Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Thursday, February 12, 2009

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

Temptations of the Mind

If man is first of all an intelligent creature, made for the truth, it is evident that the first and most serious tempations are directed towards the mind. At the outset, the first battle fought in heaven was one of thoughts and ideas. It was a struggle between the first error, which was Satan's comparison of himself with God and his aspiration to the divine honors, and the answer given by Michael and the good angels: "Who is like God?" Next came Satan't temptation of Eve: "You shall not die; you will be like God, knowing good and evil." Eve let herself be persuaded, and she persuaded Adam. They ate the fruit and their eyes were opened; they understood the evil they had done and the evils that were the consequences. This was another battle between the truth and error. And the battle goes on in the world today. Before conflicts between nations reach the stage of guns and bombs, they are fought on the level of ideologies: for and against God, Christ, the Church, eternal life.

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

Plan of Life

What do we understand by plan of life?

It is the drawing up with the help of a wise person, the list of things one would like to achieve in life.

At the beginning of a school year, in the introductory lesson the teacher makes a plan for the entire year. This can be called the programme for the whole year.

But the plan of life is not limited to just one year of study, or reserved only for one year of spiritual life.

It is to formulate a set of guidelines, fix targets and set goals to be achieved.

However, it is to be done after prayer and seeking counsel.

What Strikes Me Most Today

What strikes me most today is the plan of life. Two of my children are starting to think about colleges now. As we talk about where they want to go to school, there is much excitement about the plans for their life, and what they want to do in life after college - trying to plan on a college to help them get to where they want to end up in life. We have the same excitement and responsibility as far as planning where we want to be in our futures in this life and in the next life. Our ultimate goal is heaven, eternity with God. Now is the time for us to work on our plan for life, eternal life!

What strikes you most today.
Click on "COMMENTS" below to share your thoughts.

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1 comment:

  1. AnonymousFebruary 12, 2009 at 11:43 AM

    Make the most of yourself, for that is all there is of you.
    -- Ralph Waldo Emerson

    ReplyDelete

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"Fear not, I am with you. From here I want to enlighten. Atone for sin."

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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!