Claire Smith

In 2020, the Passionist Congregation is celebrating the 300^th Jubilee of the founding of the order by Saint Paul of the Cross. Our Spring magazine seeks to highlight our founding by offering our readers an in-depth look at Saint Paul of the Cross. Born Paul Daneo in Ovada, Italy in 1694, he sought to found a congregation of like-minded companions, to keep alive the memory of the Passion of Jesus Christ. In 2020, that dream is alive and thriving 300 years later around the world.

Click here to read the magazine online.

Extended articles:

St. Paul of the Cross, a preacher of the Passion for every age
Father Brian Traynor, CP

300 Years of the Passionist Rule
Father Paul Francis Spencer, CP

Tenets of spirituality from Saint Paul of the Cross
Father Gerald Laba, CP

Video Interviews:

The gift of prayer from Saint Paul of the Cross – guiding Passionists and Christians for 300 years
Brother Larry Finn, CP

Congregation history guides Passionists through the present and to the future
Father Rob Carbonneau, CP

Click here to read prior issues of the Passionist magazine.

Congregation history guides Passionists through the present and to the future
Father Rob Carbonneau, CP

The gift of prayer from Saint Paul of the Cross – guiding Passionists and Christians for 300 years.
Brother Larry Finn, CP

Tenets of spirituality from St. Paul of the Cross
Father Gerald Laba, CP

To understand the tenets of spirituality presented by St. Paul of the Cross requires an understanding of the time and culture in which he lived, believes Father Gerald Laba, C.P., retreat director for St. Paul of the Cross Passionist Retreat Center in Pittsburgh, Penn. How St. Paul of the Cross understood God and our approach to God is reflected in three basic principles that are the foundation of his spirituality.

“He lived in a difficult time when Italy was not a united country and there were conflicts between various regions,” Fr. Gerald says.

Many people were poor, and there were few opportunities for people to pursue education and improve their lives and the lives of their families. As Paul was growing up, members of his family experienced illness and several of his siblings died.

“He experienced suffering,” says Fr. Gerald. “His awareness of suffering is reflected in various dimensions of his spirituality.”

Paul brought to all people prayer practices that were more commonly presented to those living a religious life or preparing for ministry. He invited them to approach prayer in new ways.

“Paul put a very strong emphasis on it with his spirituality,” Fr. Gerald says. “He really believed everyone should be encouraged by their call to personal holiness. Paul loved people and saw or wrote to many people as a spiritual director. He met with individuals in various walks of life and had special concern for people who were suffering.

Yet, despite the hardships and suffering of his time, Paul understood God in a very positive way and as approachable by everyone. He wanted to encourage people to immerse themselves in God to experience guidance and peace.

“Paul understood God as the source of everything that is good,” says Fr. Gerald. “He often referred to the ‘immense sea of God’s love.’ This image is very important to him. For Paul, God’s love is infinite.  From this understanding, I see three very strong principles that would be the foundation of his spiritual life.”

Deep Trust

Paul invites people to trust God. Trust is key in a strong relationship with God.

“He would say to people, ‘Allow yourself to fall in the arms of God,’ even in adversity or when experiencing challenges,” Fr. Gerald says. “Paul would advise that ‘In a storm we look for shelter until the storm passes. Abandon yourself to God and trust in God because God is going to be with you.’”

Psalm 27 and Psalm 62 would have been important scriptural references for Paul with their invitation to put our trust in God.

Psalms 27:1-3 | NABRE

The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom should I fear?
The LORD is my life’s refuge; of whom should I be afraid?
When evildoers come at me to devour my flesh, these my enemies and foes themselves stumble and fall.
Though an army encamp against me, my heart does not fear;
Though war be waged against me, even then do I trust.

Psalms 62:2-5 | NABRE

My soul rests in God alone, from whom comes my salvation.
God alone is my rock and salvation, my fortress; I shall never fall.
How long will you set yourself against a man? You shall all be destroyed, like a sagging wallor a tumbled down fence!
Even highly placed people plot to overthrow him. They delight in lies; they bless with their mouths, but inwardly they curse.

In the world today, many people find it hard to trust. “We see the failures of people in so many areas of life,” says Fr. Gerald. “We sometimes suffer from anxiety over what we are doing, and we worry. Paul’s call to trust in God can help us toward a greater experience of calm and peacefulness in our own lives.”

Call to interior prayer

Fr. Gerald believes the second principle of the spirituality of St. Paul of the Cross is to focus on the indwelling presence of God in our lives. Paul directed people to focus on the interior dimension of their lives.

“We are about many things. We have a personality and works and a career, but the most important part of us is the interior dimension of who we are,” Fr. Gerald says. “Paul invited people to experience interior quiet prayer. He referred to it as interior reflection.”

