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Tag Archives: Paul of the Cross
Update from the Passionist Preaching Band
“Among the many Apostolates sanctioned by our Constitutions, the preaching of parish missions and spiritual exercises remains our special and central activity.” – Paragraph 70 of our Passionist Constitutions.
The Preaching Band is a small group of Passionist Priests and Brothers who are dedicated to the preaching of the Passion of Christ. Here is what they have accomplished during the time period of July 1, 2011 to December 31, 2011.
Missions – 27; Retreats – 16 (Laity), 3 (Priests), 2 (Sisters); Days of Recollection – 25 (Laity), 3 (Priests), 2 (Sisters), 2 (Deacons); Novenas – 5
“We ought to glory in nothing other than the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. You are blessed and don’t know it. You have Jesus Crucified with you.” – St. Paul of the Cross
In his Passion,
Fr. Stephen, C.P.
Learn how you can arrange for a Passionist Mission or Retreat in your parish or spiritual center.
Related articles
- Blessed Bernard Mary of Jesus Silvestrelli, C.P. (thepassionists.org)
- Passionist Volunteer Sean Clores: My Life in Jamaica (thepassionists.org)
The Servant of God Elizabeth Prout (Mother Mary Joseph)
The Servant of God Elizabeth Prout
Foundress of the Sisters of the Cross and Passion 1820-1864
What follows is the testament of Elizabeth Prout given during a Canonical Investigation conducted in 1859 by the Bishop of Manchester, England and three Canons of the Cathedral Chapter.
“Was it by accident, Lord, that I came to Manchester? I was alone and penniless and I had to earn my living. But all the time I felt You were drawing me there. There was something You wanted me to do. I saw how the children were growing up in ignorance. And then I met the mill girls and the young men crowding into Sunday School and Night School eager to learn. And as I crossed the dark city at night, I saw the others: women shouting and screaming in the doorways of public houses, women lying dead drunk in the gutters, then fighting men like beasts, children patched with sores and seamed with life, wandering in the rubbish dumps with the starving cats. This is not how men and women should live, Lord. You love every one of them… and yet they do not know You…
Lord, no matter how hard my life is, I am happy because I know You love me. I want to share that happiness with my brothers and sisters in Manchester. And to reach them, I must share their lives, work with them and teach them. O Lord, until Your will is made clear, I will defend the Institute. Your will be done.”
Her life
The above cited testament is a legacy that indicates the modernity and relevance, even today, of the Sisters of the Cross and Passion of which she is the Foundress. Originally it was named the Institute of the Holy Family and was established at Saint Chad’s in Manchester in 1852.
Elizabeth Prout was born in 1820 to parents who belonged to the Evangelical Anglican Church at the time. Her life could easily have been the subject of a novel by the Bronte sisters or Charles Dickens. It is fraught with romance and an outcry for social justice. When Elizabeth became a Catholic in 1841, she was disowned and persecuted actively by her parents. As an only child and of a highly sensitive nature, her interior pain was overwhelming.
In 1848 Elizabeth left her household and joined the Belgian Community of the Infant Jesus of Northampton. Compelled to leave while yet in formation because of the discovery of tuberculosis of the bone, she found it necessary to knock at her parents’ door where the family persecution began again. At the dawn of mid-century, she encountered Father Gaudentius Rossi, the first Italian companion of Blessed Dominic Barberi, C.P. and a friend of Doctor John Henry Newman. His English skills in the pulpit were extraordinary. This was partly because of his admiration of Newman’s eloquence. By many he is considered to be the co-founder of what was to become the Sisters of the Cross and Passion. Eventually he would be transferred to the United States to the Community of Saint Paul of the Cross in Pittsburgh because of his ability to communicate well in English.
This brought a reprieve to Elizabeth Prout. While he was substantive in his canonical direction and its relationship to the spirit of the Passionists, Father Gaudentius was so exacting and harsh that, at times, she found herself with only one other companion. He was succeeded by the Venerable Ignatius Spencer, who gently and lovingly told her, “Thank God for everything” and led her to her own phrase: “In the will of God I find my joy.” The Congregation found renewal and growth in their collaboration. But that was not without its price. A single diocesan priest accused them of the most inappropriate of human relations. For a while the pair, plus all the Institute, was thrown into a trash heap. Still, Ignatius counseled her gently. “When God asks you for your reputation, he assures the effectiveness of His love and of your work.”
The genius of Elizabeth Prout was that she sought to stabilize the image of the Church in Great Britain in a manner paralleled by Continental Catholicism after the Council of Trent which called for images of mercy, charity, education and evangelization. New Orders then sprang up and often without specified corporate apostolates. In the case of Elizabeth Prout in 19th Century England, there was no prescribed corporate apostolate in the beginning. The Sisters instituted discipline in households and inaugurated methods of hygiene. They taught school, but often not in a formal setting. Because of the pressures of the Industrial Age, the early members worked in the textile mills along with their female companions. They needed to do this to subsidize their work, to support themselves and to provide missionary example. British law forbade the wearing of the veil by Catholic nuns. They therefore had to wear a bonnet in the streets which they removed once at work.
