Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

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

The Master is the 
Way to Perfection



Mary Magdalene at the Feet of Jesus, Lebanese Watercolor


     The great need of a person is to make a gift of one's total self to the Lord.  Without realizing, we keep too many things for ourselves.
     We make loud declarations of love.  But when self-love rears its head, one realizes clearly that God is not yet the absolute Master of our hearts.
     Even on a good day we do many things for ourselves rather than for Jesus Christ.
     The fact that the actions we perform are good may give us the illusion; but there is a big gap between performing good deeds and performing meritorious acts; often self-will, some secret ambitions, our selfish motives, etc., poison the holy things we do.
     Only that which is done for the Lord will be rewarded by the Lord.

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

Confidence in God

     Have confidence in God.  God is with us to show us His ways, to communicate His graces to us, to assure us of the divine reward.  Difficulties and trials are wisely and lovingly permitted by God so that we might become holier.  Onward!  Let us make a little progress every day.  During life some are overcome, but there are also the fervent, those who hope in God, the victors.  And may God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit make us such.

What Strikes Me Most Today

What strikes me most today is the line, "Onward!  Let us make a little progress every day."  There are times when I realize how far I am from where God would like me to be.  It can be overwhelming to see how far I have to go, even finding myself at times tempted to give up because I have so far to go.  On the other hand, I can focus on not going backwards in my spiritual life (minimize my backsliding) and not just standing still;  I'll try to make a little progress every day.

What Strikes You Most Today?  
Please click on "Comments" below to share your thoughts.

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5 comments:

  1. MForemanJanuary 14, 2009 at 9:11 AM

    Don't you think that backsliding on the process is a big part of the process? I believe it takes a full life of taking steps forward and backward to really appreciate what we are doing. As long as we accept backsliding as part of the journey through our entire lives, I feel we can stop beating ourselves up when it happens but learn from it and make stronger steps forward.

    ReplyDelete
  2. jeffmathewsJanuary 14, 2009 at 12:33 PM

    I absolutely love your comment! I couldn't agree more that backsliding is part of the journey (in fact, it's the part I have the most experience with!) And you're exactly right that we should not beat ourselves up over it - if we recognize it as a big part of the process, it absolutely will help us make stronger steps forward. I feel exactly the same way - you just stated it much better than I could! Thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousJanuary 14, 2009 at 4:58 PM

    I've read both of your comments and it has made me feel so much better about myself. I'm always doing things that I probably shouldn't in God's view. Some times it's just very hard not to resist temptation. Then I go through periods of guilt and feeling like I've damned myself to hell. You both have made me see these things as normal and as long as I keep finding my way back onto the path to God, those side steps (and fall downs) don't matter so much in the big picture.

    ReplyDelete
  4. jeffmathewsJanuary 14, 2009 at 10:34 PM

    I really like your comment "as long as I keep finding my way back onto the path to God." I think that is the key. We all experience temptation, sin, and feel guilt, sometimes enough that we get down on ourselves, sometimes enough that we feel unworthy to continue onto the path to God. But we know that those thoughts would never come from the Holy Spirit. God wants to draw us closer to Him - if He didn't, He wouldn't have sent us Jesus. That's where faith comes in; we have to ignore any thoughts or feelings that would let us abandon the path to God. We can encourage one another to not give up on that path to God!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Mary OlsonJanuary 16, 2009 at 1:04 AM

    I love your comment about backsliding. I will often get lazy
    spiritually or just plain fall down
    too many times in sin and feel to
    ashamed to move forward. I then will realize that, that is exactly what satan wants, he wants me to backoff spiritually...so then I run
    not walk to adoration and confession and I always find mercy and graces at both. Thanks, Mary

    ReplyDelete

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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

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Be Not Afraid

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

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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!