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
            the virtues of faith , hope and love, theological virtues.
                        now we can practice faith and believe,
                                    believe in God and receive God.
                        Now we can hope and trust,
                                    trust in God and accept God.

Now we can love and be enamored by God.
                        These theological virtues flow out as rivers from the ocean
                        into the moral virtues that are so necessary in community life
                        and the daily framework of dying the mystical death.

                        Paul sums up this teaching:
                             “ Put into practice what I have told you
                                at other times: work, suffer and be silent
                             .  Do not complain, do not show resentment, do not justify yourself.
                                These are the maxims of the saints and of great perfection.”  (33)

If the soul needs motivation for the practice of virtues,
St Paul says this:
            “…heal His Holy Wounds
            by the constant practice of the virtues…” (51)

+++

One could find a list of virtues in the writings of Paul:
            Faith, naked faith.
            Love, self-giving love.
            Patience… endured silently
            Charity.. as Jesus loves
            Detachment… from things
            Abandonment… total gift of self.

+++

Sometimes we want a concise, clear, certified guide  to holiness..
to sainthood… to becoming a saint.  Paul was attentive to this call and
this particular need.
Paul gives this principle:
            “… I see that you are very resigned 
            and united to the Holy Will of God;
            if that continues, you will become a great saint.”  (25)

We like great people, great saints, to pray for us.
In regards to holiness and sainthood
Paul prays in this manner:
            “May the Good God help you to become mirrors of holiness
            which is my heart’s prayer and desire.”  (51)

Paul of the Cross
is no “light weight” in his love for God,
in his love for his religious,
and in his teachings.
Thus his call to holiness is a call to the heights:
            Only the highest
                        is high enough.
            Only the best,
                        is great enough.
            Only mystical death
                        is love enough.
            Only the imitation of the Sorrowing Mother
                        is living enough.

Paul expresses a final wish:
            “ We want to form a community of truly holy nuns
            totally detached from all created things
            who will resemble the Suffering Jesus and His Sorrowing Mother Mary,
            who is to be the Superior of the Monastery,
            in penance, mortification and the holy virtues.”  (26)

My concluding words  to you
is the prayer of Paul of the Cross”
            “May Jesus bless you
            and make you holy.”………..p13

                                   Amen         Msgr. Bernard Powers

  Homily: Who is Jesus  based on Letter of St. Paul of the Cross to Mother Mary Crucified                                                         

A diamond is a precious stone.
It has value within,
It has beauty externally.
            Only with the correct cutting and proper setting.
            can its beauty be seen and appreciated.
                        Jesus is the diamond.

Paul of the Cross saw Jesus in so many different ways,
from different points of view.
Jesus has infinite value within Himself
but his beauty is seen only in a proper setting,…in relationships.

Thus Paul named Jesus in many and distinctive ways
in order to give Him the right cut and placed in the right setting. 

For a moment, le us place this Jesus, this precious diamond,
before us to enjoy the beauty…and to delight in the splendor…
            We do this in all humility and faith
            both to adore Him and to love Him.

Jesus is the Son of the Heavenly Father. ( 20)
revealing the mystery of the God head and
the Fatherhood of God.
            Now we know the source of life…
            We know the One who sustains us in love
            and constantly  gives the gift of mercy.
            All because this Jesus who is the Son of the Father
            reveals the heavenly Father.

            Jesus who is the Son of the Father
            shares not only a revelation of the Father,
            but He shares that relationship with the Father
            with us.  We are sisters and brothers of Jesus,
            thus we are children of God the Father.

            Paul of the Cross would have us to know
            who we are by identifying Jesus 
           as the Son of the Father and our relationship with Him:
            we are children of God.

Jesus is the Divine Humanized Word. (46-41-47)
The Eternal Word of God made present in human nature.,
the Incarnate Word of God, the Word made flesh.
            How blessed we are.
            God has become one of us
            that we become one with God.
            Jesus has become One with us, true man, a man
            like us in all things but sin.
            Now we can become again like God.

