Homily:  Profession of Vows  based on Letter of St. Paul of the Cross to Mother Mary Crucified  

There are great moments in salvation history,
and great moments in the life of each individual.

            One great moment in your life
            was the moment-day of your profession.

            That day you stood,
                        tall before the world….. mysterious in faith….
                        heroic in choice…. clear in vision….
                        determined in commitment… excited in spirit….
                        humble to the very core of your being.

            On that day
            you came before a loving God
            with a generous heart.
                        Saint Paul of the Cross says of this experience:
                        “you offered yourself as ‘victim of love.’”…………………p 51

                        You were ready for a way of life called love.
                        It would not only be just a way of love,
                        it would be
                                    total love…. total gift….
                        You would be “the victim of love.”   ………….. p.54

                                    “On that day I shall offer them to the Lord
                                    as victims of love, so that all of them, in a holocaust of pure spirit,
                                  may offer themselves to their Crucified Bridegroom with a strong
                                    will to follow Him until death.”            p. 54

 You had chosen well;
you had chosen wisely.
It was a choice to offer your self to Jesus,
 “your Crucified Bridegroom,”

            He who loved from the Cross
            He who loved through the Cross.

            You offered your self to this Crucified Bridegroom
            who had invited you to a love relationship
            that was not only a sacrifice
                        but was a sacrifice that was holocaust……. p 12

            The Bridegroom  was ready to unite you to Himself
            to the fullness of victimhood.
                        This love would have no reservations.
                        This love  would be faithful and total.

Standing that moment, that moment-day of your profession,
Jesus, the Crucified Bridegroom, offered you love,
            love of inspiration and imitation,
            love  of sacrifice and immolation.

++

Perhaps the heart shuttered, skipped a beat.
Perhaps fear struck like a bolt of lightening.
Perhaps doubt hit like a tornado,
            but the voice of Jesus that once calmed the storm on the sea
            pierced your will
            and there was a great calm, the calm of grace,
                        grace giving strength to the will,
                        and you knew that the Spirit was there,
                        making the “will strong.”……………………….p54

                        At that moment, strength was a gift,
                        strength to the will “to follow Jesus until death.”…………..p 54

                        At that moment,
                        you knew a vision that would fade a bit, but never disappear.
                        You felt a strength that would weaver but never leave.

Oh, what a beautiful day,
that day of profession.

            You opened your hands and your heart
            to a “rule of life which would lead to acquiring of virtues,
            and to a state of perfection”………………………………….p  52
            and to a love of union.

            This way of life… the Rule of this Community…
            offered to you   both the means and the opportunity
            “to raise the mind and the heart to God” ……………………p 52

The call to this moment-day
had been the call of love.
            It could not be explained; it could not be ignored.
            It demanded faith;
            and the acceptance of it was a call into an espousal relationship
            with the Crucified Beloved.

You found your self as the Bride.
            Paul of the Cross used the phrase: “Worthy Brides of the Crucified.”  (53)

Your call was a call into “interior solitude” (40)
            deeper than an awareness of your self,
            … into the very center of your being
                 where the heart found peace
                 in attentiveness to the Beloved dwelling within.

 In humility as well as in courage
             you would be lovingly attentive
            on the journey to the Cross
            where there would be “mystical death.”  (28)

            You would “suffer and be silent, be silent and suffer.” (36) 

            This call that sounded so clearly on the moment-day of Profession
                        had to be the call of love.

            You stood ready that day, that day of profession,
            and said:
                        “Here is my mind
                          teach me the way of love,
                          the way of the Crucified Bridegroom.

                        Here is my heart,
                        inspire me to raise my heart
                        to the heights of loving the Crucified Spouse.”  ………..52

On that day, that Day of Profession,
you stood in a unique place, a Monastery Chapel,
            a sacred place…. a place apart from the world.
            a holy place… a place of God.

