International Visitors

I apologize for being so tardy in posting a new blog. Our little community has added a new member, Sister Lupe. She arrived three 3 weeks ago. On the evening of her arrival, Sister M. Paul and I attended a Confirmation in St. Thomas Aquinas parish, under 10 minutes from here by car. I was asked to be a sponsor for a young man named Eduardo Michael, and Sister Paul sponsored a young lady named Kathy. One of the Toronto auxiliary Bishops, Bishop Greco presided at the Confirmation and confirmed 101 young people. Bishop Greco gave a very energetic and memorable homily. He stressed three points which he explained with colorful examples. The first point was the total emphasis on the fact that Confirmation and of course, grace, a free gifts from God. We do not "buy" them or earn them.
After the Mass, Sister and I each went to the celebrations of our confirmed young person. Michael's Mom had baked a lovely cross shaped cake and she had another cake for Michael's younger sister whose birthday was the same day. Michaels "abuelos" (grandmother and grandfather) came, and some other relatives and cousins. Somehow there was a whole dinner waiting for us when we arrived at the house.
One day along with Sister Marlyn I attended a seminar on "end of life" issues which was especially for health care givers and chaplains. Several people were pleased to purcahse my book "Tender Mercies, Prayers for Healing and Coping." The attendees often have to deal with people suffering from grief and other sorrows. I pray that all the folks who will read and pray with "Tender Mercies" will be strengthened and consoled.
The past month seemed to have been filled with extra meetings and preparations for various events. One of the"events" was the visit of two of our General Councilors who are from our Rome headquarters. Both of the Sisters were very thoughtful, enthusiastic and sisterly. One of them, Sister Samuela Gironi, served in Africa for the past 23 years. She was the superior of the Nairobi delegation which includes Tanzania, Zambia and Sudan. Yes, despite all the problems in parts of the Sudan, our Sisters from Nairobi opened a Catholic book centre in one of the southern dioceses of that huge Afrian nation. Four Sisters are there. If I remember correctly they are from four nations, one African, another Maltese, another Indian, and an Italian. When our Sisters visit from the Generalate they also connect us more with our sisters all over the world.
Tomorrow our Superior General, Sister Antonieta Bruscato, will arrive for her once-every-six-year visit. Another councilor, Sister Inocencia Tormon, will be with her. Sister Antonieta is a Brazilian of Italian descent. Her term is for six years at a time. During her term she is to get to see every Sister of our cognregation which numbers about 2,500 Sisters scattered in 53 nations. When I lived in Rome four years ago, I stayed at the Generalate where Sr. Antonieta, her six councilors, their secretary and bursar all live. It was good to get to know the major Superior and to see her more often. I look forward to her visit. I will let you know more in my next blog.
In the next blog, I will say something about another event I and Sister Hosea are preparing for: The Annual Catholic Communicators' Convocation to be held next week: May 28, 29, and 30th in downtown Toronto. Sister and I are on the Toronto planning committee, and each of us has some roles to play. I will be writing the Prayers of the Faithful for the three eveing Masses with our Archbishop, CArdinal Ouellet of Quebec, and Cardinal John Foley an American who lives in Rome. For more than 25 years Cardinal Foley served as the head of the Vatican's office for comunications. Even though he has another post, Cardinal Foley has always remained a member of the Catholic Press Association, and he is much loved by all those involved in Catholic media.
Keep that three day event in your prayers too.
Have a blessed ending of Mary's month of May!

Arrvederci Pope Benedict

Although I live in Canada, I am an American, very interested in what Pope Benedict would say and do in the USA. While I lived in Rome in 2003--2004, I saw Cardinal Ratzinger (now Pope Benedict) several times as he concelebrated Mass with Pope John Paul II. Often, since John Paul was already failing in health, Ratzinger would serve as chief celebrant at various Masses, with Pope John Paul present. I was struck by the German Cardinal's humble demeanor and evident spirit of prayer. It was great to see him this week on TV -- the scholar and theologian -- who had "learned to be Pope" as one commentator said today. I was edified to hear people of other Christian faiths also call him "Holy Father." It he is truly a "Father" in many ways. He encouraged us to continue doing the good things Americans do, and to avoid the things we do which are not in line with the gospel. I never heard him "condemn" America. I felt bad when I saw a certain TV commentator use negative language about the Pope. Probably those comments stood out because they were defintely in a minority. It seems that this TV personality has a sort of "Americans can do no wrong" attitude. Americans too pray the Hail Mary in which we say, "Pray for us sinners...". Humility is truth, recognizing both our gifts and our shortcomings. At the Yankee Stadium Mass, I was happy to hear Benedict invite young men and women to follow Jesus more closely as priests and religious sisters or brothers. Tonight Alitalia's Shepherd 1 will bring Pope Benedict XVI back to the Vatican. May his visit to North America bear much fruit. May he rest well when he returns to Rome. I admire his stamina. For a man who is 81 years old, he is remarkable.
As one Boston woman said this afternoon to a CNN interviewer, "Thanks to you in the media" who brought the Pope into our homes with live coverage. In these post 9/11 times, all the news people had to deal with security, travel, and tight schedules. May the Lord reward them!
The Pope's birthday, April 16, coincided with the feast day of a French saint who died in Rome, Benedict Joseph Labre'. In another blog I will dwell a bit longer on St. Benedict Joseph Labre'.
There is a prayer with which I want to end this blog entry: Lord, cover with your protection our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI. Be his light, his strength, his consolation. Amen.

Happy Easter!

On Wednesday, March 19, Sister Mary Caroline Tessa, a Sister of our Boston community died of pancreatic cancer. I knew Sister when I first met the Daughters of St. Paul in Youngstown, Ohio. Sister never seemed to age with her lovely complexion and sweet smile. She offered herself to the Lord with her first vows on March 19, 1948. On her 60th anniversary, the Lord came to take her to himself where she would celebrate an eternal Easter with him. We recommend Sister's soul to the Lord's loving mercy, and we trust that she is enjoying the reward of "the good and faithful servant."

As I write this, it is still Holy Saturday. In some churches in our part of the world, the Easter Vigil is underway. On this night people are being baptized, and confirmed and receiving the Eucharist--Communion--for the first time. My little community attended an earlier Easter Vigil Mass at a convent in our neighborhood. Sister Hosea sang the Exsultet, a song that begins with the word "Rejoice" that is sung immediately after the Easter fire is lit, and the Paschal Candle is brought into the church. Sister has a lovely voice and made the evening's liturgy even more solemn. Today a gentleman accompanied by his wife, his mother-in-law and his young daughter came into our center to celebrate the man's reception into the church which was to take place tonight. He was beaming with joy as he told us that he would receive all three sacraments tonight: Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist. The three adults all were intent on choosing Christian DVD's and other DVD's with good values. He wanted the "classics" such as Ben Hur, Song of Bernadette and many more. He choose one of our favorites, Amazing Grace. It's the story of William Wilberforce who labored in the House of Commons in England to abolish slavery in the British Empire in the 1800's (about 30 years before it was abolished in the USA). The new Christian/Catholic's enthusiasm was contagious. It made clear to me why Christianity must have spread so fast in its early days. When someone is truly joy-filled, and ready to explain the why of his joy, then it is hard to resist being caught up into the same enthusiasm. The word enthusiasm comes from the Greek "en theos" (roughly translated) as "being in God." Theos is the Greek word for God. A recent Catholic news item said that about 64,000 men and women were to join the Church in the USA tonight. I am not sure how many are being received into the church in Canada. However, I think it is a large number too. Despite the sins and failures of Catholic Christians, people are finding Christ in the Catholic Church and the true peace which comes from that relationship with the Lord. And, it is a relationship with Christ in his brothers and sisters too. "How can we love the Christ we cannot see, if we do not love the brother or sister whom we do see?"
Many people came in our Pauline Book & Media Centre today looking for gifts to help new Catholics on their spiritual journey. It's a great feeling to know that in some way through our mission of media evangelization, we have been able to accompany and assist these new Christians.
A Sister from Italy sent me a bookmark with a lovely Easter saying. I'd like to share it with you as my Easter greeting to each of you: It is from Pope Benedict (no date was supplied), "The Lord says to each one of us, 'I have risen and now I am always with you!' Wherever you might fall, you will fall into my hands. I am present with you even to the gates of death....There [in heaven] I await you and for you I will transform darkness into light."

Holy Week

Happy St. Patrick's Day to all of you who commemorate the great missionary Saint. The late Cardinal Richard Cushing of Boston once compared Patrick to Abraham,Father of All Believers. Those of us of Irish descent owe the roots of our faith to the seeds Patrick planted centuries ago. Today I am wearing a little label pin shaped as St. Briget's cross with a green shamrock in the center. Bridget used to make crosses out of blades of grass or straw. Since they were all woven there are four parts joined by a square of woven grass in the center. I have one of the straw crosses which my mother brought me from Ireland over twelve years ago.