            St John says: “We look upon the One whom He saw
            and touched and ate with.”

Jesus is the Divine Humanized Word,
the Baby born in Bethlehem:
            With Mary we contemplate…
            With shepherds we come to see and go away glorifying God.
            With Magi we offer gifts and worship.
With angels we sing our Gloria.

Jesus is the Divine Humanized Word
loving with a love
that redeems and forgives…
that reconciles and restores us to a sublime dignity.

He is the Divine Humanizing Word
loving with a creative love,
with a love that empowers us to love
as He loves us:
            “I give you a new commandment:
            Love one another as I love you.”
            Paul strengthens our faith in the Incarnation.
            We need to believe  that our God is an incarnate God.

Jesus is the Divine Lover.
            He is the Giver of Divine Life.
            He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood
            will have eternal life and I will raise him up on the last day.
            He is the giver of divine love:  Love as I have loved you.

This Jesus is the Divine Bridegroom ( 22)
He is the Bridegroom
            who gives gifts…
            adorns the soul with divine touches…
            spends time with those who love Him…
            speaks to our heart words of love….
            espouses us to Himself .( )

            This Divine Bridegroom not only gives gifts,
            He gives His very Self.
            He is so loving that he accepts the very gift of ourselves to him.

                        This Divine Bridegroom
                        gives to us the grace and the desire
                        to receive Him and the grace and the desire
                        that empowers us to give ourselves.
                                    He is the Divine Bridegroom. ( 22)

                                    Is it any surprise that Paul of the Cross exhorts his religious to be
                                    “Worthy Brides of the Crucified.”  ?............... p 51

 Paul names Jesus the Crucified. (54-43-53-47)

Such a name
           places the cross with the Crucified
            before us for pondering. 

                        The Crucified hangs in mystery.
                        No words can adequately describe…
                        No words can dully explain.
                                                Paul just says:  The Crucified.
                                                Jesus is the Crucified
                                                            to be pondered…to be believed.
                                                            to be prayed… to be adore.

                        Jesus is the Crucified
                        and one can only stand beneath the Cross,
                        or kneel
                        with the Sorrowful Mother
                                    in the silence of faith
                                    to be present to the Paschal Mystery.

                                    One can only be present in faith
                                    and cry out for greater faith.

                                    One can only be present in love
                                    and surrender to Love…. being a holocaustal sacrifice,
                                    a victim in this awesome sacrifice.

Jesus is the Crucified
made present each day in the Liturgy
and we who are present
            immerse ourselves into this Paschal Mystery,
            the Jesus the Crucified. 

            Through this Crucified Jesus
            we reach to the very throne of God in worship
                        for this Crucified Jesus
                        is the Eternal High Priest
                        offering an infinite victim in
                        pleasing oblation to the Father.

Saint Paul of the Cross
places Jesus in the right setting: on the Cross.
and  with the right cutting:  total love,
naming Him the Crucified Bridegroom.

Paul goes a step further.
Paul places Jesus in the right light,
the light of faith.

                                               Amen.     Msgr. Bernard Powers

Homily: God acts in the Soul-God is the Giver of Gifts  based on Letter of St. Paul of the Cross to Mother Mary Crucified                        
 

Saint John says that God first loved us.
How wonderful to know this,
and how much more wonderful to experience this love.
God loves us and in his love
God acts in our soul.
            This love action has many dimensions.
            God’s love is expressed in many ways..
            “God so loved the world that He gave his Only Son”
What a gift, the very gift of God Himself.   (John 3:16) 

            With this gift of God’s Son.
            there is also the gift of His divine life..
            God is alive in the soul.
                        Remarkable! Amazing!
                        We have divine life in us.
                        We live in God.