During prayer and reflection, the focus is on the inner experience with God: to pay attention to God within us. “Paul’s call has tremendous value for us today,” says Fr. Gerald. “So many people today are so busy. We are busy with so many external projects. Our life can be off balance if we neglect the interior dimension of who we are.”

A focus on interior prayer strengthens spirituality and serves as a guide in how people do what they do every day. Interior prayer balances out daily actions.

“Sometimes today people evaluated themselves by what they do,” Fr. Gerald says. “That’s alright, but it isn’t all of who we are. Paul’s focus on interior prayer can help us better know ourselves.”

The need to balance work with prayer was something Paul understood, and encouraged, especially in the Passionist religious community. “One part would strengthen the other,” says Fr. Gerald. “The contemplative part would strengthen a person to go out and minister. Paul was very apostolic, but he was also a great mystic. He presents us with a good message and direction in modern times, calling us to greater thoughtfulness with a better sense of balance in our lives.

Reflection on the Passion of Jesus

Paul invited everyone to meditate on the Passion of Jesus. The Passion, Paul believed, was the ultimate expression of God’s love for us. Meditation on the Passion of Jesus draws us into a deeper relationship with God.

“Paul saw the Passion of Jesus as the most profound expression of God’s love for us,” Fr. Gerald says. “We sometimes look toward the external dimensions of the way Christ suffered. Paul invited people to meditate and reflect on the internal dimensions of the Passion, which was much more than just physical suffering.”

Jesus was falsely judged, experienced betrayal, felt completely alone, faced humiliation, encountered opposition, and felt abandoned and rejected. As humans we can relate to the internal sufferings of Jesus.

“We can go to Jesus in his Passion about our experiences and know he understands, and receive insight,” says Fr. Gerald. “So many younger people today are really searching,” Fr. Gerald says. “They have the spirituality but need time to develop it. They are looking to find God within.”

300 Years of the Passionist Rule
Father Paul Francis Spencer, CP

The First Rule of the Passionists was written by Saint Paul of the Cross in December 1720. Now 300 years later, our present Constitutions continue to draw inspiration from that first text written by Paul when he was 26. The first paragraph of the Constitutions brings us immediately into contact with Paul’s founding experience:

Saint Paul of the Cross gathered companions to live together and to proclaim the Gospel of Christ to all. The first name he gave his community was “The Poor of Jesus.” This was to indicate that their lives were to be based on evangelical poverty, which he held to be so necessary if they were to observe the other evangelical counsels, to persevere in prayer and to preach the Word of the Cross in season and out of season. Moreover, he wanted them to live their lives like apostles. They were to foster and develop a deep spirit of prayer, penance and solitude so that they could reach closer union with God and witness to his love. Keenly aware of the evils that afflicted the people of his time, he never tired of insisting that the most effective remedy is the Passion of Jesus, “the greatest and most overwhelming work of God’s love.” (Passionist Constitutions, #1)

Saint Paul of the Cross describes the writing of the Passionist Rule in these words: “God gave me a strong desire to gather companions and to found a congregation called ‘The Poor of Jesus.’ After this, God infused into my soul in a lasting manner the form of the holy Rule to be observed by the Poor of Jesus and by me, least and lowest servant.” (Preface to the First Rule, 1720)

That First Rule was the result of his life experience and his prayer experience where the Holy Spirit led him through trial and error but also through a series of what he called “lights” and “inspirations” to an understanding of the charism and mission of the community he would found.

At that time, Paul had never seen a religious rule of life, so what he wrote was more inspirational than legalistic; it flowed from his deep love for Jesus in his Passion and his desire to reach out to those who “did not experience the fruit of the Passion of Jesus.” (Diary of Saint Paul of the Cross, Dec. 4, 1720)

In the Rule, Paul writes not as a superior but as a loving brother: “Oh dearly beloved, he who really loves, whenever he brings Friday into his mind, has reasons to die. To say ‘Friday’ is to name the day when my God-Made-Man suffered so much for me that he gave up his life by dying on the hard wood of the cross.” (Rule of 1720)

At the heart of his message is the invitation to those who would share the Passionist charism with people who have come to know Jesus through prayer and who are ready to help others to have a similar experience of the love of God revealed in the face of the suffering Christ. He writes: “Let us never forget to have always with us a constant and sorrowful remembrance of the Passion and death of Jesus. So let each of the Poor of Jesus take care to instill in others meditation on the suffering of our Jesus.” (Rule of 1720)

The Rule proposes a life of continual conversion, Gospel simplicity and inner stillness. This will lead to a deep interior freedom for what he calls “zeal for God’s glory,” by which the Passionists will promote love for God in people’s hearts and, in Paul’s words, be “untiring in works of charity so that our beloved God may be loved, feared, served, and praised by all, forever and ever. Amen.” (Preface to the First Rule, 1720)

St. Paul of the Cross, a preacher of the Passion for every age
Father Brian Traynor, CP

Paul was a man of his day and his spirituality was shaped significantly by his family experiences, the nature of social, political and church life in Italy during his lifetime as well as by the geography and landscape. He was drawn to work among the people who were deprived of spiritual care and who, because of the harsh conditions they experienced, imagined themselves deserted by God.