Yesterday ushered in the greatest liturgical week in the year: Holy Week. It seems that this year Lent sped by faster than ever. Our order's Co-Foundress, Mother Thecla Merlo, reminded the Sisters in a talk she gave on Wednesday of Holy Week in 1958,
At the beginning of Lenteach of us selected a penance for herself.
I believe that we all did it, whether big or small, according to the fevor
of our soul.
Now we are in Passion Week and we must try to add some other little thing which
is a sacrifice for us....We have to live together and we have to have
patience and try to bear with each other for the love of Jesus....Every day and'
every moment there are things to put up with....First of all we must live in
charity well; then everyone should week to give her contribution so as not to be
a burden on others....If we take something, then let us put it back in its place;
if we close a window, let us close it well, with the handles turned the right
way. Even these little things pleas God.Let us act this way during this Passion
Week.
Mother Thecla is called "Venerable Mother Thecla" an "official" title given by the church which designates that a person has already passed the first official stage on the way to sanctity. The next stage is beatification, and the person is referred to as "Blessed James" or Blessed Jane. I promise more on Mother Thecla and sanctity later.
My prayers for all of you that you may have a deeply prayerful Holy Week as we meditate on what Jesus did for each of us.

February's Almost Over!

Someone sent me a card lately reminding me that I did not post anything for January! Ooops--was that an omen for this year? I hope not. A few people invited me to join Facebook, another web source of cyber relationships. After putting it off for months, I finally signed up with halting steps. I was surprised by the number of folks already there whom I know, or at least, I have met at one time or another. A (great) niece from Tennessee is there, a South Carolina niece, and lots of the Daughters of St. Paul from Great Britain to Singapore, Boston and beyond.
After being cold-free for more than two years, I had was attacked by cold germs this past weekend. I forgot how miserable one can feel. Having a cold now and then should make me more compassionate. My voice immediately goes an octave or two lower, breathing is impaired and sleep clamps me tight as I look with watery eyes at the alarm clock. My Sister Superior who is also our book centre manager invited me to go to bed around 3:30 on Saturday afternoon, even though we were our usual Saturday busy. I was happy to comply.
At Sunday Mass I tried to wave off folks who wanted to grasp my hand at the sign of peace. I wanted to keep my germs to myself. I think they got the message. The Mass on Sunday was a bit longer than usual, since a baby was baptized. The priest was gracious in that he explained each step of the baptismal ceremony. It was the first time I had witnessed a baptism in Italian. The 11:00 AM Mass at St. Charles Borromeo Church here in Toronto is packed with Italian speaking folks as is the 8:00 AM Italian Mass. I was pleased to see a new generation in attendance. So the myth that all the Italo-Canadians are gray haired and past their prime is not true. I have found that many second generation Italian-Canadians are sending their children to learn Italian. Since I did not grow up in a bi-lingual household, I see how precious a gift this is to this children. That was a long digression on having a February cold.
Last Wednesday we held our monthly Italian Pauline Cooperators meeting. This group is very small, but faithful. When my Italian swerves to the grammatical left, they steer me on the right course! Once in a while I watch Italian news on television so I can keep up-to-date with this language. For Chinese New Year, a number of our patrons who speak Chinese have come in. With them I could at least give them greetings in Cantonese. For Lent, as a positive practice, I started once again to study French, the official second language of this country of Canada. I've only been to Montreal once. However, as soon as one crosses from the Province of Ontario into Quebec, all the signs are French. So it helps to know a thing or two to get around La Belle Province! In our book centre we find it useful to speak Spanish too, since a good number of Hispanic people frequent Pauline Books & Media on Saturdays in Toronto. A trusty employee from Ecuador orders our Spanish materials.
I hope you are all having a great Lent. This year I notice the Sunday readings more than I ever have before. They present a virtual feast for the soul. Last Sunday's story of the Woman at the Well and her blunt dialogue with Jesus has so many layers of meaning. At our baptismal Mass, Father reminded us of the waters of baptism. Years ago I heard a famous American homilist give a whole day's explanation of the fourth chapter of John. He compared the lady at the well to biblical Israel, and also to us.
Next Sunday's gospel is about the man born blind whom Jesus cured. The man who was cured had to testify about his blindness and his cure. Yet, he was not afraid to speak the truth, even though it was politically incorrect.
Have a good end to this leap year February. May the graces of Lent this year bring you to a deeper intimacy with Jesus. Ciao! And, better yet, as the deacon said today at the chapel I attended "Sia lodato Gesu' Cristo!" Praised be Jesus Christ! (The response is: May He always be praised! Or, in Italian, "Sempre sia lodato!")

Lent Begins

A friend of mine emailed me from Brazil last week. Noise from revelers enjoying Carneval kept her from getting a good night's sleep. It seems that some of her neighbors dreaded the idea of Ash Wednesday and the 40 days of Lent. Lent signifies a springtime. Maybe those folks celebrating Carneval never heard that there are three main aspects of practicing Lent: prayer, fasting (refraining from some legtimate good, or from an addiction); and alsmgiving--which means to help those poorer than ourselves.

In our hemisphere Spring is coming, although the grass here in Toronto is again covered with lots of heavy snow. Experience tells us that one day the sun will shine, the grass will turn green, and we can enjoy the outdoors without donning boots, heavy jackets and hoods.
In our spiritual life, we are headed for the greatest feast of the Christian year--Easter--the celebration of Christ's Resurrection from the dead. One writer said that C. S. Lewis once commented that nothing that has not died can rise. Jesus said "unless the grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies" it just remains a grain of wheat and never sprouts into a sheaf of wheat bearing much grain. We are made to live, and I for one, am not delighted at the prospect of death--naturally speaking. However in Lent we are not speaking of the purely "natural" but of the next level up--the life of grace, the spiritual life each one lives. Some persons have been working on their spiritual hygiene for a long time. Others are just beginning, and still others perhaps have not begun to address the health of their souls. For me Lent is a time to renew my purpose in life, to give more time to essentials which include prayer, reflection and deeper reading of the Word of God.
In our center here in Toronto, I was edified at how many people have come in to select reading to help them spend a better Lent. About a week ago a family of three, husband, wife and adolescent daughter, spent time browsing and choosing reading. Each one toted one of the baskets we provide for our customers. They were seriously preparing to spend the best Lent ever. Others came in for booklets on the Way of the Cross, or books for daily Lenten reading.
Yesterday I received an email with Lenten suggestions from a priest of the Society of St. Paul in Italy. Father spends much time in giving retreats and helping Paulines with spiritual direction. Father reminded us that Lent is a good time to renew the resolution to work on practicing the virtue that is the opposite of our outstanding vice--or to put it more gently--our "specialty." That is the one tendency in us which pulls us away from God--this could be inordinate pride, or a nasty quick temper, or selfishness, or addiction to eating too much. The list can become a litany. The seven capital sins are the roots of these specialties that each one may experience. Practicing their opposite is a real "hands on" way of living Lent. It is translating the teaching of spiritual masters to "die to yourself" so as to live more as Jesus would. It is making space in our egos for God to be in control. Since many of you may have watched the Super Bowl, Lent is a time to let God be the quarter back calling the shots and we the one who catches what he sends. As in football (American football), sometimes yards are gained slowly and painfully, so it can happen in our spiritual journey. We gain territory only after a lot of effort, sometimes we drop the ball, or we even get out of bounds. Lent calls us to direct our efforts toward God. It can mean fasting from food; fasting from outbursts of anger, or criticism; fasting from the Internet; or fasting from some media that is pulling us away from virtue. As one seven year old girl told me today what she is going to give up: "I guess I will give up being mean to my older sister." That was a good guess!
Whatever be your specialty and your remedy for it, I offer you my prayers that your Lenten journey will be a happy one. Lent is not something we "go alone" on. We travel it with millions of others, and Christ travels with us.

