|
Homilies on selected letters from St. Paul of the Cross to Mother Mary Crucified |
|
Msgr. Bernard Powers |
|
Saint Paul of the Cross,
Founder of the Passionist Congregation |
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
We have two dimensions:
things…. we see and touch.
truths… we hear and believe..
We have possibilities
to be bound by things…
to be free by the spirit.
In this world in which we live
there is constant warfare between the forces,
there is conflict between senses and spirit.
We are divided
and there is the need to come to
harmony, peace, unity,…. we need to come to God.
This unity within brings us to
spirit over senses, and Holy Spirit over human spirit.
This is living…. and God has
designed this manner of living.
God has designed our life to be life in the Trinity.
This action of God which brings order and
living
is called redemption- salvation, the journey of the soul… the
spiritual life…
the love of union…
and it is possible because
God has sent His Spirit, the Holy Spirit into us.
This Holy Spirit is given to lead
our spirit into the fullness of the Triune God.
Saint Paul of the Cross is aware of this amazing journey of
the soul,
the journey of spirit over sense, of Holy Spirit over our human spirit…
this journey from images to faith, from selfishness to love…
this journey into union with God.
Thus Paul uses terms that help us.
He gives instructions that guide.
He gives examples that encourage.
Paul gives a way of life ( The Rule) that makes it all possible.
In his teachings there are words like silence, solitude,
abandonment (surrender)
words that call to a state of mind as well as a state of heart
in which we deal with our journey seriously.
These words gives experiences where strategy for the
journey
is design…. where the map is defined… where vision is cleared..
where the soul plunges to the depth…. towards God, to God.
+++
This journey of the spirit is a suffering journey
an unmapped journey, an impossible journey on our own.
It is a journey to God, the Sovereign Spouse.
Only God can take us there.
It is a unique journey demanding
silence, the silence to hear the
Eternal Father…
solitude, the solitude to be only
with the Merciful God…
(surrender), abandonment to the
Divine Lover,
for purification, transformation,
union.
Paul of the Cross is the saint, the mystic,
the charismatic, the teacher. He knows the journey.
He calls for silence, solitude, and
abandonment.
Silence:
The things of the world clang and clatter.
They make noises. They attract us to that
which pleases us.
Silence is necessary.
The things of the spirit inspire us
that we please another.
Silence is demanded.
Only if there is silence can there
be
an attentiveness to the spiritual, to the spirit, to the unheard.
Only God can make the unknown known
therefore a silence from noise
that one enter into silence,
the silence of the interior…. to God.
The journey of the spirit to the
Holy Spirit
is a journey
away from noise to quiet,
to silence…
away from outside to inside,
to silence…
away from the noise inside
to silence,
silence in the deepest interior
where only the Word dwells,
this God who is the Center of
our being.
Thus the
silence necessary for the journey
to the interior.
Sometimes the soul gets inside her
self
the mind is fascinated by thoughts…
the memory is excited by past experiences..
the senses are aware of the feelings..
the imagination is entertained by images…
Noise,,, Noise… Noise.
Oh, what
silence is needed here….
a silence absolutely necessary
to deepen the journey,
the interior journey to God.
It is a journey of the spirit,
yet one can not stop on the level of the created spirit;
the human spirit can not take the soul where it needs
to go..
one must come to a silence…
deep silence in the core of one’s being
and follow the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit alone
can take me
to that peace and quiet and silence
that my soul needs.
I can not get there on my own.
The Holy Spirit must take me into my deepest interior.
to God.
The Holy Spirit alone can
take the soul into the center of her own being
where God is, where God dwells.
There I must go and can go,
and can only go if I permit God to lead me.
Once in this interior of my being
solitude allows me to be with the Guest of my soul..
to be with God. This is a sacred solitude.
Paul says: “Remain!”
In this deepest center of my
being
I am “with the Beloved.”
And there is a silence to the point of attentiveness awareness
of the Crucified Spouse.
I discover this Crucified Spouse loving the Father
and loving me.
In my deepest being is my “yes”
my surrender, my total abandonment to Jesus.
What a journey !
Deep within I come to a silence,
silence to an awareness of His suffering.
Silence to a depth of Who is suffering
and the desire to “be with Him” in solitude.
The “being with Him.”
is to be with Him in attentiveness of who He is…..
attentiveness of what He is doing:
He is surrendering Himself to the Father,
and the soul joins in this loving surrender…
abandoning her self to this Suffering Jesus,
this Suffering Jesus surrendering Himself to the Father.
What is needed?
Silence to hear the unheard.
Solitude to be with God who is not of this
world.
Surrender, the giving of complete permission
to God
to redeem, to purify, to adorn,
to transform to unite.
Making the journey is the desire of the soul
and the work
of God in my soul.
The journey is God’s gift to me,
gift of fullest love…. Home in the Trinity.
Oh, what a journey.
Amen Msgr. Bernard Powers
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