Blessed Timothy

As I wrote in my last blog, the Pauline Family celebrates the Feast of Blessed Timothy Giaccardo on October 22. He died on January 24, 1948. His Feast Day marks the date on which he was beatified. I believe it was in 1989. Born Joseph Giaccardo in the town of Narzole in Italy's Piedmont region, Giaccardo is a holy man of the media of communications. He was one of the very first to join the Society of St. Paul in Alba, Italy. He was convinced that the press and other communications media are powerful instruments that can be consecrated to broadcasting the Good News of the Gospel. The Founder of the Society of St. Paul, Blessed James Alberione was assigned to the Church of St. Bernard in Narzole only for a brief amount of time. In that assignment, he noticed the young Giaccardo and encouraged him to pursue his call to the priesthood. In the seminary, Giaccardo again met Alberione who was one of his professors--apparently one of the most influential of them all. On this day when we celebrate the holiness of Timothy Joseph Giaccardo we pray that the media of communications may be used more and more "for God" and to uplift the lives of men and women throughout the word.
The photo on the left is a painting of Bl. Giaccardo in his home parish. The center picture shows him walking with the Founder. On the right is an artist's rendition of his likeness.

Jesus Master

This week marks a feast day for members of the Pauline family. On Thursday, Oct. 22, the church celebrates the feast day of Blessed timothy Giaccardo. Blessed timothy was the right hand man of the founder of the Pauline Family, Blessed James Alberione.
the two were of vastly different personalities, yet both are acclaimed as holy men by the church, and especially by members of the Pauline communities around the world.
On Sunday, Oct. 25, the entire Pauline family will celebrate the Feast of Jesus the Divine Master. Bl. Timothy, the first priest to join the society of St. Paul, had a very special devotion to Jesus the Divine Teacher, or Master. He explained so well that Jesus is our Way to the Father, the Truth for our minds, the Life for our hearts.
As we in the northern hemisphere enjoy the colorful Fall foliage, nature invites us to meditate more on who Jesus is in our lives.

October

After several rainy and cloudy days, we are being treated to a classic Fall Day. I just want to share some of God's autumn artwork with you as I snapped some pictures in Ontario.
Have a great rest of this month of the Holy Rosary.

Back Again

Has it already been four months since I blogged? I guess so! I'm glad to be back. My Facebook friends have been sending me messages. Since not all the world's on Facebook yet, I decided to renew my blog entry more often. the summer went very quickly. In my own family two of my blood sisters had cancer operations this summer. Of course, all my family my 11 siblings were effected by this sad and upsetting news. it certainly caused us all to pray more, and reflect on how precious a gift is our life--every single moment of it.
One sister has been receiving chemotherapy treatments weekly; the other has begun radiation. she continues her job as a grade school teacher. My middle brother was diagnosed with congestive heart failure last month. So health issues have been prominent. Yet there is always something to rejoice in, and every moment is a grace.
I trust in your prayers for my sisters'
and my brother's health.

In mid-summer I was crossing a toll bridge on a day when traffic was sparse. There was some good humored banter between the toll keeper and myself. His remarks were sobering and deeply spiritual. He noticed my habit and commented how he admires people like us religious who are "so focused." then he recounted how he had been in a horrific car accident the week of his graduation from a top military academy. Apparently, he never made it to graduation. Yet he said, he is grateful to God for every day that he awakens. What a cheerful and grateful person. I can still see his peaceful smile. From my position in a small car, I could not see if he was able to walk or not. My guess is that he is disabled. Sometimes God uses moments like these to "talk to me" through people like the toll keeper. He was a sort of angel who reminded me of what people of faith do when hit with adversity. I hope that his story will help any of you readers who may feel a bit down hearted or blue. God does love you and me with a fierce love. So go on on day at a time and trust in God. he will see you through!

In early September it was a privilege to join about 45 members of the Boston Chinese Catholic community in a pilgrimage to 4 churches dedicated to St. Paul in the Toronto area. It was great to see their fervor and renew my friendships with so many of them whom I know.
For those of you in the Northern hemisphere, enjoy the change of color. It reminds me too that if we get better as we grow older, our more beautiful colors come out. (I am still working on the growing older part!)

St. Paul in the Square

On May 17th 2009, Archbishop Thomas Collins and several priests, religious and laity from the Archdiocese of Toronto filled Dundas Square with prayer, praise and joyful song. Based on the account of St. Paul's preaching in the public area called the Areopagus of Athens, the Archdiocese reserved the Square for a prayerful use.
Toronto's own Susan Hongkook Taylor sang, Matt Maher a Canadian born musician who now resides in Arizona provided an upbeat music concert. The group prayed the rosary.
Neil McCarthy the Archdiocesan director of communications, proved a very able emcee along with Father Robert Mengella. The sun was bright, but temperatures were on the cool side. Then Archbishop Collins lead all the group in a "Lectio Divina" based on the account of St. Paul in Athens from the Acts of the Apostles. Even though brisk shafts of air kept pummeling us all day, people stayed to the end
clapping to Matt Maher's music, and praising God at the same time. We Paulines, myself and a good number of Pauline Cooperators, Holy Family members and volunteers staffed two book tables. We brought Bibles and St. Paul titles especially.
Here are some photos of St. Paul in the Square.
With the help of Pauline Cooperators and friends, we held a book display very near the stage. The Archdiocesan Icon of St. Paul was strapped to the tent posts next to our first book table. Friends of our stopped to have their picture taken with the St. Paul Icon. May St. Paul accompany all of us as we finish this year dedicated to him and begin the Year of the Priest.
Have a beautiful Trinity Sunday.

June A Month of Feasts

The photo is a long shot of the bell tower at St. Paul Church in Burlington, Ontario.
The entire Easter Season rushed by and I never blogged once! I missed communicating with all my blog readers. My apologies for not scheduling in the time to post.
For me, June is filled with anniversaries and feast days. I graduated from High School on June 5th many years ago. I entered the Daughters of St. Paul on June 15, just as many years ago. I entered the novitiate on June 29th; I received the religious habit on June 25th; I made my first profession of vows on June 30th. I have a brother and a sister whose birthdays fall on June 2nd and June 12th. Tomorrow the Church celebrates the Feast of the Most Blessed Trinity, Three Persons in One God. Next week will be the Feast of Corpus Christ, the Body and Blood of Christ. Then we will have the Feast of Jesus' Sacred Heart on June 19, and the Immaculate or Sacred Heart of Mary on June 20.
On June 29th we celebrate the solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul. And, for us members of the Pauline religious Family, we celebrate a special Feast of St. Paul on June 30.
The Pauline Family observes a solemn Novena in honor of St. Paul during the nine days prior to June 30.
On the afternoon of June 27th, we Sisters and a group of young women are planning to have a special hour of Eucharistic Adoration or other prayers for our solemn closing of the Year of St. Paul.
The Archdiocese of Toronto celebrated the end of the Pauline Year by reserving the pubic space in the heart of Toronto's downtown Dundas Square. I will blog again about the St. Paul in the Square event.