Epiphany

In Italy today is the day of "Befana" a bent old lady who brings gifts to good children and chunks of coal to those who were not so good. It is a day for gift giving in many countries. Epiphany means a manifestation -- a showing, a sort of revelation. In the liturgy of the Epiphany Jesus is coming among all of us, since the Wise Men came not from Israel but from other nations. In the past, this was a day of sending forth missionaries to manifest the Good News of Jesus to all the world.
The Wise Men or Magi brought Jesus gifts of gold for a king; frankincense to worship the king; and myrrh to embalm the king who would die for all of us. Myrrh is also a sign of sacrifice. The Little King whom the Magi adored would become the Lamb of God sacrificed for all. One of the hymns used at the close of the Mass we attended today had the word manifestation in every verse at least once. If someone had missed the homily or the gospel, that song would have jogged their memory!
As our Founder, Blessed James Alberione said, It was left to our generation to be able to truly proclaim the gospel "From the housetops", from broadcasts,to film, to iPods, and the Internet. Using the media for God is a contemporary daily Epiphany.
Of course, each of us is called to be -- in our own way -- an "Epiphany" of Christ to those around us.
Has anyone ever barged into your world with a big smile, perhaps with a small gift, and a few good words? For me, that kind of person is a real Epiphany of the presence of Christ among us. Or, maybe someone has confided to you that they are going to the Sacrament of Reconciliation, they are going to read a special good book...in other words, they are working on a deeper relationship with God. I ma privileged to know people like this, and they are for me real manifestations,little epiphanies on overcast winter days. May your week be filled with many such epiphanies.
I ask you all to pray for the people in Kenya, that a lasting and just peace will come about in that country. Pray for our Sisters who are there--many are novices from all over Africa. Pray too for the situation in Pakistan. We have a numerous group of mostly young Daughters of St. Paul in the major cities there, who may be at risk.
Thanks to all of you who read this blog. You can also reach me at pmartin@pauline.com.

Happy New Year!

The New Year came in last night rather softly here. I was in our chapel where we were free to spend time closing the old year and beginning the New year with Jesus present in the Blessed Sacrament. Close to midnight I could here some fireworks and other noise in the distance, yet it was good to begin this year in the company of the One who came to bring us real happiness. To help me focus on the needs of friends and family, I actually began to write names in my notebook: family members, Sisters, Cooperators, priests whom I know, and many more. In fact, there were more names than I could count. I remembered especially a young man who suffers from mental illness. About a month ago, his mother had purchased my book "Tender Mercies, Prayers for Healing and Coping." At that time, the young man was hospitalized. It appears he did read some of the book and was helped by it. His form of illness and depression makes him think that he is not loved by God. That's a heavy burden to carry around. I assured him that he is certainly loved by God. In fact, God "loved him into existence" and his love sustains him each moment. I ask all of you who read this blog to pray for this young man, and for his mother. She is a strong woman who is coping as best she can with her son's illness. There is a prayer/support group for those who suffer from mental illness, and for their family members and friends: the Guild of St. Benedict Labre'. There is no such Catholic group yet here in Toronto that I am aware of. The Guild helps many people in this situation.
As we begin this New Year, we begin in hope as Pope Benedict tells us. Hope runs deeper than mere optimism. It sees the realities of the political unrest is so many nations, the violence and wars going on. yet, hope is planted or rooted in God, not in science or any material source.
I thank God for granting me and you the grace to begin a New Year. Later this year, we will begin a year-long celebration in honor of St. Paul. That "year" will begin on June 29. Until then we can, as St. Paul tells us, "live in love, and let the Word of Christ dwell in us."

Christmas

Merry Christmas to all of you who read this. Christmas season in the Church's calendar lasts through the feast of the Epiphany or January 6.
On December 16, we Daughters of St. Paul began a 9 day preparation for the Birthday of Jesus. It's called the Christmas Novena. I prayed in a special way for all of you who meet me via this blog. Thanks for stopping by and reading it. thanks for the comments, and for your prayers.
I hope to "talk" to you soon in the next blog entry.

Advent's Signs

Thanks for visiting my blog, and having patience with me. It's already more than a month since I have added to this site. Last Saturday, December 1 was our annual Birthday Party for Jesus event. About 270 children came along with their parents and other relatives. Children and adults dress in costumes to have their pictures taken with "Baby Jesus." St. Nicholas gives presents, volunteers do creative face painting, 17 cakes disappeared, and balloons added color to the hall. Here are some pictures of the Party. Since our center has a spacious hall beneath it, we are able to fit about 100 people seated at tables for crafts, and refreshments while folks wait to dress in their costumes and have their photos taken.
Here are some photos to give you an idea of what it was like. Of course, the book center too was busy, since the only way to arrive at the Party was to enter Pauline Books & Media book center.

November Begins

November seemed to sneak in silently without any fanfare. Tonight we are back on Eastern Standard Time. My Palm Pilot however switched itself over last Sunday which resulted in my almost late arrival at Mass. For Americans, November brings the celebration of Thanksgiving--a home centered holiday, and one of America's more "religious" of civic celebrations. After all, the first Thanksgiving celebrated God's bounty and goodness toward the original Pilgrims. In Canada, we celebrated Thanksgiving Day on the first Monday of October. Our little community of Sisters celebrated with traditional turkey, cranberry sauce, and all the fixings that go with a traditional American Thanksgiving. Since the fourth Thursday of November is not a Canadian holiday, we may have turkey for our midday meal, but no holiday. However, we too will give thanks with our fellow Americans for all the abundant blessings God gives us everyday.
In this past week we enjoyed the visit of Sister Mary Martha Moss who brought us up-to-date on the workings of the 9th General Chapter of the Daughters of St. Paul. Our order is located in 52 countries, with its general headquarters in Rome. More than 70 Sisters representing all those countries met for one month in the Divine Master Retreat House in Ariccia, Italy. The Chapter meets every six years. One of the first things on its agenda is to elect or to re-elect the Superior General and her council. Sister Antonietta Bruscato who is from Brazil generously agreed to take up a second term as Superior General. She has 6 councilors who help her, a general secretary and a general "bursar." The bursar is the bookkeeper or accountant on a general level. Her councilors hail from Italy, Columbia, Spain, Japan and the Philippines. One of the councilors who is Italian has lived in Kenya, Africa, for over 20 years. This is a good representation from around the world. While it is in session, the Chapter is the highest authority in our congregation. Before the Sisters began their deliberations and meetings, they had a week of silent retreat led by Jesuit Father Rupnik. The Sisters wanted to make sure that they were spiritually ready to be open to the inspirations of the Holy Spirit. The Chapter delegates all were attuned to the theme "Chosen and loved in Christ Jesus, we communicate his Word to everyone."
With colorful Power Point slides, Sister Martha showed us the reports given at the Chapter. Then she gave us the final Chapter Document which charts the course of our religious congregation for the next six years. The Document presents three major goals for the Congregation as a whole and thus for each individual community. We were given copies of three main addresses given at the Chapter. We read each one, studied it and dialogued about how that topic related to our particular situation. It was a good experience in the dynamics of "communication." Events such as General Chapters give us the opportunity to avoid being complacent and to renew our life and mission.
On another topic: If you go to www.youtube.com/fatherjeffrey, you will find a 13 minute interview Father conducted with me in September. The title is "Tender Mercies." That may help you to locate the video.
This month connects us in a spiritual way with the next life. Its two first days showcase our family and friends who have gone before us: with All Saints Day on November 1, and All Souls Day on November 2. November 11 is called Veterans' Day or Armistice Day (from World War I). We remember those who died to preserve peace for us, and those still living who went to war for us. My Uncle Bill is one of those who served in the Pacific during World War II. He has many a harrowing story to tell.
Let us pray for those brave men and women--like Uncle Bill--who have gone before us and laid their lives on the line for us. May your November be one of prayerful reflection and joy-filled activity.
Until next time, God bless you!
Sister Mary Peter

A Saint for Today, October 22

In the Pauline world of about 10,000 members worldwide, we celebrate the feast day of our first "Blessed" Father Timothy Joseph Giaccardo today. He was beatified by Pope John Paul II on October 22, 1989. Father Timothy was the right hand man of our Founder, Father James Alberione. Alberione had met young Joseph Giaccardo while he served for a few months as assistant pastor in the parish of St. Bernard's in Narzole, Italy. The young priest noticed a definite goodness in one of the boys in the parish and invited him to pursue a priestly vocation. The boy, Joseph Giaccardo, explained that he would like to become a priest, but his family was too poor to afford to pay for his studies. Father Alberione found benefactors who paid the necessary expenses. Alberione was one of the professors at the seminary in Alba, northern Italy, where Giaccardo studied. Father Alberione, although relatively young, was also the seminary's spiritual director. Under his guidance, Joseph Giaccardo grew in virtue and in the desire to use the media--especially the printed word--for God. In the early 1900's, there was a wave of bitter anti-clericalism in Italy multiplied by printing presses which poured out newspapers and magazines which ridiculed religion and the Church. The message conveyed in many publications was (in today's words) that "it's not cool to be Catholic; nor to be a believer in God."
Father Alberione had his heart set on using the very same media--books, magazines, newspaper, movies and all the media--for God and for the Church.
In due time, Father Alberione with a small band of young boys began his mission work of setting up printing establishments "for God." His first endeavor was the diocesan paper The Alba Gazette, or in Italian La Gazzetta D'Alba. Soon other dioceses asked the newly formed Society of St. Paul to print their weekly papers and bulletins. When Joseph was still a seminarian, drawing closer to ordination, he asked permission from his bishop to join Father Alberione. He wanted to be a priest and a writer. In the foosteps of St. Paul, he wanted to reach people through the printed word. When he took his first vows, Joseph added the name Timothy. As St. Timothy was a faithful disciple of Paul, so Giaccardo became a disciple of Christ by working closely with Father Alberione. Whether it was a writing project or celebrating a Mass for one of the women's Pauline congregations, Father Timothy was ready to put his heart and soul into his work. Father Timothy died in January of 1948. He can be considered a new patron for writers, journalists and media producers.
In the picture to your right, we see an artist's rendition of Blessed Timothy. On the left is a shot of the altar dedicated to Blessed Timothy in the parish where he was baptized,St. Bernard's in Narzole, Italy.

