Saturday, February 21, 2009

Sunday, February 22, 2009

Chair of St. Peter

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

Chair of St. Peter
Apostle

Today we honor St. Peter, the fisherman, who was chosen by the Lord Himself to be the first Pope.  We recognize, too, with gratitude and joy, that every succeeding Pope, to the present, guides the entire Church in Jesus' name.
     Let us renew our love and faithfulness to the Holy Father.

The Chair of Peter

The world is rapidly developing.  Inhabited regions, culture, and commerce change.  Peaceful and rapid revolutions take place through the media of press, radio, films, TV; aviation; political, social, and industrial movements; atomic power.... it is necessary that religion be always present, that it use every new means as a weapon of defense and conquest.  Everything belongs to God; everything must be used for a better quality of life on earth and for heavenly glory.  He who stops or slows down will be overtaken; he will toil in a field that the enemy has already harvested.  The Church is Catholic and Roman.  Many are the pulpits raised against the Divine Master.  But that of Jesus and of His Vicar has a special strength.  Let us draw always more from the center so as to bring the Gospel and Catholic thought ever more completely to the outlying areas.

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

Confirm your faith in St. Peter

After the incarnation and ascension to heaven, Jesus left his powers with priests; and the fullness of power with St. Peter, the Vicar of Jesus.
     And Peter came to Rome, established his episcopate there, and died crucified.
   The Popes are the successors of Peter, having his authority, infallibility, and the office of saving and sanctifying others.
    Whoever wants to stay with Christ should stay with Peter and his successors.  Whoever wants to know the truth should go to this teaching authority; whoever wants to become a citizen of heaven should become, in a spiritual sense, the citizen of Rome.

What Strikes Me Most Today

What strikes me most today is the last paragraph above, "Whoever wants to stay with Christ should stay with Peter and his successors.  Whoever wants to know the truth should go to this teaching authority;  whoever wants to become a citizen of heaven should become, in a spiritual sense, the citizen of Rome."  We are so fortunate to have the teaching authority of the Chair of Peter.  If we truly search for Truth, we can trust that we will not be led astray if we listen to the Holy Father and the Magisterium of the Church.  The Bible and the Catechism of the Catholic Church give us a black-and-white source of Truths of our Faith also.  When we achieve what Blessed Alberione describes as "Christification," Jesus Christ, Way, Truth, and Life, actually resides in us.  As St. Peter says in Galations 2:20, "...I live, no longer I, but Christ who lives in me."  What awesome gifts Christ has given us in His Church!

What strikes you most today?  
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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!