When we give our lives for the sake of empowerment of the other, we embrace the paradox that is central to every paschal journey. This is not death pursued for its own sake, nor is it suffering for the sake of suffering. It is the daily cross we are all asked to undertake to rid our world of the meaningless suffering largely caused by the blindness that is unable to see the enduring paradox on which all life flourishes. Whether we engage the paradox on the grand cosmic scale or consider its application to our individual lives, the challenge is equally daunting. The first hurdle we need to negotiate is the persistent indoctrination of dualistic splitting, dividing life into the binary opposites of earth versus heaven, matter versus spirit, body versus soul. The illumination of truth does not belong to the clarity of the polar opposites but to the gray area in between, where, day in and day out, we work out the meaning of life.) This is where the real stuff happens. Here is where we encounter afresh our inherited patriarchal, dualistic, and imperialistic wisdom and face the disturbing truth that deeper meaning evolves elsewhere— in the restless, pulsating throes of an evolving universe ever inviting us to new horizons, ever risky, yet persistently creative!
—from the book Paschal Paradox: Reflections on a Life of Spiritual Evolution, by Diarmuid O’Murchu, page 73