July and August 1914 were pivotal months for the beginning of what would become the Pauline Family. James Alberione, the thirty-year-old diocesan priest of the Diocese of Alba, made concrete steps toward the plan that he had conceived fourteen years earlier in his prayer during the night between the centuries. As the twentieth century opened he daily studied the society in which he and his followers would work, a society influenced by the spread of masonry, marxist socialism, and moder...

There are days when we are reminded more than others that life only makes sense if we remember where we are going. Blessed James Alberione succinctly states: "We are travelling toward the Lord; we are on a journey in this life. Let each one of us, then, fix our eyes on the Lord."The other morning the first reading at Mass was read from the book of Deuteronomy, chapter 24. In this reading, Joshua states how Esau was given by God Mount Seir to possess it, but Jacob and his sons...

 If I could give God another name, I’d call him Persistent. In 1976, I was thirteen years old. That year was outstanding not only for the celebration of the 200th birthday of the country, but also for the 41st International Eucharistic Congress which was held in Philadelphia. I remember travelling with my family before dawn from Washington DC to Philadelphia to celebrate one day of this amazing event. Renowned people, a future pope, and future saints were at the Congress—Ka...

This is part 9 of the nine part series of meditations on the Word of God with reflections from the writings of Venerable Mother Thecla Merlo and Blessed James Alberione.During the Spiritual Exercises of 1934, Mother Thecla chose four points to work on in her spiritual journey. These points remained constant throughout her life: To keep God always in view Jesus Christ as Model The Blessed Mother for a Helper All of us, in an attitude of continual sacrificeMother Thecla brought all ...

This is part 8 of a nine part series of meditations on the Word of God with reflections from the writings of Venerable Mother Thecla Merlo and Blessed James Alberione.This theme coincides with Mother Thecla’s spiritual experience at the end of her life. Her dominant characteristics in this period were total acceptance of the will of God, intimate union with Christ, and participation in his life to the point of union of life with him.Meditating the Word I have been crucified ...

For the past several months I've been reading the Facebook posts that show up on my Timeline. Various people in my family with a variety of political opinions post there frequently. As I've thought about the different statements that have been made I felt that somehow I've lost my voice. I'm not good at debate. I don't think well on my feet. I didn't feel inclined to come up with the magisterial statement that would clarify everything (as if that were possible!). By ...

This week we’ll be celebrating Vocations Sunday, so we asked the novice director of the Daughters of St. Paul, Sister Carmen Christi Pompeii, FSP, about her thoughts on vocations.  What does "vocation" mean to you?Vocation is a call from Love and a call to love. It is a way of living out our relationship with God that brings meaning and joy to our life, that allows us to live our Christian identity to the fullest and allows us to bear abundant fruit in loving servi...