Easter

Greetings for a beautiful Easter Season. In the Church's liturgy, every day of Easter Week is another celebration of Easter.
The weather here in Toronto has been and promises to be very much in sync with the season of joy. The sun is beckoning our tulips and daffodils to wake up and flower soon.
Even though physical death has visited some over this weekend of joy--there is the Easter hope that one day we will all rise again. For all our loved ones who have "passed away" our faith assures us that they are closer to us now than when we could see them.
Pope Benedict XVI has been giving us a clear and uplifting explanation of Easter. I recommend checking out the Vatican's website, www.vatican.va to find all of Pope Benedict's talks in English. Other sources for the Pope's talks and his many activities can be found at the Vatican press office's news source. Another site worth checking out is www.zenit.org.
Music can help us relax and prepare us to pray. "In Paradisum" the newest CD from the Daughters of St. Paul helps me too.
Enjoy this Easter week.

St. Paul

In this photo you will see the Maltese statue of St. Paul with the viper.
May St. Paul inspire you to rejoice even more deeply in the resurrection of our Lord Jesus!
In the other photo you see Lena doing the reading at Mass in St. Paul's Basilica. The choir is on the right.

Pilgrimages and Holy Week

Today is Good Friday when we Christians commemorate Christ's saving death on a cross. Jesus' death gives us courage and hope, especially when we see sorrow around us, or view scenes of the earthquake in Italy. On Monday I attended a funeral Mass for a relative of one of our Sisters. It was impressive to see how many people filled the parish church. Even though the family and friends mourned the loss of their husband, brother, father, and friend, no one seemed desperate or bitter. Tony had lived a good life, he was truly a devout Catholic who professed his faith openly and courageously.
On Wednesday Pauline Cooperators Ann and Pat D'Cruz welcomed me on their bus pilgrimage throughout the Greater Toronto Area. Ann and Pat had asked me to be the spiritual guide for what we billed as a "Pilgrimage/Mini-Retreat." I was able to prepare some hand-outs with prayers to St. Paul, and some of his own prayers from his letters, and songs. The weather at first was cold and gloomy looking. When we emerged from the Church of Sts. Peter and Paul in Mississauga--a sprawling suburb of Toronto--the sun came out. The Mississauga church has a contemporary painting of St. Paul, a large mural depicting his life and travels; still another picture of his call at Damascus, and a separate painting of the shipwreck off of Malta.
The priests at each parish were very welcoming. At. St. Paul Church in Burlington, Ontario we were greeted by the assistant pastor who was very welcoming and enthusiastic. One of the pilgrims mentioned to me that he resembled the young St. Paul in the statue in the church foyer. All four churches which we visited had different architecture and styles inside. The Burlington church was built in 1990. It is home to over 5,000 families and growing.
Our third stop was at St. Paul the Apostle Maltese church in Toronto. Although I had been there twice before I did not notice the particularly Maltese aspect of their large St. Paul statue. As I observed it closely I could see the figure of a snake rising from a bonfire. The Acts of the Apostles tell us that after the Maltese people saved St. Paul and his companions from their shipwreck, a viper rose from the fire which was lit to warm the people. It bit St. Paul, but he simply shook it off his hand and threw it back into the fire. The Maltese expected him to keel over dead from the poison. Instead he was as healthy as ever. It was a sign to them that God favored Paul. The parish also had a Holy Week display which showed images of Christ's Last Supper and his Passion.
Our last stop was at St. Paul's Basilica in downtown Toronto, site of the first Catholic parish in Toronto. The parish grounds also serve as the resting place of the mortal remains of many of the Irish who died of typhus during the massive immigration in 1847 during the great Famine. The Basilica is full of art work expressing Paul's life. There we found a statue of Paul "The Elderly." We ended our pilgrimage with a Mass celebrated by Father Vic, a good friend of the Cruz's. The bus trip was truly a prayerful journey, since we prayed at each place for Pope Benedict, and for many other intentions. It was a chance for many of the 55 people to learn more about St. Paul. The Mass was made even more special by an impromptu choir of pilgrims who joined Pat in providing good music.
Yesterday, Holy Thursday, I was a guest on Radio Maria. My host, Sharon Di Cecco, had prepared a wonderful program on the Holy Eucharist. Sharon makes a lovely hostess for her program "Community in Concert." What we said and the music we heard prepared us to celebrate the Eucharist last night in a more prayerful way.
Sharon also had some of the ingredients for a Passover meal, since yesterday was the start of the greatest of all Jewish feasts.
During the radio program, listeners were able to hear the newest CD of the Daughters of St. Paul, In Paradisum. It is truly uplifting and relaxing.
Tomorrow we will end our day with the celebration of the Easter Vigil. I love the many readings of this special Mass because they recall the whole story of salvation from the Bible. And, the "Alleluia" is resurrected at the Easter Vigil. There is a triple Alleluia and then at the end of the Mass, when the priest dismisses the people He says or sings, Go in peace, alleluia, alleluia. St. Augustine says that "We are Easter people and alleluia is our song." May you enjoy an Easter filled with promise, with hope, with deep joy and cheerful song.
Happy Easter!

40 Days for Life

Today I attended a Mass marking the 20th day, or the mid-point of 40 Days for Life. This is a 24/7 prayer vigil held on the sidewalk across the street from an abortion facility. The targetted abortion clinic is diagonally across the street from our parish church, St. Charles Borromeo. From the little knowledge I have of it, the 40 Days for Life movement is an intensive prayer effort coupled with the sacrifice of praying outdoors for an end to abortion. The prayers are focused first of all on the clients, the young pregnant women who seek to end the life of the child within them. There were some extremely cold days and nights in the past 20 days. I pray that the sacrifices made by men and women of all ages and walks of life will save many children from extinction in abortion mills. Our Archbishop Thomas Collins quoted one of G. K. Chesterton's Father Brown stories about a man who wanted to steal from Father Brown. The would-be-thief tried to distract Father Brown with highfalutin language so as to steal a cross from him. Father Brown broke into the man's rambling by quoting the Ten Commandments: "Thou shalt not steal." Thou shalt not steal is a commandment, not an option. So too "Thou shalt not kill" is not a suggestion. It is a commandment. May abortion be replaced by a love for and a culture for life. May 40 Days for Life continue on for all the days of this year. I pray that both America and Canada be places where love for unborn life is a priority among all citizens.

The penance which the 40 Days for Life participants practice reminded me again of St. Patrick whose feast is on Tuesday. There is a place of pilgrimage in County Mayo, Ireland, in a little village near the town of Westport. Pilgrims walk or drive to a visitor center from where they climb a steep rock strewn hill. It is said that in the year 441 A.D. St. Patrick spent 40 days in prayer and fasting on that mountain. Croagh Patrick, as it is called, has been a place for Christian pilgrims and penitents since the earliest of Christian days in Ireland.
For more information on Croagh Patrick check out the web site: www.croagh-patrick.com.
Tomorrow evening, March 16, for those who can tune in, watch the story of the wave of Irish immigrants who came to Toronto in 1847: Death or Canada. It will tell also the story of Toronto's first Catholic prelate, Bishop Power.
Happy St. Patrick's Day!