            There was a detachment (52)
            a letting go, a separation , a setting free.
            The heart knew an emptiness
                        yet was filled to overflowing.

                        Your heart, empty of stuff
                        was ready to pursue its pure and burning desire
                        for the Holy, for God.

Oh, what a precious moment-day in salvation history
that day of profession.

                        When the final words of your vows
                        fades into sacred silence…. 

                                    and the celebration
                                    came to a close…

                                                and family and friends
                                                took their lingering departure… 

                                                            and community members
                                                            one by one left your presence…

                        you took yourself to that favorite spot,
                        knelt prayerfully and said:

                                                “Here I am, Lord, I come to do your will.

                                                                         Amen…………Msgr. Bernard Powers

Homily:  Contemplation  based on Letter of St. Paul of the Cross to Mother Mary Crucified  

Saint Paul of the Cross is mystic and charismatic;
He is a teacher and master of the spiritual life;
He is a blessing to us,    a gift from God…
In his goodness
he shares the fruit of his  study
and the blessings of his own spiritual experiences..

In his letters to Mother Mary Crucified
St Paul  gives wonderful pearls of the spiritual life:
teachings that lead souls faithfully on the spiritual journey,
instructions that motivate,
challenges that inspire … inspires to climb to the heights,
or to plunge into the deepest interior.

Paul does not create a new language;
he uses the language of the spiritual life
as he directs souls on their spiritual journey to truth, to mystery,
to a living and loving encounter with God.
Many times he does not define terms,
but uses them to teach his truths.

Sometimes he speaks of a reality
without specifically naming it.

            For example, Paul can speak of contemplation
            without using the word contemplation.

            Paul can speak of prayer
            without using the word prayer.

The person who reads Paul and studies  Paul
                        with this understanding and awareness
                        is a person blessed.

                                    And you are blessed
                                    for Paul of the Cross is your teacher.

In his Letters to Mother Mary Crucified
Paul does not look for words into which to lead her,
but Paul deals with mystical experiences
and actions in the spiritual life
and leads her to these experiences,
that is to an inner awareness of God,
to an interior beyond senses,
to a presence even beyond the boundaries of the inner faculties.
Paul leads from senses to spirit and from the human spirit to the  Holy Spirit.

Paul uses the word contemplation
            sometimes not to define it,
            but to speaks of dispositions of the soul
            and practices that lead to contemplation.

            “Suffer afflictions, fears, desolations, aridities,
                            abandonment, temptations and other persecutions
                            and what you suffer from devils and creatures of the world.

            Believe me, they are a noble broom which removes from your spirit
                        all the dust and mud of your imperfections which are hidden from you.
                       … The Divine Majesty is thus preparing you for a great ascent
                        to holy perfection and union of charity with God,
                        and to taste the sweetest and most exquisite holy contemplation.”       page 33

                         Here Paul does not define contemplation,
                        but speaks of those happenings in life and in the soul
                        that lead to contemplation.

Each soul hungers for contemplation,
            for deep and intimate union with God.

Paul, being aware of this, points our practices
            and experiences where contemplation takes place.
            He disposes the soul for this religious experience,
            this prayer experience, this experience with God.

             “The loving soul is reborn in the Divine Humanized Word
                            to a new life which is totally holy and God-like,
                            in this sacred desert, in deep contemplation
                            and detachment from every created thing,
                            in perfect nakedness and poverty of spirit,
                            and in the sacred silence of faith and love.”          page 34-35

In contemplation the soul is reborn to a new life,
totally holy and God-like.
There is detachment from every created thing,
thus naked faith, for the soul has been brought to
the presence of God.

Poverty of spirit which sometimes is called humility
and sacred silence is needed because
the experience is holy and God is present.

 Life is filled with hardships, failures, sufferings, afflictions of spirit and of body.

