – USCCB, Global Climate Change, #3

We are called to halt environmental degradation like deforestation, desertification and mountaintop removal:

The way humanity treats the environment influences the way it treats itself, and vice versa…. Every violation of solidarity and civic friendship harms the environment, just as environmental deterioration in turn upsets relations in society. Nature, especially in our time, is so integrated into the dynamics of society and culture that by now it hardly constitutes an independent variable. –Pope Benedict XVI, Caritas in Veritate, #51

We are also called to address the situation of water scarcity, a situation that is of particular concern for our own basic existence:

Similar attention also needs to be paid to the world-wide problem of water and to the global water cycle system, which is of prime importance for life on earth and whose stability could be seriously jeopardized by climate change…. The ecological problem must be dealt with not only because of the chilling prospects of environmental degradation on the horizon; the real motivation must be the quest for authentic world-wide solidarity inspired by the values of charity, justice and the common good. – Pope Benedict XVI, January 2010

The Passionist JPIC Office has developed a retreat program based on the redemptive spirituality of the Cross to move us towards a transformed relationship with the earth and each other. The program is called “Living Simply so others may Simply Live.” Towards the end of this program we promote an action program adapted from the Passionist Earth and Spirit Center that will give individuals some practical ideas for adopting a Christian lifestyle that is attentive to these ecological issues and that pursues a right relationship with oneself, the human community, and the environment.  Visit our Passionist JPIC Resource page to see if this program or the Passionist Earth and Spirit Center program is something that you parish or retreat center may want to explore.

One Response to “The Wisdom of the Cosmological Cross”

1. Michael Hoolahan says:

   July 20, 2010 at 1:42 pm

   I found this posting very profound. If Christ and his cross is the central moment in the story of the universe, then everything, even the degredation of our planet, must be seen in that light.