Monday, February 2, 2009

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

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

St. Ansgar
Bishop

     The great apostle and evangelizer of the Scandinavian countries - Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland - was a courageous monk from a French abbey named Ansgar.  St. Ansgar (801-865) evangelized with little apparent result.  Yet even though centuries later the Scandinavian countries went over to Lutheranism, a small Catholic community remains even to this day, a living tribute to a great saint.
     Let us always remember that what we do for god is never forgotten by Him.


St. Blase
Bishop and Martyr

     St. Blase, Bishop of Sebaste in Armenia, was beheaded between 320-324.  Among the many miracles attributed to him, one is particularly remembered:  that he saved the life of a boy who was choking to death because of a fishbone which had stuck in his hroat.  For this reason Blase is venerated as the patron saint against diseases of the throat.
     With St. Blase, let us learn to suffer life's trials willingly for love of God.

Forming Men

     First, it is necessary to build a good foundation:  to form men.  If nature is sound, grace perfects it.  The son of man becomes a son of God through Baptism;  but he must be a real man, a man who loves truth and natural virtue, a man upright in his sentiments and in his aspirations.  The observance of the natural law is first and foremost.  "I am looking for a man and I cannot find one!"  And yet there are many on the squares, on the streets, in the houses, in the cities, in the fields... beings composed of body and soul.

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

"Learn from me"

     Jesus showed us the way with his examples in his private, public, sorrowful, glorious and eucharistic life.  "I have given you the example":  the apostolate of good example.
     Jesus Christ was a perfect baby, a perfect young man, was the son of a perfect family;  he was the perfect worker and citizen;  was the perfect religious, priest, master and victim.    
     Human beings are children of God and must imitate their heavenly Father:  Imitate God as well-beloved children.
     But for human beings it was difficult to understand and copy the holiness of God.  God is pure spirit; invisible.  And mankind had fallen in an abyss of vices and disorders.  Then came Jesus Christ, perfect God and perfect man, like us in all things save sin;  in everything he could be imitated.  Learn from me.
     It is our duty to contemplate him and follow his example, thus to become, in our turn, example for others.

What Strikes Me Most Today

What strikes me most today is that "St. Ansgar evangelized with little apparent result."  I have to admit I had never heard of St. Ansgar, but without him, Catholicism may be completely gone from Scandinavia.  It makes me think of all the people who touch the lives of others, and may never know the positive effect their example has on others.  St. Ansgar is a reminder to me to not be shy about thanking others for the positive influence they have on my life and the lives of others. 

What strikes you most today?  Click on "COMMENTS" below to share 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!