St. Patrick and Wearing of the Green

Today at morning mass a gentleman was dressed in a green shirt, green jacket and a sequined oversize green bow tie. Apparently he was headed to a St. Patrick's Day celebration. Sunday there will be a parade in St. Patrick's honor in Toronto; on Sunday evening the Canadian History channel (if I am not mistaken) will air a special called "Death or Canada." It tells the story of just one year of Irish immigration to Toronto--1847. It was a sad reality for thousands of Irish: either die of famine, or immigrate to North America.
An article I read several months ago told the story of Irish children whose parents had died aboard "coffin" ships moored in Montreal's harbor. There were scores of orphans alone in a strange country and ignorant of the language. At a Sunday Mass the children filled the front pews of the Cathedral. At the end of Mass the doors were closed. The Bishop told the people that the children needed homes. The parishioners were asked not to go home until each child also had a home. From then on many "French Canadians" were really Irish immigrants taken in and adopted by French speaking Canadians. One set of brother and sister began to cry when they were being separated. The couple who had chosen the boy, figuring he would be an asset on their farm, took in his sister. At their death, the couple who had raised the two orphans, left them both all of their property. Only God knows how many times similar stories were repeated as waves of immigrants spilled onto Canadian shores.
In Toronto, the area around the Basilica of St. Paul at Queen and Power was the site of many Irish immigrants whose sacrifices built the original church on that site.
I am of Irish descent. It was instilled in us that the Faith was our most important heritage. Thanks to St. Patrick for the gift he brought to the Emerald isle and to so many parts of our world because of his perseverance.
May St. Patrick pray for all of us!

PALS EGG

Today I read a comment on my last post on the Big Seven Capitol Sins. The comment said that, like a bad egg, once it is cracked open, things get worse. Thanks to the person who sent his comment.
Today's Gospel tells us that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. He told his apostles that suffering and humiliation awaited him. They were put off by what He said. How could the Messiah be a Man of Sorrows? I can sympathize with the Apostles. Suffering is not something our nature seeks after. Yet we know from experience that the Cross is always somewhere. Jesus carried his. He gives us the grace to carry ours.
During this world wide financial crunch there are in-laid crosses: Perhaps the cross is hidden in the restrictions of a very tight budget; it may mean working harder with less pay; putting up with disappointments and other inconveniences. Bearing our own shortcomings and those of the people with whom we live is a daily cross. When we allow Jesus to live in us, we are able to bear the weight of our daily share in His passion. Mpther Thecla Merlo, the first Mother General of the Daughters of St. Paul said, "Even if we cannot always be joyful, we can always be at peace!" Keeping our eyes on the Prize--Heaven--helps us to have a light heart as we journey with the Lord this Lent.

Get rid of PALE GAS

Lent is already in its second week! I came across some notes I made a few years ago in a Lenten journal: PALE GAS. I thought to myself, "What's that?" The seven letters represent seven sins, better known as the capitol sins. These are the ones we struggle with that have little "side bars" attached to them. The first is pride; then comes anger; then lust; then envy, the "green monster"; the letter g stands for gluttony, which can also be cholesterol laden and a real killer; avarice is the second A, another name for greed; sloth, the last, is the one that lets everything slide downhill. Some of the side bars may be arrogance, gossiping, stinginess, sadness when certain others do well, and I miss the mark. The three main "works" of Lent are geared to diminishing the effects of Pale Gas. These three are prayer, fasting and alms giving. Honest prayer and the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit help us to recognize the inroads of Pale Gas. Grace also helps us to apply the remedies which open us to the gifts of the Spirit.
Last weekend I spoke to two groups about St. Paul and Lent. Lent was not yet instituted when Paul was alive. His sufferings and imprisonments made his life as an Apostle one long journey, very similar to our Lent. He said to the Galatians (2:19)"I am crucified with Christ." In Ephesians 4 he says to "live a life" worthy of our calling.
Some of the people whom I met did not realize that many of the hymns and songs we use at Mass are words from the Letters of St. Paul. Today we sang one of the "Pauline hymns" called "Only this I Want."
May St. Paul help us to continue our Lenten journey toward Easter with humility and determination. I like the short prayer our Founder, Blessed Alberione, gave us: "By myself, I can do nothing. But, with God, I can do all things. To God the honor and glory; to me Paradise!"

Shipwreck

Today two Sisters from my community and two volunteers held a book display at the Church of St. Paul the Apostle in Toronto. This church is the only Maltese parish in all of North America. Today the Maltese celebrate the beginning of Christianity in their island nation, the Shipwreck of St. Paul. I know that in my last blog I mentioned something about this church. The feast they celebrate today reminds me of St. Paul's words in the Letter to the Romans (Rom. 8:28), "For those who love God all things work together for the good." On Wednesday evening Sister Helen and I attended an evening Mass and stayed for a presentation on St. Paul and the Eucharist given by Father Karm Borg. Father gave a thorough explanation of Paul's words to the Corinthians in his first letter to that community. I was impressed by the fact that these words of St. Paul in the 11th Chapter in first Corinthians are the oldest presentation of the Tradition (I emphasize the capitol "T") on the Holy Eucharist.
On Thursday evening, at our Pauline Cooperator meeting we prayed with the words of St. Paul from Corinthians 1:13,1-13. Almost anyone who has been to a Christian wedding ceremony may have heard these words: "Love is patient; love is kind; it does not envy...". Then after our social we started a class on Paul's letters beginning with 1st Corinthians. I enjoyed preparing the class, and now I am already working on the second installment. I am amazed at how much Paul crams into his letters. And, I am edified at how kind he was in correcting his Corinthians. Even though someone had sinned and probably had scandalized others, Paul did not mention his name. His restraint is a good lesson. When he says, "Imitate me as I imitate Christ," he is not bragging, just being honest.
This past week has brought tragedy to our neighbors just south of us in Buffalo, and in other parts where friends and family members have lost loved ones in the airplane tragedy. I was assigned to our Buffalo convent for at least 5 years. I have a place in my heart for those dear people. I pray for the souls of those whose lives were taken from us, and that God will comfort those who are now mourning. I pray for all those who have to deal with the painstaking process of clearing the site, and all the first responders, NTSB folks and all involved.
This week is Family Day weekend in Ontario, Presidents' Day in the USA, and also the celebration of St. Valentine--patroness of lovers. The greatest Lover of all is Jesus. May He be the One we all love to the utmost!
Best regards and prayers for a super rest of the week!
This week too I offered thanks to the Lord for the healing of a great niece named Tia whose blood clot on her lungs disappeared. As her mother, my niece Tina wrote, "My God rocks!" Thanks to the many friends and email partners who prayed for Tia's health.
The photo of the mosaic of St. Paul is one where Paul is receiving the Eucharist.