            God’s love for us is the gift of God.
            Through the Paschal Mystery
            God lavished his Spirit upon us.
            We are temples of God.
                        What a blessing.
                        The soul cries our: “What have you done to me, O Lord!”
                        And God answers:
                                    “I have given the gift of myself.”
                                    “You have made him little less than the angels
                                    and crowned him with glory and honor.”          Psalm 8

Saint Paul of the Cross in his letters to Mother Mary Crucified
speaks of the action of God in the soul.
These actions are love actions,
for God is love…. and love is active.
            God acts in the soul.
            He sets the soul on fire with love,
a fire, raging and roaring, …
transforming the soul.
as the wild fire the forest.
            “Were not our hearts burning inside us as He talked to us
            on the road and explained the Scriptures to us?”      L.24:23
            Paul uses fascinating. exhilarating, exciting words:
            God “enkindles,” “enamors,” and “enflames,”  (13)
            God guides….  enriches… invites.
            God feeds, makes holy, gives light.             
                        John of the Cross says God’s love is active.
                        Paul of the Cross confirms this.
                        Don’t ever let anyone tell you that God is inactive.
                                    He may not keep the tornadoes away;
                                    Nor the deer out of your garden.
                                    But He is most active in you soul,
                                    and his actions are love actions. 

                        Oh, how the soul should love with a passion,
                        with zeal, with exciting love.

                        Jeremias cried out:
                                   “Then there seemed to be a fire burning in my heart,
                                    imprisoned in my bones.  The effort to restrain it wearied me,
                                    I could not bear it.”     Jer. 20: 9

                        Paul of the Cross had a passion for the Crucified Christ. 

                        John of the Cross had his “Living Frame of Love.”

                                    Pope John Paul II:  “The Eucharist is fire.””                                               

All are gifts of love;
                                    gifts that God gives to the soul.

 Saint Paul of the Cross
names God as the “Supreme Giver,” (7)
the Supreme Giver , giving gifts to the soul.
            Such gifts are chosen according to the wisdom of God
            and given from the depth of love
            and given according to the soul’s capacity to receive….
            and the soul’s readiness to love…
            and the soul’s willingness.

            But more so,
            according to God’s own love for the soul.
            He gives as He chooses.
                        1 Cor.7:7 “Each one has his own gift from God…” 

The soul’s receptivity
depends on her humility… her faith…
her resignation… her detachment.
            How amazing,
            this goodness of :
            He not only gives gifts,
            but He empowers us to receive these gifts
            and to live with them.

Among the first gifts of God to the soul
is the soul’s need for God.
The soul is created for God, to be with God,
to participate in God’s life, to share in the Triune love of God.
to need  God….
            United with the soul’s need for God
            is the soul’s desire and hunger for God. 

            Augustine was deeply aware:
            “my soul is restless until it rest in God.”
The restlessness was a touch of love.

This need of the soul for God
is a love gift from God.
God creates us like Him and for Him.
He creates us in such a way
that only He can fill our greatest need,
only He can satisfy our need for love.

            What an amazing gift:
                        this need for God.
                        John of the Cross would call this need
                        the “space that God creates in us for the gift of Himself.” 

In the soul there is a sense of emptiness,
a restlessness, a hunger.  All is because we need God.
The emptiness is our need for God,
and that is gift..

God  gives mercy.   (7-18)
Oh, the fall of Adam.
Oh, the need of redemption.
            Oh, the gift of mercy.

We come into life needing God’s life …
needing God’s help… needing union with God.
            On our own we are total helpless.
On our own we can do nothing  to reach God.

God must act… God does act.
He gives the gift of mercy.( 7-18)
God sent a Redeemer; He restores our way to God.
God restored us to our sublime dignity.

                        Oh, what gift, this gift of mercy,
                        this gift of restoration… the freedom from sin

                        Mercy is such an awesome gift
                        that Pope John Paul II made it the theme of an Encyclical.

Another  gift that Paul mentions
is the gift of God gazing on the soul,   (7)
and for God to gaze on the soul
is for God to adorn the soul with blessings.