Book Signing and Other Activites

Before I left for Boston we held our once-a-year Everything On Sale Day at Toronto's Pauline Books & Media Centre. During the Sale Day I took time from greeting our patrons to present some of the background of the books I wrote, "Tender Mercies, Prayers for Healing and Coping," and I signed copies which people had purchased.
On October 18, I gave a more "formal" presentation on the book complete with Power Point slides and more in depth background. I am pleased and somewhat humbled that so many are being helped by "Tender Mercies." One of my sisters told me yesterday that she gave "Tender Mercies" as a gift to the Ursuline Sister who was my first grade teacher. Sister said,"It made my day!" I am one of the hundreds or thousands whom Sister Mary Jeanne touched with her smiling and patient ways. Now aged 82, Sister works as a nurse. I still have many happy memories of First Grade where a very young Sister Jeanne taught us reading, writing, arithmetic
(in our day "math" was not yet in vogue), and religion. Our reader books were called "Alice and Jerry." I am grateful to Sister Jeanne for getting me off to a great start in the academic world!
In the Catholic Exponent, the newspaper of my home diocese, Youngstown, Ohio, there was an interview published about myself and the book, "Tender Mercies." If you would like to read the full article, please go to this link and click on "Local News": http://www.doy.org/exp.asp.

October -- "Actober"

Last night as I watched the Boston Red Sox and the Cleveland Indians in game seven of their playoffs, I saw the word "actober" flashed on the screen. That said a lot. October is so crammed with events for some of us that it is full of action.
I began this month in Boston, Massachusetts where I attended the Pauline Cooperators National Convention. (It is really the North American Convention, since I came from Canada.)
The Convention took place at St. Thecla's Retreat House which is in Billerica, Mass. That is about 20 miles north of Boston. St. Thecla's is a good place for meetings and retreats, since the neighborhood still has a semi-rural air about it. There is little traffic to create noise which allows for better meditation, and listening.
Our main speaker was Father Kevin Kersten, a Jesuit priest currently assigned to Boston College. Father has an impressive list of credentials in the field of communications. He gave an enthusiastic presentation on using media for God, and in a very positive way.
Father Jeffrey Mickler came from Canfield, Ohio to be the homilist and for his own spiritual input into our meeting. Besides his spirituality, Father lent very practical help by being the videographer.
I too gave a presentation on the Pauline Family's four wheels: prayer/piety; study/willingness to learn from everything; apostolate/mission and poverty/stewardship of all our gifts and resources. To illustrate the points I used movie clips from Entertaining Angels (Dorothy Day's story); from The Lord of the Rings, part 1; from The Rookie (with Dennis Quade); and from the Italian Job. The energy used to outfit the mini-Coopers made it really clear how all involved used their particular gifts to achieve the final end....
Here are a few pictures from the Convention:

Photos for the Blog

I forgot to attach the photos to the last two blogs.
I beg your patience while you drift from one picture to the next, dealing with the August and September activities.
One pic. is of deer tacks near the gas well on one of my relatives property; another is of my niece and her horse; and a few other random shots.
This is what I call "The Pumpkin Pile". Of course, there are a lot of squash in it too. This pile is not only pretty, but good to eat as well.

Photo From Vacation and Signings

Here are the pictures which I forgot to publish in the very last blog:

September Song

Since I was on vacation (or as Canadians say, on holiday) in Ohio from late August to mid-September two seasons passed in front of me. I arrived home in Ohio amid good old summertime hot sun weather. When I returned to Toronto, I could see trees turning scarlet or yellow already.
While on vacation, I was able to visit the Mahoning County or Canfied Fair once again. As a teenager I was a 4-H member. That meant bringing my project to the Fair having it judged and spending 24 hours there for a week at a time. Now I have a 13 year old niece whose project this year was her horse Dynamite (Dee for short.) Megan, the horsewoman also brought her rabbit, Blackberry. The Fairgrounds cover many acres, so it was providential that Blackberry and Dee were housed in neighboring barns. Another niece had a sewing project as well as a health project. Our thirteen year old nephew is also in 4-H. His project involved repairing small engines.
I also met one of my fellow 4-Hers who now operates a farm machinery business. I was surprised that he recognized me after many years.
One of the highlights of my vacation was taking part in a book signing for my own new book, Tender Mercies, Prayers for Healing and Coping.
The first event took place at the chapel of the Society of St. Paul in Canfield, Ohio. Even though they do not have a parish, the Fathers and Brothers of St. Paul open their large chapel to the public for two Sunday Masses. The 10:00 AM Mass is televised. Father Jeffry Mickler of the Society of St. Paul offered the TV Mass on "signing day." After Communion he held the book up, recommended it and even read one of the prayers--the one for a person who has lost a spouse. A lady came up to me after Mass and asked to have her book signed. "I made up my mind to get the book when Father read that prayer. I recently lost my husband." Another lady came up to me and told me she has anxiety attacks. She too went home with one of the books to help her cope with her difficulties. Father Jeffry also interviewed me for a Catholic radio program for the Diocese of Youngstown. The program is called "Wineskin's." Father Jeff also taped a TV interview with me for the Catholic and ecumenical TV channel in the Youngstown, Ohio Diocese.
A number of relatives and friends purchased copies of the book for themselves and for gifts.
Today I was able to give a copy of "Tender Mercies" to the Archbishop of Toronto, Most Reverend Tom Collins.
My Uncle who is 87 year old, and still very alert told me he was disappointed. When I asked "why," he said he thought the book would contain my autobiography--the adventures of my life. One of these days I half-promised him I would sit down and chronicle some of my adventures in my life as a Daughter of St. Paul.
I hope you all get a chance to read my book--and most of all to pray with it!
Here are some pictures: one of the book, and others of the Fair, and a variety of things....

August Update

Summer seemed to be in full force when all of a sudden I saw TV ads for back-to-school sales! Where did summer go! My vacation or "holiday" as it is called in Canada (and probably most places once under British rule) will not take place until the end of August. I realized today that I it's about time that I plan the year's meetings with our Pauline Cooperators, both the English and Italian speaking groups.
When I get back from vacation I will be conducting a meeting for our Pauline Cooperators. In October they will have their National or North American Convention in the Boston area. Some of the Canadians are planning on going to Boston.
This coming Sunday our little community of Sisters is planning to visit the Shrine of the Canadian Martyrs in Midland, Ontario. I am looking forward to learning more about the "Canadian" Martyrs. In Auriesville, New York there is the Shrine of the North American Martyrs, since the Jesuits who gave their lives came from what is now Canada to what is now upstate New York, USA to evangelize the Native American people.
So much has happened in the world since my last blog. There were lots of events that caused us to pray more: the Minneapolis Bridge collapse; the suicide bombings continuing in Iraq, the miners trapped in Utah...last night's news predicted a possible tsunami on the Pacific coast. Thankfully, that seems not to have happened.
Sometimes God "gets the blame" when accidents happen or other tragedies occur. However, God does not cause evil. He made the rivers, but not the bridges, as I once heard a preacher say. God is not a chess player, moving figures around for fun. At times the reason behind certain tragic events certainly is not clear to us, and may only be clear when we get to see creation through his eyes in eternity.
One of my favorite passages from St. Paul is Romans 8:28, "For those who love God, all things work together for the good." May you enjoy a blessed day!