Mother Thecla

Yesterday, February 5th, I was interviewed on English Radio Maria here in Toronto. My show host was Sharon Di Cecco. Sharon prepares a lovely program every Thursday afternoon. I have been her guest a few times. Since February 5th marked 45 years since the death of Mother Thecla Merlo, we dedicated our hour to her. The former Teresa Merlo from a small town called Castagnito near Alba, Italy was called to be the first Superior General of the fledgling congregation named Daughters of St. Paul. When Father James Alberione had begun the masculine branch of the Pauline Family, he asked some of the students at the Alba Seminary if they knew of a few good young women who shared the dream of evangelizing with the press (and consequently all the media.) Teresa Merlo's brother recommended his sister. Another order had passed over her, citing her fragile health. Despite the fragile health, Teresa met with "The Theologian" as Alberione was once called. She accepted his invitation to use the means of today for the people of today. Although at first there was nothing to show of a future "Media Apostolate", Teresa joined a small band of young women who had already gathered in a small apartment close to Alba's Cathedral. They opened a small book center. A statue of St. Paul was placed in the window. The local passersby made the connection: St. Paul and these young women whom they called "daughters" from the word in the Piedmont dialect "figlia" for daughter or young woman, must be related. Paul, the Father, these young ladies were his daughters. The name became official. The embryonic community of women dedicated to a routine of daily prayer and meditation blended with long hours of writing, editing and printing "for God" grew by leaps and bounds.
Sharon asked what did I think Mother Thecla would say about the Internet, especially now that Pope Benedict and the Vatican are on YouTube. I answered that Mother Thecla would certainly have applauded the use of this wide reaching means to evangelize the good. Her criteria for accepting or rejecting projects was: "Will it do good to the people?" My blog is a tiny way of fulfilling the wish of Mother Thecla to use the means of today for the people of today.
On Sunday, February 1, the Toronto Archdiocese celebrated its Day of Religious Life.
By "religious" we mean especially those who live in communities of prayer and often of apostolic work. These men and women are set aside, consecrated to God especially by vows of poverty, chastity, obedience. Poverty is a simplicity of lifestyle which involves renunciation of income in many cases, care for material goods, a true "work ethic" for God. Chastity is the choice of loving God above all else, and directing one's affection and energies to his work and his people. Chastity does not shrivel up a person's heart, but makes him or her more caring of the whole people of God. Mother Thecla used to say that our hearts have to encompass the needs of all people. that's a big order! (By the way, we pronounce Thecla like: tek-lah.)
Obedience entails submission of our will to a superior who represents the Lord in our particular situations. Obedience is often called the hardest vow, since the item most dear to people is our own opinion. the Letter to the Hebrews says about Jesus that "He learned obedience." His obedience brought our salvation. His grace enables us to live fully the three vows as a sign of Christ's love for all of us.
It was encouraging to see many young religious men and women who were in their first stages of formation. (In the photo where Mother Thecla is seated she is with M. Ignazia Balla, who was her first successor. The other photo captured M. Thecla at prayer.)

Conversion

Today the Church around the world celebrates the "Conversion of St. Paul." Many refer to this as "The Damascus Event." Saul who became Paul was approaching Damascus with the intent of arresting those Jews who had become Christians. All of a sudden he was surrounded by a brilliant light which blinded him. Then he realized when he asked the voice that he heard, "Who are you, Lord?" and the answer came, "I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting." A few days later Saul was baptized by Ananias. Then began the adventure of Paul, the Apostle. This morning we attended Mass at the Church of St. Paul on Toronto's west side. It is the only Maltese Catholic parish in all of North America. Paul was once ship wrecked off the coast of Malta. The Maltese cared for Paul and his companions. And, they listened to and accepted the message of the Good News about Jesus Christ that Paul offered. The people of Malta have remained Catholic Christians from day one.
The artist Caravaggio painted a dramatic picture of Paul lying on the ground bathed in light while his horse gazes at him. Even if Paul had been only walking toward Damascus, he was knocked off his high horse of arrogant dislike for Christians, and for all those who did not fit into his former way of thinking. Somewhere inside of us there may be a high horse rearing up with its own sort of baggage that wants to make us lesser than we should be. St. Paul can help us with his prayers of intercession and with his insights liberally sown throughout his letters.
There is a hymn to St. Paul called "Lead Us Great Teacher Paul." In that song we ask Paul to follow him as he learned "wisdom's way."
As we continue this Year of St. Paul, may you be guided by Paul to a deeper knowledge of Jesus, Way, Truth and Life.

More

Here is a photo of the St. Paul Icon without the glare of reflected lights, and one which is full of lights!
My title lines keep turning into what I think is Hindi. Does anyone out there know how to keep it in English?

Icon

From December 22 through December 29, 2008, we Daughters of St. Paul in Toronto had the privilege of welcoming the Archdiocese's traveling icon.
A Benedictine nun in Israel, Sister Marie Paul, made the icon which is truly beautiful. St.Paul is shown with the book representing the Word of God in his hand.
This week I will be speaking on St. Paul at a parish in the west end of Toronto. The parish will be hosting the icon for 3 days. I will try to give you a glimpse of what it looks like. Because it has a glass covering, any light source was reflected on it. To me, it is a very prayer-inspiring image, a true religious icon that helps us "step into the sacred."

Epiphany

Today in North Amerca we celebrate the Feast of the Epiphany, or the "Manifestation of the Lord." This day is when we read the account of the three Wise Men in the gospel of Matthew. After seeing Catherine Hardwicke's movie "The Nativity Story" several times, I have a vivid mental image of the three men from the East--perhaps Iraq or Iran, who followed a star to Bethlehem and found Jesus.
These men, as far as we know, we not Jews, but God-fearing people who brought gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh to Jesus. In Italy the legend says that "La Befana" brings gifts to all the children. In Spanish speaking areas, the Tres Reyes, the Three Kings, do likewise.
Epiphany is a reminder to be a manifestation of he Lord in my own life. That's always a challenge. As the grown up Jesus told his followers, "Do as I have done", that is a daily goal to strive for. As our Founder Blessed Alberione said, "By myself I can do nothing; but, with God I can do all things. To him (to God) all honor and glory, to me the heavenly reward."
A word to those who may be reading this blog, and wondered why I missed several weeks. One reason is that my computer which served me everyday for the last 5 years had a major stroke. Its screen died. The data was retrieved. However, with the new computer I have not yet been able to get all the older programs going. It is taking me a while to get used to it.
As I write this, there is violence and what looks like all out war in the Gaza Strip. St. Paul prayed, "Come Lord Jesus." We pray that Jesus will come with his just peace to Gaza, to the Congo, to those suffering in Zimbabwe, to those suffering from human trafficking--to all who need to be saved both physically and spiritually. Amen!

Christmas

The last days of Advent flew by, and my computer suffered a sort of stroke. Now I am sending you all my best regards for a blessed remainder of the 12 Days of Christmas and a Blessed New Year.