                         Iain Metthew in his work,  The Impact of God,
                        says for God to gaze on the soul is to bless the soul in four ways:
“It cleanses her;…. makes her beautiful;
enriches her;….and enlightens her.”   (140)
Pope John Paul II in his Encyclical on the Eucharist says:
“consequently the gaze of the church is constantly turned
to Our Lord , present in the Sacrament on the altar.” 

            Is there any wonder why a soul in love
                        finds it most difficult to stay away
                        from the Blessed Sacrament ?

Among all these gift given by God,
one could not fail to mention the unique gift of suffering….  (21)
a most precious gift.
            to the Daughters of the Crucified Christ.  (24)
            This is a gift , not just to suffer,
            but to suffer with Jesus, the Crucified Spouse.
            It is the gift of union.

It is the gift to enter into the Passion of Jesus,
            there to be Daughters of the Sorrow Mother,
                        there, to be at the Cross, loving.
                        “You should never abandon the holocaustal sacrifice
                        of your whole being to the Supreme and Infinite Good.
                        Such a sacrifice is to be made in the fire of Divine Charity.” (12)

                        “Oh, a thousand times fortunate is the soul,
                        if, espoused to God’s will,
                        she cherishes the Sovereign Spouse
                        in naked suffering within and without,
                        resting in the bosom of the heavenly Father.”  (10)

                        Our hearts are raised in gratitude to Paul of the Cross
                        for making us aware of the many gifts that the Suffering Jesus
                        gives to the soul.   

                        Through these gifts, the soul
                            both receives God
                            and gives herself in espousal love
                            to the Crucified Beloved.

                                                Amen      Msgr. Bernard Powers

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

                     (Characteristics that Paul calls for in his religious)

When you came to this Religious Community,
you presented yourself in a positive way.
You made known the gospel principles of your life and
your personality traits.

You presented yourself in a good light by a review of your
values and goals and desires.
The Community say what they liked and said: “Come in!”

Saint Paul of the Cross in his Letters to Mother Mary Crucified
names or identifies certain qualities or characteristics that
should be in one life it they desire to live as a Passionist.
            I list only a few here, not in any priority of value,
            but as they were found in his letters. 

First of all there is a need for “God awareness.”
One is aware of God in life and in their own being.
This awareness brings a disposition, an attitude.
One shows a living faith, a sense of mystery,
living in the world of the supernatural.
Not that their head is in the clouds,
but a disposition that sets her above the ordinary, the material.
This disposition gives a quality to ordinary actions.
She works with the  ordinary in an extra ordinary way.

God awareness is important.
Life awareness is also important.
Her presence in life is positive.
Choices are made from values, values of the gospel.

There is a balance is all dimensions of the human personality
There is an awareness of what it means to live, to be alive.  And to live is to love…
to live is to come alive to the Holy spirit in the example of Jesus and in the light of the gospel. 

There is a spirit of joy in their heart and in their actions. A spirit of joy that comes from Jesus.,
for her joy is a gift of Jesus.
It is a spirit , an attitude that puts a spirit in the heart and happiness in the face and excitement in living.
It is an attitude that adds meaning to simplicity and excitement to celebration.

Pope John Paul says: “Joy come from fidelity and fidelity comes from prayer.:
Joy is simple happiness and a sense of peace, peach within and peace with others. 

Another characteristic that Paul mentions frequently is that of patience.  That peacefulness
when one finds herself in situations that do not go as planned or expected. A Patience that enables one to act
like Christ in situations that are beyond one’s control. This patience demands self-control, waiting, acting in a tolerant way.  Give the flower the time to bloom.
            As Saint Paul says: “Be patient in suffering.” 
Patience is a virtue that enables one to stand in a situation until good arises.

Sense of humor
Another quality or characteristic is that of humor.  Paul speaks of God playing games with the soul.  When this happens, one needs a sense of humor.