July Jubilees

Yesterday was a "jubilee" day at our Provincial Convent in Boston, Mass. Seven Sisters celebrated 25 years of religious profession and 3 celebrated 50 years. The main celebrant for their Mass was Bishop Richard Lennon of Cleveland. Bishop Lennon served as chaplain for our Boston community for more than 18 years.
Here in Toronto we celebrated in our own way by hosting a barbecue supper for seven young women. Some of them are volunteers in our centre, others are discerning the possibility of entering religious life.
On a more personal note, I am happy to share with you the news that August 1st is the release date for the book which I authored called "Tender Mercies, Prayers for Healing and Coping." I received an advance copy and it looks good. This book is intended to bring comfort and a means of healing to those suffering various kinds of stress, or those struggling with addictions, or those suffering from various forms of abuse, and it even has prayers for those recovering from natural disasters. I will let you know more about the book in future blogs. I am aware that there are many people who feel they cannot pray formal prayers when they feel agitated, or depressed by any number of problems. In "Tender Mercies" I offer some guidance on why pray, and how to pray. The prayers offered are usually brief--a bit longer than sound bytes--yet complete enough to launch a person's prayer experience. I certainly prayed much before I worked on the book, and as I was waiting for its "birthing process"--its journey through its various editorial stages--I continued to pray for whomever will receive a copy of this new book.
Today would be the feast day of St. Mary Magdalene. She displayed a great love for Jesus, and he chose her to be the first to announce the good news of the Resurrection to the first Christians. May we all share at least some of her enthusiasm and love for the Lord.

Ordinary Time

The weather this week after Canada Day and the Fourth of July is sizzling. Today in Ontario it is supposed to be about 90 to 95 degrees Fahrenheit or 35 Celsius. We thank God for air conditioning.
In the Church's liturgy, this is considered "Ordinary Time"--the 14th week of it. This week we will celebrate the feast of St. Benedict. He is one of the Patron Saints of Europe, the Founder of western monasticism. We who have the Bible today can thank Benedict's monks who painstakingly copied Bible manuscripts by hand in the monasteries that spread throughout all of Europe. "Ora et labora" that is, pray and work was Benedict's original motto. Then a third element was added: "studia", or study.
Another legacy which Benedict and his monks gave to all the world is that of "lectio divina." It literally means "divine reading." There is a lot to say about "lectio." In another post I will tell you more.
As we live this ordinary time in which every minute is an extraordinary grace, let us think about Jesus in Nazareth who spent 30 years of "ordinary living."

Canada Day/Indepence Day

Yesterday Sister Marlyn and I went downtown to celebrate Canada Day by taking part in the multicultural festival at Dundas Square. That's in the heart of Toronto's downtown. The weather was unseasonably cool, so it was providential that we both took our jackets. Sister has a white Roots sweatshirt with the red maple leaf design on it. She was very much Canadian. I too wore a little stickpin with the Canadian flag. We were able to see dances from Egypt, Ecuador, and Indonesia. There was limited seating, so I ended up on the steps leading up to the stage. All the dances were lively. The Egyptian Pharaoh dance was truly beautiful. It reminded me of scenes from Cecil B. De Mille's Ten Commandments. We were asked to wish one another "Happy Canada Day" several times. Little children were handing out maple leaf stickers to remind us what day it was. It was the 140th anniversary of Canada as a nation. Being still a "newbie" here, I have to check out what that really means. Many of those at Dundas Square were obviously not native born Canadians--the audience was truly multicultural.
Later, Sister and I wandered into a large used book store where I found some titles for my brother who is interested in Canadian history. One book is about German U-boats which had been active in the St. Lawrence river area during World War II. I learned about an aspect of both Canadian and American history of which I was totally unaware.
Our Superior left for a meeting in Los Angeles on media. Since we live in "Hollywood North" Sister heads up our Toronto Centre for media. She has been doing that by holding monthly "Movie Nights." She uses a regular feature film, and finds a connection to a gospel passage. She reads the passage and then projects the entire film. After a brief intermission, the group is invited to discuss the film in relation to the gospel. We have been getting a steady audience each month. Her LA meeting may bring other elements into the "movie mix." Some of the movies we watched in the past year were "Holes," "Ladder 49," "Bend It Like Beckham," "The Spitfire Grill" and "The Guardian." Then Sister will make her annual retreat and what we call an "encounter"--an updating session of about 5 days.
Sister Marlyn leaves soon for a three week encounter in Brazil where she will be join other Sisters from the Americas. Since we are an international congregation, there are occasional meetings like the Brazil encounter that gather Sisters from many countries who share the same ideals in a variety of cultures.
For all the Americans who read this, my best regards for a safe and happy July 4th holiday. I pray that God will bless America, and continue to keep us free and good.

Away from It All

This past Monday I returned from a week long retreat in Ohio. It was a week without phone calls, mail, or Internet access. The timing was so that I was able to attend my niece Sharon's graduation ceremony as well as the party on the following Sunday. After connecting with the Lord during a time of semi-seclusion and silence, I was able to re-connect with ten of my brothers and sisters. Only one of my siblings was unable to attend. She lives in South Carolina. As you may have been counting, I am from a large family.

My retreat was spent with part of my spiritual family. As a Daughter of St. Paul I am a member of what's called the "Pauline Family." My retreat director was Father Ignatius, SSP. The SSP stands for Society of St. Paul. Today in New York's Staten Island borough, members of the Daughters of St. Paul and the Society of St. Paul are celebrating the anniversary of the arrival of the pioneer Paulines in America in 1932. After an ocean voyage of about 12 days, the future priests and the young Sisters arrived in the Port of New York with few belongings and much faith. For the historians among you, 1932 was the height of the Great Depression. Those were days when every nickel went a long way. The Sisters' first home was a small apartment in the Bronx. In 1936 the Sisters and the Fathers moved to Staten Island locations.

The chapel where I spent my days of retreat is well air conditioned. The Lord provided perfect weather for my time of more intense prayer. The nights were cool and the days comfortably warm and sunny. Father suggested some New Testament readings which had a lot of substance and meaning for me. At night time traffic on the road outside seemed quiet. The only noise at night came from what I think were frogs who kept up an alto and bass chant all night. Even the flying creatures like flies and mosquitoes were pretty tame and restrained. One morning three large deer showed up on the back lawn. I could hear coyotes, I saw several rabbits, and ground hogs were around too. "Wild life" in this our area of Toronto is limited to black and grey squirrels, sea gulls and a few other birds. One morning as I left the front door of chapel, a chipmunk zoomed by me, practically running right over my feet. A mulberry tree at the monastery is home to several kinds of birds and a host of chipmunks. I wish you all have the opportunity to one day spend a week of prayerful retreat in a place similar to that where I was in Ohio. I will post here some of the photos of St. Paul's Monastery so you can see what I mean.

The pond whihc is in the back of tghe monastery was a favorite place for meditation. I call it the "Reflection Pool," since I could see the trees and shrubs all reflected like a mirror on the pond's surface. A robin is framed by the remains of an ancient mulberry tree.

June Blog

I could hardly believe my eyes when I saw that my last blog entry was in mid-May!
June is full of religious feasts, at least for us members of the Pauline Family. Last Sunday was the feast of the Most Holy Trinity. Soon we will celebrate the Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ, then the celebration in honor of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, next the Immaculate Heart of Mary. At the end of the month is the solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul. On the 30th of June, we Paulines have a special Mass in honor of St. Paul. On that day three of our novices will pronounce their first vows at our Boston convent. The novices are from California, Arizona and Singapore. They are from three different ethnic heritages: Spanish, Vietnamese and Chinese. Yet they are now part of a world-wide religious family. In a sense, they are "nuns without borders" since we Daughters of St. Paul are in 51 countries. There is a possibility that one day any one of those three may be called to serve in a different country.
In a few days one of our Sisters who was serving in Philadelphia for the past two years will leave for "the missions." Sister has been asked to become a missionary in the sense that she is leaving the USA, her homeland, to serve abroad. She will go to Rome for studies and then she may be assigned to one of our convents in what was formerly the Soviet Union, or she may go to any other country in need of a Pauline Sister.
We already have eight Sisters from the USA serving in other countries (not counting us assigned to Canada). We will miss her. Now with email we can always keep in touch electronically.
Sister Roberta is the "new" missionary. Last year Sister Pat (Patricia Thomas) left for her mission assignment in Moscow. I knew Sister Pat when she was a young woman in Alaska discerning her call to be a Daughter of St. Paul. When I was assigned to our book center in Alexandria, Virginia several years ago, I met Roberta the high school student. Now she is Sister Roberta. During her novitiate, Sr. Roberta and I were together for six months in our Charleston, SC convent. As a novice, Sister spent time in a smaller community to experience what life might be like once she made her vows.
Another one of our Philadelphia Sisters is flying to Rome soon. There she will perfect her Italian skills in preparation for attending the Course on the Charism of the Pauline Family. I attended the Course from 2003--2004. She will have the chance to study the life of our Founder, Blessed Alberione, the history of our order, the Daughters of St. Paul, and each of the other nine branches of the Pauline Family, plus many other subjects. After I finished the Charism Course I felt enriched not only by all the informational input, but also by new friends with whom I still correspond.
On Friday I will leave for Ohio. On Saturday one of my nieces is graduating from high school. For the first time in m life I will be able to attend a niece or nephew's graduation. Then on Saturday evening I will begin a spiritual retreat at St. Paul's Monastery in Canfield, Ohio. So during that time I will not be blogging or emailing. Once a year we Sisters have the privilege and the obligation to make a week-long retreat. I look forward to this precious time.I promise you all that I will pray for you too. Have a good month of June. God bless you! Sister Mary Peter
A P.S.
Check out the Daughters of St. Paul on "YouTube." Here is a link:

