|
Young World
In the season of passion
PAULINE DEBORAH
|
The passion flower, Passiflora, represented by about 400 species symbolises the passion of Christ for humankind which consummated in His crucifixion and death on the cross.
|
In full bloom: Shades of purple and violet.
All of us dream of pursuing an inner passion in our lives. Passion revolves around strong emotions, intense enthusiasm, joy, anger or even lust. Passion also means the suffering of Christ prior to His crucifixion. The Passion Week in the Lenten season is often the time to retrospect the humiliation of Christ and the hostility He experienced in spite of His compassion to the poor and needy. It was during this week that a stroll in the garden offered us a visual surprise
212; a passion flower in full bloom with its lavish display of shades of purple and violet. The passion flower, Passiflora represented by about 400 species symbolises the passion of Christ for humankind which consummated in His crucifixion and death on the cross.
What it means
The passion flower conveys a loftier and purer expression — Agape love.
In Spain, the passion flower is known as Espina de Crista (Christ’s Thorn) and Muttergottes-Schuzchen (Mother of God’s Star) in Germany.
The five sepals and five petals of the flower represent the ten loyal disciples of Christ, excluding Peter for his denial and Judas for his betrayal. The double row of purple and white coloured filaments known as the corona signifies the crown of thorns placed on Christ’s head. The five stamens symbolise the five wounds of Jesus and the three spreading styles with their flattened heads denote the three nails pierced into His arms and limbs on the cross. The stemmed ovary is connected to the Lord’s goblet at the last supper with His disciples. The tendrils in the plant resemble the whips used to scourge Christ, the lobed leaves look similar to the soldier’s spear that pierced His side and the red spots signify the blood from His wounds.
The purple colour of the flower denotes the purple robe put on him as an expression of mockery and the strong, pervading fragrance of the flower points to the spices used during the burial of Christ.
Stewardship
Passion flowers are fast growing, perennial woody vines from tropical America and are popular with naturalists, botanists, Christians and medical practitioners.
Passion fruits are used in preserves, syrups, salads and beverages. The juice is blended with milk, alginate and yoghurt to make sherbets and cocktails or made into a fruit wine.
The Passion flower and Passion Week remind us of our role as stewards in our environment and motivate us to be ambassadors of love and peace, since sighting a passion flower instills in us a deep sense of spiritual reverence and floods our hearts with gratitude to God and goodwill to men.
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Young World
|