Humor is the ability to see and admit the funnies of life, the unexpected surprises,
the ability to laugh at ourselves.  Paul speaks of God playing games with the soul
Thomas Aquinas: “It is requisite  for exaltation of the mind
                        that we make use from time to time
                        of playful deeds and jokes.”
You know, it takes forty three muscles to frown and seventeen muscles to smile.
There is an Irish proverb: “a good laugh and a long sleep are the two best cures.”
            A sense of humor keeps us in balance.  It helps to handles failures and
            mistakes properly and humbly.  After all, we are not perfect. Why should
            we be surprised when we make a mistake.  Laughter is good for health. 

Paul lists other characteristics:
            Spirit- filled..
            Prayerful…
            Alive:  using and expressing gifts… bringing others alive… sharing goods
            Complimentary:
                        recognizing goodness in others…
                        Affirming….  showing appreciation
                        Motivating… inspiring…
            Being in love….
                        Aware that God loves her… a sense of excitement….
                        aware of being chosen…… being happy…. showing it..
                        In love with God….
             Prayerful:
                        Having an interest in prayer….
                        desires to pray… shows a commitment to prayer time… reads scripture. 

            Good self image:
                        can stand alone…. likes herself…. strives to improve… self knowledge…
                        not afraid of silence…. 

            Has vision… dreams… ideals… 

            Realistic:
                        suffering is part of life… sinner and saint…. human and godly.. 
                        owes origin to another…. depends on God… mortal, finite… 
                        Knows who she is and to whom she belong  ( to God)

             Recollected to some extent… 

            Joyful… 

            Charity…doing acts of love 

            Patient….. tolerant, waiting.,,, letting the flower bloom… 

            Self giving.. 

            Humble…. knows who she is
            Knows where she is going.. to deeper union with God….

            Sincere
                         Some qualities you would like to find in
                         a person who applies as a postulant.

                                                            Amen   Msgr. Bernard Powers

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

                                    Friday…… Cross…. Passion… Suffering

Love brings the heart to the Lover
for love has the power
            to attract…
            to enflame…
            to create desire…
            to long to be with…

The heart is called to love the Suffering, Crucified Christ,
thus the heart that loves
            must learn  and develop a way of dealing with suffering,
            for suffering is a way
            into the Mystery of the Crucified Lover.
            Pope John Paul II says:
            “Suffering unleashes the love in the human heart.”
Suffering is a great mystery,
great faith is required, even demanded…. pure and naked faith.    (12)

Jesus said:
“Believe in me!”
If the soul is to know the meaning of suffering,
or perhaps I should say,
if a person is going to know how to deal with suffering
in a life-giving way,….in the way of love,
she must have faith…naked faith, pure faith  (8)…dark faith (8)
            and “remain with suffering  in the sacred silence of faith.”    (20)

Paul of the Cross does not so say so much about the
meaning of suffering in these Letter to Mother Mary Crucified.
He spend great energy in instructing the soul
on how to live with suffering,
how to love in suffering,
how to grow in holiness through suffering.. 

The medical field looks for the cause of suffering,
and it should. Even in personal life or community life
one should look for the cause of suffering
and make an effort to correct it.
            However in all situations St Paul says
            that we should “accept all suffering as coming
            from the hand of the Beloved…  the Supreme Lord.    (36)
                        Oh, how blessed the soul would be
                        to accept sufferings with this attitude
                        and this faith.
            We believe in Divine Providence and we believe that God’s
            presence and graces are there for us
            in the suffering experiences of life.

            Ours is to accept suffering
            with the disposition of Jesus: “Not my will, by Thy will be done.”
            If we accept suffering as coming from the hand of the Beloved,
            with  humility, resignation, abandonment, surrender…
            we are giving ourselves into the transforming love of the Crucified Christ.

            Yes, the soul is to see suffering
            as coming from the hand of the Beloved
            and surrender.
                        To surrender is to be ready
                        and to be ready is to say “yes” to the Beloved
                        who is present.
                                    What was your attitude on the day of profession
                                     when the Cross was placed on your shoulder?.

