26 August – Feast of Blessed Dominic, Passionist

Blessed Dominic Barberi, Passionist

“Of all the preachers of the divine Word who have worked for the salvation of souls in England,” wrote Cardinal Bourne, Archbishop of Westminister in 1926, “there is no one – in our opinion – to whom we are more indebted than the Servant of God, Dominic of the Mother of God. I should consider myself happy if I had the power and right to dedicate this whole Diocese to his care and protection and be allowed to honour him as our Patron and Protector in England.”

– quoted in Blessed Dominic Barberi, C.P., Apostle of Unity by Alfred Wilson, C.P., p. 1

PRAYER

Lord, you sent Blessed Dominic to seek out the lost sheep of your flock by preaching the truth and witnessing to your love. May we follow his example and build up the unity of the Church as a sign of faith and love. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Mass of Blessed Dominic of the Mother of GodDownload

Our Lady of Sorrows … Chief Protectress

From the life of Blessed Paul of the Cross by Fr. Vincent Strambi, C.P. –

“As he (St. Paul of the Cross) knew what a treasure true devotion to our Blessed Lady is, he ardently desired that his children should enjoy the abundance of it. He inculcated, and with great fervour recommended, that they should be devout to our dear Lady. “Let them take,” he says in the rules, “for their chief protectress, that ever Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, and bear towards her a due devotion; let them often call to mind the most bitter sorrows endured by her during the Passion and death of her dear Son, and let them, by voice and example, promote in others devotion towards this great Lady.”

Strambi, Volume 2, page 215

St. Michael the Archangel

Since the early days of the Church, the archangel Michael has been venerated as the defender of God’s rights, helping Christians to be steadfast in their fidelity to God in times of trial. When living in the Diocese of Troia Paul of the Cross, together with his brother John Baptist, visited the saints famous shrine on Monte Gargano. His very special devotion to the archangel increased during the building of the first retreat. A person under his spiritual direction told him how he saw “the glorious St. Michael, with sword unsheathed, surveying the walls of the retreat in an attitude of defending the Lord’s little flock.” In memory of this apparation an altar was erected in the first church to honour the archangel. The second retreat of the Congregation was dedicated to him, and his image was displayed in all the retreats. In two of them altars were also dedicated to him. In a record of the early days we find that a certain religious had a vision of the Congregation represented “by a tree laden with luscious fruit, and close by stood the archangel Michael with a rod in his hand shaking the branches here and there and causing the decayed fruit to fall.” The religious saw this as the archangel’s protection in order that they keep fervent and faithful and not risk being detached from the fruitful branches of the tree. St. Paul of the Cross called St. Michael “our chief protector and father” and ordered that the antiphon “O Most Glorious St. Michael” with its corresponding prayer be sung after the evening rosary. On 10th January 1773, the privilege of celebrating the archangel’s feast as a double rite with octave was obtained, the reason being that “he was always held and experienced” as “the principal patron of the Congregation”. Finally in 1775 the General Chapter determined that, after Our Lady, “the most glorious archangel St. Michael” be held as the chief patron of the Passionist Congregation, and his feast be solemnized with octave.

History of the Passionists, Fabiano Giorgini, C.P. p. 325-326

Life itself is grace ….

During the month of September

2nd September – Birth of Elizabeth Prout, Foundress of the Sisters of the Cross and Passion (1820)

10th September – Anniversary of the death of Anna Maria Daneo, mother of St. Paul of the Cross and Ven. John Baptist (1746)

14th September – Feast of the Exultation of the Holy Cross

14th September – Anniversary of the foundation of Presentation Retreat, Monte Argentario (1737)

15th September – Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows

24th September – Feast of St. Vincent Strambi, Passionist

26th / 27th September – Anniversary of the vow to promote the memory of the Passion and to gather companions to do the same – made by St. Paul of the Cross in St. Mary Major’s Basilica Rome (1721)