Passionist International Bulletin

seminar on the memoria passionisTHE MEMORY OF THE MESSIANIC PASSION FROM THE PERSPECTIVEOF THE SPIRITUALITY AND RESEARCH OF STANISLAS BRETONFr. Max Anselmi, C.P.The sources for understanding the thought of Bretonon the PassionWhoever wishes to understand the passiologicalthought of Breton in its central elements, cannot limithimself to only one of his works, because it would not besufficient; rather, one needs to consider at least the principalpublications that substantially correspond to thevarious decisive moments of his life and the history of histhought and that can also be considered representative ofthe others.Up until the mid 1990’s, scholars refer to two works:“La passione di Cristo e le filosofie “ of 1954 (cf. trad. it.Ed. Stauros, Pescara 1982) and “ Il verbo e la croce “ of1981 (cf. trad.it. Ed. Stauros, Pescara 1983). Howeverwhat is not cited is the volume that deals with the doctrinalthought of St. Paul of the Cross: “La mistica dellapassione. Studio sulla dottrina spirituale di S. Paolo dellaCroce “ of 1962 (trad. it. Ed. Stauros, Pescara 1986) andwhich, together with two others, form a trilogy by thesame author (Cf. Stanislas Breton, Vers une théologie dela Croix, San Gabriele (TE) 1981, p. 7. Cf. also: ClaudeRoyon, Dieu, l’homme et la croix. Stanislas Breton etErhard Jüngel, Paris 1998, p. 15). The scant acquaintancewith the volume may be attributed to its title, making onethink that “The mysticism of the Passion” may be aresearch of pure and simple spirituality, while in reality, itis truly a unique work that expresses the philosophicalthought of Breton regarding the cross. There is no doubtabout the fact that “La mistica della Passione “ may beand remains a kind of general proof of the application ofphilosophy or of a type of passiological philosophy.Whoever wishes to understand the philosophical thoughtof Breton concerning the cross cannot bypass “The mysticismof the Passion”, because, amidst its passiologicaltexts, it is, even today, one of the principal ones andremains even now, one of the most essential.Modernity and “passion-ism”Given the insistence and theimportance accorded by Breton tothe passiological element for makingpossible thought that is demandingand critical and contemporaneouslycurrent in comparison withthe world and modern times, hisefforts become classified as “passionism”(Cf. Claude Royon, Dieu,l’homme et la croix. StanislasBreton et Erhard Jüngel, p. 32.) Forthis reason, in order to characterizehis thought on the passion, scholarshave preferred to focus their attentionin this endeavor by referring back to Breton and havemoved almost exclusively to recent publications and theconstant and prevailing references that are concentratedin the following works: “Unicité et Monothéisme”(1981), “De Rome à Paris. Itinéraire philosophique”(1992), “Philosophie et mystique” (1996) Cf. StanislasBreton, Philosophie et mystique. Existence et surexistence,Edidions Jérôme Millon, Grenoble 1996, pp. 187)and, finally, “L’avenir du christianisme” (1999), thatseem to constitute the organic, summarized and completere-elaboration of the other three works just mentioned.The history of his philosophical and cultural endeavorsDuring 1971, Breton produced a substantial number ofarticles both published and unpublished, entitled: “Foi etraison logique,” where he takes various viewpoints onthe rational demands of faith that is aware of its ownspecificity. In this collection, perhaps necessitated byexternal factors, saying that he had to do it “under pain oflife or death”, he presents us with a “small history” of histhought (cf. Postface, in: Foi et raison logique, p. 267-280). The summary is important because we learn, in asingle image, the various connections among his diverseresearch topics, beginning with his thesis: “L’esse in etl’esse ad dans la métaphysique de la relation”, up to thedevelopment of Hussite phenomenology, later abandoned,because it did not further the argument; howeverthe others that are mentioned, the project of the philosophic“quasi-trilogy”, whose initial study should takeinto consideration thought in keeping with his principles;secondly, thought with regard to the world and, finally,thirdly, the thought that takes into account power and alsoweakness. The first of these three fundamental operationsof thought was confronted by Breton in “Du Principe” of1971, the second in the work, “”Etre, monde, imaginar-17