Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

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


St. Thomas Aquinas

Priest and Doctor
St. Thomas was the son of a noble family of Aquino. He was entrusted to the care of the Benedictine Monks of Monte Cassino at the age of five. When still a youth, he entered the order of St. Dominic despite tremendous opposition from his family. His intelligence, humility and purity earned for him the title of "Angelic Doctor." St. Thomas readily admitted that he acquired most of his wisdom at the foot of the crucifix.
Let us also go the the crucifix and there learn how to live according to God's holy Will.

Seeking God

Do you not feel envious of St. Thomas who knew so much about God and wrote such wonderfully clear things about Him? And do you not feel envious of the scientists who know so much about nature, physics, and astronomy - scientists who were overwhelmed with wonder as they contemplated the beauties of nature? Well, even if you possess the knowledge of the greatest men, all the knowledge of history, of natural things, of juridical matters, of sociology, of philosophy... as much knowledge as you could possibly imagine or want... the knowledge of God is infinitely greater than knowing all this, because all this is a small thing in the hands of God. And so, what must it be like to know the Author of everything, God Himself, and in Him the knowledge of all creation? He Himself is Truth: "God the Lord of science." And you, lovers of study and knowledge, "seek the kingdom of God and His justice;" you will see God, and all human knowledge will be added to you.

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

The life of the Master is our security

Master, your life shows me the way. Your doctrine confirms and lights up my steps. Your grace sustains me and supports my journey to heaven.

You are the perfect Master. You give us the example, teach and comfort the disciples to follow you.

Your life is precept; my unique, true and infallible security. Everything from the manger, from Nazareth, from Calvary is a tracing of the divine way: way of love for the Father, of infinite purity, love for souls, love of sacrifices.

Make me know it, and let me always place my step on the footprints of your poverty, chastity and obedience: all other ways save yours are broad.

Jesus, I ignore and detest every way that is not indicated by you. What you want I want too: replace my will with yours.

Substitute my heart with yours: my love for God, for fellow human beings and for me with your love.

Exchange my life for your divine life.

What Strikes Me Most Today

What strikes me most today is St. Thomas stating that most of his wisdom was gained at the foot of the crucifix. This is the man who wrote the Summa Theologica! When I work on advancing my spiritual life, I have to admit I first turn to a book. I want to read and study. Today's writings are a good reminder that sometimes I need to just kneel or sit and meditate or contemplate. Even when I am at Eucharistic Adoration, I often feel compelled to read. I do need to read more, but I have to remind myself I often just need to be present to the Lord. If He has something to tell me, I hope I don't miss His message because I'm distracted by a good book! I do need to work on a better balance between my prayer life and spiritual studies.

Also, if you're following the Giaccardo Podcast Novenas, I thought it would be appropriate to start a novena to St. Thomas Aquinas today.

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

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"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!

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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!