MEMORIAL OF SAINT PAUL OF THE CROSS, PRIEST AND SAINT IRENE, MARTYR ~ FEAST DAY ~ OCTOBER 20TH: Today, we celebrate the Memorial of Saint Paul of the Cross, Priest and Saint Irene, Martyr. Through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary and the Saints on this feast day, we humbly pray for God’s Divine Grace and Mercy upon us all. We pray for peace, love, and unity in our marriages, our families and our world. We pray for the poor, the needy and the most vulnerable. Amen🙏
SAINT PAUL OF THE CROSS, PRIEST: St. Paul of the Cross (1694–1775) was born Paul Daneo, on January 3, 1694 at Ovada in the Republic of Genoa near Turin, Italy, the second of sixteen children—only six of whom survived infancy. His infancy and youth were spent in great innocence and piety. His devout parents ensured his strong religious upbringing. In his childhood Paul went to daily Mass, spent much time before the Blessed Sacrament, and attended to his studies. St. Paul of the Cross devoted himself to the service of the poor and the sick. He is best known for his apostolic zeal and his great penances. He taught catechism in the local churches before experiencing a deep religious conversion at the age of 19 through the writings of St. Francis de Sales. After a brief stint as a soldier and declining an offer for a good marriage, at the age of 26 he learned through prayer that God was calling him to found a new religious order. He was inspired to found the congregation, having while in ecstasy beheld the habit which he and his companions were to wear. He was instructed in a vision as to what the new habit of his order should look like: a black tunic bearing a heart surmounted by a white cross, with the words “Passion of Jesus Christ” written inside the heart. To the religious vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience he added a fourth: to spread devotion to Christ’s Passion among the faithful.
After consulting his director, Bishop Gastinara of Alexandria in Piedmont, he reached the conclusion that God wished him to establish a congregation in honor of the Passion of Jesus Christ. He founded the congregation of the Passionists. On November 22, 1720, the Bishop vested him with the habit that had been shown to him in a vision, the same that the Passionists wear at the present time. From that moment the saint applied himself to prepare the Rules of his institute, and in 1721 he went to Rome to obtain the approbation of the Holy See. At first he failed, but finally succeeded when Benedict XIV approved the Rules in 1741 and 1746. Meanwhile St. Paul built his first monastery near Obitello. Some time later he established a larger community at the Church of Sts. John and Paul in Rome. For 50 years St. Paul remained the indefatigable missionary of Italy. God lavished upon him the greatest gifts in the supernatural order, but he treated himself with the greatest rigor, and believed that he was a useless servant and a great sinner. His mission was to ignite a love for Jesus in the hearts of the faithful at a time when many saw Him only as a great moral teacher. St. Paul of the Cross was one of the most powerful preachers of his day, as well as a mystic of the 18th century, and he was known to bring even the most hardened sinners to tears. He also took special care of the sick, poor, and suffering. His saintly death occurred at Rome on October 18, 1775, at the age of 81. He was canonized by Pope Pius IX in 1867. He’s the Patron Saint of the Passionist order. His feast day is October 20th.
QUOTES OF SAINT PAUL OF THE CROSS:
☆”Entrust yourself entirely to God. He is a Father and a most loving Father at that, who would rather let heaven and earth collapse than abandon anyone who trusted in him.”
☆”Place your hopes in the mercy of God and the merits of our Redeemer; say often, looking at the crucifix: There are centered all my hopes.”
☆”The Passion of Christ is the greatest and most stupendous work of Divine Love. The greatest and most overwhelming work of God’s love.”
☆”Be very careful to retain peace of heart, because Satan casts his lines in troubled waters.”
☆”Live in such a way that all may know that you bear outwardly as well as inwardly the image of Christ crucified, the model of all gentleness and mercy.”
☆”If we cannot spend much time at prayer, no matter: to act well is always to pray well. Be attentive to your duties, and at the same time be attentive to God by frequently purifying your heart in the immense ocean of divine love.”
☆”The Mass is the most favorable occasion to speak with the eternal Father, because then we offer Him His only Son as a victim for our salvation. Before celebrating, reflect on the sufferings of your Redeemer, commune peaceably with Him, even in the midst of dryness; carry to the altar the needs of the entire world.”
PRAYER: Lord, may the prayers of St. Paul who lowed the Cross with a singular love gain Your grace for us. May we be inspired by his example and embrace our own cross with courage. O Jesus, may Your holy cross always remind us to make sacrifices for the sake of love. Bind us together in service and unity. Teach us to lead others to salvation and to reflect on Your Passion. Saint Paul, pray for us. Amen 🙏
SAINT IRENE, MARTYR: St. Irene was a Portuguese nun who was martyred in defense of her chastity in the year 653 in the ancient town of Scalabris. St. Irene, a beautiful and chaste Portuguese girl, was murdered before she reached the age of 20. Her noble, pious parents, wishing to protect and prepare her to take her rightful position in society, sent her to a convent school and then arranged for a monk to tutor her privately at home. St. Irene was an assiduous pupil and a devout believer, the only times she ever left her house was to attend mass or to pray in the sanctuary dedicated to Saint Peter on his feast-day. A young nobleman named Britald happened to see her on one of these rare outings and fell desperately in love with her. Every time that she went out he waited to catch a glimpse of her, followed her to church, and eventually made his suit known to her; however, Irene gave him to understand that she would never marry him. Thus rejected, Britald fell into a deep depression and became so ill that the doctors who were called in to tend him gave him up for lost. Hearing of this, Irene visited him and told him that she had refused him because she was no longer free, having already taken a vow of virginity. Britald at once accepted her decision and gradually recovered his health. Before Irene left him he had sworn that he would respect, and make others respect, her vocation as a holy virgin, and the two had parted like brother and sister, promising each other that they would meet again in Paradise.
St. Irene returned home and resumed the life of seclusion and study, intending to make her entrance into a convent before long. But the monk who was giving her private lessons proved to be a lecherous scoundrel, and behaved towards her in a manner as dishonorable as Britald’s was honorable. St. Irene repulsed him and had him dismissed at once; but his lust turning to a desire for revenge, the monk then began to spread slanderous rumors about her. To those who asked him why he was no longer giving the girl her private lessons, he replied that he had left on learning that she was about to become a mother. This rumor quickly circulated throughout the town and at length reached Britald who, being frank and trusting and unused to lies, believed what he was told. In a passion of rage and jealousy, he hired a mercenary soldier to kill her. Soon afterwards, as she was returning home from visiting an old man who was crippled, the assassin approached her from behind and killed her with a single stroke of his sword. Her body, which was thrown into the river, was later retrieved by some Benedictines on the banks of the Tagus, near the town of Scalabris. They gave her a proper burial, made known her story, and not long afterwards, so great was the veneration in which she was held, the name of the town of Scalabis was changed to Santarem (Saint Irene).
St. Irene, Martyr ~ Pray for us 🙏