Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Holy Thursday, April 9, 2009

Pope John Paul II Hearing Confessions

From Saint and Thought For Every Day,
by Blessed James Alberione
Be Sorry for Your Sins

Live with a deep hatred of sin, in holy humility, calling at every moment for mercy and light.  If there is this holy humility, we become like Jesus, who hates sin more than anything else.  If we are continually struggling to overcome our defects, then we are certainly pleasing to God.

From A Year With Blessed James Alberione, 
Compiled by J. Maurus
Let us walk with the suffering Christ

     Jesus, Divine Master:
     Let your unchanging patience be mine.
     May your crown of thorns obtain for me humility of heart,
     Your scourging be my purity and mortification,
     Your agony be a model for mine,
     The wounds on your feet guide all my steps,
     The foolishness of your cross gain me true wisdom,
     Your resurrection make my resurrection glorious,
     And may I be crucified totally with you, and in everything may your will be done in me.
     May your merits be mine and your virtues be for me way, strength, mercy, and eternal life!  

What strikes me most today

A combination of two things struck me today.  Blessed Alberione tells us, "If we are continually struggling to overcome our defects, then we are certainly pleasing to God."  I keep thinking I have to overcome my faults and weaknesses; I keep waiting for the day they'll be gone.  But Blessed Alberione doesn't say we are pleasing to God after we have overcome our defects, but it is that struggle we deal with day after day that pleases God.  Persevering is what is important.  So the second thing is how I always think God (and my parish priest I usually go to for Confession) must be tired of hearing that I still struggle with several of the same issues.  My priest never lets me know it if he feels that way.  But again Blessed Alberione gives me a tremendous insight into God when he prays, "Let your unchanging patience be mine."  God does not change and grow weary and inpatient with me - He is God!  I have to quit underestimating Him!

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

  1. MForemanApril 9, 2009 at 2:48 PM

    Your comments are quite interesting to me. I often think about the fact that God made me who I am, yet God's teachings also tell me that some of what makes me who I am will not lead me on the path to Him. I'm not talking about failings or weaknesses with his gifts but what Blessed Alberione referred to as our "defects". To me it's as if God made you a great painter. And no matter how hard you ask God to make this longing stop, you long to paint. Yet you aren't allowed to paint because our faith tells us it will not lead us to heaven. This conflicts me deeply and I rarely find a venue where I can express it, so I hope you don't mind me doing so on your blog. It just seems so inline with what you were saying.

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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!