At the same time, life is a call
to do the will of the Sovereign Spouse
but sometimes this will is hard, irksome, bitter, difficult.
Paul says that in these events and situations
contemplate:

            “For by contemplating  the greatest bitterness, tempests, afflictions of spirit
            and of body with the eyes of faith… they are no longer bitter, but very sweet and
            delightful, like joys springing from the bosom of holy love.”                    p.11

 It seems to me that Paul is saying that contemplation is a process,
and action of the mind and heart and will
that leads to an awareness of God and a response to this awareness.

            When the heart becomes aware of the presence of God,
            Saint Paul says: “Remain there attentive, loving
                                    resigned, abandoned.”

Paul says:
    “ ponder the truths;
      set aside the feelings;
      remember that God loves;
      humble yourself;
      remain in your  nothingness;
      let your nothingness disappear immediately in the Infinite  All which is God;

Immerse yourself in God;
            Remain there.
            Be an adorer of the Most High is spirit and truth.”….                      page 11

I hope my understanding of Paul’s concept of contemplation
            is correct.  
            It is a process, an inner journey,
            a journey where the soul works and surrenders,
            a journey from pondering truths to an act of  faith,
            and from faith to an awareness of presence
            and from this awareness to adoration
            and loving attentiveness to God.

            Contemplation
                        is a movement of the spirit
                        from an awareness of an experience….. e.g. affliction…

to an awareness of feeling  ( e.g. fear)
            which is ignored…. Paul says:  “Set aside.”

            The memory recalls God’s love.
            At this step of the journey
            the soul acts,
                        making an act of humility,
                       an acknowledgement of her nothingness,
                       but quickly moves to an awareness of the Infinite All, God.
                       Here there is the immersion into God
                       and the soul and heart remains here in adoration and love.`

                       A word that Paul uses over and over is the word “remain.”
                                   To “remain” immersed in God
                                    is contemplation.

In the celebration of the Birth of Christ, Paul calls to contemplation:
            “ The birth of the true Son of justice is already near;
            therefore abide in deep solitude in the most intimate part of your spirit,
            and remain in the sacred silence of faith and holy love in the bosom of
            the Father, so that you will be reborn in Christ Jesus His Son,
            to a new life of holy love.”
                                                           p.20   

                         In contemplation:
                                        Choose a truth.
                                        Enter and abide in deep solitude..
                                        Abide in the most intimate part of the spirit
                                        Remain is sacred silence of faith and love
                                        Remain in the bosom of the Father..

                                    The fruit of this act of contemplation is
                                                rebirth in Christ and a new life of holy love.

                                                                       p.20

Paul is the great master of the interior life.
            He calls to humility, faith, love.
            This call includes prayer and those practices needed
            to enrich prayer life and the prayer experience.

Glean his writings for further instructions
            on this great action of contemplation..

                                    Finis…………………..  Msgr. Bernard Powers

Homily: Dispositions that prepare the soul for Prayer  based on Letter of St. Paul of the Cross to Mother Mary Crucified

Introduction:
            Each of us is called to pray.
            and is called to prayer.
            Prayer  for each of us is unique
            but also similar.
                        Prayer is an encounter with God.
                        Prayer is the lifting of the mind and the heart to God.

            In these letters of Paul of the Cross
            to Mother Mary Crucified
            we find certain practical recommendations
            that both prepare the soul for formal prayer
            and keep the soul ready for formal prayer.

                        The way we live our daily lives
                        and the practices that we have in our daily lives
                        affect our entrance into prayer
                        and our praying

                        Saint Paul of the Cross
                        gives some practices we can reflect upon that
                        help us with prayer and with praying.

