Sunday, January 11, 2009

Sunday, January 11, 2009















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

The Baptism of Jesus

     John the Baptist was asked why he was baptizing if he was neither the Messiah nor Elijah nor one of the prophets.  He replied, "I baptize you with water to show that you have repented, but the one who will come after me will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire" (Mt 3:11).  That is a baptism which bestows grace, it is a sacrament, and it imprints the character of a Christian, making one a child of God.
     Jesus presented himself before John requesting to be baptized.  He stood in the queue along with sinners who came to receive this sign of repentance, a sign signifying that they were sincerely sorry and wanted to receive the Messiah in a worthy manner.
     When John saw Jesus, he recognized him as the Son of God, the Messiah.  So he said to Jesus, "I ought to be baptized by you, and yet you have come to me!" (Mt 3:14).  But Jesus answered him, "Let it be so for now.  For in this way we shall do all that God requires" (Mt 3:15).
     Jesus was most holy and so had no sin to be repented of.  His baptism was a sign that he was humbling himself and was expiating for the sins of others.  He came precisely for this: to atone.  He began his public ministry with a profound act of humiliation.

From Saint and Thought For Every Day, 
by Blessed James Alberione
     
Baptism of the Lord

     The liturgy recalls to us the baptism of Jesus, and this should remind us of our own baptism.  When St. John baptized, he said, "I baptize you with water, but he who is coming... will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire."  The baptism of John was only a penitential rite; at our baptism the Holy Spirit came into us and endowed us with supernatural life.  remember what happened to us when as infants we were brought to the Church through the grace of God.  We did not then understand what was happening, but the grace of God preceded us.  We were not capable of asking this  new birth in the Holy Spirit, but the Lord was merciful to us and gave us the seed of the fruits of the redemption, which is the beginning of spiritual and supernatural life in us.

What Strikes Me Most

     What strikes me most today is the image of Jesus as he "stood in the queue along with sinners" waiting his turn to be baptized.  What an example of humility for us; the son of God who is without sin waiting in like behind sinners like me.

What Strikes You Most Today?  
Please 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!