My vocation story begins a long time before I ever heard of the Passionists. Baptized and raised as a Lutheran, I had a happy childhood full of love and adventure. However, I have very few memories of churchgoing before I was age 13. In fact, at age 12 I remember denying that I believed in God, not so much because I couldn’t conceive of His existence, but because He meant nothing to me.
Read MoreOur Blessed Mother’s continual guiding presence marked the beginnings of the Passionist Congregation. Our tradition has it that she made known to our Holy Founder, St. Paul of the Cross, the mission God had assigned to him. St. Paul of the Cross honored Mary particularly under the titles of Our Mother of Sorrows, and Our Mother of Holy Hope.
Read MoreThe Catholic Catechism says that “taking up one’s cross each day and following Jesus is the surest way of penance.” We express this interior penance in the traditional ways of fasting, prayer and works of mercy. The first thing any Christian must “fast” from is sin. And living closely together in community provides countless opportunities to show mercy in seen and unseen ways.
Read MoreAs one officially enters the novitiate, to receive a name in the context of one’s new state in life as a person preparing for consecration to God as a religious. Religious consecration itself intensifies our baptismal consecration and unites us to the mystery and mission of the Church in a special way.
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