 1.  Solitude:
            “Never lose this holy solitude wherever you are
            or in whatever work you are doing.”……………….p46…. 20-40-51

             Solitude is an inner disposition,
            an inner awareness or consciousness…
            an awareness of the Indwelling

2.  Detachment:
            “… detachment from every created thing and a total
            abandonment to the Divine Good Pleasure.”………………………46

             (… deep detachment from every created thing and by total
            abandonment to the Divine Pleasure…”   p.29-35-52

3. Virtues:
             “Practice the virtue of humility of heart
             and the knowledge of your true nothingness.”………….  40

                   51-52—16-17-18-38-45-22
            (Ever meek, ever peaceful… 22
            true humility of heart , true patience and meekness and above all,
            great charity…. p 16
            (.. be faithful to the practice of virtue…  18
            (true humility of heart and  contempt of self by profound and
            genuine knowledge of your nothingness.  This brings with it the practice of all virtues ,
            the queen of which is holy charity…”  45

 4.Suffering:
            “ Suffer and be silent and be silent and suffer… 36

            (Oh, a thousand time fortunate is the soul ,if, espoused to God’s will
            she cherishes thi uffering within and
            without.    page 10

        &np;                           18-23-41-36-47-28-15-16-14

5. Holy Spirit:
            “Desire nothing but his most pure and purified Holy love
            and the greater glory in all your actions.  In this way you will be disposed
            to receive the Holy Spirit.  “    29

 6. God’s Will
             … unite yourself ever  more to God’s will, by a silent and peaceful
             patience charity, and meekness.  Continue to remain alone in the interior Temple of your spirit.”     23-18

 7. Recollection
            ’”Remain recollected always in God, in interior solitude…. 15

 8. Aware of who you are
            “Show yourself as a worthy bride of the Crucified….”   53

 9.Remember the Passion:
         . “You should always be clothed in your interior with the most holy sufferings of Jesus Crucified,
             and dead to every created thing , and living only for God….p11

             (Footnote:  Paul here means “ the habitual remembrance of the
            Passion which serves as fuel for enkindling the fire of love
            in every circumstance.  Being clothed with the sufferings of Jesus
            and the habitual remembrance of the Passion are intimately linked with the
            spirituality of Baptism.”   p11

10.Helpful witness of the Crucified:
            “ By being a mutual help to one another in their needs,
            in a word, by being to one another the living witness of the Crucified…)
                                    p 47
                        The practices of these directives of Paul of the Cross
                        surely will prepare the soul and keep the soul  ready for prayer.
                        Thus when the soul comes to time of prayer and celebration
                        of prayer she is already ready to enter into communion with her God
                        her Crucified Spouse, her God of love.

                                                                                                finis   Msgr Bernard Powers

 Homily: Blessed Mother  based on Letter of St. Paul of the Cross to Mother Mary Crucified                  

Paul of the Cross had a great love for the Blessed Virgin Mary..
In his letter to Mother Mary Crucified
Paul makes references to this Amazing Person,
the Mother of God, the Virgin Mary.
Reflection on the teaching of St Paul on the Mother of God
enlightens our minds and inflames our hearts.
To contemplate the life and love of the Mother of the Crucified
excites the heart and nourishes the soul.

A basic principle in the spiritual life
is to know yourself.. to know who you are.
This knowledge of our self forms an image of our self,.
We work out of our images.
As we see ourselves, so we act and so we live.
Saint Paul of the Cross calls you “Daughters of Mary Most Holy.” (50)

            What a startling image!

As Daughters of Mary Most Holy
you are to live in peace… have unity in charity,,, express an aroma to all…
live as true brides of the “Crucified Bridegroom”  (54)
and be “Beloved Daughters of  Mary Most Holy. ( 50 )

Mary is Most Holy.
God created “nature’s salutary boast” in the wonderful creation of Mary.
She is created immaculate, free from sin from the first moment of conception.
            Adorned with grace from this moment.
            Temple of God from this first moment.
            Mary, is  a soul in deepest love of God from this first instant of being
            because God gave her holiness, beauty, grace.
            God gave her the gift of Himself.

 Mary is Most Holy in her Immaculate Conception
                                    and you are “Beloved Daughters of Mary Most Holy.” 

