SEEING THE WAY
Jesus’ Passion and Death
Dear Parents and Family,
The crucifix is a reminder to us that there is no length that God will not go to save us. No matter how far we run, He will always seek us out and call us back home. The crucifix also reminds us that we can bring our weaknesses, our pain, and our suffering to the Lord. We can offer our suffering for others in prayer in the same way that Jesus offered His suffering and death for all of us. This redemptive suffering allows us to participate in the suffering of Christ on the cross, who transformed suffering and gave it new meaning as an offering for others. (Matthew 18:10-14; Romans 8:32; 2 Corinthians 4:11-15, 12:9-10, 12:15; Philippians 2:17; CCC 1505)
The goal of Seeing the Way is for teens to have a greater understanding of Jesus’ Passion and death so that they might unite their sufferings to the cross. The conversation starters below will help you talk to your teen about the content they learned during the Life Night.
Main Ideas
From the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry, many religious leaders found His teachings to be difficult and a threat to their power, and they sought to silence Him.
God loves us so much that He was willing to sacrifice His own life to reconcile with us by assuming the debt that we owed but could not pay.
Jesus continually invites us to bring our sufferings to Him and unite them to the cross.
Scripture Reference
“He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By His wounds you have been healed.” (1 Peter 2:24)
Catechism Reference
“Moved by so much suffering Christ not only allows Himself to be touched by the sick, but He makes their miseries His own: ‘He took our infirmities and bore our diseases.’ But He did not heal all the sick. His healings were signs of the coming of the Kingdom of God. They announced a more radical healing: the victory over sin and death through His Passover. On the cross Christ took upon himself the whole weight of evil and took away the ‘sin of the world,’ of which illness is only a consequence. By His Passion and death on the cross Christ has given a new meaning to suffering: it can henceforth configure us to Him and unite us with His redemptive Passion.” (CCC 1505)
Conversation Starters
What is your first thought when you see a crucifix? How does it make you feel?
How can you unite your pain and suffering with Jesus’ sufferings on the cross?
Where in our home can we place a crucifix? How can we continue to make that area holy?