A Novena to Jesus Master, Way, Truth and Life

In the "Pauline Family" to which my community of Daughters of St. Paul belong,both secular and religious, our principal devotion is to Jesus Christ, and Master, our Way, our Truth and our life.In most of the myriad depictions of Jesus Master, Jesus is pictured holding a Bible in his left hand, while his right hand is raised in blessings.

In the ancient world when a master or teacher lifted up his right hand while holding two fingers together, it signified that he was indeed a qualified person with authority to teach. Statutes and pictures of Jesus Master portray him standing with his right hand having two fingers raised, as his left hand bears the Scriptures. Many of early Christian Churches portray Christ as Lord and Master. When I visited the Cathedral in Pisa, I remember how the fresco in the sanctuary depicts a very majestic Divine Master. The little camera which I had at the time could not take it all in. So I rely on my memory to visualize the majestic Christ the Master which dominates the dome above the altar. The images of Jesus Master and Teacher are a help to me in this chaotic time before the USA presidential election. As we pray this Novena to the Holy Strong One, may he enlighten us to make the best decisions. And, may he help whoever wins to be a good, wise, humble, gospel living and firm leader. We Paulines celebrate the Feast of Jesus Master on the last Sunday of October. I want to share with you The Novena to Jesus Master.

The Novena begins with an antiphon which is repeated between Scripture verses: "One only is our Master, Christ Jesus. O, come let us adore him." Then follow verses gleaned from the Gospels: I am the way, the truth, and the life. No follower of mine shall ever walk in darkness. Repeat the antiphon. You address me as Teacher and Lord, and fittingly enough, for that is what I am; for I have given you an example: As I have done, so you must do. Repeat the antiphon. Avoid being called teachers. Only one is your teacher, the Messiah. (You are all brothers.) Repeat the antiphon. A student is not above his teacher, but every student when he has finished his studies, will be on a par with his teacher. Repeat the antiphon. I am the vine you are the branches. He who lives in me and I in him shall produce abundantly. Repeat antiphon. I am the Bread of Life; if anyone eats this Bread, he shall live forever; the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world. Repeat the antiphon. Go into the whole world and proclaim the Good News to all creation. The man who brelieves in it and accepts it will be saved. Repeat the antiphon. Then you may read from any of these selections: Matthew 23:1--10; John 14:1--11; Hebrews 1:1--16. A Hymn to Jesus Master may be sung here. A suggested song would be "You Lord Are the Way" by Lucien Deiss After the hymn, the leader (when there are 2 or more) says or sings: Jesus Master, Way, Truth and Life. The response is: Have mercy on us. Antiphon for the Magnificat(The Magnificat is Mary's joyful hymn of praise which is recorded in Luke's Gospel, 1:46--55. O Master, we know that you are truthful and teach the way of God in truth, alleluia. "My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for the Mighty one has done great things for me, and holy is his name. His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, according to the promise he made to our ancestors, to Abraham and tp his descendants forever." Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and will be forever. Amen. The antiphon O, Master.... Let us pray: God, our Father, you sent your only Son to be our Teacher and Lord. May we ponder his teaching so that we may better understand divine wisdom. We ask this through Christ, our Lord. Amen.

A Saintly Pauline

Today the Church celebrates a Saint who embraced a very modern apostolate, Blessed Timothy (Joseph) Giaccardo. Father Timothy, as we affectionately call him in the Pauline Family, was the first ordained priest in the Society of St. Paul, after the Founder himself, Blessed James Alberione. As a parochial vicar in the parish of St. Bernard's in the Italian Piedmont town of Narzole, Alberione noticed the signs of a priestly vocation in young Joseph Giaccardo. When Alberione asked him if he wanted to become a priest, Joseph responded enthusiastically. Then he hesitated, since his family was poor, he did not have the necessary funds to put him through the seminary. Convinced of Joseph's priestly vocation, Alberione found benefactors to sponsor Joseph in the diocesan seminary. As soon as he could, Father Joseph Giaccardo asked his bishop permission to enter the tiny community founded by Father James Alberione. When the first group of Pauline priests pledged their lives to God through vows of obedience, chastity, poverty and fidelity to the Roman Pontiff, then Joseph took on the name "Timothy" in imitation of St. Timothy, a devoted disciple of St. Paul.

The group's mission was "glory to God, and peace to men." They would carry out this motto by living an intense prayer-life and then plunging into their work as writers and editors of Catholic publications. The ever-expanding Society of St. Paul would use the printing press, the radio, films and whatever new means would be invented to "preach." These priests would not only preach from a church pulpit, but they would expand their audience to thousands of readers and viewers by adopting high speed presses and radio and television to preach the Good News. Alberione's young followers were entrusted with the task of reviving the Alba Gazette, the Catholic newspaper of the Diocese of Alba. The paper was about to go under for lack of subscribers. After Alberione took over its direction and printing, the paper thrived. Today Gazzetta d'Alba (The Alba Gazette) occupies a four story building in Alba, Northern Italy. Alberione called his mission "The Good Press" (La Buona Stampa). Aware of the radio in its infancy then, Alberione told his band of very young men that they were to use not only the press, but any of the new means which would emerge to spread the gospel. Since many of the first Pauline priests and brothers entered as youngsters, the Founder entrusted their guidance to Father Timothy. Timothy learned from Alberione to live a saintly life. He was a writer and editor for God, as well as a sought-after confessor and spiritual guide. In the 19th century Italian world, anyone who was a journalist needed to obtain a license. Both Alberione and Giacardo enjoyed being bonafided "journalists!"