 Mary is Most Holy in her Immaculate Conception.
 Mary is Most Holy throughout her entire life;  this too is a special gift of God.
            No actual sin touched her soul during her whole life.
            Every choices of hers was a choice of love.
            What a call this is to you… this call to love, this call to holiness…
            this call to make every choice, a choice of love… to live without sin.

                       Mary’s freedom from sin during her entire life
                        was not only a gift of God,  a special gift,
                        but it was also her choice to live without sin.

                        God gave her the grace of freedom from sin,
                        but He also gave her a human heart, a heart free to choose.
                        Her every choice was a choice of love and to love.

                                    You are “Daughters of Most Holy Mary.”
                                    Oh, how you should live!...
                                    always striving to live without the smallest sin,
                                    always to choose to love.

                                    When Mary was plunged into the darkest depth,
                                    she believed faithfully… never a sin.
                                    When Mary was called to sacrificial, holocaustal love,
                                    never a hesitation…. never a sin
                                    When Mary witnesses the crucifixion of Her Son,
                                    never revenge… never a sin.

                                    Mary was always the woman of complete love.
                                    You are daughters of this woman, this woman of great love.

Paul named Mary as holy.
So she is.  Thus Mary is saint. (330
    What an example of holiness.

            Saint Paul makes an interesting observation when he speaks
            to Mother Mary Crucified and her reception of the habit.
            He says: “I hope to give the (habit) to you with my own hands
            for the glory of Jesus Christ and Holy Mary. “ (33)
            Thus the acceptance of the habit is a praise to Mary,
            this woman of God who is holy.

                        When you were given the habit
                        you were given a Rule to Holiness
                        You were given a way of praising a holy woman
                        by being holy,                
                                            like Mary.

 Paul of the Cross refers to Mary as Mary Most Holy.
He also refers to Mary as Sorrowing Mother Mary.
            Paul set Mary before you as a model of holiness.
            He now sets Mary before you as the model of suffering.
            She is the Sorrowing Mother Mary.  (26)

In our life we learn to love and to pray.
We learn to walk and to play.
We must also learn to suffer.
            Suffering is part of life…. Suffering is in every life.
            Jesus redeemed suffering… He touched suffering with a creative touch.
            Suffering has value.  … We must learn to suffer,
                                                following the example of Mary.

St Paul of the Cross places Mary before you as the Sorrowing Mother.
The Sorrowing Mother is your model in suffering.   (26)
Here is the way Paul instructs you to suffer:

            Suffer and be silent… Be silent and suffer.  (36)
            Be resigned to God   ( (14)
            Be abandoned to God… (14)
            Accept every suffering from the hand of God… (36)
            Suffer without comfort either from heaven or from earth..  ( 28) 
            Offer yourself frequently as a holocaustal victim to the Divine Majesty.  (28)
            Suffer in detachment… (29)  
            Suffer by dying the mystical death   (28)
            Suffer by detachment from all created things… (26)

Suffering leads one to the Cross, to the Crucifixion, to the Crucified Christ.
This journey is impossible without
the help of the Holy Spirit who guides (8)
and Mary who models
and without virtues
which are gifts from the Supreme Giver. (7)  

            St. Paul names virtues, which are ways of living,
            that are needed on this journey of suffering.

                        Patience … 15…………..  Patient in bearing the Cross.
                        Humility… 11-14………  Humble in your nothingness on the Cross of the                                                                                        Gentle Jesus… … 14
                        Faith…  12……………. a pure and naked faith… 
                        Meek………………….   15
                        Love…Attentiveness…Generosity.

Paul speaks of suffering and the Blessed Mother:
            “ We want you to form a community of truly holy nuns
            totally detached from all created things
            who will resemble the Suffering Jesus and the Sorrowing Mother Mary.”  (26)

            “It is the love that accepts and accompanies suffering
                        that gives birth to union.”

