• 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, 2016

Feast of St. Vincent Strambi, CP

Scripture:st-vincent-strambi

Ecclesiastes 11:9-12:8
Luke 9:43b-45

Reflection:

Provocateur of the Cross

Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love.  John 15:9

I have for a long time thought this is one of the most amazing sentences in New Testament.   The stupendous love between the Father and Jesus is likened to the affection of the Lord’s love for us!   The author of Eph 3:17f  prays that “you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.”

Today we celebrate the feast of Saint Vincent Strambi, C,P.   He was an early follower of St Paul of the Cross.  For Paul of the Cross the sufferings and death of Christ is the definitive expression of His love.  “But note that the Passion of Jesus Christ is entirely a work of the infinite love of God” (Paul)   Both of these saints lived their lives in contemplation and preaching springing from that nuclear fusion of God’s love for us on the Cross!   They lived in the explosive love of the Crucified!  “Abide in My love.”

Devotion to the Passion puts a stethoscope on the heart of God.   It is a dangerous devotion because it exposes us to the extreme radiation of God’s care for us.   St Vincent by his preaching was a provocateur of God’s fondness for the world!  Job asked thousands of years ago: “What is man, that you make so much of him, and that you set your heart on him,” Job 7:17   In today’s world there are all too many who think that God is too big to care about us.  The Cross shows us rather the opposite truth.  We might be too big to be beneficiaries of His affection, but never too small.  Our lack of humility is our greatest obstacle to the gifts of the Lord.  We will only experience God’s revelation if we get on our knees and beg for His mercy.  The wonderful mystery of the Cross is only revealed “to little children”!

Recently I was privileged to celebrate my daily Mass in St Vincent’s room where he lived in Rome.  On the  altar was a large relic of Vincent.  It was a great privilege to celebrate this wonderful representation of the death and resurrection of the Paschal event standing by this great Passionist.


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

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