No one can deny that suffering is hard… trying… agonizing… painful…
energy draining,  time consuming…
Saint Paul advises : “Suffer and be silent.” (33)- (15-16)

This is not a stoic silence,
but a silence of self of self-surrender,
a silence of dying to self.

Paul says: “Don’t complain and show no resentment.” ( 33)
            Sometimes we quickly want to complain….
            especially in an unjust suffering.
            At times this complaining can be a call to self attentiveness.
            We complain to get the attention of another.
            We complain for self pity.
            We complain because we want others to feel sorry for us.
                        All is self interest.
                        There could be various reasons for complaining when we suffer,
                        but Paul of the Cross calls us to “suffer in detachment.”  (29)

                        What wonderful advice Paul gives:
                        “accept every suffering as coming directly from the
                        sole loving hand of the Supreme Lord,
                        who can only will the best for you.”  (36)

In the teachings of Paul
we are called to a deeper response to God.
Such is true in suffering.
Just as “ all gifts are to be offered as a holocaustal sacrifice” (7)
            so should our sufferings
            be offered as a “holocaustal sacrifice  to God,”
            that is, to offer ourselves through suffering
            as a holocaustal sacrifice.
                                    One needs to be careful here.
                        It is not the sufferings that are acceptable to the Beloved,
                        but the dispositions of the heart in our sufferings….
                        It is the giving of self.
                        Sufferings are the channel through which
                        the soul offers herself to the Beloved.
                        It is not the Cross that has value,
                        it is the love expressed through the cross
                        that glorified the Father and redeemed the world.

How much are you to suffer?
How deeply are you to suffer?
            To know who you are
            is to know the depth of suffering
            to which you are called.
You are victims of the Crucified Bridegroom
and thus the depth of suffering
to which you are called
            is to share in the suffering and the Passion of Jesus
            to the depth of holocaustal sacrifice.                (28)
                        A victim sacrificed as a holocaust
                        is a victim totally immolated,
                        consumed totally for God by the sacred fire.

My sisters, in the Passion
                        you are total gift.
            Your suffering has value.
                        “Naked suffering is a great treasure,
                        that is, a suffering without  comfort
                        either from heaven or from earth.”    28
                        It is a treasure,
                                    for it is the means through which
                                    “You frequently offer yourselves as a holocaustal victim
                                    to the Divine Majesty on the Cross.”
                                    In this suffering you die the mystical death with Christ.
                                    In this suffering you are in mystical death and
                                    a new life of love comes to the soul.

Saint Pail uses two interesting, qualifying words
regarding suffering.
He says:
            “we know clearly how precious naked suffering is
            in true meekness and silent patience.     (28)
                        Meekness is an acknowledgement that we completely depend
                        on God in suffering.  Thus to modify suffering with meekness
                        is to admit that suffering, without God, would totally devastate us.
                        Only with God is our suffering life-giving.
                        Suffering with true meekness is union with God.,
                        and we suffer with Jesus.
                        Suffering with true patience
                        is to experience suffering
                        with a certain surrender.
                                    Just as one can not hurry the blooming of the rose,
                                    neither can one hurry the releasing of life-giving graces
                                    from the sufferings in one’s life.
                                    One must “suffer in patience.”      (28)
                                    The time from Good Friday to Easter morning
                                    is many hours.

What inspiring advice Saint Paul gives us regarding suffering.
Accept suffering
            with faith..
            with meekness…
            with patience…
            with silence…
            with abandonment…
            with Mary…
            with Jesus.

Paul tells us how to accept sufferings”
            Embrace struggles…
            Be clothed in the Passion…
            Accept ever trial from the loving hand of God
            Be happy in suffering
            Be willing to suffer
            Esteem suffering highly
            Offer yourself as holocaust
            See suffering as a sign of love
            Endure suffering
            Be daughters of the Passion
            Be worthy brides of the crucified Spouse.