The effectiveness of her vision was bolstered by several Passionists, both men and women. When she died in 1864, she informed Father Ignatius that she had sincerely attempted to meet every contradiction, every humiliation, every misunderstanding, every piece of gossip and every physical pain with a joyful “Thanks be to God!”
Prayer:
Heavenly Father, you have shown us the unconquerable courage and creative love of the Servant of God Elizabeth Prout. She is for us a model of fortitude. Grant through her intercession a greater identification with the poor and the uneducated, the jobless and the homeless. May we imitate her and receive from her the favors for which we pray. Amen.
- Father Jerome Vereb, C.P.
Watch a video about the life of Mother Mary Joseph (Elizabeth Prout)
Explore Santi Giovanni e Paolo in Rome
Santi Giovanni e Paolo is an ancient basilica church in Rome, located on the Celian Hill.
It is also called Santi Giovanni e Paolo al Celio or referred to as SS Giovanni e Paolo.
The church was built in 398, by Senator Pammachius, over the home of two Roman soldiers, John and Paul, martyred under Julian in 362. The church was thus called the Titulus Pammachii and is recorded as such in the acts of the synod held by Pope Symmachus in 499.
The church was damaged during the sack by Alaric I (410) and because of an earthquake (442), restored by Pope Paschal I (824), sacked again by the Normans (1084), and again restored, with the addition of a monastery and a bell tower.
It is home to the Passionists and is the burial place of St. Paul of the Cross.
Additionally, it is the station church of the first Friday in Lent.
Related articles
- An Old Story-teller: The Basilica of Saints John and Paul, (Part 1) (thepassionists.org)
- An Old Story Teller: SS. John and Paul on the Coelian Hill (Part 2) (thepassionists.org)
- An Old Story-teller: SS John and Paul, Faith for a New Age (Part 3) (thepassionists.org)
- An Old Story-teller: SS John and Paul, The Soldier Martyrs (Part 4) (thepassionists.org)
- An Old Story-teller: SS John and Paul, A Shrine Church of Rome (Part 5) (thepassionists.org)
Saint Charles of Mount Argus
Saint Charles Houben of Saint Andrew, C.P.
Also Known as Saint Charles of Mount Argus (1821-1893)
When he was canonized on May 3, 2007 by Pope Benedict XVI, among the official delegation from Ireland was its President, Mary McAleese. At a press conference immediately after the ceremony, Mrs. McAleese declared in her own name and on behalf of other leaders of the European Union that Saint Charles should be considered patron of this new federation of European states. The reason for her pronouncement was that he “was open to everyone.”
Born in Munstergeleen, Holland, he was a member of a large family of children. He joined the Passionists in 1845, at the same time that that John Henry Newman was received into the Roman Catholic Church by Blessed Dominic Barberi, C.P. Blessed Dominic was the founding Provincial of the new North European Passionist family which was to include Belgium, Holland, Ireland and England. Never quite able to adapt to other languages, he was not considered to be a good preacher. Instead he lived the life of a contemplative, spending long hours in prayer. When not thus occupied, he served as porter at the front door of the Passionist Monastery at Harold’s Cross, also known as Mount Argus. Here he attended, with enormous compassion, the needs of the sick, the suffering, the sinner, the lonely, the poor and the broken-hearted. He blessed his clients with Holy Water and the relic of Saint Paul of the Cross. For this he was turned in by clergy and laity alike for being superstitious. As a result, Archbishop Cullen insisted that he be dismissed from Ireland and sent to live at the Highgate Monastery in London. The entire affair disgraced him. When the matter was eventually resolved, he returned to Mount Argus.
His years in Ireland afterward were not easy. The original Community consisted of several priests and students who were zealous for the spread of the Congregation and for the cause of ecumenism. Among the early Community were the Venerable Ignatius Spencer, son of Lord Spencer and, by generations, relative of Diana, the late Princess of Wales as well as the Servant of God Paul Mary Parkenham, nephew of the Duke of Wellington. At least four of the original Community were considered saints, even in their lifetime. However, this first outburst of piety gave way to a moral and spiritual laxity with much drinking and frolicking. The religious observance was often put aside. As frequently happens within closed Communities, gossip afflicted Father Charles as he continued to follow the observance. He was accused of being odd, possessing an inability to listen and being unable to communicate. These things were made up when nothing else could be presented to this man in order to inhibit his piety. And so he suffered in silence and translated his pain into compassion for all who approached the front door.
When he died in January of 1893, thousands of Dubliners stood in the snow day and night for five days. When he was buried, his cultus began and never ceased. Mrs. McAleese was absolutely correct when she stated that “the Cross and the hope it engenders are never more effective than now, for Father Charles’ mission was to be open to everyone and to approach them one by one.”
- Father Jerome Vereb, C.P.
Related articles
- Blessed Dominic Barberi, C.P. (thepassionists.org)
- Commemoration of the Beatification of Cardinal Newman (thepassionists.org)
- Blue Plaque for Blessed Dominic (pfcp.wordpress.com)
- St. Charles of Mount Argus (thepassionists.org)