Paul’s persistence to form a band of men who could bring comfort and hope to such people, is nothing short of astonishing, given the many setbacks he experienced. He once wrote, “To finish off business in Rome, as is known, takes a thousand carats of patience, two hundred and eighty of prudence, and two thousand of painful waiting.”

He balanced his determination to achieve his dream, which he believed was God’s call, with a total abandonment to how and when this dream might happen. In 1736 he wrote to one of his spiritual directees, Agnes Grazi, “If God should inspire me to abandon this Retreat, how gladly I would – nobody knows.”

Paul’s commitment to the personal vow he made at age 26, was unwavering, and it was this attitude in Paul that inspired others to join him or to write to him for spiritual guidance.

Even the manner in which he made that vow displayed Paul’s character and faith. He had completed a 40-day retreat and set off from northern Italy in the belief that he could get Papal approval in Rome for the rule of life he had written during his retreat. He went to see the Pope without any appointment and was sent away by one of the guards. Disappointed and hungry, he found a quiet place by a nearby fountain and took out a piece of bread given to him at the hostel where he had stayed the night before. A nearby beggar asked him to share his bread.

He walked off and headed towards to the basilica of St Maria Maggiore, one of the four major basilicas in Rome. The Borghese chapel inside the basilica holds an icon titled ‘Salus Populi Romani.’ In present day, Pope Francis prays before this icon before he leaves or returns to Rome.

Paul knelt before the icon that day and came to interpret his rejection at the papal palace as a favourable cross, rather than as failure. He later said, “I was inspired to think that the time for approval of the Rule had not yet come.”

Kneeling before the icon of Mary with no apparent reason to hope his dream might come about, Paul vowed to found a Congregation that would promote in the hearts of people the living memory of the Passion and to gather companions to do the same.

We know that Paul wrote more than 10,000 letters. This was a major ministry for him. These letters indicate both his complete trust in God and his clear and practical spiritual advice.

He wanted people to understand how they could be close to God and be embraced by God’s mercy while engaged in their daily chores. In his letters he did not hide his own weaknesses. Many times, he described how he was worried or worn out by the countless difficulties that he faced. For those experiencing their own struggles, this was great comfort and it drew people to him.

Paul’s most devoted and faithful companion was his brother, John Baptist. They lived together for their entire lives and younger brother John Baptist was Paul’s spiritual director.

Throughout the early years when they went on missions together, John Baptist would conduct sessions for the clergy while Paul worked with the laity. Paul knew his brother’s strengths and they were an impressive team.

Paul learned the hard way how much he needed John Baptist after he struggled when travelling alone to Rome. His brother had warned Paul that they needed to travel together. From then on, they always worked together.

In 1745, Paul established a community in Toscanella. He left the practical arrangements with one of his trusted Passionist companions.

When Paul arrived for the official opening he was overcome with grief seeing the condition of the house donated to the Congregation. Their house had no roof or windows and the doors did not reach the bottom. Rats were entering the house. The men had no oil or blankets.

Paul was convinced his men should stay even though they had insufficient food to last more than two days. Despite protests from the leader of the community, Paul urged, “someone will come to take care of you.”

The following day Lucia (Lucy) Burlini came looking for Paul and was told he had gone. She had come 10 kilometres by donkey because she had heard he was there. She met Paul 12 years earlier when she was 24.

Being illiterate, Lucy needed to speak with Paul in person. When Lucy learned of needs of the community, she returned home and requested blankets, oil and food from her townspeople and returned with a fully laden mule.

Despite her own poverty, Lucy began to bake bread and to beg on behalf of the community. She made the long journey between Toscanella and home to deliver goods two or three times a week.

Lucy continued her charitable assistance for many years. After her death, Paul insisted Lucy’s relics be placed in the Passionist chapel. Lucy’s response to the Passionist community was born out of the spiritual assistance Paul had given her. Her profound gratitude to Paul literally saved those men’s lives.

Paul had many benefactor friends. Women and men were inspired by Paul and worked with him directly and indirectly. Many men joined Paul’s group and took up his way of life. Through his female followers Paul was able to establish a community of Passionist women. By the time he died he had established 12 communities.

