Friday, January 16, 2009

Saturday, January 17, 2009

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

St. Anthony
Abbot

     At the age of eighteen Anthony left his possessions and property behind and went into the desert of Egypt to find God.  His holiness attracted many others who wanted to become perfect.  St. Anthony instituted monastic life in common.  He aided the Christians against the Arians and defended the dogma of the divinity of Christ.  He lived for over a century and died in 356 A.D.
     Let us try to live a more perfect life and win souls for Christ.

Prudence

     Prudence will guide a person in being silent and in speaking:  one should neither be too silent nor too talkative.  The prudent and wise person willingly listens to others' ideas, easily asks for counsel and learns from those who do well.  It is always necessary to keep the secrets of one's own office and the confidences which one receives.  Never reveal, nor even speak of, others' defects or mistakes.  Scripture insists:  "Think before you speak."  Avoid annoying others and causing them to waste time.  One's manner, behavior and conversation must always be moderate.  One should know how to spend his time well and control himself during conversation.

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

Jesus, the apostle of the Father

     Jesus is the wisdom of the Father, the author of creation and of every knowledge, the giver of our intelligence, the apostle of the Father.  The Divine Master has taught us what we have in the catechism, in our theological books, and what the Church teaches. 
     It is all a stream of divine truths starting from the first chapter of the Bible till the incarnation erupts on humanity; then it gets enlarged and deepens in Jesus Christ;  "In the past, God spoke to our ancestors many times and in many ways through the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us through his Son" (Heb 1:1-2).
     Therefore through the Church which is the custodian, interpreter and teacher, the truths taught by Jesus Christ are proposed to be believed.

What Strikes Me Most Today

What strikes me most today is thinking about the contemplative life.  As I learn more about the Pauline family, today's writings from Blessed James Alberione remind me of Servant of God, Mother Mary Scholastica Rivata (who just died in 1987), the first Pious Disciple of the Divine Master.  This order aims "to imitate, re-present and live today in the Church the examples of the Divine Master, especially His contemplative mystery, his prayer and praise to the Father in the name of humanity... in particular by an intensely lived-out EUCHARISTIC life, and... apostolic services."  To learn more about this branch of the Pauline family, I set up a link you can reach by clicking on the picture of Servant of God Mother Mary Scholastica Rivata on the right. 

What strikes you most today?  
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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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New faith and family friendly video sharing

New faith and family friendly video sharing
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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!