I often wonder what it would be like to meet some great person of the past, you know, like Mahatma Ghandi, Martin Luther King Jr. or Paul Daneii? Paul Daneii you ask? Yes, Paul Daneii. He’s been recognized as the greatest mystic of the 18th century. After turning down the wealth his uncle left him he chose a life of solitude and penitence. This led him to eventually take a new name, Paul of the Cross and found what today is a worldwide religious community of men and women. With this community he hoped to help heal the division taking place among Christians who for the previous 200 or so years had been spending more time proclaiming their differences than recognizing their similarities. He did this by espousing the cross.
I first heard about this man when I was in grammar school. I eventually joined this community by attending their minor seminary and have kept involved ever since. Even after all these years though, I still wonder at times, what this cross that Paul preached is all about. I think I may have gotten a new insight after listening to Debra Jarvis, a chaplain in a cancer treatment center.
If you’re like me and wonder what you are suppose to do with the cross or crosses in your life, check out Chaplain Jarvis’s TED Med talk above. I think she has something. I think I’ve finally met a great person on the past.
We are a community of laymen and laywomen who, with vowed Passionists, seek to share in the charism of St. Paul of the Cross through prayer, ongoing spiritual formation, and proclamation of the message of Christ Crucified.
Thank you once again Dan for all the effort you put into posting good talks like this one! Debra Jarvis was very interesting and I enjoyed listening to her. St. Paul’s early ministry was in a hospital and the “Charism” lends itself very nicely to chaplaincy ministry. Your efforts are appreciated.