Party

Toronto Happenings

Here are a few pictures of Father Jeffrey on his Toronto visit.
On the feast of our Founder, Blessed James Alberione, we celebrated with a Mass in our chapel offered by Father Paul LeBlanc of the African Mission (White Fathers).
After Mass all who came enjoyed fellowship and breakfast.
Pedro and Matt, two of the producers at Salt & Light TV showed Father Jeffrey their studios.

Advent

Thanks for coming back to my blog, even though I have not posted any news since early October!
On November 15, I was privileged to lead a mini-retreat for ladies of the Catholic Women's League at a Toronto parish. My theme was Praying with St. Paul. As I prepared myself to model how to pray with St. Paul, I found a talk of Pope Benedict XVI given just a few days earlier. The Pope took a very short pray of Paul, one used often by the first Christians: Marana tha,Come Lord Jesus! Pope Benedict composed a prayer with the same words, asking Jesus to come to the refugee camps of Darfur, of Kivu (and other places where people are in dire need); come to where drugs reign; come to the rich who have forgotten their brothers and sisters in need.... This Holy Father certainly is in touch with the needs of the world, and of our need to grow in prayer.
From November 17 to 20th, we Pauline Sisters in Toronto hosted one of the Fathers of the Society of St. Paul, our brothers in the Lord: Father Jeffrey Mickler. Fr. Jeffrey gave talks on St. Paul to two area gatherings of priests of the Toronto Archdiocese; he spoke in our St. Paul Hall to a good group of laity and religious; he was interviewed on Radio Maria; on Salt and Light Catholic Television; and he had a final interview for a program on Radio Teopoli which airs on a regular AM station. Father Jeffrey recently returned from a month long stay in Australia where he was kept busy giving Retreats and talks to Pauline religious, priests and laity. I invite you to check out Father Jeffrey's videos on YouTube and on the site which Father has initiated: StPaulsTube.com.

May you have a blessed Advent--a time to prepare not only for Christmas, but for Jesus' coming. Jesus comes in many ways. May our attentiveness to his presence reflect the advice of today's Gospel reading from Mark: be watchful and ready.

This week is a full one for myself and the other Sisters and the Staff of our Pauline Books & Media center. On Monday two of us will attend a meeting of a newly formed group of Catholic professionals in the media. On Tuesday I hope to have the last installment of a root canal. I have a meeting with someone on Wednesday evening. On Thursday and Friday our center is open until 7:00 PM, so I will be engaged in working in the center. On Saturday we will host our Annual Happy Birthday Jesus Party. Usually about 300 children come along with parents, grandparents and other relatives. There will be pictures taken with "Baby Jeus" (costumes provided); cake and refreshments; visits from St. Nicholas; crafts; balloons and a gift for each child. Pray that we enjoy good weather.

God bless you!
Sister Mary Peter

October 3

Outside my window, a tree waves its branches of bright yellow leaves telling me that another season is trying to move in on us. Thanks to the weather forecasters who predict at least a few more days of more pleasant weather. Today I remembered to pray for the respose of the soul of a Daughter of St. Paul whom I met while I was still in high school. Sister Mary Angela Parnoff who hailed from Bridgeport, Connecticut, was the first Daughter of St. Paul to invite me to join her religious community. I owe her a special debt of gratitude. She and another Sister Mary Caroline would pay visits to my home to see me and to influence my mother in regard to my entering the convent. The visits were usually unannounced: once I was horseback riding; another time I was absorbed in reading a movie magazine. Sister's gentle persistance paid off. Sister Mary Angela died on this date in Boston in 1988. I remember her great sense of humor and enthusiasm for our Pauline life. Sister Mary Angela was one of the first to join the fledgling community of Pauline Sisters in New York. I think she entered the convent in the 1930's. May our Divine Master reward her for her life spent for him.

Both in the USA and in Canada, national elections are coming soon. I pray for all the candidates, and especially for all the voters so that we will have light from the Holy Spirit to chose the persons who will "judge rightly," and "with upright hearts," according to God's laws first of all. In our two countries, we can revel in the freedom we have to vote without fear of coercion. As we know that is not true in many areas of our world.

This is also the First Friday of the month, a day dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Every Friday we usually remember, at least momentarily, the sacrifice of Jesus on Calvary. On First Fridays many remember the promise of Jesus to St. Margaret Mary to those who attend Mass, receive Holy Communion and offer reparation for sins committed against the Lord. The "Morning Offering" prayer puts the whole idea of loveing reparation into a few words. Here is a version of the Morning Offering used in the Pauline Family:
Divine Heart of Jesus, I offer you through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Mother of the Church, in union with the Eucharistic Sacrifice: my prayers, actions, joys and sufferings of this day, in reparation for sins and for the salvation of all men and women, according to the special intentions of the Suprior General, in the grace of the Holy Spirit, for the glory of the heavenly Father. Amen.
In some forms of this prayer, the intentions of the Holy Father, the Pope, are mentioned.
Have a great and blessed rest of the day! Sister Mary Peter

October

October is full of lots of Saints' days and Church events. As I mentioned yesterday the Synod on the Word of God begins next week in Rome. Today is the feast of St. Theresa of Lisieux, or the Little Flower. We had Mass in our chapel this morning celebrated by a missionary priest. Father spent years in Tanzania and then in South Africa. He asked prayers for missionaries all over the world since St. Theresa is a co-patroness of Catholic missions. Although St. Theresa lived the greater part of her life in a cloistered convent, her prayers and sacrifices covered the whole world. She "adopted" some missionary priests for whom she offered special prayers. Vicariously, she too was a missionary. At breakfast, Father shared stories about his experiences in Africa. We marveled at the ingenuity of the White Fathers. That is the common name given to the Missionaries of Africa, since their habit is white. At one time where Father was assigned there was no cooking oil to be had. So the Fathers planted sunflower seeds and reaped an abundant harvest of seeds which were ground into oil for the people.

Today is also the anniversary of the death of one of our Sisters who died in Staten Island, New York seven years ago today. Her name was Sister Mary Alba Roagna. Sister was an outcoing personality, very generous and renowned for her culinary talents. She had been affected deeply by the loss of at least one dear friend in the 9/11 tragedy. She left this world silently and peacefully. We pray that she is enjoying the presence of God and interceding for the rest of her Sisters still on this earth.

October is traditionally the month of the Rosary. We celebrate the Feast of the Holy Rosary on October 7th. The date, October 7th, marks the anniversary of the victory of the Christians at Lepanto when Pope Saint Pius V processed barefoot through the streets of Rome praying the rosary to implore God's help for the Christian fleet.
I think it was on the History Channel where I saw a re-enactment of that famous battle where the skill of Venetian shipbuilders played a significant role in the Christians' victory. Our Founder, Blessed James Alberione, said that he always accompanied any project with much prayer, including many rosaries. May the recitation and meditation on the rosary bring you many graces and blessings this month. Our publishing house, Pauline Books & Media, offers two very useful titles on the rosary. One is The Rosary in My Pocket, a handy sized panphlet. The other is the Scriptural Rosary which offers meditation thoughts from the Bible as a way to reflect on the mysteries of the rosary. Check out the Pauline website: www.pauline.org.

