Collect taken from the optional memorial of St. Paul of the Cross, priest.
Collect: May the Priest Saint Paul, whose only love was the Cross, obtain for us your grace, O Lord, so that, urged on more strongly by his example, we may each embrace our own cross with courage. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son…
“May the Priest Saint Paul, whose only love was the Cross, obtain for us your grace, O Lord,”
— As Paul loved the Cross on earth, s he continues to love it as one of the blessed in heaven. Relying on that love of the cross, which is the source of all grace, we ask him simply to pray for us to obtain grace.
“so that, urged on more strongly by his example, we may each embrace our own cross with courage.”
— We have already acknowledged that we must begin with the help of grace, so now our prayer asks for us to embrace the cross. It is a simple fact that we must embrace the cross, but this prayer reminds us that others have done it and that grace makes it both possible and even desirable.
Questions & Advice: What does the image of the cross mean to you? When you look at it or think about it, what do you think and feel? What is your biggest cross now.
Read about holiness and the cross in the Catechism (2012-28). Though it can sound like doom, gloom, and pain for it’s own sake, that is not what the cross is about. The fact is that Christ carried the cross for us and this call to the cross comes with the grace to make it possible. In your daily prayer time, reflect on your biggest cross. Instead of trying to muster up will power, spend a few moments asking the Lord to help you recognize the ways in which you are trying to carry this cross without him. Pray for a greater trust.
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| Sancte Paule, ora pro nobis! |