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10 THE CURIA INFORMS TO KEEP THE MEMORY OF THE PASSION OF CHRIST ALIVE IN HEARTS OF THE PEOPLE OF GOD Fr. Paul Francis Spencer, CP The apostolic aim of the Congregation of the Passion is that of keeping alive the memory of the Passion of Jesus Christ in the hearts of the people of God. St. Paul of the Cross was convinced that not remembering the love that Jesus showed in his Passion is the cause of our alienation from God and falling into sin. He wanted his sons to guide others to gratefully remember Christ Crucified. Charles of Mount Argus used every opportunity to preach the message of the Cross to the sick and the suffering. In a letter that he addressed to a sick person he wrote: “You need to dedicate at least several minutes every day to love the sufferings of Jesus Christ.” Like St. Paul of the Cross he believed that the Passion of Jesus is “the greatest and most overwhelming work of God’s love.” (Letters of St. Paul of the Cross, II, 449). “Crucifix at the Papal Altar during the Canonization.” Well aware that the message of the Cross can be announced to others only after it has penetrated one’s own life, Charles spent hours and hours every day contemplating Christ Crucified. He carried a small crucifix in his hand wherever he went and according to what one of his confreres wrote: “the simplest discourse on the Passion would move Charles to tears.” Following the teaching of St. Paul of the Cross, Charles based his own on the three fundamental values of the Passionist Rule: prayer, penance and solitude. His apostolic activity flowed from his interior life, so much so that just looking at him was a source of goodness: “If his exterior aspect was a reflection of his soul, then it could be said that he was on fire with the love of God.” For those who knew him the most outstanding ____________________June 2007 PIB N. 14____________________
characteristic of his life was his spirit of prayer: “He was constantly in union with God.” He continually lived in the presence of God and in his preaching he encouraged others to do the same: “Let us keep God before our eyes day and night and we will grow in perfection.” The Founder of the Passionists was not only a great mystic, but also a great master of prayer. In the Rule he wrote that one of principal objectives of the Congregation is “to earnestly teach people to recall devoutly the memory of the passion and death of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Every day before blessing the people at Mt. Argus, Charles would give an instructive exhortation about prayer and then he would spontaneously pray out loud, allowing them in some way to share in his own experience of Jesus Crucified. His spirit of penance was expressed not only by fasting, by vigils and other types of mortification which were mandated by the Rule of St. Paul of the Cross, but also by his acceptance of his own sufferings. Sometimes the other members of his community understood this; at other times he was mocked and humiliated by those who were jealous of his fame for sanctity. Having understood that these situations were above all opportunities to share in the Passion of Christ, he wrote: “only those who accept to be stepped on, ridiculed and humiliated, who carry the cross with Jesus every day, who walk in his footsteps and follow his example: only these will be saved.” Even while fully participating in the life of the religious community and tirelessly dedicating himself to the poor, the sick and the dying, at the same time he used every opportunity to cultivate a true spirit of interior solitude. His free moments were spent before the Blessed Sacrament. He could not THE CURIA INFORMS “If his exterior aspect was a reflection of his soul, then it could be said that he was on fire with the love of God.” be any happier than when he was “alone with the Alone” and in keeping with the teaching of St. Paul of the Cross: “Stay within yourself, in the interior reign of his spirit.” (Letters I, 558). _____________________June 2007 PIB N. 14_____________________ 11
Page 1 and 2: N° 14 - New Series, June 2007 Pass
Page 3 and 4: THE CURIA INFORMS MESSAGE OF THE SU
Page 5 and 6: Fr. Charles of St. Andrew, known in
Page 7 and 8: THE CURIA INFORMS IN THE ECUMENICAL
Page 9: BINDING UP WOUNDS AND HEALING THE B
Page 13 and 14: and he seemed to be rapt in ecstasy
Page 15 and 16: wonders that he has accomplished in
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Page 21 and 22: COPAL LATIN AMERICA THE SUPERIOR GE
Page 23 and 24: CIPI ITALIA DOL PROVINCIAL CHAPTER
Page 25 and 26: CPA AFRICA NEWS FROM THE CONFERENCE
Page 27 and 28: SPECIAL EVENTS On 3 May 2007 the Vi
Page 29 and 30: PRIESTLY ORDINATIONS On 3 May 2007,
Page 31 and 32: NOTITIAE OBITUS Usque ad diem marti

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