The personality of Paul of the Cross
Paul was frequently described as an extremely robust and impressive person, yet for more than 40 years of his life, he was regularly incapacitated by sickness. He suffered from malaria, rheumatism, sciatica, debilitating headaches, frequent heart palpitations and was forced to use a walking stick from the age of fifty-one. He was often bed-ridden and was a permanent invalid for the last ten years of his life. He lived eighty-one years and remained alert in mind and spirit to the end.

His letters and writings reflect that in all his sufferings, his deepest desire was to be conformed to Jesus crucified and many people reported that despite his sickness or feebleness he showed the incredible energy he used to establish and care for the new Congregation he founded and he wrote numerous letters.

News from London
Peter and Debbie shared this wonderfully encouraging news
It has been a very long four week wait since the last scan. Yesterday we heard from David and Vicky that the growth that was very obvious in one lung has stopped growing and actually looks smaller compared to the previous scan. The doctor could not believe it and sent for a colleague to check it with him.  It now looks like this baby boy will be able to go full term and the outcome is much more positive. Vicky is now 6 months pregnant. 

We have every faith that this is a miracle and thank everyone who has said prayers for him. Please pass on our thanks to everyone at Holy Cross and the wider Holy Spirit Province community that have been praying for this new little family to be. 

We received this lovely email from John on Tuesday
G'day mates, How's going?

Is Brian still busy with tons of emails? Is Chris slaving away for his students? the Holy Cross bees? any more stings? Is Jerome ready to dive in the rose garden? How about the churchgoers? Are they happy with the Sunday bread (after Mass)? Oh, Shirley, I miss your cooking and desserts. I'm getting a little low on blood sugar over here. 

I am very glad that God has called me to be a Passionist priest, like you, to proclaim the Passion of Jesus Christ faithfully and to serve the people of God in the priesthood. My journey through the Australian Passionist Church was a gracious plan of God. In that happy time, God prepared me with His call and equipped me with His grace. So that when I serve His people today, I say to Him, "Yes, I do."

Brian Gleeson CP
The liturgical farewell for our brother Brian, was conducted last Friday at St Paul Apostle parish church, Endeavour Hills. The full professed community of both Holy Cross (13) and St Gabriel’s community (4) attended, along with Frs Denis and Tom from Sydney and Peter Addicoat from Hobart. Added to this were a number of representatives from both communities (Companions, friends and parishioners). Notable was the great effort Dennis Cougle made to be present, with Mary and their son Stephen. Denis is obstructed by the candle in the photograph below on the far left. Local Companions and parishioners Karen and Mark Rolf gave a moving eulogy at the vigil liturgy and that eulogy is attached with today’s newsletter.

By Thomas O'Loughlin (emeritus of historical theology at Nottingham University (UK).
August 29, 2023
It is proverbial wisdom that 'One picture is worth a thousand words.' That is certainly true of the picture above – it is worth many thousands of words as we approach the synod in October. Dare I say it, it is worth a thousand of the numbered statements in Denzinger!

Please study the picture closely.

It is typical of the signs one sees on the outskirts of villages and towns in Germany. The image of a building in yellow tells the viewer that the only church / chapel in the town is Catholic. The letters and numbers tell the days and times when Catholics there gather to celebrate the Eucharist. 'Sa' is an abbreviation for Saturday, and 'So' for Sunday; the numbers are self-explanatory.

Brian Gleeson CP
We received the sad news this morning that our brother Brian passed away peacefully this morning (September 7th) around 1.00am. He was 87 years old. Brian was professed in 1956 and ordained in 1961. Fr Denis has provide more information which is attached separately. It is not yet confirmed, but it is hoped that Brian’s funeral will be at St Paul Apostle, Endeavour Hills on Friday morning Sept 15th. He will be buried at Rookwood cemetery in Sydney. May he rest in peace.

Sandy Greenberg found himself sharing a room at Columbia University, New York with Art Garfunkel and they became close friends. Sandy came from a poor family and had won a scholarship. While playing in a baseball game 1960, at age 20, Sandy suddenly lost clear vision. He had developed a cataract that damaged his optic nerves and by mid 1961 he was blind. He suffered depression, dropped out of school and returned home.
Art Garfunkel persuaded Greenberg to come back to Columbia, and offered to be his reader. Garfunkel wrote “the darkness will accompany you and I will be your light”. along with his girlfriend Sue (who became his wife) Art Garfunkel started to help him in every way he could. Two other friends Jerry Speyer, and Michael Mukasey also read textbooks to him, taking time out from their own studies, and Sandy scored straight A’s. However, he was still tentative about going out on his own.

The Passionist family in Vietnam is growing rapidly. In Saigon last Saturday, Passionist sisters Xuan, Ngan and Mai made their first vows (for three years) as members of the Congregation of the Cross and Passion. You can see Sr Brigid (alongside Sr Rosie) who like Brigid, is from Ireland) in the front row below, and Sr Carmen Gloria CP from Chile next to Vy. They have guided the young Passionist women in Vietnam in recent years, and for Rosie to manage the totally different climate and culture over that time, is nothing short of heroic.

If you want to get a sense of Pope Francis’ zeal for evangelization, for sharing the Good News that has obviously been the anchor and inspiration of his own life, you should watch him speak at two events (each Sunday at the noontime Angelus address and blessing, and each Wednesday at the 9 am general audience. Merely reading his reflections or catechesis, as good as they may be on paper, does not give the sense of his fervour. Most of the time he strays from the prepared text and speaks passionately from the heart.

The Vatican provides live and easy-to-access online coverage of the Sunday reflection/blessing and Wednesday audience. Many people are not aware of this or how to get access to the pope's speeches and the videos of his events. So here's the "how to":

Brian is currently in Saigon, Vietnam. Yesterday afternoon they had the final profession of Phi, Peter, Vinh and TJ. We wait in anticipation for more news and see their photos. The photo below taken earlier this week, shows Brian, novices and Larry Fin, their Novice Master. At this point Phi was busy organising the profession with his brothers!