Homily – October 20, 2009 – St. Paul of the Cross

+ Today we celebrate the feast of the founder of the Passionist Order: St. Paul of the Cross. This St. Paul was born at Ovada in the Republic of Genoa, Italy, January 3, 1694. His infancy and youth were spent in great innocence and piety. He was inspired early on by God to found a congregation: in a vision he beheld the habit which he and his companions were to wear. He consulted his spiritual director and it was concluded that Paul was to found a congregation in honor of the Passion of Jesus. On November 22, 1720, he was vested with the habit that was shown him in the vision, the same that the Passionists wear at the present time. For 50 years St. Paul was a stalwart missionary of Italy. God gave him great gifts in the supernatural order, but he treated himself with the greatest harshness, believing himself to be a useless servant and a great sinner. He died in Rome in the year 1775, at the age of 81. He was canonized by Pope Pius IX in 1867.

The first reading today tells us how St. Paul teaches that the way one regards the cross of Christ, is how he regards his own eternal salvation! For those who are perishing, and will spend eternity in hell, the cross is simply foolishness; but for those who accept the gift of redemption offered by God, it is the power of God. The only real sign for the world of God's power, as a matter of fact, is to be the Cross of Christ Jesus – the culmination of his Passion and Death – for human weakness, even death, is no match for God.

But in addition to being a display of God's tremendous power over the negative forces of nature and human life; the cross is also a sign of the enormous depths of God's love for each and every human being the world has ever known – including us. By his death, we die to sin; by his resurrection, we are reborn to everlasting life! This is an amazing reality and not just a story!

In the gospel passage Jesus reminds us that – because we have free will – we must participate in our own salvation – we must carry our own crosses and follow him into the life of resurrection that will change our days here into happy ones, and change our eternal life forever – into an experience of bliss and unbounded joy!

We thank men like Paul of the Cross who proclaim the Death of Christ, and his Resurrection – to keep before our eyes always the great realities of life: the human condition, redeemed!

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness; for they will be satisfied.