Paul’s friendly and grateful nature inspired many people to contribute to his mission in practical ways. Each of his 12 retreats were donated.

One young man, Thomas Fossi, frequently donated oil and grain over many years and was so inspired by Paul that he wanted to become a Passionist. Paul reminded him that this was not possible because his primary responsibility was to look after his wife and children. When Thomas’ wife died, Paul accepted Thomas into the Congregation and he lived in the same community with Paul.

Paul was an inspiring man, and his numerous letters show determination to sustain relationships. He was robust, well organised and clear thinking. His communication was direct. He described himself as a Lombard (from Northern Italy) adding that Jesus had directed his disciples to say ‘yes’ if you mean ‘yes’ and ‘no’ if you mean ‘no.’ He added, “I say what is in my heart.”

Paul held a personal conviction of God’s love. He devoted his energies entirely to sharing that conviction and to guide his companions in leading contemplative lives while engaged in active mission. This, he knew, was the life Jesus created for his apostles. This mixture of reflection and activity was what drew men and women to work with Paul in ministry.

Perhaps the most unique aspect of Paul’s call to evangelize was urging his brothers “to exhaust every means possible” in bringing the message of God’s love to people.

Most founders identify a particular work for their Congregation. Instead of ‘works,’ Paul had a clear message that he wanted preached, and he urged this message should be shared wherever and however possible.

As far as we know, Paul is the only founder who wrote a rule of life before he had any companions to live that life! From the very beginning he was totally clear about what he wanted and terms such as ‘the Passion,’ solitude, mercy and companions were integral to how he evangelised.

In the opening chapter of his rule he devoted a section to the geographical location of the ‘retreats’ (retiro) where his religious would live. He did establish monasteries, but retreats – places to retire in order to pray and regain energy – were crucial to his vision.

His focus on retreats was in imitation of Jesus’ command to his disciples to ‘come away’ for a while after their arduous mission (Mark 6:31,32). Passionists were not to retire alone, but in solitude together.

Paul wrote in that same introduction to his Rule of Life, “The religious assigned to ministry after having worked for souls, can, in these houses of solitude regain that fervour which is sometimes diminished by works of charity.”

For Paul, there could be no evangelization without prayer and study. He praised his bother and co-founder, John Baptist, because “he never stopped studying.”

For Paul, prayer and study enabled a missioner to engage in solid preparation. Paul set out clearly that each religious’ simple room was to be a place of ‘imminent activity.’ Here a man would read, study and pray so that once he left the retreat his full energy was devoted to his mission.

Paul frequently claimed, “the Passion of Jesus is the greatest and most overwhelming work of God’s love.” He urged that missioners’ words should fall “like gentle rain on hardened hearts.” The message was simple, “Here learn the science of the saints; all is to be found in the Passion of Jesus.”

Encouraging people to experience and trust in God’s love as Jesus did most profoundly in his Passion and cross, Paul urged, “Abandon yourself into the hands of God, like a ship with neither oars nor sails, letting go of yourself totally.”

What was Paul’s call? Late in life he declared, “If I could have my life over, and preach just one sermon, I would speak about the total mercy of God.”

Paul was driven by a desire for people to know and experience God’s love as he had come to know it. He believed the best way to experience this love was to encounter in prayer the total self-giving of Jesus in his Passion and death.

Because he held this conviction, Paul was able to write, “If God should send a plague, I would willingly be the first to leave my solitude and go to the assistance of the plague-stricken. I would willingly remain at their sides until their last breath, even though it meant the sacrifice of my own life.”

Jesus began ministry as a disciple of John the Baptist. After John was arrested and killed, Jesus took up John’s movement. Jesus set aside John’s demanding call to repentance and put his primary emphasis on inviting people to “Come follow me.” His promise to people was to experience God’s profound friendship and the truth that all people are sisters and brothers bound together by God’s overwhelming love.

Jesus’ encounters with everyday people opened his mind and heart to the call God had for him. In the same way, Paul of the Cross became increasingly convinced that God’s mercy was lavishly offered to the poor and to sinners. He directed his followers to work in the regions where others would not go for fear of contracting malaria.

Paul’s call was to preach this message of God’s mercy, and while he saw parish missions as an obvious opportunity to share this “Good News,” his spiritual guidance shared in thousands of letters, was an evangelizing opportunity to which he was equally devoted.

While Paul hoped for a community of preachers, he recognized not all his men had the gift to preach. He encouraged them not to focus on what they did, but what they must proclaim. If they could experience in their own hearts, the total self-giving of Jesus, then they could in a myriad of way proclaim to others as he did “that the Passion of Jesus is the greatest and most overwhelming work of God’s love.”