A Synod on the Word of God

Today, September 30, the Church celebrates the life of Saint Jerome. Jerome may have had a crusty personality, but he was sure an untiring writer and researcher. Christianity owes him a huge debt for taking all the languages in which the Bible was originally written and translating them into Latin. Latin had become the language of the common people of the Roman Empire. Pope Damasus recognized Jerome's extreme talents in the line of translating, so he asked Jerome to undertake that gigantic task of putting the Scriptures into a language understood by the majority of people in the world at that time. His work was called the "Vulgata"--which meant the "common" translation. His work remains a benchmark even today.

St. Jerome should be smiling today thinking that in just a few days the Church will gather more than 300 bishops, priests, nuns and laity in the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls in Rome to begin the Synod on the Word of God. This meeting of people from around the world will ponder the meaning of Scripture--the Word of God--for people of today. The Synod will no doubt consider how believing Catholics can fall more deeply in love with this Word, or this Letter written to them by God our Father. In his usual direct manner, Jerome wrote: "Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ." To put a modern positive spin on his words, we can say, "If you want to know more about Jesus, read the Bible!"
Let's pray for the success of the Synod on the Word of God. We Daughters of St. Paul are pleased that our Superior General, Sister Antonieta Bruscata, was called to be an auditor at this Synod. It is an honor for all of us Paulines, and a recognition of our mission to bring the Word of God to all through the various forms of communication.
When St. Paul was sending off his letters to the people whom he had converted to Christ, he was probably not thinking of our times when at Mass we end each reading of his letters with the declaration: "the Word of the Lord!" His words had become Word of God. As is true of the rest of the Bible, God used words of men to transform them into his words. In the Hebrew Scriptures (the Old Testament), God told Moses and his people to "write" his directives not only on parchment but also on their hearts.
Some people call "Lectio Divina", or Divine Reading, a prayerful reading of God's written Word. Vatican Council II issued a small document called "Verbum Dei," on The Word of God. Officially it is called The Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation. The Latin title is simply "Dei Verbum." Most new Catholic Bibles actually print the text of this document as part of their introductions.
The Bible is also our strong bond between us and non-Catholic Christians. The Hebrew Scriptures too link us to our Jewish brothers and sisters who have the Torah (the first five books of the Bible); the Prophets and the Historical books are common to both Judaism and Christianity. As Pope John Paul II said, the Jewish people are our "elder brothers" in the Lord. I wish a blessed New Year to the Jewish friends who may be reading this. In a week's time, they will be celebrating Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. It begins on the evening of October 8 and lasts through the day of October 9, 2008. The dates vary from year to year, because of the differences in the Jewish calendar from our current way of marking time.
May St. Jerome pray for us that we may become good readers of God's Word and good listeners to the message God wants to give us in his Word.
The photo above depicts a missal, or altar book, from the original Jesuit missions in North America in the 1600's. The picture of St.Paul writing is from a collage of Paul's life in the Church of Sts. Peter and Paul in Mississauga, Ontario.

September Sunday

Today is a beautiful Fall day in Toronto. A marathon is taking place in the downtown area. In Queens Park, which is also in the heart of downtown, there is a huge book fair called Word on the Street. Authors, publishers and booksellersof all sorts are gathered there in tents to reinforce the idea that "reading is good for you;" "writing is a viable career;" and books are fun; etc.
There is at least one Catholic publisher there. Because of several factors, we are not "on the street" with a book display this year.
In my last post I wrote about the Holy Family Institute. Here are a few of the scenes from that event.

Autumn

To all my blog readers, welcome back!
It's been a really long time since I sat down to write to you. After a brief home vacation in early June, I cameback to Toronto for about a week. Then I went to our retreat house outside of Boston for a week of silent retreat, and then a further week of meetings with several of our Sisters from around the USA and English Speaking Canada.
On returning to Toronto, I found myself immersed in the activities of our book centre on Dufferin Street in Toronto. We were short staffed due to the vacation schedules for employees and the retreats and vacations of some of our Sisters.
On September 12th, I gave an hour long introduction to St. Paul at the Newman Centre in downtown Toronto. The group to whom I spoke is called The Theology of the Body. This year these (mostly) young adults are delving into the life and letters of St. Paul the Apostle. The Newman Centre Chapel where I spoke has beautiful stained glass windows of some very "modern" saints, such as St. Teresa Benedicta or Edith Stein; the martyred Archbishop Oscar Romero of El Salvador; and several others. I was pleased to find a whole window dedicated to the life of St. Paul.
On September 18, I drove to Ohio to join about 250 families from all over the USA and Ontario. The events we attended were part of the Triduum of the Holy Family Institute. This year Canada was well represented by almost 20 persons.
I will post some of the photos on my very next blog.
The site of the meeting was the Shrine of Our Lady of Lebanon in North Jackson, Ohio. North Jackson is west of Youngstown, Ohio and about 40 minutes east of Akron. The spot is spacious and serene. There are farms nearby as well as the Meander Reservoir with its lake and pine trees.
Sisters Irene and Helena joined me from our Chicago convent.
Since my time this morning is limited, I will continue soon!
God bless your day.
Sister Mary Peter