Paul’s final words to you are:
           “Remain day and night
            in the divine bosom of the Heavenly Father,
            clothed in Jesus Christ
            and with his sufferings.”                 34

                                    Amen      Msgr. Bernard Powers

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

We are all familiar with the eight Beatitudes.
They are probably the most used section of the Gospel.
They are the apex of the Gospel, the highest or deepest degree of living the Gospel.

These wonderful teachings are attitudes
toward certain situations in human life:
toward sorrow...  toward hunger… toward mercy..
These attitudes direct our actions toward these human experience.

Paul of the Cross in his Letters to Mother Mary of the Crucified
Has some  Be- Attitudes,
            That is, to have a certain disposition or attitude toward things. 

Did you ever say about a person:  “I don’t like their attitude….. 

Attitudes affect actions…. Affect the way we act.

My nephew came by sometime ago with his young boy, perhaps four.
The boy was not on his best behavior.  His dad told him “I don’t like your attitude.”
and had him stand in a corner for a while.
Soon he said to his dad:  ”I need an attitude adjustment.”

Saint Paul of the Cross has some teachings on be-attitudes, a little shift from the gospel but still be-attitudes.

1. Be Patient  (15)

With suffering……... With prayer……. With relationships…

 Stay with the situation until the good comes out… Resident vs. tourist..

with your limitations……….  with your journey to God…within yourself..

                        Patience is to be like Christ in the irritating situation I am in. 

2. Be faithful  (15-18)

                         To the practice of virtues…      . To your commitment to prayer… 

To your promises……            .. to your vows…..Fidelity…  

To your spiritual practices…            to God even when he tries you.. 

To recollection…      . To the practice of interior silence (33-34)  

3. . Be strong  (15)

Determined….in persevering in your way of life            … in resisting temptation… 

in defense of your faith                  in your dedication to family….           

4. Be silent… (36)

                  In suffering…        In prayer       …. When accused…  

when God neglects you…      as you wait… 

 in liturgy…. In special times of quiet 

5. Be disposed for union…

                   With God…      .be respectful…  . Vulnerable… 

Openness… . Risk tasking…            . Tolerant……..            Forgiving…..   

reconciling…                 ready to talk…               .. seek solutions of issues… 

6.Be at peace…44.

                  With God      …. With sufferings…                  with cross in life….  

With way of prayer….      With neighbors… 

.in adversities…     within yourself…      Accept differences…  

 be just…….. 

7…Be guided by the Holy Spirit  (8)                 

in prayer…  in decisions…        in choices…. In buying… 

. In books to read…in discerning… you want, you need,  God’s will 

in forms of service…. (Him said “No.”)      in what God wants. 

8. Be living witnesses     

Archbishop McDonough:  “Good enough to be God.” 

            to  the Crucified Jesus  … to Jesus throughout the world…. 

  To Risen Christ…           to resurrection…  ..  to gospel… 

9/  Be prudent in all things.. (48) 

      in decisions……... In choices……. In forms of penance 

work out of your values….. know why…            . Motives…         

cardinal virtue…look at issue from various angles….. 

10      Be recollected 

Somewhat quiet inside            ….  Inner awareness…                         

.somewhat conscious of something….            .  aware of basic             

….…..  rock bottom…..                          pay attention 

truth in the background 

12. Be constant in doing God’s will (42)….  

                        Ask God what it is….     Know gospel…                                   

. Flows from vocation….             Go after it  ………………fidelity… 

13.   Be obedient  (54) 

            to inspirations…  the word…      be disciple… 

. Audire…      .to the church              to authority….

. to inspirations….                   To gifts…………….. to graces….                                   

To Holy Spirit 

15. Be attentive…. (18) 

            mind where it belongs….       One ear open  for God 

            leaning toward beyond… 

            aware of person present or to what is happening… 

            Presence of a person…  

            Aware to what you are involved in or that you are  about..                       

                        To God…. To needs… to what is going on within you… 

                        To spouse…. To needs of others.. 

            Pay attention…. 

            Aware… concern… response….    See, judge, act. 

