Saints of the Passion
A friend of mine named her children after the Saints who were with Our Lord in His Passion — what a great idea! To begin with, we have the Blessed Virgin MARY, the Beloved Apostle JOHN, the penitent MAGDALENE…
This quarter, here on Substack, we are reading together Piety and Personality: The Temperaments of the Saints, so let’s take a look at the temperaments of these saints. St. Mary Magdalene has her own chapter in the book, but what about Saint John? This Apostle, the Beloved, was probably a Melancholic. He was obviously a virtuous Melancholic, so he did not mope about and act like an “Eeyore”, but he was sensitive, loving, and idealistic.
In the 21st chapter of his Gospel, verses 3-10, Saint John tells us the comforting story of Our Lord coming to see the Apostles (after His Resurrection) on the Sea of Tiberias. Jesus waits for them on the shore and even prepares a meal for His friends:
“Simon Peter saith to them: I go a fishing. They say to him: We also come with thee. And they went forth, and entered into the ship: and that night they caught nothing. But when the morning was come, Jesus stood on the shore: yet the disciples knew not that it was Jesus. Jesus therefore said to them: Children, have you any meat? They answered him: No.
“He saith to them: Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and you shall find. They cast therefore; and now they were not able to draw it, for the multitude of fishes. That disciple therefore whom Jesus loved, said to Peter: It is the Lord. Simon Peter, when he heard that it was the Lord, girt his coat about him, (for he was naked,) and cast himself into the sea. But the other disciples came in the ship, (for they were not far from the land, but as it were two hundred cubits,) dragging the net with fishes. As soon then as they came to land, they saw hot coals lying, and a fish laid thereon, and bread. Jesus saith to them: Bring hither of the fishes which you have now caught.”
“That disciple therefore whom Jesus loved” — Saint John always tenderly refers to himself this way — “said to Peter: It is the Lord.” The love in John’s heart responds to the eternal and unending Love of the Savior. Divine Love calls to human love, and a heart like John’s responds eagerly. Deep calls to deep. Melancholics have a deep capacity for love.
John is the first one in the fishing boat to recognize the Savior— in his serious, loving way. Simon Peter, being a Sanguine, responds according to his temperament, with alacrity and spontaneity. He grabs his outer garments and leaps into the sea. I imagine him splashing eagerly for shore, perhaps even calling to the Master. “Lord! Lord!”
We read that the others continued in the boat, dragging along the net filled with fish. John is not wrong for staying in the boat and waiting until they get to shore, and Peter is not wrong for springing into the water and trying to get there as soon as he can. They are both responding according to their temperaments.
We also notice that during the Passion of Our Lord, Peter and John responded according to their temperaments. In the Garden of Olives, when Judas came with the soldiers to betray Him, Peter once again responded with alacrity and spontaneity. He showed courage and love as he drew his sword to defend his Divine Friend and struck the servant of the high priest. (Luke 22:50)
But when Our Lord told Peter to put away his sword, the Apostle was hurt and baffled. Sanguines often feel this way when their eager, sometimes misguided, efforts are not appreciated. Unable to cope, he fled.
John on the other hand, the Melancholic, saw what was happening, and was horrified. He also fled, but his love caused him to follow Our Lord to the house of Caiaphas to see what was happening. Peter caught up with him. But while John quietly watched, in silent support, Peter moved up to the fire to warm himself. There, his outgoing personality was spotted, and the maid recognized him. His Sanguine changeability shows here, as he denies even knowing Our Lord.
So we see Peter telling Our Lord he will die with him, then falling asleep during the Agony, then charging the servant of the high priest and attacking him, then fleeing, then coming back, then denying him again, then repenting when Our Lord looks upon him, and then fleeing again to weep bitterly for his denial. This changeability of Peter clearly shows his Sanguine tendencies.
John on the other hand, flees the first time out of natural weakness, but after that he follows Our Lord, even to the foot of the Cross. His deep love and steady nature carries him through, and his incomparable reward is to be given the care of the Blessed Mother. Our Lord entrusts Our Lady to this faithful son and disciple. Our Lord knows that John will not fail her. He is a true son of such a Mother. This should encourage all Melancholics.
This is not to say that Peter is a complete failure. I find it so consoling that Our Lord Jesus Christ could have chosen a more “rock-like” person than Peter, but He didn’t. He chose Peter, with all his eager love, enthusiasm, and spontaneity, and taught Him to be the rock (“petra”) that He needed him to be. This should give all Sanguines hope.
In Mark 15:21, we learn of Simon the Cyrenian, who carried the Cross behind Our Lord. We can only guess at his temperament. We also have the Catholic tradition of Veronica - the devout woman who wiped the Bleeding Face of Jesus with her veil during the Carrying of the Cross. Tradition tells us that after this act of charity toward the Suffering Savior, Veronica’s veil was marked with the image of Our Lord’s Face. We don’t really have enough information to know her temperament either, but we can still contemplate the examples of these saints and cull lessons for our own lives.
Exposition of the Veil of Veronica in St. Peter’s Basilica on April 6, 2025.
(Credit: Fabric of St. Peter in the Vatican.)
In Mark 15:21, we read:
“And they forced one Simon a Cyrenian who passed by, coming out of the country, the father of Alexander and of Rufus, to take up his cross.”
Simon was “forced” to carry the Cross.
In John 19:17, the Scripture tells us:
“And bearing his own cross, he went forth to that place which is called Calvary, but in Hebrew Golgotha.”
So at some point, Our Lord was carrying His own cross, and part of the time, the soldiers forced Simon the Cyrenian to carry it for Him, perhaps because of his extreme exhaustion and loss of blood.
Maybe we feel that if we had been there, we would have joyfully helped Jesus to carry His cross and wouldn’t have needed to be “forced.” Our Lord told the disciples before it even happened, when He was predicting His death:
“If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” (Matthew 16:24)
Before His sufferings and death, He gave this advice to the Apostles. I wonder what they thought when they heard it. A man should take up his cross? Now we use that term all the time, but in those days, crucifixion was reserved for the worst criminals. It was a sign of shame, tragedy and disgrace. But Our Lord gave them that admonition even before they understood it.
We can learn from the example of Simon the Cyrenian to carry our own crosses joyfully and not because we are “forced to.” We can learn from St. Veronica to be kind to those who are suffering, even if we have to brave the fury of the crowd to do it. We can learn from St. John to stand loyally and patiently on Calvary for as long as it takes. We can learn from St. Peter to repent our failures and betrayals, weep for our sins, and return to Our Lord for forgiveness.
For more reading on this subject, check out Saints and Sinners of Calvary from TAN Books, and use the code ROSEMARY30 to get 30% off! :)
Which of the Saints of the Passion mostly resonates with you?