Are you looking for a more meaningful, more connected life? Us too.
We’re a small team of people (three!) who are - if we’re honest - weary with the present order of things, in the hyper-consumerist, deeply unequal, asset-stripped UK. We’re disconnected from land, from the food systems that sustain us; disconnected from neighbour, community and the social rituals of centuries; left out of the decision-making that shapes our shared spaces. Many of us feel illiterate in the life-arts of community and simplicity.
We’ve also, as a people, lost our sense of faith: here, it’s taken for granted that life is basically absurd. Folk existentialism. We could almost certainly lay that at the feet of the many religious institutions that have failed us. But we think some other things got lost in that fire, that simply haven’t been replaced.
So we’re looking for maps towards a more meaningful life.
On one hand, maps from the forgotten past: in particular the lives of christian monastic communities that nowadays seem almost ahead of their time in their pursuit of solidarity, mutuality, equity, common use and an alternative way of life.
On the other hand, maps from the present: conversations with those we consider everyday saints, or the unsung heroes of the world who walk with the suffering. People who do the slow, often thankless work of reconnecting with Earth, each other, and by extension, God.
This is not a utopia blueprint. We want to live well in the world as it is, finding joy in the heart of sorrow, love and commonality in the midst of violence. Maybe experiencing what human-ness is supposed to feel like, and not the cheap manmade environment we’ve boxed ourselves into.
By subscribing to PASSIO you join us in these excavations and conversations, and hopefully both we and you will discover some achievable ways that we can make steps forward of our own (and share those too).
The PASSIO Project… from the Passionists.
The PASSIO Project (which also produces podcasts, videos, and the bi-annual print magazine) is an initiative by the Catholic order called the Passionists, in the UK and Ireland. They are themselves a monastic community, 300 years old, founded by an Italian mystic called Paulo Danei — and still going today.
The Passionists are known for their commitment to solidarity with the suffering, which often (though not exclusively) means tough, on-the-ground work in impoverished communities. Learn more about the Passionist faith, history, and some examples of living Passionists here.
We (the PASSIO Project team) are not, as it happens, Passionist monks! We also lean into lots of sources in our writing: we’re interested in expanding the borders, joining the dots of wisdom traditions, spiritual practice and modern application. However, Passionist life and spirituality is one of the key lenses, one of the recurring themes of what we write and research here.
Also, to learn more about the company behind this platform, visit Substack.com.
