Monday, January 12, 2009

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

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

St. Hilary
Bishop and Doctor

     A native of Poitiers, St. Hilary was chosen Bishop in 353.  Filled with the spirit of wisdom and understanding, he fought with his pen and his eloquence against the Arian heresy.  Because he was one of the most intrepid defenders of the dogma of the divinity of Christ, the Church has awarded him the title of Doctor.  Bishop Hilary was persecuted by his enemies and was exiled by order of Emperor Constantius.  He died in 367.
     Let us ask St. Hilary to intercede for us and obtain for us the grace always to be firm believers and defenders of the divinity of Christ.

Dialogue

     In our dialogues we should not aim for the satisfaction of our pride and the triumph of our own ideas, but for the truth.  It is rare that the opinions of those who contradict us do not contain at least some aspects of truth which had previously escaped us.  To listen with attention and impartiality to their reasons and to acknowledge what is right in their comments is always the best means of drawing near the truth and observing the laws of humility and charity.

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

To be at the school of Jesus

     Peace within a person and among peoples will be realized in the measure in which humanity enters the school of Jesus Master, the way, the truth and the life.
     The Divine Master opened the school in a manger at Bethlehem, he continued it at Nazareth, in his public life, in his life of suffering as well as in his life of joy; and he continues it from the Tabernacle.
     The same school is perpetuated visibly in the Church, which is the teacher of faith, morality and prayer.  The one who follows her faithfully will certainly find the way of peace and eternal happiness.

What Strikes Me Most Today

What strikes me most today is in the "Dialogue" section above, the entire paragraph.  I know when I talk less and listen more is when I actually learn.  When I stop listening, I stop learning.  When we evangelize, we have to remember we want to win souls, not arguments.  What we all seek is the truth, and as Blessed James Alberione reminds us, the truth is Jesus (he is also the way and the life).  That is why dialogue is so important, so please click on "Comments" below to join in the discussion and help us lead one another to the school of Jesus Master, the way, the truth and the  life.
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1 comment:

  1. mcm56January 14, 2009 at 6:19 PM

    I just read this posting and what strikes me most is the excerpt about "the school of Jesus." It is a reminder that my faith is fluid and growing as long as I stay in tune with God's lessons for me. If I only look to Jesus' life and examples for those lessons, there is no end to the possibilities and opportunities to bring God more fully into my life. It is an ongoing process......

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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
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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!