More on the Pauline Year

Greetings from Toronto, Ontario! Summer is winding done fast. In Toronto folks are visiting the Canadian National Exhibition. It seems to be a combination of what Americans would consider the county fair and the Cirque du Soliel all at once.
In my home area, people are flocking to the annual Canfield Fair which features livestock, baked goods, 4-H exhibits with all kinds of animals, cotton candy, live entertainment, carnival rides, and lots more. The Fair serves as the "official end of summer" ritual.
Now, as the school year begins, is the time for us to recall all the uplifting ideas we (Sisters) heard during our annual retreat. Someone asked how often do I go to our retreat house, St. Thecla's. Usually I go once a year for a week-long retreat, and then an almost week-long meeting held at St. Thecla Retreat house in Billerica, Massachusetts. In case you wonder who is St. Thecla (pronounced Tek-la), according to a long standing tradition St. Thecla was the first woman convert of St. Paul and his constant collaborator.
Generally the retreat house is reserved for the Daughters of St. Paul, Pauline Family members and select groups. The best way to request a tour of the retreat house or arrange to use it is to call the Provincialate of the Daughters of St. Paul at 617-522-8911. When I was there in July, the chapel was partially rennovated, with a new altar and backdrop, as well as new pews. The original chapel was built by the Maryknoll Fathers and brothers after World War II.
On August 20th, the Pauline Family celebrated its 94th birthday. Back in 1914, then Father James Alberione, with just two young boys, began what is today the religious order called the Society of St. Paul. By June of the following year, Alberione had begun the first feminine Pauline group, the Daughters of St. Paul who share an identical apostolate (or mission) with the Society of St. Paul. Eventually Alberione's foundations numbered 10: The Society of St. Paul consisting of priests and religious brothers; the Daughters of St. Paul; the Sister Disciples of the Divine Master; the Sisters of Jesus the Good Shepherd, known as the Pastorelle; the Sisters of Mary Queen of Apostles or Apostoline; the Institute of Jesus the Priests for diocesan priests; The Institute of St. Gabriel the Archangel for single men living a consecrated life in the world; for single women living in the world, the Institute of Our Lady of the Annunciation; for married individuals or couples (as well as the widowed) there is the Holy Family Institute; and the Pauline Cooperators are lay collaborators in the Pauline mission. Check out www.alberione.org to see more information on the Pauline Family. We in Toronto marked a 52 year presence in this Archdiocese and English-speaking Canada on August 23.
Father Jeffry Micker, SSP, assigned to Canfield, Ohio, has expanded the Pauline Family presence in cyberspace with a new video website called www.StPaulsTube.com."
Check this site for Pauline Family information, videos and events. With Father Jeffry as webmaster, this site will provide wholesome videos. It is true that other video websites may hold a lot of good things, but to find a good site it entails slogging through spiritually "unhealthy" websites, and some that leave much to be desired....
If you are interested in finding out more about the Daughters of St. Paul in the USA and English-Speaking Canada, check out www.pauline.org.
For information on the Society of St. Paul and the secular institutes, contact
www.vocationoffice.org.
Last Monday a friend brought me to Mass at the Church of Sts. Peter and Paul in Missisauga, Ontario. The artist who depicted St. Paul did a fine job of making him look real, amiable and holy. The artist's last name is Carroll(I believe.) I do not want to infringe on any copyright laws by posting the picture(s). However, I think people who love St. Paul would appreciate seeing a St. Paul who is more approachable and likeable! Have a great Labor Day weekend, and a wonderful beginning of your new shcool or work year. God bless you!
Here is a thought to ponder from St. Paul: "Be imitators of God as beloved children. Walk in love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us to God...". (Eph. 5:1-2)

The picture of St. Paul preaching is by Carroll, in Sts. Peter & Paul Church, Mississauga, ON, Canada.

Pauline Year August Already!

I enjoyed a week long retreat at our St. Thecla (pronounced "Tekla") Retreat House in Billerica, Massachusetts in early July. Our retreat director was Sister Filippa Castronovo. Sister Filippa is a scripture scholar who specializes in studies on St. Paul. When I was in Rome, Sister Filippa gave a semester long course on St. Paul and our Founder, Blessed James Alberione. I enjoyed her classes, since they were not solely academic but infused with an enthusiasm for Paul. The Pauline retreat which Sister prepared for us brought in more dimensions of St. Paul's spirituality and practicality.
Our retreat was followed by another week (almost) of meetings and presentations. This year we once again enjoyed the insights and suggestions on dialogue offered by Sister Janet Baker, a Sister of Mercy from Philadelphia. Then Sister Rose Pacatte, one of our own Daughters of St. Paul, presented a full "media day." Sister emphasized "Media Mindfulness" and awareness of the impact of media on our lives and on our culture today. She showed us a movie called "The Story of Stuff" which is a simple yet powerful indictment of "buying just for the sake of buying," or as some would call it, "consumerism"--getting "stuff" we don't need that we soon throw out or store in our garages or pay to store in storage units. Sister Rose heads up our Pauline Center for Media Studies located at our center in Culver City, California. If you want to see "The Story of Stuff" go to www.thestoryofstuff.com. You can download it or order a CD.
The Encounter, as we call our 5 to 6 day meetings and updating, was also a chance to reconnect with other Daughters of St. Paul stationed across North America, and this year with two of the Sisters who have been in Africa. One American Sister who has spent the past six years in Nairobi, Kenya returned to the USA. Sister was the novice director for all of our African novices. Now a native African Sister is taking over that position.
Another Sister, who is from my home town, Sister Augustine Nemer, also attended the retreat and encounter. Sister Augustine was back in the States to celebrate with her co-novices the 50th jubilee of her religious vows. Sister returned to Nairobi on July 29th. She has been in Africa more than 20 years. She works in the editorial sector in Kenya. It is good to meet and talk with these Sisters working far from their home lands.
Since this is summer: time for vacations, retreats, encounters and staff holidays, it makes for a full schedule for myself.
This past Sunday, August 10, was the day of our Pauline Cooperators' picnic. Since rain was always a possibility, we held the picnic at our place. Our center has a spacious hall on the ground floor equipped with a small kitchenette. Our grill is on our rooftop patio. Two of the men cooperators generously offered to fire up and maintain the grill. Everyone brought food or drink. We had Philippino dessert and the traditional noodles called pancit (pan - zit); special cornbread from a Paraguayan lady; salad from an Ecuadorian lady; veggies from a Chinese lady and lots of other goodies. Two of our Holy Family members attended the picnic with their spouses and some of their children. Games and music filled the evening and we all enjoyed ourselves. Most of us at the picnic had been awakened at 3:50 AM by a thunderous noise. Since we have had so many thunder storms lately, I did not rush to the windows after the initial sound. Then came a series of "booms"--almost like continuous fireworks. At one point I thought "Is this an explosion?" It was not raining, so it was strange to hear thunder.... At 9:30 Mass in our parish, the pastor asked us to pray for the explosion victims. At that early hour, a propane gas depot blew up and several explosions followed. Those who looked out their windows saw an orange ball and then flames as several propane tanks blew up. A few thousand people were evacuated from their homes and apartments. Many left in their night clothes, some even without shoes on their feet. Miraculously there were only two fatalities: a fireman who collapsed, and it seems the night watchman. Had it been a weekday, and a school day, there may have been much more damage and loss of life. The apartment buildings next to us shook with the explosions, and were lit up by the light of the fires. "In the twinkling of an eye" life changed for a lot of people. It was a literal "wake up call" to be ready for any future disaster, and to be ready--when the Lord comes--to meet him. People in Niagara-on-the-Lake saw the orange sky from across Lake Ontario. We thank God for sparing our city from what could have been a massive tragedy. We pray for our city and provincial governments to do their best to insure that this kind of accident does not happen again. I also prayed for all the "first responders," firemen, policemen and EMT men and women who were at the scene in minutes, and stayed for hours.
I wish you all a great rest of the week. To those who have sent in comments, thank you. I still have not been able to take the time to check out your suggested links. God bless you all. Sister Mary Peter Martin, FSP

