Be Passionate – Tony Agnesi

He said to him, “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it:You shall love your neighbor as yourself. –Matthew 22:37-39

I am a passionate person. I live life passionately. I am passionate about my marriage, my family, friends, my work, my writing and speaking, fishing, golf, and most importantly, I am passionate about my Catholic faith.

When Jesus said that we should love God with all of our heart, soul and mind, He meant that we should love God passionately! And your neighbor? Love them passionately!

Too many people lead lukewarm lives. They enjoy many things, but aren’t passionate about any. Not their families, not their job, not their interests, nothing has them on fire with passion.

There is an old saying that if you love anything at a moderate level, it’s a hobby. But if you are “On Fire” and are willing to give it all you’ve got, it’s a passion.

In my years as a businessman, I’ve been asked what is the number one quality I look for in a new employee?

That’s easy, Passion! More than experience, credentials, degrees, or special training, I’d say passion! Give me a passionate person and I’ll teach them the rest.

People love passionate people! They are contagious, engaging, motivational, and inspiring. They are on fire with what they do, and share it, express it, and learn more about it and continually “stoke the fire” with new energy.

The same is true for faith. Jesus is not asking us to be lukewarm about our faith. We should be on fire! We should be passionate about it, share it with others, and be willing to learn more about it so that we can defend it.

[pullquote]”It is obvious that we can no more explain a passion to a person who has never experienced it than we can explain light to the blind.” – T.S. Elliot[/pullquote]

If you are passionate about learning to play the guitar, you don’t do it one hour a week, on Sunday morning. You play constantly, until your fingers bleed, and calluses form. Hour after hour, day after day, you play the guitar, constantly improving until your passion and joy entertains and motivates others.

So, what makes us think we can love God one hour a week, on Sunday morning? We need to attend mass, read the bible, study the saints, and spend time with people passionate about their faith in prayer groups, bible studies and apostolates that are natural extensions of those other thing in our life that we are passionate about. There are so many organizations that could use your expertise.

Don’t be afraid to show your passion. Bring passion to everything you do. Remember, people love passionate people.

Want to be happy? Be passionate about something and see how much happier you will be. Then, extend that passion to your faith, and watch your happiness turn to joy.

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