Today is Good Friday. It is said to be a Day of Passion.

I was able to watch a rerun of Fr. Jerry M. Orbos, SVD’s Palm Sunday Recollection on TV the other day. The salient points of his sermon that hit me was about passion or our lack of it. I was not just touched. I was floored.

I agree with him. It seems that people today have lost the passion or "feelings" in the endeavors in life. Passion not just in our beliefs and veneration to our Creator but also in how we have lived our life. We have perhaps succumbed to the rigors of this life. We have lost hope and accepted mediocrity. We value quantity more than quality. As the song by the Righteous Brothers goes, "You’ve lost that loving feeling, now its gone, gone, gone…woooooh"

Whoa indeed!

Do you still give your 100% in the things you do? Do you still give your best in each task? Is good, good enough or to be great is great? If in difficult times, do you just roll over and die? Or face the adversities even to the point of being a Don Quixote? Do you treat your job as if it was not a job? Or are you just a 9-5 worker who cares just about the time and the pay? When you help, do you give our hand or do offer even your arms? With outstretched arms? Or clenched fist? Do you give until it hurts or only at your own convenience? Is it really service or just a hidden agenda?

Today is a day for reflection. Let us rethink all we have done these past few years. Remember that today, on Good Friday, Jesus "gave his all" for us. He gave his 101% for us sinners and strangers. He gave his own life for us. He could have chosen not to. He could have chosen not to be humiliated. He could have chosen a less painful death. But he didn’t. He chose excruciating pain. He chose a horrible death on the cross. Without any qualms, without any regret. He knew these would happen. But chose to let it all happen. In accordance to His Father’s will. With all His love and passion.

Let us live our lives with passion again. To live our life with enthusiasm and gusto. To accept the imperfection and negativity but dwell in life’s possibilities and positivity. Life is invaluable and sacred to be lived with mediocrity. Life is so precious to just drift away wantonly. Jesus Christ gave up His life passionately so that we will live.

As the song ends, "Bring back that loving feeling, Cause it's gone…gone…gone, and I can't go on, noooo…