A Fitting Connection

For example, a person might fast on one full meal and take time some time during the day to mediate on Christ's death. Another might simply abstain from meat. Others might participate in a communal meditation on the Way of the Cross before or after performing a corporal work of mercy. Some who are truly devoted (or severly austere) might do all of the above for the greater glory of God.
There is a fitting connection today. In the Catholic Church in the United States, today marks the memorial of St. Paul of the Cross, who founded an order of priests whose primary devotion was to the Passion of Our Lord (commonly known as the Passionists).
St. Paul of the Cross was born Paolo Danei in the piedmont of northern Italy in the late 17th century. Even as a youth, he was quite pious. Then, when he was still in his twenties, he received a vision that placed in him a great desire to preach about Jesus' Crucifixion. Thus he wrote: "It is very good and holy to consider the passion of our Lord, and to meditate on it, for by this sacred path we reach union with God. In this most holy school we learn true wisdom, for it was there that all the saints learned it."
St. Paul's desire to meditate on and preach about Christ's suffering and death led to the well-known motto of the order, "JESU XPI PASSIO." Such a phrase was simple, yet clear. There could be no misunderstanding about the focus of these holy men (and women, eventually). Moreover, St. Paul's call for meditation has been heeded ever since by generations of faithful men and women.
So, on this Friday, October 20, let us enter the "school of wisdom" by which saints are made. Let us meditate for a brief while on the Passion of Our Lord. St. Paul of the Cross, pray for us.
God Bless.