Flowers of the Passion

Saint Paul of the Cross was the founder of the passionist order. He wrote this fantastic book about the faith, in this thread I'll share with you some of my favourite parts of the book. Let us have an open discussion about the books contents. Let's try not to have arguments about denominations.

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Suppose that you had fallen into the
river, and that a charitable person threw
himself into the water to save you.
What would you say to such kindness ?
Moreover, suppose that, hardly drawn
from the water, you had been attacked
by assassins, and that your rescuer
again came to your assistance, and saved
your life at the risk of his own. What
would you do in return for such friend
ship ? It is certain that you would do
all in your power to heal the bruises he
received on your account. So ought
we to act towards Christ

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Hold yourself interiorly on the bosom
of God, in the passive way ; this is the
surest means of losing yourself in God,
passing, however, continually through
the Gate divine, which is Jesus Christ
crucified, making His sufferings yours.
Love teaches all, for the Passion with
its bitter sorrows is the work of infinite
love.

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The life of the servants of God is a
continual death. For you are dead and
your life is hid with Christ in God.

I desire you to die
in Him in a mystical manner, from day to
day, more perfectly, and to dissipate, in the abyss of the Divinity, all those
little distractions that annoy you.

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Do not pass a single day without
visiting the God of the tabernacle ; in \
His presence grieve for the irreverences
that He receives from bad Christians,
who repay His love with sacrileges and
basest ingratitude. In reparation for so
many outrages, the loving soul ought to offer herself as a victim, consume herself
in the fire of divine love, offer her praises
to Jesus on the altar, visit Him for
those unhappy souls who fail to do so,
visit Him especially at hours when no
body else pays Him homage.

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Note: Some of what I am quoting comes from letters St Paul sent, that is why the pronouns sometimes change. He wrote to convents ect.

Love speaks little.

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I dwell in spirit at the foot of the
cross.

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Your most important business is the
care of your soul. This is why, before
leaving your room in the morning, you
should spend at least a quarter of an
hour in meditating on the life, the Passion, and the death of Our Lord Jesus
Christ.

Oh, what joy will it give to the
blessed in heaven, and what pleasure
to your guardian angel, to see you engaged in mental prayer ! Never omit
this holy exercise.

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Alas ! we enter easily on the road to
perdition when we neglect prayer.

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Love speaks little. The language of
divine love is a burning heart ; no
words can express its ardors.

Meditate in pure faith; spend not
your time in vain imaginings.

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Let us be generous, let us serve the
Lord nobly, let us practise great virtues;
God will be our strength and will give
us victory.
I recommend you not to lose sight of
the Passion and death of Jesus, our
life.

Remain before God, detached from all consolation, like a statue in its niche.

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"The true adorers shall adore the
Father in spirit and in truth"(John iv. 23.) Note these words well, be
cause they contain all the elements
of prayer.

See if this grace of prayer, with which
the Most High favors you, produces in
you a better knowledge of your utter
insufficiency.

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Far from consoling me, the things of
this world only inspire me with pain and
disgust.

Already the walls of the prison are
crumbling to dust, and the prisoner is
about to enjoy the liberty of the children of God.
Sigh after that happy country ; leave
your heart free to take its flight thither;
above all, drink, with love, of your
Saviour's chalice ; inebriate yourself
with it —and how ? By pure love and
pure suffering; unite the two, or, rather,
cast a drop of your sufferings into the
ocean of divine love.

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The kingdom of God is within you.
Reanimate your faith often when you
study, work, or eat ; when you retire to
rest, or rise in the morning. Make
some loving aspirations to God, such as: 'O Infinite Goodness!' or other prayer,
and let your soul be penetrated by these
pious sentiments as by a precious balm.
This great God is nearer to you, so to
speak, than you are to yourself.
As for me, I cannot understand how
it is possible not to be always thinking
of God.

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Ok, now for something less pious
Do you have the pdf/shouldn't this be public domain?

You can find the PDF with a quick Google search. I hope by compiling some of what I found to be the most profound parts of the book I have aroused an interest in the book in you. It is a great read. God bless.

Nice, I collect religious and philosophical pdfs. So far I've got the "Handbook of Spiritual Warfare" the "Cosmic Mystery of Jesus Christ" by St Maximos, "A Commentary on the Gospel" by Bishop Fortunatianus, and St. Fr. de Montfort's "Secret of the Rosary." tbh I can't help but be intrigued by the Passionists. I've only seen portraits of some of their saints bandied about here, but they seem unique, at least in their appearance.

I found it and I want to thank you, it everything I needed.

I'm delighted to hear that. God bless you.

I am full of miseries ; however, I hope
to save my soul : I hope it of the infinite power and goodness of God ; I hope
it through the Passion and death of
Jesus ; I hope it by the intercession
of the Mother of Sorrows ; yes, I hope
to go to heaven.

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Do not be troubled because people
despise and ignore me. God permits
this trial to humble me, and I rejoice
in it.

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The lily becomes whiter and sheds a
sweeter fragrance among thorns than
when growing in the open soil.

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Bumping because the passionists fascinate me. OP, post more writings from the passionists plz.

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Renew your confidence by a glance
at the cross. See that precious blood,
those mortal wounds, those hands
which have made heaven and earth
are still outstretched to poor, repentant
sinners who humbly sigh for the em
brace of Jesus.>>774317

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Say frequently and from your heart,
"O holy will of God, I love thee ; the
food of my Jesus was to do the will of
the eternal Father ; it shall be my food
also ever to do His will"
Do not let the devil frighten you.
Keep yourself hidden in God, and nothing can hurt you.
Never neglect prayer. Be strong
and constant. Courage ! God wishes
to make a saint of you. May Jesus
bless you !

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Know that one grain of pride suffices
to overthrow a mountain of holiness.

The world is full of snares ; only
humble souls can escape them. Do not
trust yourself even though your prayer
seems to produce good effects.

Grind all your sufferings in the mill of
patience and silence ; knead them with
the balm of Our Saviour's Passion into a
little pill ; swallow it with faith and love,
and let the heat of charity digest it.

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The fact that this thread gets no interest is a crying shame. However we need a Christ suffering art thread like pic related to fire the faith of this board again.

The thing I like most about St Paul of the Cross' writing is what I like about prayer now more than I liked eastern meditation that I had tried earlier. Christian meditation is unafraid of deep symbolism and to stretch itself upward to God; it is emotional, human and filled with empathy.

The east is such a cruel place by comparison; a place where it is too rude to offend the pharisees, where only stony indifference is found to evil, even by supposed holy men, who nevertheless lack faith.

Thank you for the kind words. I have to say I think the idea of a 'Sorrows of Christ' thread would be very fruitful. As for St Paul's spirituality, I cannot agree more, reading this book has greatly improved my prayer life. I feel St Paul focuses on praying from the heart, and I love how unlike the Eastern religions, Paul says that we should pray ever harder when we are stripped of consolations. Zen Buddhists meditate on nothing because it consoles them and makes them feel good, St Paul meditates 'In pure faith, not in vain imaginings'. God bless you.

Yes, I sadly don't have so many pictures to renew my faith, but if you had a bunch of crucifixions to spam a thread I'd be much obliged. Also this board has gotten diverted into the territory of faithless theologians to the point that people feel compelled to bash stuff like SSPX just to retain their sanity. So that says to me that people here would be really appreciative of seeing the sufferings of Christ to help banish legalism and uncharity that people foster in the name of whatever traditionalism means to them.

God bless you too