The Continuing Passion: Christ's Suffering in Our World

The absolute essence of this sermon is that the Passion of Christ is not a finished historical event confined to Calvary, but an ongoing, living reality in which every human being participates. Bishop Sheen's central message for the listener is a profound call to re-evaluate the nature of suffering. He argues that the afflictions, trials, and frustrations we endure are not random, meaningless occurrences. Instead, they are our unique opportunities to "complete the full tale of Christ's afflictions," as St. Paul wrote, for the sake of His body, the Church. This transforms our understanding of pain from something to be avoided into something redemptive, giving our personal struggles a cosmic and salvific purpose.Sheen masterfully illustrates this concept through a series of vivid examples, both personal and scriptural. He explains that just as our Lord’s earthly life in the Creed jumps from "born" to "suffered," the core of our existence is defined by whether or not we do the Father's will in the midst of our trials. He then shares the powerful story of Elizabeth and Felix Leseur, where Elizabeth's fifteen years of silent, redemptive suffering became the catalyst for her atheist husband's conversion and eventual ordination as a Dominican priest. This, Sheen explains, is the "transfusibility of suffering"—the spiritual reality that our pain, when united with the Cross, can be offered for the salvation of others.The sermon culminates with a dramatic and moving vision of the world divided into two groups: those who are on the cross with Christ, and those who are beneath it, either as loving participants in His suffering or as ridiculing spectators. He challenges each listener to see their personal trials as a participation in Christ's own Passion, whether they do so consciously, like the saints, or unconsciously, like the vast majority of the world's poor and afflicted who are unknowingly bearing His Cross. Ultimately, Sheen leaves us with the haunting and transformative image of Christ still hanging on the cross, waiting for every last soul to come and help take Him down—a task that can only be accomplished by embracing our own share of His redeeming suffering.