Tuesday, January 20, 2009
St. Fabian and St. Sebastian
From Saint and Thought For Every Day, by Blessed James Alberione
St. Fabian
Pope and Martyr
Pope St. Fabian was Vicar of Christ during the reign of Decian. He was martyred in the year 250.
St. Sebastian was an officer in the army of Emperor Diocletian. When the emperor learned that Sebastian was a Christian, he condemned him to death. Sebastian was pierced with arrows, but he survived to reproach the emperor for his evil ways. Sebastian was then flogged to death.
Let us ask these two saints to obtain for us the virtue of fortitude.
We Need Patience
Moved by zeal, Saul, a convert of three days, wanted to begin preaching. But he was a failure! Saul made the same mistake that many young people make whan they still lack sufficient preparation and experience. Enlightened and full of fervor, young people think that in order to be praised by all... and followed by the whole world, it is sufficient to open their mouths, to disapprove all those who have preceded them and to introduce a novelty. They trust in their own way of thinking, in their beautiful projects, in the approval of some.
Rather, it is necessary to pray, to seek advice, to wait for the moment of God, to work in obedience. God has to plow the field first; then the seed will be sown and will grow. Only thus, and only in the place where God calls us, shall we reap merits for ourselves, perhaps even a hundredfold. Saul understood the lesson; he withdrew and went into Arabia , where he stayed a few years in order to transform himself completely and become that true Christian on whom God was to build the priesthood and the most wonderful apostolate.
From A Year With Blessed James Alberione, Compiled by J. Maurus
May the Lord reign over all our being
Shall we make Jesus the Master of our total being? But:
Where pride reigns, there is no place for the humility of Jesus;
Where greed and attachments to worldly things reign, there is no place for the poverty of Jesus;
Where envy reigns, there is no place for the charity of Jesus;
Where anger reigns, there is no place for the meekness of Jesus;
Where lust reigns, there is no place for the virginity of Jesus;
Where gluttony reigns, there is no place for the mortification of Jesus;
Where laziness reigns, there is no place for Jesus' fervent love for the Father and for others.
What Strikes Me Most Today
What strikes me most today is the line "But he was a failure!" St. Paul? I think of him as a tough persecutor of Christians or an outstanding apostle and evangelist, but never as a failure. Maybe that's why I like him so much. He's human. He failed. I'm just happy he didn't give up when he failed at his first attempt at evangelization - imagine where the Church would be without him! St. Paul --> Pray for us, especially in the times we fail!
What strikes you most today? Please click on "COMMENTS" below and leave your thoughts.
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!
You are right...he was human and he did have failures just as we all do. And as you said, thankfully he continued despite the failures. I often think how disappointed God would be in me if I quit trying when I failed to be as good as He wants me to be, and I fail often. I really believe God forgives these failures when He knows that, down deep, I am trying the best I can. Even when we do our best and give it our all, we still will fail sometimes, but that's OK.
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