The Passionists of Holy Cross Province

The Love that Compels

Passionist Saints Prayer Booklet

Dear Friend of the Passionists,

In 2020, the Congregation of the Passion, the Passionists, celebrates its 300th anniversary.

From almost the beginning of our founding, St. Paul of the Cross wanted the Congregation to have a special day, apart from Good Friday and Passion Sunday, that would help his brother and sister Passionists be mindful of the mission they were given: to promote the memory of the Passion of Jesus as the greatest sign of God’s love for the world. This day is celebrated on the Friday before Ash Wednesday. In 2020, that day is February 21.

This year we have created for you a prayer booklet that commemorates this special day as well as other special days on the Passionist calendar. These other special days are the Feast Days of some special Passionist saints: St. Gabriel Possenti (February 27), St. Gemma Galgani (May 16), St. Vincent Mary Strambi (September 24) and the founder of the Passionists, St. Paul of the Cross (October 20).

The beautiful prayer cards contained in the booklet can be used in your own prayer life, or you may wish to send them to friends and loved ones who may benefit from praying with these special saints. You can order extra booklets on our website.

We invite you to send us your prayer intentions by February 18 so that we can add them to our prayers as we celebrate special Masses on those days.

Also, please consider making a donation so that we Passionists may continue to fulfill our mission well past 300 years. Your generosity is greatly appreciated.

Let us keep each other in prayer, as we ask these saints to pray for us.

May the Passion of Jesus Christ be always in our hearts!

In Christ’s love,

Fr. Mike Higgins, C.P.

P.S. Click here to know more about these Passionist saints and their feast days.

Ash Wednesday

On March 2, the Church celebrates Ash Wednesday. 

Most of us learned early in our Catholic lives that Ash Wednesday is the beginning of Lent, and that is a time of special sacrifice in preparation for the Easter celebration of Jesus’ Resurrection.

Dear brothers and sisters, every moment of our lives is a time for believing, hoping and loving…. These words of Pope Francis, taken from his Lenten Message of last year, 2021, and echoing the virtues of Faith, Hope and Charity, can still inspire our answer to the question: “What am I giving up for Lent?” 

We can draw our Lenten sacrifices out of our daily life: 

Share our faith in God’s presence by sharing in prayer with our family or with those in our parish community.
Share our hope in God’s promises by encouraging positive and respectful dialogue in our family circle and among our friends. 
Share the charity God has bestowed on us in the Passion of Jesus, with those whose sufferings are ignored or aggravated.

Let us pray for one another as we enter the season of Lent. Our Passionist “motto” can be our daily prayer during Lent, “May the Passion of Jesus Christ be always in our hearts.”