Saturday, August 23, 2008

Give thanks to the Lord; His love is everlasting!

Blessed Feast of the Queenship of Mary! This is a special day in my life because it marks the first anniversary of my entrance into postulancy. I am full of gratitude today for the ways Jesus is working in my life, and full also of the desire to live this next year in deep union with Him. Sr. Emi Magnificat is also celebrating her anniversary of entrance today, so we are united with all our Sisters in praising God for the gift of our vocation.

Once again, we have a lot to share with you! On Sunday, we went to the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis for a farewell Mass for Archbishop Burke. Formerly archbishop of St. Louis, Archbishop Burke has been appointed prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura. We will miss him here in St. Louis, but he will do a lot of good for the universal Church. We were able to speak with him and receive his blessing at a reception after Mass, where we also met a lot of people who know us and collaborate with us. It was a great gathering of the Church of St. Louis!

On Wednesday, we celebrated the anniversary of the foundation of the Pauline Family. August 20, 1914, marked the official beginning of the Society of St. Paul and thus the initiation of the Pauline Family. A word about the Pauline Family: Bl. James Alberione, founder of the Daughters of St. Paul, founded nine other institutes as well – one religious institute for men, four for women, four secular institutes (organizations for lay men and women, families, and diocesan priests), and one organization of cooperators or associates. These ten branches make up the Pauline Family. It’s so beautiful because we’re all united in spirituality and mission, and because we’re so diverse, we’re able to carry out the mission in many different ways and states of life. On Wednesday we celebrated with a special morning and evening prayer, and a delicious meal prepared by Sr. Mary Agnes, followed by a “torta di fondazione della Famiglia Paolina” (foundation of the Pauline Family cake)!

On Thursday, Sr. Carmen and I returned to the Catholic radio station to record an interview on St. Paul the Apostle. The program on Eucharistic Adoration that we recorded last week aired three times this week, and people coming into the bookcenter have told us that they heard it! It’s so beautiful to see how far our mission reaches. We’re also preparing our lecture series and Faith and Film Nights for the fall, with a focus on St. Paul, of course!

Speaking of St. Paul, I’d just like to conclude with a few words from our spiritual Father to give a little inspiration to the week. In his letter to the Philippians, St. Paul says,
“But whatever gains I had, these I have come to consider a loss because of Christ. More than that, I even consider everything as a loss because of the supreme good of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have accepted the loss of all things and I consider them so much rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him.”

St. Paul the Apostle, pray for us!

-Emily

1 comment:

Lisa said...

Congratulations, Emily, on the anniversary of your entrance into the postulancy! May God continue to bring to completion this work He has begun in you. May you know the abundance of His grace as you continue to follow Jesus in the Pauline way.

(Congrats, too, to S. Emi!)