{"id":12558,"date":"2026-04-17T12:48:52","date_gmt":"2026-04-17T17:48:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/passionist.org\/?p=12558"},"modified":"2026-04-21T13:04:14","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T18:04:14","slug":"fr-aurelio-aparecido-miranda-cp-seeing-hope-and-transformation-through-love-and-the-cross","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/passionist.org\/es\/2026\/04\/17\/fr-aurelio-aparecido-miranda-cp-seeing-hope-and-transformation-through-love-and-the-cross\/","title":{"rendered":"Seeing Hope and Transformation Through Love and the Cross"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Fr. Aur\u00e9lio Miranda, CP<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Father Aur\u00e9lio Aparecido Miranda, CP, is from the Province of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross in Brazil and serves as a General Consultor of the Passionist Congregation in Rome. He sees many similarities between the culture of his home state, Minas Gerais, Brazil, and the Passionist charism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The approach to suffering is one example.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHuman suffering is often understood through a redemptive lens,\u201d explains Father Aur\u00e9lio. \u201cIt is common to hear: \u2018I am going through a problem, but I know that when I overcome it, I will be stronger.\u2019 Suffering is not seen as merely destructive but a reality that can educate, purify and help a person mature. When we, as priests, visit the sick, we often witness this understanding of suffering as a passage, a reality in which pain is not denied, but integrated into a horizon of hope and transformation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cIn God, we are one family, a family born of the love of a God who gave himself on the cross for the salvation of all.\u201d<\/p>\nFather Aur\u00e9lio Aparecido Miranda, CP<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The people understand the importance of community, so everything is shared within the family and community, including care of children and the elderly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere is a saying in Brazil, \u2018love tastes like grandparents\u2019 homes,\u2019 an expression that beautifully conveys the value of memory, affection and intergenerational life,\u201d shares Father Aur\u00e9lio. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt is fair to say that in Brazil, the sense of belonging, whether to one\u2019s family by blood, to a religious community or by a voluntary association, is extremely significant. It seems to be an intrinsic need to belong to something or someone, and this clearly influences spirituality, the living of faith, family and religious life.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Passionists share this celebration of community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Father Aur\u00e9lio at a meeting with the Passionists\u2019 Lay Community in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Passionist charism affirms and intensifies this cultural attribute. Passionists witness that we belong first and foremost to God, who covenants with us as brothers and sisters,\u201d Father Aur\u00e9lio says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn God, we are one family, a family born of the love of a God who gave himself on the cross for the salvation of all. To live the Passionist charism, therefore, is to recognize ourselves as redeemed by Christ in his Passion and Cross, and to consciously embrace our belonging to the same body: the community of those who are loved, reconciled and saved in Christ.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Father Aur\u00e9lio with adult catechesis students in Lagunas, Peru.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Love in Brazilian culture is not just spoken but lived. People from other cultures marvel at the breadth of the expressions of love in this culture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201c[L]iving the Passionist charism in daily life means transforming the contemplation of the Passion into simple yet meaningful actions, by which faith becomes visible in the concrete care of a wounded life.\u201d <\/strong><\/p>\nFather Aur\u00e9lio Aparecido Miranda, CP<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe can say that in Brazil, love is expressed not only through words, but especially through care, affection and smiles. It is a love that becomes presence, closeness and attentiveness to the other,\u201d Father Aur\u00e9lio explains. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn this context, the connection with the Passionist charism is especially profound. St. Paul of the Cross taught that on the forehead of the poor, and we may also say of those who suffer, the name of the Crucified Christ is written. He also reminds us that the Passion of Christ is both a sea of sorrow and a sea of love. To live the Passionist charism, therefore, means to love whoever is near. It is a love that does not remain merely an inner feeling but becomes gesture, presence and concrete self-giving alongside those who suffer.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Brazilian culture, like the Passionist charism, there is an understanding that remembering the Crucified Christ does not stop with contemplation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Father Aur\u00e9lio at Mass with parishioners in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn Brazilian culture, there is no strict separation between contemplating the Crucified Christ and caring for those who are crucified today. These two attitudes go hand in hand and are expressed especially in the simple gestures of daily life,\u201d shares Father Aur\u00e9lio. \u201cIt is very natural to help an elderly person cross the street, offer a sandwich to someone who is hungry, or listen attentively to someone carrying silent suffering.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For us, caring for those who suffer is, in a very concrete way, caring for the Crucified Christ himself. Religion is demonstrated less through isolated liturgical acts and more through human gestures of solidarity, closeness and compassion. In this sense, living the Passionist charism in daily life means transforming the contemplation of the Passion into simple yet meaningful actions, by which faith becomes visible in the concrete care of a wounded life.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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