Click here: YouTube - Best Catholic Books: Summertime Spirituality

Niagara Falls

Every time I see Niagara Falls I am amazed. Thankfully I cannot get a "ho-hum" attitude toward this wonder of the world. This past Tuesday four of us Sisters went to see the Falls. One of us four had never seen the Falls. She had passed by on her way to places like Cleveland and Buffalo, but had never been able to get off the Interstate and enjoy the sights. She was duly impressed. I was able to take a few nice pictures for Sister and even a few seconds' worth of the cascade as the water plunges over the falls. Sister Irene and I went down under the Falls. I was impressed once again at the 34 million gallons of water rushing by us each minute as we stood at a portico beneath the Falls. My first assignment after I left our mother house was in Buffalo. The historical lore tells us that Father Hennipin, the Franciscan who accompanied the French explorers in the Niagara region, exclaimed "What a beautiful river!" or "Que beau fleuve!" (My French is probably all wrong here). To those around him it sounded like "buffalo"--the bison--so that is the word that stuck and became the name of the city which sprung up along the shores of Lake Erie and the Niagara River.

The Falls are truly awesome. In late April as I flew back to Toronto from a week in Boston, the pilot tilted our plane so we on my side enjoyed a gorgeous aerial view of the water. The immensity of the Falls reminds me of the song "Our God is an Awesome God." It's good to praise God and thank him too for the gift we have in the nature around us. I have a friend in Maine who lives near the ocean. In fact there are parts of her house that allow her a fantastic view of the Atlantic. At times I feel, "I'd love to live there where Ginny is, so I can see the ocean all the time." Yet I know that this is impossible for me. However, the beauty of having seen the water cascading over the Falls, churning and misting minute after minute, reminded me of the immensity of God's graces that he showers on each of us. So I am compensated for not living in Maine!

We as Church are in the midst of, or preparing to pray the Novena to the Holy Spirit. Jesus had promised "I will send you Another...an Advocate." The powers of nature remind me of the story of the First Pentecost when the Advocate, the Holy Spirit did come. The Acts of the Apostles tell us this: "Together they devoted themselves to constant prayer. And, Mary the Mother of Jesus was there." (Acts of the Apostles) The power of the Spirit on Pentecost was awesome. His power can be just as awesome today, not only in the pounding force of the Niagara River's cascades, but most of all in the grace He gives us to be open to God's presence and to the needs of those around us.

Whereabouts and Spirituality with Spider Man 3

To your left are some photos of St. Thecla's Retreat House where I spent the last weekend of April. The "twig cross" was a natural formation on the retreat house grounds.

Here it's already May 6, and I have not blogged since April 22! On April 23, we had an evening Mass with one of the Toronto Auxiliary Bishop, Most Reverend Peter Hundt. After Mass we enjoyed dinner cooked by Sister Marlyn, and a spirited conversation with the bishop. He is very youthful--I am not sure of his age. I was impressed by his understanding of "where people are" religiously and his willingness to help them progress to another level.
The next morning I left for Boston, Massachusetts. I was scheduled to help at the annual Cooperators' Retreat for the Northeast held during the last weekend of April.
My assignment was to prepare all the prayers to be done in common, including an Hour of Eucharistic Adoration. Since my ticket was made for two days ahead of my scheduled assignment, I used some of the time to finish a translation from Italian to English for a Sister in Rome. Then I made some handouts to use for the retreat's Hour of Adoration. Sister Patricia Cora who is in charge of the Boston Cooperators gave several sessions on holiness and sanctification of the mind, the will and of the heart. Sister used simple Power Point slides and reflection guides for each talk.
While I was away, a letter arrived from the Bishop of my home Diocese, Youngstown, Ohio. The newly installed Bishop, George V. Murry, S.J. (a Jesuit) sent a kind letter of thanks in reply to my Easter greetings and congratulations on his accepting the nomination of being Bishop of a diocese which has been "bishop--less" for two years.
I look forward to seeing Bishop Murry on my next visit to Ohio. Bishop Murry is a scholar and an experienced bishop after having served in St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands.
The Boston Retreat went well. Sixteen people were able to come, including a priest who is a novice in the secular institute of Jesus the priest; and a couple who are novices in the Institute of the Holy Family. One of the Cooperators is a FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Association) representative. He had just returned the day before from parts of Nebraska which had suffered from storms and floods. He may now be in Kansas, assessing the aftermath of the huge tornado which ripped apart the town of Greensburg. A young couple expecting their first child also made the retreat. In reality there were 17 persons there, although one was in disguise!
The evening of my return from Boston marked our April Movie Night, part of our ongoing

program called Faith and Film hosted by Sister Hosea. About 25 people watched Bend It Like

Beckham, including the youth group from a local parish and their priest. A lively discussion followed the film viewing.
Our book centre was extra busy in the last few days due to many folks coming to us for items to use for First Communion and Confirmation gifts.

Our quarterly order for Italian titles arrived from Rome while I was away. It was good to see Pope Benedict's new book "Jesus of Nazareth" and his document "Sacramentum Caritatis" already available in Italian for our Italian population.

Last week flew by between finding space for new Italian titles, and serving the people who turn to us for books in our centre.

Many people of all ages and backgrounds visit our center. Yesterday a gentleman who served (maybe he still does) as a hotel concierge in Europe was interested in a collection of saints. We do have several lives of saints' collections in English, Italian and Spanish. The man was telling me of a beautiful chapel he had seen in Paris. He wanted to know who the Saint was connected with that chapel of the Miraculous Medal. He was fascinating to listen to, although I had to tend to others needs. He remains well impressed by the devotion he saw at shrines in Europe where steady streams of pilgrim testify that faith is very much alive in lots of people.

A mother of a recent First Communicant came in for gifts for her daughter's girl friends who were to receive Communion today. The mother was so thrilled that her daughter "got it"--the "it" being the meaning of Communion. The girl was so excited last week that she could hardly sleep. One night she told her Mom, "Only four more days!" The perplexed mother asked, "Four more days for what? It's not your birthday. The child beamed and said, "It's four more days to Sunday when I can receive Jesus again!" Would that we adults had that same enthusiastic love! I thought to myself, "Wow! the Lord really loves the little children." The mother just happened to have some photos of her daughter's First Holy Communion. The child's face was truly glowing with joy. Stories like these help to make my day.
Tomorrow I will take some time for a retreat day. Today, the first Sunday of the month, is our usual day of silent retreat. However, today our little community of Sisters went to see Spider Man 3 in a local theater. We chose an early screening to avoid the big crowds. Sister Hosea Marie will give a presentation on Monday night called "Praying with the Media." Since Spider Man 3 is a huge media event, we decided that we needed to know what was so great about this sequel and how does it relate to human problems and religious themes. We certainly had a great discussion in the car on the way home. Forgiveness, self knowledge, love and sacrifice, as well as giving in to pride and vanity all had front-row-center attention in the film. Of course, the good versus evil theme was there as usual. See it for yourself to see how much we can learn from a movie about what Jesus teaches us.

While I was in Boston I had a nice surprise. A young man, a biochemist and teacher, who is also the brother of one of our Sisters came by to tell three of us who know him well his good news: He is accepted as a candidate in a Trappist monastery in California. Trappists live a very austere life of prayer and work. They follow the original Rule of St. Benedict who gave his monks the advice: Ora et labora! Pray and work. Each monastery has to have an "industry" which supports it. Some sell eggs from the chickens they raise; others prepare honey and beeswax; others like the Trappistine Sisters in Massachusetts make candy, or fruitcakes, etc. This young man spent his summer vacation of 2006 visiting every Trappist monastery in the USA. His coast-to-coast wanderings led him to the California site which produces wine. The monks have their own vineyards. Our friend was thrilled that his background in biochemistry will help him develop even better grapes for the monastery. I have known this young man for 16 years. I was pleased to hear his good news and to witness his spiritual growth. I promised my prayers for him that he may be able to persevere and find true happiness at the New Caliveaux.

