Thursday, February 12, 2009

Friday, February 13, 2009

February 13, 2009

From A Year With Blessed James Alberione,

Compiled by J. Maurus

The Cross and Penance

Lent introduces us to the devotion to the crucified Christ. The Divine Master from the cross teaches us more by example than by words. He is truly the Master because the other masters only teach, but Jesus, besides teaching, goes before us giving us example.

Lent should lead us to the practice of penance. It has four aspects:

First: to become conscious of the evil done;

Second: to review our life and sins and to consider ourselves to be sinners, though forgiven;

Third: to make sincere resolutions to avoid faults and dangerous occasions that we can and should avoid;

Fourth: be willing to make reparation.

Reparation, for example, to make fervent communions in the place of cold communions;

making reparation for dissipation with greater recollection;

making reparation for sin above all with the practice of charity.

From Saint and Thought For Every Day,

by Blessed James Alberione

Identity

Man is what he thinks.

The Christian ideal is positive, not negative. Evil is to be drowned in an ocean of good. Mental discipline will unite the powers of memory and imagination in the proper, enlightened balance. This is possible only in the fullness of Christianity. Let mind, heart and will be united, rooted solidly in the past, and looking ahead to a future paradise which imagination makes more real than our very existence.... And then? The will's action will be vigorous, and the soul will hasten towards the reward of its sublime vocation in Christ Jesus.

What Strikes Me Most Today

What strikes me most today is the line, "the Christian ideal is positive, not negative." I have been asked what first attracted me to Pauline Spirituality. Without a doubt, it was the positive attitude of the Daughters of St. Paul. They are the truly happiest people I know! The reason for their happiness is their love and devotion to Christ, which gives them the desire to share the Gospel with the world. They want the world to know Christ's love as they know His love. They have instilled that desire in me, which makes me want to work toward becoming a Pauline Cooperator, and sharing in the Pauline charism of evangelization!

Click on Association of Pauline Cooperators to be directed to Sr. Margaret Charles Kerry's site to learn more about this lay branch of the Pauline Family.

What strikes you most today?

Click on "COMMENTS" below to share your thoughts.

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2 comments:

  1. Rae StaboszFebruary 13, 2009 at 5:59 AM

    What strikes me most today is this:

    Evil is to be drowned in an ocean of good. Mental discipline will unite the powers of memory and imagination in the proper, enlightened balance.


    I have been struggling with depression - not a new thing, but an old, old one for me. Despite a genetic predisposition towards chemical imbalance, I found many strategies for having a "proper, enlightened balance" (as Fr. Alberione says) in my mind during the times I was a young mother and a worker. Now that I am retired, and my children are all gone, I am struggling again for balance. This passage from Fr. Alberione gives me insight, and hope. I gain so much hope from hearing his positive take on how to live.

    And yes, the Daughters of St. Paul struck me immediately with the joy of their lives, when first I met them. It is their most remarkable aspect.

    ReplyDelete
  2. jeffmathewsFebruary 13, 2009 at 5:59 PM

    Rae,
    Thank you for your awesome post! Please know what an inspiration you have been to me, and continue to be, in my journey!
    Know that you are in my prayers daily; please remember me in your prayers!
    Yours in the Divine Master,
    Jeff

    ReplyDelete

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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!

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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!