                                                            The Mysticism of the Passion in Saint Paul                                                                                                                    of the Cross… (Bialas)  page 121)

Paul sets the Blessed Mother before you
            as the Most Holy Mary… and as the Sorrowing Mother Mary.|
            and he also sets her before you as the
            the Superior of the Monastery.  (26)

            A footnote to this reference of Mary being the Superior of the Monastery
            reads:
                       “When Paul says that Mary is the Superior of the Monastery,
                        he is not simply stating a pious thought.
                        He is attributing to Mary the role of supreme exemplar
                        and the defender of the original inspiration.

                        The Passion of Jesus is the ineffable mystery
                        which envelopes the whole interior life of Mary.”    (26)

                        This quote confirms the authenticity of Mary’s position
                        as the Superior of the Monastery.

            Pondering the mystery of the Blessed Virgin Mary
            in the Letters of Paul of the Cross
            is like visiting an art Museum. 
            You can’t see every work of art.
            You must make a choice and stay with one or two
            works of art.

                        This is what I have tried to do.
                        I have placed before you,
                        for your consideration and contemplation…
                        for your inspiration and imitation

Mary Most Holy…The Sorrowing Mother Mary
            Mary, the Superior of the Monastery.

            My advice to you is this:
                        “Go frequently  to the Marian Art Gallery.”      Amen

                                                                                  Msgr. Bernard Powers

 Appendix:  Mary way Holy: 

1. Be it done to me according to your word. 

2. Do whatever he tells you 

3.  She grew in faith and in love 

4. She entered freely and fully into the life and the mission of Jesus 

5. Holy in worship of Jesus. 

6. Woman of prayer…. : magnificat…. Preparation for the Coming of the Holy Spirit 

7.  Mary is our Model:
            in obedience. 
            in prayer..
                        looked for Jesus for three days
                        they have no wine…
                        kept all thins things pondering them in he heart..
            docile to her
            confidence in her 
            companion of hers..
            Sharing in her life…
            Living according to her spirit…

Homily: Prayer  based on Letter of St. Paul of the Cross to Mother Mary Crucified               

 
Pope John Paul II in his Apostolic Letter on the Rosary
exhorts us to “go to he school of Mary to learn again the art of prayer.”
This is a remarkable exhortation.
We are grateful. 

If one can not attend this elite school of Mary
they might find time to attend the  special, elementary school of
Paul of the Cross  on prayer.
He is a great teacher and has given wonderful instructions
in his letters to Mother Mary Crucified.

Paul of the Cross prays.
Paul of the Cross calls to prayer.
Paul invites to deepest  prayer:
            “to loving abandonment to the Crucified Bridegroom
            to the depth of a holocaustal sacrifice,
            total gift of self.” 

            Oh, to what prayer Paul calls you!
            Enter and remain!

Prayer is hard work.
but since prayer is the work of the heart
it is the work of love..
When there is an inner call to prayer,
there is an excitement in the spirit
and a joy in the soul
and a fire in one’s being.

            Yes, prayer is the work of love
            and the fruit of love is union.
            Thus prayer is loving union with the Supreme Lover, God.

God prepared the world for the coming of the Son of God.
He also prepares the soul for prayer.
Paul mentions certain perquisites:
            A loving attitude toward God’s will………p13
            A spirit of recollection….. 18
            An awareness of one’s  nothingness…
            The breathing of the air of naked faith…
            An attitude of constant seeking God…
            A docility to the Holy Spirit
            The divesting self of self.     
            Deep conviction that God loves you.
            A certain facility in self-control, surrender and detachment.

A soul coming to prayer, quickly finds herself in prayer
if some of these practices are in her life.

Jesus says that we should pray always.
Paul stresses this truth:
            “Prayer then should be continual, day and night,
            walking and standing, working and resting,… sleeping… etc.
            Such prayer is made in the deepest part of the sacred interior
            in deepest solitude, in loving interior repose in God
            totally absorbed and lost in that sea of Infinite Charity.”………11=12

Although we are called to pray always ,
there are times when all attention is given to prayer
in the deepest part of your being.