Have a super month of May. For us Catholics May is the month of Mary, when we remember her special role in bringing Jesus into the world, and in accepting her place in the plan of God as Mother of the Church. I know I plan to be more faithful to the daily rosary. It's like carrying the gospel in your pocket. Each time I pray the rosary I remember different episodes in the life of Jesus and see how I can learn from them.

Another Nun Blog

A Sister friend of mine in Rome is from Singapore. We have been friends since she spent four years in Boston for her initial formation as a Daughter of St. Paul.
Here is her blog spot address: http://fspveritas.blogspot.com/index.html

Cast Your Nets

A Good Day for Fishing

Today was a beautiful one weather-wise in Toronto. I hope it was the same for you who are reading this. A few young women spent the weekend with us. Yes, there are still some women who see religious life--being a Sister--as a valuable, viable option for their life's choice. Today's gospel reading from St. John tells of a miraculous catch of fish. That came after a hard night of no fish at all. Then the Lord said, "Cast your nets to the other side of the boat." The net was filled with 153 fish. After Peter hauled the fish ashore, all by himself, the Lord had breakfast ready and waiting. Then came a moment of decision for Peter. Three times Jesus asked him: "Do you love me." Each time the answer was "yes." After each affirmation Jesus gave Peter a task--really layers of responsibility: "Feed my lambs; feed my sheep." Peter's love would have a price. I recently saw the film called "Peter" so the characters in the gospel were vivid in my imagination today. (Omar Shariff portrays a convincing Peter in the full length feature DVD.) Love is freely given, but it requires sacrifice. That's what Peter would find out soon enough.

So all of us find out that love has its own costs, yet the rewards beat out the costs any day! The young women who came this weekend were discerning if this life of ours is where God is calling them to pour out their love.

Today during our hour of prayer before Jesus in the Eucharist, we were asked to present a symbol of ourselves at this moment. I brought up a map of Toronto and the surrounding area--the GTA as it is called--along with a lighted candle. The symbolism lay in the candle light representing the light of Christ in the Word we distribute as Paulines in this area; plus the light of my own life which is burning out slowly for the Lord. Years ago my sister had a prayerbook for young women. I would borrow it sometimes. I still remember a poem in it which started like this: "Rabboni, when I am dying, how glad I shall be, that the lamp of my life has burned out for Thee." An old, seasoned missionary priest once said, "There is a fire in everyone. It can be the fire of love of God, or the fire of love for self." So I hope this "fire" is the right one--for God!

I have a poster in my office with the words: "We have believed in love!" That epitomizes one who gives his or her life in love. I think of that 76 year old professor and Holocaust survivor who died saving his students at Viriginia Tech. He certainly proved his love for others.

The late Pope John Paul loved the expression taken from the gospel of today: Cast your nets into the deep. That expression would take the space of an entire blog. Yet, there are times when God asks us to take a leap of faith, and cast into the deep. May we be ready for that when the time comes....

May you have a wonderful, Jesus-filled week of peace.

The "Sea of Peace"

For many families and individuals, this has been a painful week. I am referring especially to the shootings at Virginia Tech. The young perpetrator was obviously mentally disturbed. As one TV commentator remarked, "Hindsight is 100% surer than foresight." As we look to the past of that young man, then we see a trail of abnormal and disturbing behavior. Let us pray that in the future any such individuals will be helped long before they reach a point of no return.

The Presidential Prayer Team website gave an opportunity to sign a cyber "wall" for the victims and their families. When I responded to the PPT website, I thought of the words of St. Catherine of Siena (1347-1380). She lived in unsettled times in Italy when the opposing parties--Ghibelline's and Guelph's--were antagonizing each other, and the Pope was living in Avignon, France, rather than in Rome.

Catherine learned a ot from prayer. Even though she had not gone to school, she was fearless when she felt it was God's will to act in a certain way. That certainty of being anchored to the Will of God gave her the courage to go to the Pope and respectfully urge him to move back to Rome. Despite her lack of academic skills, Catherine became a spiritual leader, and a mystic. One of her writings describes Jesus as "a sea of peace." I pray that the Lord will plunge the families of the deceased and wounded into this Sea of Peace, so they will be consoled in this time of grief and sorrow. May Jesus grant his peace to each of the deceased as well as to the survivors. May his strength and love console those who grieve.

On a much brighter side, it was a delight to be in our book and media center today to witness how many young people are approaching the sacrament of the Eucharist as they make their "First Holy Communion" this weekend or very soon in May. Many youngsters are going to have a Jesus-filled day when they receive the Body and Blood of the Lord for the first time. The graces of the Holy Spirit will anoint many young people as the Bishops of the Archdiocese confer the sacrament of Confirmation on many young people, and some adults in the Archdiocese. We pray that the remembrance of Who jesus is, his teachings and the examples of the Saints will help to prolong the spiritual effects of these two sacraments.

Today was one of unmitigated sunshine and mild temperatures in Toronto. It's amazing to watch how faces brighten too when the sun comes out. I thank the Lord for giving us good weather, espcially for all the young childen who will be receiving the Lord for the first time in Holy Communion.

In Jesus,

Sister Mary Peter

Amazing Grace--the Movie

Recently our Toronto Star newspaper had front page articles on the 200th anniversary of Great Britain's abolition of the slave trade. The USA took almost 50 years to follow suit.
Today three of us went to see Amazing Grace the new film that depicts the struggles of William Wilberforce to end his country's slave trade. His pastor was the ship captain turned preacher who wrote the song "Amazing Grace." Because slavery was part of the underpinning of the English colonies economy, few members of parliament were willing to vote against it. With dogged perseverance Wilberforce finally won. His story reminds me of St. Paul's advice to preach the gospel "in season and out" of season. Wilberforce's did that. Of course he made enemies, and he ruined his health. Yet he won in the end. The acting is top notch, and the action keeps moving. The movie focuses on William Pitt also. Pitt was a lifelong friend who served in Parliament with Wilberforce. The producers and screen writers came up with a good blend of friendship, subdued romance, Christian commitment, and hsitorical fact to make for a fast moving two hours. The emotional impact was strong--at least for me and my companions. So bring the Kleenex if you go!
Have a great continuation of Easter Week!
Sister Mary Peter

Little Easter

Happy Easter!

Today is Easter Monday. In the Church each day of Easter Week is a new Easter day. The psalms of Morning and Evening Prayer are the same each day of this week. Some of Christianity's best hymns are reserved for this time of year.

I hope that all of you readers were able to connect with family and some friends yesterday. I spoke with family members in Utah, Ohio, and South Carolina.

The weather has not been cooperating here in the north country, and apparently down in the USA too. Despite snow flurries and cold temperatures, Easter is real and Christ is truly risen. Of course we hope for the resurrection of the dead at the end of time. Yet there are daily resurrections that can bring us joy, and radiate peace to those who live near us. The first of the Glorious Mysteries of the Rosary is that of the resurrection. Blessed James Alberione's reflection on this mystery goes something like this: "Jesus resurrection also represents our resurrection from the 'grave' of sin and defects. Let us ask the grace to rise from the tomb to new life in Christ."

Have a wonderful Easter Week!

Sister Mary Peter

Happy Easter!

Our chapel bathed in the Easter morning sun.

Happy Easter to all who read this! We rejoice in the reason for our faith--the rock foundation being the fact of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It was so uplifting to be present a the Holy Saturday Easter Vigil. The pastor from Blessed Trinity Church where we attended Mass last evening explained the history of the Easter Vigil to all of us present. Keeping "vigil,", waiting up at night to commemorate the resurrection of the Lord, goes back probably to the second century of Christianity: People read Scripture and prayed all through the night in anticipation of the Lord's resurrection. So we read the Scriptures and pray for various intentions. Then the Alleluia is sung three times before the Gospel is proclaimed. All through Lent the alleluia was silent. In fact, in some places a ceremonial "burial of the alleluia" takes place on Ash Wednesday. It resurrected again last night as the alleluias were sung. I felt very happy to be a Roman Catholic--to be connected with all these centureies of belief and practice; to all the people of every culture who worship the same God with the same sacrifice and the same teachings from Scripture. It was good to see about 15 adults baptized or received int o full "Communion with the Roman Catholic church.

I want to pass on to you an Easter homily from Hong Kong. It is very upbeat. HK of course means Hong Kong.

Please enjoy it.

Easter Vigil and Easter Sunday, April 7-8, 2007 by M. Sloboda (Father Michael Sloboda, a Maryknoll priest serving in Hong Kong.)