Father Timothy became Alberione's right-hand-man assisting his spiritual father in myriad ways. Father Alberione founded the Sister Disciples of the Divine Master in 1947. Their Mani as prayer-warriors for the rest of the Pauline Family. These Sisters pray two Eucharistic hours each day for all the rest of the Pauline Family; and in reparation for the evil use of the media. Some Sister Disciples are talented artists and architects who use their skill to promote high quality liturgy. The Sisters also have an apostolate of assisting the clergy. Blessed Alberione entrusted the formation of the Sister Disciples of the Divine Master to Father Giaccardo. Not all the official Church understood the genius of Father Alberione and his various religious congregations. When the foundation of the Sister Disciples seemed threatened to extinction because of the incomprehension of certain officials, Father Giaccardo offered his life that the Sister Disciples of the Divine Master would be approved and that they would thrive. The Lord accepted Father Timothy's offering of himself as a victim for the Father Timothy learned to accept the differences in personality between himself and Blessed Alberione. For example, Timothy loved ceremony, nice vestments and flowers on the altar. Alberione, instead, preferred simplicity. He enjoyed Gregorian chant and appreciated both art and music--to a certain degree. United in their goal of promoting the Good News with the press, Alberione and Giaccardo made a great Team for Jesus and the Church. John Paul II beatified Father Timothy on October 22, 1989. What is there to learn from this saintly priest and media apostle? His silence, serenity, his deep prayer-life, his humility, and his inventivness. In their era, they were pioneers who dared to

Autumn Leaves

To all those who try to be faithful readers of my blog, please accept my sincere apologies. I am still learning time management: how to balance my prayer life, my mission, my community life, and stay in touch with my social media friends! Those on Facebook who are "friends" with me are a large number. Yet, many of them, to be honest, the great majority of my Facebook friends are unknown to me. These friends are an international bevy of men and women religious, priests and laity. Many are Catholic, others may not be. In our Pauline Family we have a prayer of praise for the media of communications which bring glory to God, and draw people closer in fellowship to one another. Personally Facebook is where I find news about family members who otherwise are far from me geographically and physically. It is true that there are some who misuse this form of Internet communication to defame others, to bully, to spread downright lies. Yet I am impressed by how many ask for prayers for themselves and many others every day. They are intercessors for the needs of others. I enjoyed a vacation that took me to Ohio for a few visits to the Canfield Fair. The Fair is one of the longest held festivities in the Youngstown, Ohio region. Whenever I am home in August and September, I try to go for at least one day. This year I think I attended 3 days. The weather was hot so I and my sisters and niece took our time to view the display, the various farm animals: draft horses, ponies, 4-H horse barns, chickens, ducks, goats and llamas. There were pigs for only one day because of the possibility of swine flu. Officials reported that there were over 500 vendors. Most of them sold food: cotton candy, Italian specialties, French fries, lemonade, apple fritters, and of course, ice cream. From the 8th grade through the 11th grade I attended the Fair as a 4-H person. I kept a horse (owned by my oldest sister) at the Fair along with those of my family 4-H club members. We had kept a record of how much we spent on feed and care for the animal, then we were judged in various competitions. 4-H (head, hands, heart and health) helped to form us kids to be responsible and accurate in the way we cared for our horse project.

At the Fair we met other 4-H'ers who had cattle. Some local churches operated food stands as fund raisers for their congregations. Ethnic groups performed dances and had stands where one could learn about their heritage. When I attended the fair we did not have Mass available. My Dad had to drive us to the 7:00 AM Mass at St. Paul's Monastery in Canfield. Now, as a Daughter of St. Paul, I realize that those Masses were my first introduction to the Pauline Family. Of course, I think St. Francis of Assisi would love to be at the Fair too. He wrote a Canticle of Praise where he tells all of creation to praise God. The varieties of farm and domestic animals, the abundance of crops on display, and the variety and ingenuity of the attendees, young and old, were a sight to behold. I enjoyed the art building filled with photos and paintings of local artists. Local musicians had a chance to entertain too. For me it would be an opportunity to have a booth stocked with upbeat quotations from Scripture, Pope Francis, and the saints to hand out. Tomorrow at our St. Thecla Retreat House in Billerica, Mass. our Sisters are hosting a weekend retreat called "Clay Pots" for Catholic media workers Pray that the Holy Spirit will indwell all those participating and directing. Some of us will be at St. Thecla's to keep prayers ascending to intercede for those on retreat. Each of us will pray an hour of adoration in the Retreat House Chapel, asking God to give special graces to our guests.

Tomorrow too I hope to invite you to visit our Webathon page. At noon and at 8:00 PM in the evening you can view and pray along with Daughters of St. Paul here in Boston via the Internet. Check out our web site: Tonight I ask you to pray for all those in the path of Hurricane Matthew, and for all its victims, especially in Haiti. I will try to be more of a blogger. God bless you!