Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Thursday, January 15, 2009

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

Jesus the Redeemer

     Jesus Christ with his redeeming work reopened for us heaven, meriting for us eternal life.
     The redemption, besides meriting us grace lost by Adam, has renewed us, bringing us benefits that transcend the gifts God had given to Adam.
     The whole work of redemption through the doctrine of Jesus and the gift of faith saved humanity from innumerable errors which after the Fall kept on multiplying.
     Jesus redeemed us from sin, calling us with his example, with his teaching on holiness; saved us from many superstitions and sacrilegious forms of worship, substituting them with the means of grace and with supernatural life which in a particular way are the Mass and the Sacraments.

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

Uprightness

     The upright person respects everybody:  superiors, equals, inferiors.  To each one he gives what is due:  esteem, respect and mutual help.  He is able to live in society and behaves with dignity when he is alone.  He loves order in his work, in his timetable, in his relations with others, in objects, books, furniture, etc.  He knows himself:  his intelligence, his health, his physical strength, his social condition; he is neither proud nor depressed.  He does not deceive himself with false optimism, nor with false pessimism; he is balanced; he avoids danger.  Nor is he the type of person who always hesitates in making decisions.  Wisdom advises:  the best friends, the best books and audiovisuals, the best teachers, the best places according to the possibilities.

What Strikes Me Most Today

What strikes me most today is the fact that our redemption through Christ brings us "benefits that transcend the gifts God had given to Adam."  I remember being a child and blaming Adam for original sin.  But I wonder what the world would be like if the Fall had never occurred.  I don't know that I would ever have been born, for one thing.  But I think I'll come back often to meditate on that idea that through Christ's redeeming work we receive gifts far better than what Adam received before the Fall.  Another reason to be thankful to God!

What strikes you most today?  
Please click on "COMMENTS" below to share your thoughts.


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2 comments:

  1. AnonymousJanuary 16, 2009 at 1:15 AM

    I love your comment on backsliding.
    Many times I feel like I backslide
    spiritually from too many sins or
    laziness in my faith. I realize at some point that, that is exactly what satan wants me to do...backslide, so then I run not walk to confession and adoration and I find mercy and many graces in both of these Sacraments. Thanks, Mary

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  2. AnonymousJanuary 16, 2009 at 11:48 AM

    Wow, I read through this blog with all the great writings and great author's viewpoints/thoughts and am amazed how the "backsliding" issue struck a nerve with so many. Just shows me that everyone is on the same ultimate path and everyone sins along the way. And everyone will receive God's forgiveness for those sins no matter what they are. And everyone will always be allowed back on that path no matter what.

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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!