• Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer

The Passionists of Holy Cross Province

The Love that Compels

  • Online Masses
    • Passionist Online Masses and Services
  • 300th Jubilee
    • Opening Mass of the Passionist Jubilee Year
    • Video: 300th Jubilee – English
    • Video: Jubileo Pasionista – Español
    • Jubilee Icon Itinerary
    • Jubilee Resources
    • Jubilee Song
  • Pray
    • Daily Reflections
    • Prayer Request
    • Sunday Homily
    • Passionist Spirituality and Prayer
    • Stations of the Cross
    • Prayer and Seasonal Cards
  • Grow
    • Journey into the Mystery of Christ Crucified
    • Celebrating the Feast of St. Paul of the Cross
    • Subscribe to E-News
    • Passionist Magazine
      • Passionist Magazine, Spring 2020
    • Passionist Ministries
      • Preaching
      • Hispanic Ministry
      • Haiti
      • Parish Life
      • Earth and Spirit Center
      • Education
      • Fr. Cedric Pisegna, CP, Live with Passion!
    • Retreat Centers
    • Passionist Solidarity Network
    • Sacred Heart Monastery
      • History of Sacred Heart Monastery
      • A Day in the Life of Senior Passionists
      • “Pillars” of the Community
  • Join
    • Nicholas Divine, CP, Ordination to the Diaconate
    • Are You Being Called?
    • Discerning Your Call
    • Pray With Us
    • Passionist Vocation Directors
    • Lay Partnerships
  • Connect
    • Find a Passionist
    • Passionist Websites
    • Fr. Cedric Pisegna, CP, Live with Passion!
    • Passionist Alumni Association
      • Reunions
      • 2019 Passionist Alumni Reunion
      • Welcome
      • Letter from the Provincial
        • These Men We Call Our Brothers
      • Mission Statement
      • CrossRoads Bulletin
      • Alumni Enrollment Form
        • Alumni Survey
      • Reunion Photo Gallery
  • Support
    • Donate
    • Monthly Giving
    • Leave a Legacy
      • Giving Matters
      • Ways to Give
      • Donor Relations
      • Testimonials
    • Prayer and Seasonal Cards
    • Privacy Policy Statement
  • Learn
    • Our Founder
    • History
    • The Letters of St. Paul of the Cross
    • The Diary of St. Paul of the Cross
    • Mission and Charism
    • Saints and Blesseds
    • FAQs
    • Find a Passionist
    • STUDIES IN PASSIONIST HISTORY AND SPIRITUALITY
  • Safe Environments

Daily Scripture, September 24, 2010

Scripture:

Ecclesiastes 3:1-11
Luke 9:18-22

Reflection:

Jesus was praying in solitude Luke 9:18.   Through thousands of years of human history no one ever prayed like Jesus.   The word for prayer means desire for God.   What human and divine yearning for His Father was in the heart and mind of Jesus.   Before Jesus picked his apostles, He spent the whole night in prayer. 

We tend to think we are too busy and have too many more important things to do than to spend much time to pray.  An important part of the Passionist charism is a deep prayer life.    St Paul of the Cross would spend the whole night in prayer before he would preach in the morning liturgy.   St Vincent, like Paul, was totally dedicated to mental prayer.   Not to appreciate the craving for God in these Passionist saints is to totally miss their spirit.   We can never realistically talk about Passionist spirituality without emphasizing the massive importance of time with God. 

"As a man of great prayer, Paul of the Cross inculcatd its importance most forcefully by word and example.  He wished is followers to pray without ceasing and desired our counitie to become real schools of prayer, leading to a deep experience of God."  Chapter 111  Constitutions

In Paul’s original idea of Passionist life he had hoped we could spend at least half of the year in solitude and contemplation. In his famous painting, the Angelus, Millet pictures a man and his wife stopping their word of harvesting potatoes to pray even though their sack, and basket are not yet filled.   Prayer is more important than life itself.   As a boy I used to look at this painting in my grandmother house, now I have the same picture some 65 years latter in my office.  It is faded and a little worse for wear, but a wonderful reminder of an age old truth in our Catholic Church.   Prayer is one of the most important tasks in our life.  "Pray  without ceasing." 1 Th 5:17

Fr. Bob Weiss, C.P. preaches Parish Missions and is a member of the Passionist Community in Detroit, Michigan.

Footer

Facebook Feed

Support the Passionists

Contact the Passionists

The Passionists of Holy Cross Province
660 Busse Highway | Park Ridge, IL 60068
Tel: 847.518.8844 | Toll-free: 800.295.9048 | Fax: 847.518.0461
Safe Environments | Board Member Portal | Copyright © 2021 | Log in