Friday, February 20, 2009

Saturday, February 21, 2009

St. Peter Damian

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

St. Peter Damian
Bishop and Doctor

Born in Ravenna, Italy, Peter learned to love sacrifice and prayer.  He became a Benedictine monk and an abbot.  St. Peter Damian was selected as adviser by seven Popes in succession, and at the end of the eleventh century was created Cardinal by Pope Stephen IX.  St. Peter labored long and faithfully for the Faith and left many valuable writings in defense of the Church.  He died in 1072.
     Let us imitate this saint's love for penance and hard work for Christ and His Church.

Knowledge and Charity

As St. Augustine rightly says, knowledge must be placed at the service of charity:  "Knowledge should be used in this way, as a sort of machine for the erection of the edifice of charity."  This is also true of the study of spiritual matters.  In actuality some use these studies more to satisfy their curiosity and pride, than to purify their hearts, to practice mortification, and to build their spiritual edifice.

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

Control the mind

Ideas lead to action.  This is a natural law working in us, for or against us.  Ideas are the beginning of all actions, external and internal.  Control of mind is a fundamental necessity.  The mind can never be free of its traveling companion:  the thoughts.  It is the thoughts that make demands and dominates.
     External factors can have some influence, but they are by themselves amoral.  Man's life is above all intellectual.  One's most intimate friends are one's thoughts.
     The very same thing brings harm to some and benefits to others:  for example temptations, sufferings, and misfortunes.  It all depends on one's thoughts.  The same pain leads one to despair, while for another it may be an occasion of renewal and joy.
     Ideas influence judgment, judgment arouses feelings, feelings determine internal and external actions.  The greatest battles are fought in the mind.  Here all our energies have to be concentrated.

What Strikes Me Most Today

What strikes me most today is not about the above writings - my thoughts are with the Daughters of St. Paul in Madagascar.  Sr. Maria Antonieta Bruscata and Sr. Luz Helena Arroyave are currently making their fraternal visit to Antananarivo, Madagascar.  There have been violent demonstrations, resulting in numerous deaths recently.  Demonstrations have been taking place every day from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. in the large plaza where the Daughters' book center and convent are located.  The sisters have been prudently avoiding going out into the crowds.  The economy is in free fall as well.  
I would ask everyone to please pray for peace for the Malagasy people, and in a special way for the safety of the Daughters of St. Paul in Madagascar.
Today also starts the new week of prayer intentions in the right-hand column - so this week will be for the Daughters of St. Paul in Madagascar.  May Mary, Queen of Apostles, protect them under her heavenly mantle!

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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!