St
Paul of the Cross was born Paul Francis Daneii at Ovada, Genoa, Italy
on January 3, 1694 and died at Rome, October 18, 1775. His parents were exemplary
Catholics and instilled in young Paul a respect for the sacraments and often
read aloud the lives of the saints to their numerous children. Paul’s childhood
was marked with self-imposed austerities and penitence. He would sleep on the
bare ground and spend long hours in prayer. He was imitated in these practices
by his younger brother (by two years) John Baptist.
In the summer of 1720, in
three extraordinarily vivid visions, St. Paul saw a black robe with Jesus’ name
in white characters, surmounted by a white cross, emblazoned on the breast. In
the third vision the Blessed Mother attired in the habit, encouraged St. Paul
to found a community that would mourn continually for the passion and death of
her Son. After getting authorization to follow his vocation, Paul made a forty
day retreat in a triangular room at St. Charles church at Castellazza living on
just bread and water. It was here, without aid of earthly guide, that he wrote
the rule. After assisting at Castellazza for a short time, St. Paul made his
way barefoot and penniless to Rome where he would present himself to the
Vatican. As he had not thought of providing an introduction or credentials, he
was turned away.
But eventually his rule was
approved, and along with his brother John, St. Paul founded the Passionist Order, following his own
ordination to the priesthood in Rome in 1727. The charism of the order was ministry to the sick and the dying, the
reconciliation of sinners and bringing lapsed Catholics back to the Church;
and so the group of priests was soon in demand in many parts of Italy. Paul’s
brother John died in 1765, but after that, under Paul’s leadership there were
twelve new foundations, two new provinces and six general chapters. Near the
end of his life he also founded a convent of enclosed Passionist nuns at
Corneto in 1771. St. Paul died at age eighty, and was canonized in 1867.
The first reading today speaks
of the ultimate power of the cross which for the worldly minded was foolishness, absurdity and a stumbling block;
but for those with faith, allowing
the grace of God to touch and fill them – the very reality and power of God
could be seen there in all of its glory – just gazing on its awful majesty!
In the gospel passage Jesus
reminds us that we, disciples, like him, must
lose our lives in order to be able to find them: to embrace the crosses of
our lives daily, so that anything and everything is not foolishness and
absurdity and a stumbling block for
us – but rather a means to our salvation and life on high with God forever!
With
faith, the cross of Christ gives everything meaning!
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