Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Thursday, February 19, 2009

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

Think positively

     The sure method is the positive method.  Overcome evil with good (St. Paul).  Nurture thoughts of truth, order, justice towards God, neighbour, self; towards the past, present and future.
     A mind filled with the good has no place for the evil; just as to empty a bottle of air, fill it with water.
     To remove darkness from a room the use of broom and dustpan achieve nothing.  Instead light a lamp and darkness vanishes instantly.

What Strikes Me Most Today

What strikes me most today is that the writing above is the one written for February 19th in the book, and it is perfect timing.  I really liked MForeman's comments yesterday - taking the negativity out of my comments, and then today Blessed Alberione tells us to think positively.  When I stop and think of people who are the best examples of living in Christ, they are happy, joy-filled, and at ease; and their joy does seem to come naturally, rather than looking like it's a chore for them.  Reading my comments and MForeman's, I have to say MForeman's comments sound much more Pauline than mine, since every Pauline person I know is positive.  I especially like the reminder that no one is perfect (so I can quit beating myself up over the fact that I'm not and never will be), knowing that is not what God expects of us.  And it's a great reminder that none of us earn our way into heaven - it is only through God's mercy and grace that we get there - isn't that cause enough for our joy?  Maybe at times I make it harder than it should be.  I feel better already!  Thank you!  And I hope other's will share their thoughts by clicking on "COMMENTS" below - we have so much to learn from one another!
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3 comments:

  1. tkiehlFebruary 19, 2009 at 10:08 AM

    I also like today's positive message from Blessed James Alberione. Today is my son's birthday so I am going to print this out and pin it to his wall.

    ReplyDelete
  2. MForemanFebruary 19, 2009 at 1:59 PM

    I'm honored that you mention me in you thoughts for today. I'm definitely not one to get advice or guidance from but I'm thrilled that I made you feel better.
    I truly feel that since God made me who I am, He knows every good and bad thing I'll do from birth until death. To me, God is too caring to ever let me do anything that would be so bad it would keep me from being with Him in the end. We may disappoint Him on occasions, but never anything that will lose our spot in heaven.

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  3. Sr. Emi MagnificatFebruary 19, 2009 at 10:32 PM

    I really liked what Dr. Mathews wrote-that we don't earn our way to heaven, it's pure gift, and this is cause enough for our joy.
    I just read a reflection by Benedict XVI today on the Annunciation Gospel in Luke. The first spoken word that begins the New Testament story in Luke's Gospel is the "Hail" that Gabriel speaks to Mary (he counts the story of Zechariah and the angel as a bridge into the New Testament). Benedict says that "Hail" is more literally translated as "Rejoice," so the first word of the Gospel is a call to this joy. I thought this was pretty neat and thought of it when I read your post.

    Also, tomorrow, Friday, February 20th, the Daughters of St. Paul celebrate Mother Thecla's Birthday! She was our first Daughter of St. Paul and co-foundress.

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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!