Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Getting to Know St. Paul

It’s time once again to catch you up on our adventures in Boston! This past week has been full of St. Paul, Italian class, and sunshine! The weather has been beautiful, which we appreciated when we went to the North End of Boston on Sunday. Sr. Margaret Joseph, Sr. Mary Frances, and I went to Mass in Italian at St. Leonard’s Church, and then we went to a “ristorante” for “il pranzo italiano” (an Italian lunch). I had ravioli – it was delicious! It was a great way to get a taste of the culture of Italy.

Classes are in full swing! Italian class finished yesterday, but as one sister told me at breakfast, my study of the Italian language has only just begun! One of the reasons that we study Italian is to be able to read the Founder and Co-foundress in their original language. Since Fr. Alberione and Mother Thecla are no longer alive, a primary way that we receive and pass on the charism now is through their writings. So it’s very important to be able to read what they really wrote! I’m looking forward to being able to do that.

Another way that we come to understand the charism is by studying St. Paul. In the class on St. Paul that Celia is teaching, we have been looking at the “Good News” that Paul so passionately proclaimed. What strikes me about this is how convinced Paul was of God’s tremendous love for us, shown in His sending His Son to be one of us. “God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:8). Paul was also convinced that because Jesus lived and died for us, everything is changed. We are now living in “a new creation,” and Christ is living in us. It's incredible, isn't it?

So now you have a little taste of what we’ve been living and learning this week. Sr. Carmen Christi is on retreat at our St. Thecla’s Retreat House until today, so keep her in prayer. I will go on retreat at St. Thecla’s next week. If you have any prayer requests for us, don’t hesitate to send them our way!

Here’s a little St. Paul trivia for you. Complete this quotation of St. Paul: “It is no longer I who live....” For bonus points: what letter of St. Paul is this from?

God bless you,
Emily

3 comments:

Lisa said...

"...but Christ Who lives in me!"

Colossians, right?

JCButterfly1982 said...

"But Christ who lives in me."

That would be my guess too.

FSP Postulants said...

"But Christ who lives in me" -- very good! This quote of St. Paul's, which our Founder left us as a "program of life," is from Paul's letter to the Galations. The goal of our life as Daughters of St. Paul is to be able to say with Paul, "It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me!"