Would you like to learn how to take up your daily cross with love, serenity and strength, and drink the cup of the Lord?
The Apostleship of the Cross is the answer.
Transformation into Christ is not exclusively part of ministerial priesthood but belongs to the universal priesthood of the baptized.
"An encounter with the Lord brings about a profound transformation in all who do not close themselves off from him. The first impulse coming from this transformation is to communicate to others the richness discovered in the experience of the encounter. This does not mean simply teaching what we have come to know but also, like the Samaritan woman, enabling others to encounter Jesus personally: "mission" (Jn 4:29).
"They came and saw where he was staying; and they stayed that day with him" (Jn 1:38-39). This "staying" is not limited to the day of one's call, but rather extends to the whole of life". (Post-synodal Apostolic Exhortation Ecclesia in America, 68).
To follow is to respond to the invitation of Jesus: "If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me". This leads us to follow Christ in the mystery of His Victim Priesthood, for which He offers Himself to the Father for the salvation of men. It implies living with and like Jesus, adopting His ideals, taking on His mission and His destiny, even being transformed in Him.
1. The Apostleship of the Cross is an association of Christians in the Church who, moved by the Holy Spirit, follow Jesus Christ priest and victim, contemplative and solidary, and who, in communion with Jesus, collaborate with His salvific mission.
2. The Apostleship of the Cross is open to all People of God: lay persons, religious, and ordained ministers.
3. Concepción Cabrera was inspired by God to begin the Apostleship of the Cross. It was founded on May 3, 1895 by Archbishop Ramón Ibarra y González. Pope Leo XIII approved the Apostleship of the Cross on May 25, 1898, and on July 9, 1926, Pope Pius XI entrusted the care and direction of the Apostleship of the Cross to the Missionaries of the Holy Spirit.
4. The Apostleship of the Cross is the first of the five Works of the Cross. The others are the Sisters of the Cross of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the Covenant of Love with the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the Fraternity of Christ the Priest, and the Missionaries of the Holy Spirit.
5. The Apostleship of the Cross and the Missionaries of the Holy Spirit are two distinct works united by a common spirituality, mission, and history. Both works are entrusted with the responsible governance and guidance of the Apostleship of the Cross.
6. Our symbol is the Cross of the Apostolate, and the intercessory cry of Conchita, «Jesus, Savior of all people, save them!» embodies our life long mission.
We respond to Jesus’ invitation: «If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me» (Lk 9:23). This requires that we live with Jesus, imitate Him, adopt His ideals, and assume His mission, so we are transformed into Him.
The Apostles of the Cross, moved by the Holy Spirit, follow Jesus Christ Priest and Victim, Contemplative and Compassionate, and in communion with Jesus collaborate with His salvific mission to:
And thus, give glory to the Heavenly Father, console the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and extend the Kingdom of the Holy Spirit.
They offer themselves with Jesus, Priest and Victim in their daily cross, that is, in their work and rest, in their sorrows and joys. United with Jesus, and through the hands of Mary, they make of their lives a priestly offering, so the Holy Spirit reigns for the glory of the Father. Imploring graces for the world, the Church and especially for priests.
The Chain of Love is the characteristic way of living the baptismal priesthood for those who live the Spirituality of the Cross.