From: richarra@gmail.com   
      
   Praising God   
      
   Does not our mouth daily praise God as much as our limitations allow? What   
   we   
   praise is great, but the instrument by which we praise him is still weak.   
   See how we stand and pray to God at some length. Our lips move often in   
   song,   
   but our thoughts   
   rove about through all kinds of desires.   
   -Augustine-- Commentary on Psalm 145, 6   
      
      
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   October 19th - St. Paul of the Cross, Visionary   
      
   Paolo Danei Massari was born in Ovada, Italy the 3rd January 1694. His   
   family later moved to Castellazzo Bormida, not far from his birthplace. His   
   mother taught him from an early age that the strength to overcome any and   
   all difficulties in life was to be found in the Passion of Jesus Christ.   
   Inflamed with love for Jesus Crucified since his early childhood, Paul   
   wished to dedicate his entire life to Him. One time, seriously ill, he had a   
   vision of hell which completely terrorized him. On a later occasion, during   
   a sermon, he felt himself inspired by the Lord to the love of Christ   
   Crucified; he referred to that moment as the time of his "conversion".   
      
   Between 1715-1716, desirous of serving Christ, he went to Venice to enlist   
   in the army. Inspired by the ideals of a crusade, he wished to fight against   
   the Turks who were threatening Europe. One day, while in adoration before   
   the Blessed Sacrament, he was made to understand that this was not his   
   vocation. He then resigned from the army but remained for a while in Venice,   
   at the service of a family he knew. He later returned to his home. Even   
   though his priest uncle had left him an inheritance that he might marry,   
   Paul renounced any such intention.   
      
   To make memory of the Crucified. According to one witness, it was in a   
   vision he had of the Blessed Virgin that Paul came to recognize the habit,   
   the sign and the kind of life he was to lead, a life totally committed to   
   Jesus Crucified. Having consulted with several prudent confessors, the   
   Bishop of Alessandria, Mons. Gattinara, vested Paul with the Passionist   
   habit on the 22nd November 1720. Paul then spent the next forty days in the   
   sacristy of the church of St. Charles in Castellazzo. His experiences and   
   the state of his soul during that "forty days" is made known to us in the   
   "Spiritual Diary". During that retreat he also wrote the Rule for possible   
   future companions to whom he refers as "The Poor of Jesus". On a visit, his   
   brother, John Baptist, asked to join him but Paul refused his request, at   
   least for the moment.   
      
   At the end of this experience, the bishop authorized him to live in the   
   hermitage of St. Stephen in Castellazzo and to engage in the apostolate as a   
   layman. During the summer of 1721 Paul went to Rome with the intention of   
   having an audience with the Holy Father that he might reveal his inspiration   
   concerning the future Congregation. The officials at the Quirinal, the then   
   residence of the Popes, would not permit him entrance, thinking he was some   
   kind of beggar.   
      
   The first Passionist vow. Accepting this humiliation in imitation of Jesus   
   Crucified, he went to the basilica of St. Mary Major and, before the image   
   of Our Lady "Salus Populi Romani, took the vow to consecrate himself to   
   promoting the memory of the Passion of Jesus Christ.   
      
   On his journey home he stopped at Orbetello for a while, at the hermitage of   
   the Annunciation on Mount Argentario. Arriving at Castellazzo he was joined   
   by his brother John Baptist. They then immediately left for Mount   
   Argentario, to live there as hermits. Later, at the invitation of Bishop   
   Pignatelli, they went into hermitage at Madonna della Catena, Gaeta. Bishop   
   Cavalieri next permitted them to live in Troia for a while. They later   
   returned to the diocese of Gaeta at the shrine of Our Lady of Civita, Itri.   
   Their every attempt to found a community ended up in failure. In order to   
   preach the Passion they had to be ordained priests and so they next went to   
   Rome.   
      
   While studying theology there, they also ministered to those infected with   
   skin diseases in the hospital of San Gallicano. The brothers had the   
   occasion to speak with the Holy Father when he visited the church of the   
   Navicella on the Celian hill and he orally granted them permission to make a   
   foundation on Mount Argentario. In 1727, ordained priests, the brothers left   
   Rome to live at Mount Argentario.   
      
   To preach the Passion of Christ. They initiated their apostolate among the   
   local fisherman, woodsmen and shepherds, etc. They were soon joined by other   
   companions, among them their brother Antonio and some others who were   
   already ordained priests. The bishops requested them to preach parish   
   missions in the local towns. When war broke out in the Garrison States, Paul   
   ministered to the sick and wounded of both armies, his presence always   
   welcomed.   
      
   The first retreat, dedicated to the Presentation, was inaugurated in 1737.   
   Paul later presented Rome with the new Rule of the young Congregation. After   
   making some mitigation, Benedict XIV gave his approval in 1741.   
      
   Our Founder was a contemporary of other outstanding, saintly preachers such   
   as St. Leonard of Port Maurice, whom he met on one occasion, and St.   
   Alphonsus Liguori with whom he was acquainted. Like them, he too, for love   
   of Jesus Crucified, was filled with zeal for the preaching of parish   
   missions.   
      
   Though he had held the office of Superior General from 1747 onward, he never   
   stopped preaching missions or writing letters of spiritual direction. The   
   Institute did encounter much opposition on the part of some sectors of the   
   Church for which reason some of the projected foundations had to be delayed   
   until a pontifical commission passed favorable judgment on the Passionists.   
      
   Counseled by and with the good example of his brother John Baptist, Paul   
   constantly endeavored to preserve the spirit of solitude, poverty and   
   prayer. When John Baptist died in 1767, Paul felt he had been abandoned,   
   left an orphan.   
      
   Passionist religious women. A country girl, Lucia Burlini, had one time   
   spoken to Paul of the "doves on Calvary", an image used by some who were of   
   the same contemplative spirit as were many religious. Though Paul had   
   struggled for 40 years for its realization, it was not until 1771 that the   
   Passionist Nuns were established in Corneto-Tarquinia. Paul appointed Mother   
   M. Crocifissa Costantini, a Benedictine nun, as the first superior. Pope   
   Clement XIV granted her permission to transfer to the new convent.   
      
   After the suppression of the Company of Jesus, Clement XIV transferred the   
   Fathers of the Missions (Lazzarists) to the church of Sant'Andrea on the   
   Quirinal and gave Paul of the Cross the house and basilica on the Celian   
   hill, SS. Giovanni e Paolo. A short distance from the Coliseum, it was here   
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)