The Spirituality of the Cross imitates Christ, teaches us how to live!
All the spiritualities are a way of living the Christian life and are distinguished from each other in the aspect of the mystery of the Lord that each one emphasizes in his following. It arises as a loving initiative of God in order to continue his project of salvation in face of the historic necessities of man.
The Spirituality of the Cross contemplates, lives and transmits Christ in His aspect of Priest and Victim and is expressed in the following formula:
By divine will we have been called to participate through Baptism in the common priesthood of the faithful, following Christ, Priest and Victim, in His sacrifice for love, emphasizing His fidelity to the Father and His salvific solidarity with his brothers and sisters. With Mary we offer Him and we offer ourselves with Him to the Father, above all in the Eucharist, to extend the Reign of the Holy Spirit in the salvation of mankind, the sanctification of the Church, especially of priests. In this way, the Heart of Christ may receive consolation for the glory of God the Father.
In the process of identification with Christ, the supreme objective of the Spirituality of the Cross lies in the complete transformation in Christ Savior to continue his work for the salvation of mankind.
Within this Priestly Spirituality, moved by the Holy Spirit, as members of the Apostleship of the Cross, we contemplate Jesus crucified. We understand the mystery of the Cross and the call to take on the cross in order to follow Him (Lk 9,23). We accept and we offer for love, the suffering because we understand its salvific value if it is lived according to Christ; and we give testimony of this truth with our surrender to the Father and all men.
That is why, the Offering of the Incarnate Word is essential to those who live the Spirituality of the Cross.
Like any other spiritualities, the Spirituality of the Cross has its motto, its plead of salvation, that encourages its members to follow Jesus, be faithful to his/her mission until the transformation into Jesus.
This expression of the Blessed Concepción Cabrera, who inspired in the Church the Works of the Cross, has its origin on January 14, 1894.
Conchita, as she is affectionately known, writes in her diary this historic moment: "...I felt a supernatural force which threw me, face down, on the floor, my eyes filled with tears and a burning flame within my heart. Vehemently and zealously I then asked the Lord for the salvation of souls: Jesus, savior of all people, save them, save them!
"I remember nothing more: souls, souls for Jesus! That was all I desired... The ardor of my soul far surpassed the burning sensation of my body and I experienced an ineffable joy on feeling I belonged wholly to Jesus, just as a branded animal to its owner. Yes indeed. I belonged wholly to Jesus; to my Jesus who will save so many poor souls called to bring Him glory. Enraptured, I spent the rest of the day with an ardent desire of solitude and prayer..." (Aut. 205-206).
Christ continues His priestly action through the Church. Only by uniting ourselves to her, can we grow in union with Him, and fruitfully exercise and promote the common priesthood. This commits us to love the Church and be an active part of the Church, taking particular interest in its priests, instruments of Christ’s priestly mediation and servants of the Christian community. Consequently, "nothing that refers to the priesthood must be indifferent to us" (Venerable Félix de Jesús Rougier, M.Sp.S., founder of the missionaries of the Holy Spirit), and the Daughters of the Holy Spirit (1924), the Guadalupan missionaries of the Holy Spirit (1930) and the Oblates of Jesus the Priest (1937). Fr. Felix was declared Venerable on July 1, 2000 by John Paul II).
The Cross of the Apostolate, emblem of the Work of the Cross, symbolizes in its diverse elements the spirituality that gives it life.
Blessed Concepción Cabrera de Armida (1862-1937), lay woman, married and mother of nine children was chosen by the Lord as an instrument to communicate the Spirituality of the Cross and to establish the Work of the Cross. She gave a most decisive impulse to each one of the branches of the Work with her life and her writings.
The Work of the Cross was brought to life in the Church to promote the sanctity of the people of God in the following of Christ, Priest and Victim.
The first branch of the tree is the Apostleship of the Cross. It was founded on May 3, 1895, in Mexico by the Venerable Ramón Ibarra González, then Bishop of Chilapa, Guerrero.
It is noted for being open to all faithful Christians who are part of God’s people: laity, religious and priests, who seek to live their baptismal consecration according to the Spirituality of the Cross, praying and offering their daily works and trials, especially for priests and thus respond to the universal vocation to sanctity.
This is the branch of the tree of the Cross that most clearly goes to the heights, because its character is contemplative prayer. It is a religious congregation of the contemplative life. They were founded on May 3, 1897, in Mexico City.
The Sisters of the Cross of the Sacred Heart of Jesus dedicate their lives to perpetual adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and voluntarily offer themselves in favor of the sanctification of priests.
3. Covenant of Love with the Sacred Heart of Jesus
The third branch of the Works of the Cross, Covenant of Love, specifically for laity, was founded on November 8, 1909, in Mexico. The members of Covenant of Love are called to consecrate themselves to the Father in union with Christ, Priest and Victim, through the constant offering of their daily lives.
Its members also strive to console the Heart of Christ through a life of intimacy with Him that will allow them to know and share his most intimate feelings.
The Fraternity of Christ the Priest, for bishops, priests and deacons, was founded on January 19, 1912.
The Fraternity of Christ the Priest brings them together so that under the motion of the Holy Spirit they live their faith experience in ecclesial communion with the Spirit of Christ, Priest and Victim, for their own sanctification and the sanctification of the priestly people.
5. Missionaries of the Holy Spirit
The Missionaries of the Holy Spirit were founded by Fr. Félix de Jesús Rougier, M.Sp.S. on December 25, 1914, in Mexico City. They are at the same time the last branch of the tree and the axis which enlivens all the Works of the Cross.
The missionaries of the Holy Spirit, priests, permanent deacons and brothers, live and share in community the Spirituality of the Cross by their total consecration through the religious vows and their apostolic work.
They live their priestly spirituality offering to the Father his Son, Priest and Victim and offering themselves with Him as a host pleasing to God.
They make their own the mission of Jesus who was sent to save us and to sanctify us through the gift of His Spirit.
As apostles of that same Spirit, they are sent to promote holiness among the people of God, according to the Spirituality of the Cross. Priests take precedence in the apostolic action of the missionaries of the Holy Spirit.
There are also other institutions that live and promote the Spirit of Christ, Priest and Victim and they all form the "Family of the Cross". Their core is the Works of the Cross and "although they are five, in authenticity they are one, one Work of sacrifice and love".
The Family of the Cross came into existence through the missionaries of the Holy Spirit who were inspired by the charisma, mission and spiritual inheritance of Fr. Félix de Jesús Rougier and Conchita.
These religious orders and various institutions, which inherited the apostolic zeal of our founding fathers and are animated by the Spirituality of the Cross, form the Family of the Cross. They carry out various missions within their own charisma.
The members of the Family of the Cross live and grow by the impulse of the Holy Spirit to continue, through the time and space, the intercession plead which was its origin: Jesus, Savior of all people, Save them!
Religious orders:
Daughters of the Holy Spirit
Oblates of Jesus the Priest
Guadalupan missionaries of the Holy Spirit
Missionaries of Charity of Mary Immaculate
Eucharistic missionaries of the Holy Trinity
missionaries of Jesus Priest
Misioneras de la Veracruz, Hijas de la Iglesia
Oblates of St. Martha
Eucharistic Oblates of the Solitude of Mary
Misioneras de la Acción Católica de la Inmaculada Concepción
Missionaries of Jesus Host
Brothers of the Cross "Hermanos de la Cruz"
CEC - Circle of the Cross and the Holy Spirit "Círculo del Espíritu Santo y de la Cruz" (Young Catholic students)
Español: Espiritualidad de la Cruz