            “Therefore abide in deep solitude in the most intimate part
            of your spirit, and remain in the sacred silence of faith
            and holy love in the bosom of the Father,
            so that you will be reborn in Christ Jesus His Son
            to a new life of holy love.  “……………………………..20

            “Therefore rest on the bosom of God like an infant in the silence of faith
            and holy love, with the superior part of your spirit,
            paying no attention to noises which the enemies make around the spirit.
            … you are within, in the most intimate cell of the spirit alone with the
            Divine Bridegroom.”           .22

            Oh, what a blessing
            when one has a time only for prayer.

Prayer is an encounter:  the Holy Spirit and the human spirit.
The Holy Spirit directs the soul in blind faith into the sacred interior.
It is a journey of pure faith,
away from noise and created things…
away from feelings and images,
away from thoughts…
            deep into the deepest center of one’s being…
            this center of one’s being where God dwells
            as the Divine Lover.

The Holy Spirit leads the soul into interior Solitude;
here the human spirit is present to the Holy Spirit:
the soul and God. 
In this  interior temple of your spirit, (18)
that is the highest part of your soul,
be attentive to God.  (18) 

The soul prays by “ resting in the Divine Bosom in suffering
and in silence.”  (18)
The soul
            “abides in deepest solitude in the most intimate part of her spirit,
            and remains in the sacred silence of faith and holy love
            in the bosom of the Father
            so that the soul will be reborn in Christ Jesus His Son
            to a new life of holy love.”  20

At times there are obstacle to this attentiveness to God.
Paul has this advice:
            “pay no attention to noises, they are outside.
            You are within, in the most intimate cell of your spirit\
            alone with the Divine Bridegroom”                  22

            Enter and remain!

 There will be darkness and aridities and pains (23).
Yet God will help the soul to “ endure the sufferings
for He is the Divine Lover.”

            “Remain alone in the interior temple of your spirit, resting
            in the bosom of the Heavenly Father and
            adoring Him in spirit and in truth…. 23

            “Remain here … desiring nothing but His most pure and purified holy love
            and His greater glory…”     29

            “In this way you will be disposed to receive the Holy Spirit  (29)
            “Be a true inhabitant in the interior of your spirit;
            remain deeply enclosed in the sacred desert
            since the Holy Solitude is rich in every good….. (46)

            Immerse yourself in the Immense Divinity.
            There in the sacred silence of faith and holy love
            contemplate the Supreme Good
            and allow yourself to be reduced to ashes
            in the fire of God’s charity.  ………………….  46

Oh, what an inspiring teaching
on the great art of prayer. 

Perhaps one of the greatest gifts of Paul of the Cross
is that he gives a desire to pray.

                                                Amen.   Msgr Powers

References to prayer in the Letters.

13-18-20-22-23-29-31-34-36-40-46-29-35- 

            52-11-21-33-12-8-14-15-17-16

Homily: Journey of the Soul-Journey for sense to spirit to Holy Spirit   based on Letter of St. Paul of the Cross to Mother Mary Crucified

God created us
            body and soul
            our body and its senses…. and faculties
            our soul and its spirit…. and faculties

                                                            Amen       Msgr. Bernard Powers 

  Homily: Be Saints  based on Letter of St. Paul of the Cross to Mother Mary Crucified             

God called a people out of the slavery of Egypt
and brought them to Mount Horeb. There he spoke to them,
telling them who they were and how they were to live:
            “Be holy, for, I Yahweh your God, am holy.:  ( Lev.. 19.2

Jesus spoke to his people and said:
            “You must therefore be perfect just as your Heavenly Father is perfect.
                Mt 5:48

Paul of  the Cross gives to you this same advice.:
“I sincerely desire to see you all become saints.”    p.51

God is love. Love creates, gives life, and calls to love.
God is love. Love is goodness.
God creates and shares goodness that is a call to be like God.
Each is called to be like God, to be holy… to be a saint.

