Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

St. Simon the Apostle
Bishop and Martyr
Painting by El Greco

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

The Struggle Between Good and Evil

I have observed that an ever deeper abyss is being dug between the city of God and the city of the devil.  Evil has organized its forces.  Good has not yet unified all the children of God and the great means at its disposal.  There are many who pretend to plead for union, while in reality they support division. There is too much selfishness!  Complete unity can be reached only in Christ.

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

Beauty Tips

     Your dress should inspire chaste thoughts, modesty of eyes, restraint of touch.  It should not be tempting or be a sign of laziness.
     Have a daily bath to remove dirt from your body:
  • Clean well the face so that your thoughts may be pure,
  • Clean well the eyes for your looks to be holy and your intentions to reflect Jesus,
  • Clean well the ears that they may be open to the Word of God,
  • Wash well the mouth and the teeth that they may be controlled, that your taste may be holy, that your tongue may be holy in every word you speak, that whenever you open your mouth it may be for the Lord.
  • Be careful in speech and use only a few words, like a miser who spends money very carefully.
  • Wash well your hands so that they may do only the Lord's works.

What Strikes Me Most Today

What strikes me most today is how the forces of evil are unified, while the forces of good are not.  There is much division even within the Church.  But we are fortunate to have a Holy Father and a Magisterium and a capital "T" Tradition of our Faith.  We often must be humble to accept teachings that may be hard for us, but we are called to follow the narrow path - it's not supposed to be easy.  But our goal should be to unify and support the Catholic Church, the Bride of Christ!

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


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1 comment:

  1. MForemanFebruary 18, 2009 at 4:05 PM

    Why isn't it supposed to be easy? I don't think people have to struggle with their actions every day of their life to qualify as good enough to get into heaven. Living a "good" life and being a "good" person should not be a chore but a natural way of existing. No one is perfect and I doubt God expects that from anyone.

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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!