One of my favorite prayers by Blessed James Alberione

To St. Paul the Apostle, by Blessed James Alberione

O holy Apostle who, with your doctrine and with your charity, has taught the entire world, look kindly upon us your children and disciples.
We expect everything from your prayers to the Divine Master and to Mary, Queen of the Apostles.
Grant, O Doctor of the Gentiles, that we live in faith, that we save ourselves through hope, and that charity alone reign in us. Obtain for us, O Vessel of election, docile correspondence to divine grace, so that it may not remain unfruitful in us. Grant that we may better know you, love you, and imitate you, that we may be living members of the Church, the mystical body of Jesus Christ.
Raise up many and holy apostles. Breathe over the world the warm breath of true charity. Grant that all men may know and glorify God and the Divine Master, the Way, Truth, and Life.
And You, Lord Jesus, know that we do not have any faith in our own strength; in Your mercy, then, grant that we may be defended against all adversity through the powerful intercession of St. Paul, our teacher and father.
Amen

Alberione Trivial Pusuit #3 (Click on Link for Answer and Story)

Blessed James Alberione and his mother, Teresa, venerated which Marian Shrine frequently?

A. Shrine of the Madonna of the Flowers (Santuario della Madonna dei Fiori)

B. Shrine of Our Lady of Mt. Berico (Santuario della Madonna di Monte Berico)


C. Sanctuary of Caravaggio (Santuario di Caravaggio)


D. Shrine of The Madonna of the White Stone (Santuario di Madonna Pietralba) 


E. Shrine of Our Lady of Oropa-The Black Madonna (Santuario di Oropa)


F. Shrine of the Madonna of Consolation (Santuario Basilica la Consolata) 


G. Our Lady of Montallegro (Santuario di Nostra Signora di Montallegro)


From James Alberione: Apostle For Our Times, by Luigi Rolfo, SSP

"From her childhood, she (Teresa) had venerated the Shrine of the Madonna of the Flowers at Bra. How often has she longed to take James there and thus more efficaciously put him into the hands of the Mother of Mercy, but it had always been too far away.

When the family moved to the area of Cherasco, she was able to take him to the shrine and often did. At least on feast days, she could go to the venerated shrine and still get home in time to care for her household chores. There at Bra, James spoke his first words and had fixed in his memory his very first impression of the world and of the persons who surrounded him.

Taking him inside the church, she showed him the tabernacle and told him of Jesus ever present there. She taught him not to talk or move about too much in church out of respect for His presence. She most certainly taught him how to invoke the Blessed Mother with complete confidence in all his difficulties. She told him in detail the story of the wild prunes which blossom every year at the shrine on December 29 under the snow as a perennial reminder of the extraordinary protection which the Madonna of the Flowers, during a winter in the distant past, extended to a village girl pursued by two French soldiers intent upon doing her harm.

In time young James would often go unescorted to the shrine where he spent more hours before the tabernacle than all the members of his family put together."

Answer: A. Shrine of the Madonna of the Flowers (Santuario della Madonna dei Fiori)

Alberione Trivial Pursuit #2

Where was Blessed James Alberione born?

A. Alba

B. Bra

C. Cherasco

D. Rome

E. San Lorenzo di Fossano

From James Alberione: Apostle For Our Times, by Luigi Rolfo, SSP

"Michael Alberione worked on (but did not own) a plot of land in an area known as San Lorenzo di Fossano. The family had arrived there a few years earlier and were already thinking of leaving the place, a sign that it had offered them little or not satisfaction. Michael wanted to round out his income from the produce of the land by building up a modest cattle trade. He never had enough to get started and as a result his dream of working and owning a smaller piece of land all his own was never realized.

Their moving to Cherasco would take them closer to their immediate families and most of their distant relatives. Not only had Michael and Teresa both been born in Bra, very near Cherasco, but above all, Bra was the land of all of Michael's ancestors, the original family name being Albrione."

Answer: E. San Lorenzo di Fossano

Alberione Trivial Pursuit #1

What were Blessed James Alberione's parents' names?

A. Stephen and Gloria

B. Lawrence and Sophia

C. Michael and Teresa

D. Joseph and Anna

E. Paul and Rosa

Answer (From James Alberione: Apostle For Our Times, by Luigi Rolfo, SSP)

"James Alberione was born at 10 a.m., April 4, 1884. He was the fifth son of Michael and Teresa. Michael and Teresa conformed with the best traditions of their environment. The first-born (surviving) son was named Juvenal, after his paternal grandfather. The name was very common in the family, so much so that all the first-born male cousins were known in the area as "the juveniles." The second-born son was named John Ludovico after his mother's father. The others that followed took the name of the godfather or godmother. When Father Alberione was born, the parents decided to name him James after Michael's brother whom they had asked to be his godfather.

The new-born James was not only small, but also very thin - so much so that his parents feared for his life. Michael, having often heard the pastor reminding parents of the grave responsibility they had to baptize their children as soon as possible (because some babies died without the sacrament through the negligence of the parents), decided to have little James baptized immediately."

The answer is C. Michael and Teresa