            The Second Vatican Council shouted: “All in the Church … are called to holiness,
            according to the apostle’s saying: ‘for this is the will of God, your sanctification.’
            ( 1 Th. 4:3 & Eph 1:4)

            Paul of the Cross shouts to you: “Be holy!”
            This is your call.  There is no alternative.

Saint Paul of the Cross said to his religious:
“I sincerely desire to see you all become saints.  (51)

            Sometimes this call to be saints seems to shock us.
            It seems to be out of reach… reserved for only a few… way beyond possibility.
            Yet Paul shatters this false impression or way to thinking by teaching
            that holiness … sainthood… being a saint… is a state of living
            where life is offered in sacrificial love, not only offered but so lived.
            He says that life is to be a “ good aroma” for the Crucified Christ. (51)
                    In other words, life is to be a life lived as a burning sacrifice  rising to God
                    in pleasant and pleasing incense.

If one raises the question about life being lived as a burnt offering to God,
rising in sweet aroma (51)  to God
then they are to live in such a way
that their life is  a glory to the Crucified. (51)
lived in such a way that one is attentive to the presence of God,
lived is such a way that the suffering Christ is somehow revealed.
            In Old Testament Theology,
            the Glory of God was a manifestation of the presence of God.
            When His glory appeared ,,, appeared through certain signs as the Cloud of Fire
            at night” that lead the people out of Egypt…When this sign appeared..
            it was Glory… a sign that God was present, acting.
            Thus in your life today,
            when you so live in response to the Crucified Christ,
                        you are giving glory to God…
                        you are revealing the love of God…
                        you are being holy…
                        you are living as a saint.

When you suffer so as to proclaim the Paschal Mystery,
you are glorifying the Crucified .
You are being holy,  becoming saints.

                        You must be holy!
                        There is no alternative.

+++

There are times when darkness is all embracing,
where dryness parches the heart, where acridities  are as the burning winds
of the desert.
            One screams
                        as if abandoned.
            One questions
                        as if there could be no redemption.
Here in these real life experiences
there is still the call to holiness , the call to sainthood,
and the possibility of being holy.
St Paul gives this counsel, this advice:
            “ Pay attention to interior solitude of heart
            and keep your mind  and heart calm.”  (51)

As you keep your heart and mind calm
in these agonizing sufferings,
excite your heart “to become even more worthy of the Lord’s mercies
and a worthy bride of Jesus Crucified.”  ( 51)

            As you well know, holiness is gift,
            and Paul gives proper dispositions for receiving this gift.
            Be the receiver, be receptive to the Giver of the gift,
            for the Giver of the gift of holiness is the Crucified Jesus.

                                    Oh, to be receivers
                                    “of the mercies “ is to be a saint.
                                    “To be worthy Brides of the Crucified”
                                    is to be a saint.

+++

If holiness is being like God,
and it is.
If being a saint is being holy,
and it is.
If being holy is being in love,
and it is…
            then one must ask love of God.
            Paul says: “Mourn perpetually for the love of the Crucified.”  (51)

                        Jesus comes as Love.
                        Jesus comes to love.
                        Jesus died loving.
                        Jesus died to give to each of us and to everyone
                                    the power to love,
                                    and the power to love as He loves.
                                    Thus to love
                                    is to be like Jesus…. and to be like Jesus is to be holy,
                                    to be a saint.

                                    What a great call of Paul of the Cross when he says:
                                     “mourn perpetually for the love of the Crucified.”    p51

Saints live in a certain way.
They live virtues (51); they live in a way that glorified God,
that enriches life around them:
there is the constant self-giving , dying to self,
entering into the mystical death.
            This is holiness….. This is sainthood.
            Virtues are gifts from God.
            In baptism God poured into our being