BIOGRAPHY OF SAINT PAUL OF THE CROSS

                     Saint Paul of the Cross

Also known as

• God’s Hunter of Souls
• Paolo Francesco Danei
• Paul Daneo

Memorial

• 19 October
• 18 October (Rome, Italy)
• formerly 28 April

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The son of a merchant, Paul was a pius youth. After receiving a vision, and while still a layman, he founded the Congregation of Discalced Clerks of the Most Holy Cross and Passion (Passionists) in 1721 to preach about Jesus Crucified. Preacher of such power that hardened soldiers and bandits were seen to weep. At one point all the brothers in the Order deserted him, but in 1741 his rule was approved by PopeBenedict XIV, and the community began to grow again. Ordained in 1727 by Pope Benedict XIII. Missionary.

Born

• 3 January 1694 at Ovada, Piedmont (northern Italy) as Paolo Francesco Danei

Died

• 18 October 1775 at Rome, Italy of natural causes

Beatified

• 1 October 1852 by Blessed Pope Pius IX

Canonized

• 29 June 1867 by Blessed Pope Pius IX

Patronage

• Ovada, Italy

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• medals and pendants

Readings

The soul is a seed which God sows in the field of the Church; to produce fruits, it must die under the strokes of pains, sorrows, contradictions, and persecutions. – Saint Paul of the Cross

Let us fear more to be deprived of sufferings than a miser fears to lose his treasures. – Saint Paul of the Cross

Suffering is brief; joy will be eternal. – Saint Paul of the Cross

Do you know why God subjects you to so many miseries? That He may bestow on you the riches of heaven. – Saint Paul of the Cross

In your trials, have recourse to Mary, and She will remedy them. – Saint Paul of the Cross

He who truly loves God regards as little what he suffers for God’s sake. – Saint Paul of the Cross

The greater our cross, the greater is our gain; the more deprived suffering is of consolation, the purer is it; the more creatures are against us, the more closely united are we to God. – Saint Paul of the Cross

Sufferings are the pearls of Jesus crucified. It happens sometimes that the lightning rends a mountain and discloses therein a mine of treasures. So, also, the thunderbolts of adversity bring forth a gold-mine in certain souls. – Saint Paul of the Cross

I hope that God will save me through the merits of the Passion of Jesus. The more difficulties in life, the more I hope in God. By God’s grace I will not lose my soul, but I hope in His mercy. – Saint Paul of the Cross

One day the Lord caused me to hear these words at the foot of the tabernacle: ‘My son, he who embraces Me embraces thorns.’ – Saint Paul of the Cross

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.

Therefore, be constant in practicing every virtue, and especially in imitating the patience of our dear Jesus, for this is the summit of pure love. 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. For if a man is united inwardly with the Son of the living God, he also bears his likeness outwardly by his continual practice of heroic goodness, and especially through a patience reinforced by courage, which does not complain either secretly or in public. Conceal yourselves in Jesus crucified, and hope for nothing except that all men be thoroughly converted to his will. – from a letter by Saint Paul of the Cross

My heart breaks when I think of the sorrows of the most holy Virgin. Oh tender Mother, unutterable was Thy grief in finding Thyself deprived of your dear Son, and then in beholding Him dead in Thy arms! Ah! who can realize the sadness of Mary when She returned to Bethany after the burial of her Son? Jesus expires on the cross! He is dead that we may have life. All creation mourns: the sun darkens, the earth trembles, the rocks burst, and the veil of the temple is rent in twain; my heart alone remains harder than a rock! – Saint Paul of the Cross