                                          Msgr.Bernard Powers

Homily: Gifts and Graces  based on Letter of St. Paul of the Cross to Mother Mary Crucified

The Letters of Paul of the Cross to Mother Mary Crucified
are filled with “precious pearls”     (7)
These are treasures of great price.
            To read these Letters
            is to discover principles
            of the spiritual life. 

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

Our living, our life in God is always an act of love,
the act of receiving the gifts  that
God gives to us,
and the using of those gifts and graces………..45
            These gifts and graces
            become a means of giving ourselves to God.
            God gives the gift of faith;
            God gives the gift of light.
            God enflames the soul with love,
            a love that is exciting,
            a love that moves the will to give freely.
These gifts and graces  make us both
worthy receivers and helps us to live  in the fruits of these gifts…
a way of living that enables us to be
holocaustal victims………… 39 

Homily:Relationship with God  based on Letter of St. Paul of the Cross to Mother Mary Crucified  

God created us.
He created us in his image and likeness.
God is life; God is love.
God is life within Himself in the life of the Trinity.
God is loving within the Trinity.
            We share in the Triune God
            both in living and in loving.
            And we live and we love in relationships.
            Saint Paul of the Cross gives wonderful teaching
            on this truth
            in his Letters to Mother Mary Crucified.

God is Divine Lover.
God loves us and establishes a relationship with us.
He gives his love and shares his love with us.
The Divine Lover loves us with a divine love
and even gives to us a divine love through which we love God.
                        We are in a love relationship with God.
Saint Paul names God as the Supreme Giver.(7)
Our response is receiving, but not just receiving as that of taking,
but being the receiver, that is,
            coming alive to the gift that is given,
            or more fully,
                        coming alive to the Supreme Giver of the gift
                        God Himself… and coming alive through the gifts given. 

We are the Receiver,
not just as a pitcher receiving water,
but as a person coming alive,
responding to God more fully in and
through the gifts given.
            A pitcher is still a pitcher although it receives a gallon of water.
            We are more like God
            through the gifts given and received.
                        To fail to come alive to the gift is failure.
                        To fail to come alive to the Supreme Giver through the gift is greater failure…..
                         failure to live in a fuller way.
                            In a certain sense this is death, and in a real sense it is sin. 

            Oh, the gifts we have been given.
            Oh, the fruits of receiving.
                        Yes, God is  the Supreme Giver
                        and we are the humble, grateful receiver. 

Our God is a loving God whose delight is to be
with the children of men.
God gives the gift of Himself to us.
God dwells in the very center of our being.
            Because God dwells within our being,
            both in love and in life
            Paul of the Cross says that
            we become Adorers of the Most Holy.  (11-29) 

                        Oh, Christian,
                        realize your dignity.  God dwells within.
                        You are the “temple of the Holy Spirit.”

            God dwells within the temple of your being,
            your very being consecrated through Baptism…
            adorned with the gifts of the Holy Spirit,
            made pleasing through grace,
            adorned with gifts from God
                        “enkindled and enamoured” (7)  by God .
                        Indeed aflame with the fire of love. 

                        Oh! to love,
                        yet to love more because
                        God’s love enamors you
                                    and you are disposed for even
                                    greater love, greater graces.  (7) 

In the relationship where God is Lover
and the soul is made lover,
            love speed toward its fulfillment
            toward “union.”

God is Person.
God is Person who loves.
            Love is Gift.
            Love is the gift of the Person, God.

The soul is person.
The soul is the person who loves.
            Love is gift.
            Love is the gift of the human person to God.

This mutual giving and receiving
in a love relationship
is an espousal love ( 31-20-10)

Thus the God who gives Self in love
is the Bridegroom
and the soul who accepts and gives herself is the Bride. 

St Paul says:
                “Be worthy Brides of the Lover, the Crucified.  (51-47-50)

One final note:
    Jesus is the Crucified Lover.
    The soul who gives
    as the Crucified Lover gives
    is the victim in this love relationship.

                                    Amen…         Msgr. Bernard Powers

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