Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Thursday, January 22, 2009

From Saint and Thought For Every Day, by Blessed James Alberione

St. Vincent
Deacon and Martyr

The deacon, Vincent, was martyred during the bloody persecution of the Roman Emperor, Diocletian (300-305). Deacon Vincent was martyred with his bishop, Valerio, in Saragossa, Spain.
Let us ponder the courage of the Church's countless martyrs and ask ourselves: have I even a "bit" of that courage of which martyrs are made?

Being childlike

There are people whom one hardly sees or hears, whose presence is scarcely noticeable, but the lord looks on them with complacency. They are heard by God and God does great things for them. They are the little ones who follow the little way. The reality will be seen later at the judgment of God. The little ones are great in the kingdom of God, but even here on earth He has for them those divine pleasures and that tenderness which Jesus had for the children.

From A Year With Blessed James Alberione, Compiled by J. Maurus

Jesus Christ, the Lord of history

The history of nations is at the service of the greatest event in history: the incarnation by means of which God came to take to himself all creation, make himself their Leader and to introduce "on the great day" to his kingdom an immense crowd of the faithful singing hosanna to the Divine King.
Youngster, in the general synthesis of history and by the light of the Gospel, and the study of philosophy, lift up your head: in the course of thousands of years, the fullness of time has been prepared. Jesus Christ is the greatest man in the history of mankind, rather he is the God of history. He now completes what he began in the Holy Spirit. History, like our life, leads to eternity.
Eastern and Greek history, Roman history, medieval and modern history, general and universal history are all an immense work of the Father who created and governs, of the Son who enlightens and saves, of the Holy Spirit who vivifies and sanctifies.
May Jesus Master be always your light in your study of the world and its peoples. To study history is to confess: "To the immortal and invisible King of the universe be honour and glory."

What Strikes Me Most Today

What strikes me most today is Blessed James Alberione's question whether we have even a bit of that courage the martyrs demonstrated. I would like to think I would defend my faith to the death. However, I've never been in that situation. The worst I can experience is someone disagreeing or not liking what I say, but I certainly don't feel a real threat of death. In many countries today, missionaries do risk their lives every day to proclaim the Gospel. God bless them and God give me that type of courage to NEVER turn away from Christ!

What strikes you most today? Please click on "COMMENTS" below to leave your thoughts.
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"I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." John 14:6

Pauline Prayer Book for our Haitian Brothers and Sisters

Be Not Afraid

Be Not Afraid
"Fear not, I am with you. From here I want to enlighten. Atone for sin."

Daughters of St. Paul

Daughters of St. Paul
Evangelizing the World!

New faith and family friendly video sharing

New faith and family friendly video sharing
Great Pauline Video Sharing Site

Why?

Why a blog? Why St. Paul? Why do I think I have any business doing this?
We are all on a spiritual journey. We all want that journey to lead us to heaven, to eternity with God. For this journey, we need one another.
The journey so far has led me to read and learn about so many forms of authentic Catholic spirituality - Ignatian, Benedictine, Carmelite, Dominican, Franciscan, etc. My biggest problem was that I came to love each one tremendously. I began reading more and more, spending more and more time at the Daughters of St. Paul bookstore on Watson Road here in St. Louis. Who would have thought my greatest conversion story would take place in a bookstore? Mine was not quite as sudden or dramatic as St. Paul on the road to Damascus, but getting to know the Daughters of St. Paul affected me no less significantly.
The sisters are Eucharistic by nature. The first time I entered the chapel in their bookstore, the Blessed Sacrament was exposed and one of the sisters was on her knees, gazing at Christ, with an indescribably beautiful smile on her face. I had a glimpse of heaven. I knelt at one of the other kneelers and noticed on the wall behind the monstrance the words: "Fear not, I am with you. From here I want to enlighten. Atone for sin." I had that brief moment of absolute certainty that I was on the right path.
Over the last several years I have worked my way through as many books, CD's, DVD's and conversations with the Daughters of St. Paul that time has allowed. Time is at such a premium for all of us. Years ago we were told that with advances in technology we would have much more free time on our hands. We all know this has not been the case. Our lives are busier and more hectic than ever. Even if we are unable to find time to read good books, see enlightening movies or attend lectures and discussions, maybe we could all spend a little time on the internet supporting one another on our faith journeys. Many of you know more about many aspects of Catholic spirituality than I do.
Pope John Paul the Great called us all to a New Evangelization, to share the Gospel with the world. I am hoping we can all be St. Paul in this blog space by sharing Christ with one another and with others. St. Paul travelled to many foreign and often hostile regions to evangelize the world; we are fortunate to be able to use the internet to reach even farther and more quickly.
The idea of using today's means of social communication to spread the Gospel was given to Blessed James Alberione on the night between the centuries (December 31, 1900 - January 1, 1901). He was a 16 year-old seminary student adoring Christ in the Blessed Sacrament when a special light came to him from the Host. Following this, Blessed James Alberione became the founder of the Society of St. Paul priests, the Daughters of St. Paul, the Pious Disciples of the Divine Master, Sisters of Jesus the Good Shepherd, Sisters of the Queen of Apostles, and numerous institutes that are also part of the Pauline family.
So what is Pauline spirituality? In my experience, Pauline spirituality encompasses all the teachings of Sacred Scripture, Sacred Tradition, and love of all the other spiritualities and Saints of the Church. It is the members of the Pauline family who are the happiest people I know! It is loving God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit with all our hearts and souls, through the intercession of Mary, Queen of the Apostles, and St. Paul.
So why St. Paul? I can relate to St. Paul. We first meet him in the New Testament as a sinner. He has a thorn in his side that God decides is best not to take away. I sometimes wish I knew what that thorn was, but it's probably better I don't know. I like to pretend it is one of my many weaknesses or faults. If St. Paul could go from persecuting Christ and His Church to becoming the person responsible for spreading the Gospel and establishing the Church in foreign lands, the least I can do is start a blog. I have been especially inspired by my two favorite bloggers, Sr. Margaret Charles Kerry, fsp, and a Pauline Cooperator named Rae Stabosz. I believe Sr. Margaret and Rae are doing just what St. Paul and Blessed James Alberione would be doing with the internet.
In future blogs (which will be shorter than this first post!), I would like to share writings of St. Paul, Blessed James Alberione, and many others. I look forward to others sharing writings from other Catholic spiritualities and writers. An especially Pauline way of sharing is to point out to one another what aspects particularly speak to each of us.
Another Pauline trait is to pray for one another. My prayer is that we support one another on our path to holiness. Our goal is to glorify God in all that we do - so let's do it!