Happy Easter!
I’ll begin and end with words of joy from the ancient Greek Church:
[Tonight] Today we rejoice in the salvation of the world.
Christ is risen; let us arise with him!
Christ enters new life; let us live in him!
Christ has come forth from the tomb;
Let us shake off the chains of evil!
The gates of hell are open,
The powers of evil are overcome!
In Christ, a new creation is coming to birth,
Alleluia!
Lord, make us new,
Alleluia! [St. Gregory of Naziansus, 330-389]

Let’s look at those exclamations.
“[Tonight] Today we rejoice in the salvation of the world.” Jesus and all of his first disciples were Jewish. But the Good News has gone out to all the world. In this congregation, there might be several people with Jewish ancestry, but I see faces from every part of the world. St. Anne’s is a cross section of the human race, part of a universal church open to everyone, and the Greek adjective for universal is “catholic.”
“Christ enters new life; let us live in him!” Speaking of new life, tonight [last night] we will baptize a baby [name]. His mother was baptized at the Easter Vigil in the USA a few years ago, and his grandparents are visiting HK now. The Easter Vigil is the best time of year to baptize. In all the Catholic churches in HK, a total of 2550 adults and children will be baptized tonight. “Christ enters new life; let us live in him!” So after I baptize baby N, we will renew our baptismal promises.
This baby is one of the youngest residents of HK, but HK also has the oldest priest in the world. Fr. Nicholas Gao is a monk at the Trappist monastery on Lantau Island. Born on Jan. 15, 1897, he recently turned 110. The oldest citizen of HK has been thin all his life. He says a Rosary every day, and advizes people to “keep moving, keep praying, keep working, and never get angry, never get angry.” He is alert and can still take care of himself. He goes to bed early and rises when they ring the bell at 3:30 AM. He throws on his alb, ties a cincture, that is, a rope belt, and shuffles to the chapel for the first prayers of the day. Actually, he started slowing down at age 104 and now he does not have much energy. So some people are now whispering that Fr. Gao’s best days are behind him. On the contrary, I say that his best days are ahead of him, the endless days of eternal life.
As most of you know, I was seriously interested in astronomy years before I became seriously interested in the Gospel. I read a book review recently. An astronomer [Marcus Chown] wrote a book to explain the frontiers of science and the latest news in astronomy to the general public. He tackled big qns, like the origin of the universe and its long-term fate, in non-technical language and without a lot of math. Next, he needed an attention-grabbing title to entice people to buy his book. So he titled his new book The Never Ending Days of Being Dead. The Never Ending Days of Being Dead? That doesn’t sound like an attractive title to me. I’d rather read about the Never Ending Days of Eternal Life. Because Jesus triumphed over death, because he rose from the dead in a glorified body, the laws of physics will not have the final say over the universe. The Son of God will have the final word. Whatever our problems, there are better days ahead for us, and so we have hope.
Looking at the parents of baby N, they seem fully qualified to give their son an excellent start in life, a nice house, good medical care and first-class education. We all wish that N will grow up wise, loving and strong, and make a contribution to the world. We hope he will be in this world for a long time. When N turns 110 in October of the year 2116, the world will be a different place. On second thought, asking for 110 years on this earth might be overly ambitious. But the hopes of his parents and grandparents for N are not limited to this world only. They are bringing him into the church to ask for faith for him, and faith will give him eternal life, a share in the eternal life which Our Lord won for us by his death and resurrection.
They will be the first teachers of N in the ways of faith. May they also be the best of teachers by what they say and do. Setting a good example is the hard part. But in Christ a new creation is coming to birth, and Christ can make us new, alleluia!
Candles are the most noticeable feature of the Easter Vigil. So what? Today we take bright lights for granted. Everywhere in HK there are lights, too many lights, which are brighter than any candle. The city of Sydney recent turned off its downtown lights for an hour to demonstrate saving energy. However in this church a few years ago, the electricity stopped before the 6 PM Mass. It was late summer, so we still had some daylight. But by the time I got to the altar, it was growing dark, and those candles (plus someone standing next to me with a torch [flashlight]) gave me enough light to read the book. We take light for granted, but it is precious. Not everyone can see the sun at noon, and many people are blind to the light of truth.
I’ll end with an ancient Greek invitation, an invitation for all of us to rejoice at Easter:
Let everyone who loves God rejoice in this festival of light!
Let the faithful servants gladly enter into the joy of their Lord!
Let those who have borne the burden of fasting now come to celebrate the feast!
Let those who were inwardly dead now rise and dance with Christ, the Lord of life! [St. John Chrystostom 347-407]
Happy Easter!

Waiting for Easter

I am writing this on the night of Good Friday. In Toronto, the streets were quieter than usual--even quieter than Sunday's. People have the day off so they can go to church. I took the subway to the downtown cathedral of St. Michael. I was edified at seeing lines of people waiting at each confessional to receive the sacrament of reconciliation. Other folks were devoutly praying the Stations of he Cross on their own. Some people had stopped to pray at the Pieta' statue of the Sorrowful Mother in the entrance way. When the prayer service began, there was standing room only. Since the weather outside was very chilly, it was OK to be squeezed into a pew. I held my coat most of the time, since it is so thick it takes up the space of another person when I rest it on the bench.
Tomorrow, Holy Saturday, is as Henri Nouwen put it a time for "the rest of God." It is a day of silent waiting for Christ's promise to be fulfilled. The Word of God lies silent for a short time--waiting for Sunday morning when the joyful alleluias sing out around the world.
May your Holy Saturday be serene and to the extent possible, a day of silent waiting for the Lord in company with Mary and the disciples.

Palm Sunday

Before I went to Mass this morning, I saw a glimpse of Pope Benedict beginning the Palm Sunday liturgy in Rome. St. Peter's Square seemed overflowing with clergy and lay people packed into the Square.

Yesterday a woman came into our centre asking for The Liturgy of the Hours. "What does liturgy mean anyway?" she asked as I lead her to the area where we have books to assist in praying the Liturgy of the Hours. The Greek origin of liturgy comes from the words "letus ergon" meaning work of the people. The Roman Catholic Church has only two "official" liturgical prayers or forms of worship: the Mass or the "celebration of the Eucharist," and the Liturgy of the Hours. The Liturgy of the Hours is really a way of sanctifying the hours or time of each day. Morning prayer, which is also called Lauds, and Evening Prayer, or Vespers, are the "hinges" or mainstays of the hours. Monks, priests and many nuns (that is vowed religious women) pledge to pray this form of prayer every day. Lay people are strongly encouraged to pray the hours, especially morning, evening and night prayer.

In some communities the prayers are sung. They can be put to music because the prayers are from the Psalms which were written to be sung at temple worship by the Jewish people. Yesterday someone was surprised that we pray with prayers from "the Old Testament," or, as it is often referred to: "the Hebrew Bible." Usually morning prayer in the Liturgy of the Hours is a form of praise and thanksgiving to God expressed in two Psalms and a canticle. By a canticle we mean a prayer taken from another book of the Bible, Isaiah, for example. Then there is a short reading from Scripture followed by a few lines of response. Then an antiphon, a line or two giving a theme, is recited before we pray the "canticle," Zechariah's words praising God from Luke's Gospel. Then the antiphon is repeated, and an intercessory prayer follows which presents needs of the church and the world. All our prayer intentions are gathered up as we pray the Lord's Prayer and a concluding prayer which sums up that "hour" of prayer for the day. Before we leave the place of prayer we end with an invocation: "May the Lord bless us, protect us from all evil, and bring us to everlasting life. Amen."

Sometimes the psalms used are those of "lament." In a psalm of lament the writer or original pray-er is complaining to God, at times even asking God to wreak havoc on "my enemies." Yet in the same psalm of complaint, the writer usually never fails to interject praises to God for all the good he has done in the past. The "enemy" in those psalms can be our own unruly inclinations, our stubbornness, our faults and sins, our temptations. Even though the words were written a few thousand years ago, the emotions we feel today can be transferred into the words we pray from those psalms of lament and praise.

When someone prays the Liturgy of the Hours he or she can be confident that he is praying with the whole church. We are praying with the same Word of God that Jesus used. In fact, among the last words Jesus spoke on the cross were, "My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?" from Psalm 22. At first it looks like a terrible lament: God forsaking his loved one. Then the psalm returns to the fact that God does deliver his beloved: "You who fear the Lord, give praise!...For God has not spurned or disdained the misery of the poor." In Jesus' case, God the Father allowed him to suffer for us, but he vindicated him through the power of the resurrection.

There are many translations of the Psalms available. But, for the Liturgy of the Hours, an official translation is chosen so people can pray easily together. To find a copy of he liturgy of the Hours, check out the Daughters of St. Paul website: www.pauline.org.

Best regards for a peace-filled and blessed Holy Week.

Let's pray today too for youth, since Pope Benedict addressed young people today. It's become a tradition initiated by John Paul II that the Pope give a talk to youth every Palm Sunday.

Sister Mary Peter