 Passio Domini
(The Passion of the Lord)
On the first Holy Thursday, Our Lord went into the garden to pray, signaling the beginning of His Divine Passion. He said, "Father, if it be Thy will, take this cup from Me: nevertheless, not My will, but Thine be done," Then an angel appeared to Him coming down from heaven to give Him strength. As the angel from heaven strengthened and nourished Our Lord, The Eternal High Priest, we gather in the presence of the Holy Eucharist to strengthen and spiritually nourish our priests, through the intercession of the Holy Angels. Jesus intended that through the priests, this all important duty of the priestly office should live on in the Church in a visible way. For that reason, the care for the sacramental priesthood of the Church is an essential characteristic of the Work of the Holy Angels. The "Paschal Mystery" of Jesus Christ lies at the center of our Christian faith. The Passover of Jesus accomplished through His suffering, death and resurrection also lies at the center of the spirituality of the Work of the Holy Angels. Members of the OA are encouraged to observe a weekly memorial of our Lord’s Passion in union with the holy angels of God. Beginning each Thursday evening and continuing until Friday afternoon members are asked to maintain a certain degree of recollection and reflection on the Lord’s Passio. They should spend an hour on Thursday evenings and another hour on Friday afternoon (according to the possibilities of one’s state in life) dedicating themselves to prayer and adoration in union with Jesus Christ as He passed through the Agony in the Garden on the first Holy Thursday, and died on the Cross on the first Good Friday.
 Just as the angel came to strengthen Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane, so also we invoke the holy angels to strengthen us in the carrying of our own crosses. Nevertheless, the observance of the Passio Domini is first and foremost a prayer of intercession for others. During the time that we accompany Christ in His Passion, we offer the drops of Jesus’s Precious Blood which He shed for love of us and for the salvation of the world. We offer His blood in particular for priests and religious, that they be faithful in the fulfillment of their vocations. We also intercede for those priests who have abandoned their vocation that they be reconciled to Christ and His Church.
We listen for Our Lord to speak to our hearts; and we implore the Heavenly Father, allow one drop of the Precious Blood of Jesus, shed in the Garden of Gethsemani, to fall on those for whom we pray. In Our Lord's deepest despair, He found the Apostles asleep and asked them, "Could you have not stayed awake but for one hour?" Come, then, we invite you to gather with us and the Holy Angels in the blessed work they do in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Anyone following the call of the Lord, who lets himself be led by his angel, learns first and foremost the virtue of silence; silence means more than 'Not talking." It is the silence of the lips and of the heart, the love of quiet and recollection; this silence bears reverence as its first fruit. It also elevates man into the world of hidden truths, into the world of the truths of Faith. It is the road to purgation, uprightness and integrity, a weapon against every dissipation, distraction and superficiality. One who in the quiet of silence has become awake and ready, one who has learned to listen for the Word and the call and command of the Lord, will also hear them, and execute them, in prompt obedience, with asking why, being subject then only to his discernment. There are three stages in the ascetical life we regard as the Law of the Holy Angels; SILENCE - LISTENING - OBEDIENCE. All three practices should, in time, bear fruits and become, as it were, the characteristic attributes of one who is led by the Holy Angels. Their external manifestation results in the four principal bearings to the Work: ADORATION - CONTEMPLATION - EXPIATION - MISSION. It is in these that one's life with the angel finds its expression. These four bearings are not new in the Church. The many and various monasteries as well as religious congregations bear witness to that. But here, it is the manner in which they are realized that is new; also the objective is new, particularly that of atonement for priests. (we listen for Our Lord to speak to our hearts; and we implore the Heavenly Father, allow one drop of the Precious Blood of Jesus, shed in the Garden of Gethsemani, to fall on those for whom we pray. In Our Lord's deepest despair, He found the Apostles asleep and asked them, "Could you have not stayed awake but for one hour?" We pray to spend these three hours with Our Savior so that this time, He will not suffer alone. As the hour of midnight grew near, Our Lord turned to the sound of approaching voices, and among them was one of His own. Come, then, we invite you to gather with us and the Holy Angels in the blessed work they do in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen. 
Work of the Holy Angels® Missions Office OA 13800 Gratiot Ave Detroit MI 48205 USA Tel. (313) 527-1739; Fax. (313) 527-1729 e-mail address: mofficeoa@aol.com |