St. Paul's Year

The last three weeks have been crammed with home visits, a high school graduation, a baby shower for a niece's on-the-way grandson, trips to Virginia and Pennsylvania, and a chance to seemany of my relatives. As soon as I returned from vacation late last Monday (my sister and I were both delayed at the Pittsburgh airport due to stormy weather), I had voice mail messages to answer. One was from an Italian-Canadian gentleman in regard to the visit of Sister Filippa Castronovo. Sister is an Italian Daughter of St. Paul who is a Biblical scholar, and an expert in Pauline studies. As you know "Pauline" studies refers to St. Paul the Apostle and his writings. When I spent a year in Rome (2003--2004) Sister Filippa was our professor for an entire semester on St. Paul and Blessed Alberione.
When I heard that Sister was scheduled to give retreats in June and July at oujr Boston convent, the thought came to me that she "has to come to Torontowhere there are so many Itlians." There is a saying that Toronto, Canada has the largest number of Italians outside of the city of Rome. There are about a half a million Italian immigrants in and around the Greater Toronto Area. With just a few days between retreats, we were able to book Sister to speak in Italian on St. Paul in our St. Paul Hall. Since it is the first time in a very long time that we held any Italian events here, I was not sure if anyone would show up.
My little faith was bolstered when I answered the first voice mail. The caller is head of a Scilian Canadian association. His group broadcasts on radio about once a month. "Could Sister Filippa speak on radio on Wednesday evening the 25th of June?" I replied that as long as weather permitted, and transportation would be provided we would be there. So began a truly whirlwind tour of Toronto. After her first radio talk, our host drove us to see some of downtown Toronto. Sister was amazed at how big out city is. On Thursday we had an appointment to speak for two hours on Radio Teopoli which broadcasts in Italian and then in English on an AM station. There was a slight mix-up: I understood that Sr. Filippa would be "live" for the first hour, then be recorded in Italin for another day. Instead, as the program got underway, we were informed that we were the guests for the English portion. Since Sister does not speak English, that meant I was to go "live" too. As Sister spoke I jotted down some facts about St. Paul, and the Daughters of St. Paul, etc. Our Patron St.Paul certainly helped us to produce a program which seemed fine to me. I pray our listeners were inspired in some way to read St. Paul's letters, to imitate his evangelical attitude, and to learn from him to pray. His letters are a treasure of prayer.
Tonight Canada celebrates its 141st anniversary and I am acceping an invitation to watch the fireworks from a neighbors 19th floor apartment.
May your Year of St. Paul be full of blessings.

Proclaim It From the Rooftops

Last week in Toronto's downtown Shearton Hotel at least 500 Catholic communicators in both the press and electronic media gathered to be reunited and rejuvenated.
The three day conference began with Archbishop Celli, the Vatican head of communications, reading a message to the group from Pope Benedict XVI.
Cardinal John Foley was in attendance all three days. For more than 25 years, Cardinal Foley was the Vatican's head of the communications commission. The group honored Cardinal Foley with various awards and a friendly "roasting" at the first evening's banquet.
I was charged with assigning people as readers for the Masses each evening, and for those who would participate somehow in the liturgies. I was very impressed at how willing people were to take part as readers, or to take up the gifts at the Offertory procession. One of the ladies whom I asked to take part in the first Mass' Offertory procession had never had that opportunity before.
People from different language groups participated too. We had petions at the Prayer of the Faithful in three languages: English, French and Spanish.
It was good to meet these leaders in Catholic communications in person. Many of them "wear several hats"--they juggle myriad responsibilities at one time with lots of grace and poise.
Our first speaker was Margaret Somerville, a petite, witty and articulate Australian born professor at McGill University in Montreal. She focused on the importance of being a "word warrior." It is extremely important for us in the media to choose words which are positive, honest and to the point. She also demonstrated how with much tact and effort, we can reach common ground with many persons or groups.
On the second day our main speaker was Father Frederico Lombardi, SJ. If you watched Pope Benedict's visit to the USA, you may have seen Father Lombardi. He is the spokesperson, or as we say in the USA, the Press Officer who takes the comments of the media and strives to answer them well.
The texts of most of these talks are available on line at www.zenit.org.
One of our friends from Toronto did an audio interview with Father Lombardi. To listen to Frank Ruffolo interviewing Father, please click onto to: www.italiani.ca.
I hope to give you a more exact link later.

Niagara Falls

I forgot to mention that we took Mother General and Sr. Inocencia to Niagara Falls for a very "quick trip" on Friday. We had a picnic lunch, enjoying spray from the Falls as we ate. A red winged blackbird paid us a visit and ate out of my hand too. Our Superior Genreal wore a hat to protect her from the sun. I forgot sunscreen and now I have a very red face to prove it!

Weekend

In the USA this was and is a holiday long weekend. For Canadians, the longweekend was last week. Our visitors from Rome came and went. We enjoyed their visits and the interaction and dialogue with the two General Councilors who came last week, as well as with Mother General who spent a few days with us. She left for Chicago Saturday morning. She is being accompanied by Sr. Inocencia, a Filippina sister, who serves as her tranlsator.
Today was the Feast of the Body and Blood of the Lord Jesus--often referred to as Corpus Christi.I attended the 11:30 AM Mass this morning at Blessed Sacrament parish in Toronto. Immediately after Mass there was a Eucharistic procession which left the church from the main doors facing Yonge Street--the longest street in Canada, and a very busy one at that. A group of parishioners held a white canopy over the monstrance which held the consecrated Host--the Blessed Sacrament. I was able to follow directly behind the clergy. When we entered the church, we had Eucharistic benediction. Afterwards there was an abundant reception in the church hall. The procession with the Blessed Sacrament and all the people following served as a loving and peaceful demonstration of devotion to our faith and to our Lord Jesus.
I felt at home at the nice welcome from the pastor and parishioners and from four friends and cooperators who attend Blessed Sacrament.
Later on in the day I did go to see the Chronicles of Narnia, Prince Caspian. I enjoyed it. There is more character development in the main protagonists. It is hard to transfer certain stories to screen, yet I believe the director did a convincing job of using C. S. Lewis' material and his own creative instincts.
Have a good week. I will be involved for three days with the North American CAtholic Communicators Conference in downtown Toronto. We will be graced to have Father Federico Lombardi, the Vatican Press Secretary, as one of our speakers; Cardinal Ouellet from Quebec City, and many other presenters. Our own Sister Hosea will present a workshop on "Praying with the Media." John Michael Talbot will provide a concert for our Thursday evening banquet, and many other good things are planned.
God bless you!
Sister Mary Peter

Picnic at the Falls

In my last blog I mentioned that we were expecting visitors from our Rome Mother house.
Last Friday Sisters Samuela Gironi and Anna Caiazza arrived. They had a very long journey from New York (Newark, NJ) to Toronto. A connecting flight was canceled after they arrived at the airport. They were bused to another airport where they had to wait several hours for their aircraft. Finally they arrived in Toronto close to 11:00 PM. The Sisters were very open, and "sisterly"--we felt that we were truly among family even though we came from different cultures. Sr. Samuela had spent 23 years in Africa. Most of those years were spent in Nairobi, Kenya. Before she left there in September of 2007, Sr. Samuela was partly responsible for our Sisters' opening a convent and book centre in the Sudan. In a country which still suffers from years of warfare, the Pauline Centre is a beacon of light in many ways.
The two visitors presented us with plans to celebrate our connection to St. Paul during the upcoming Pauline Year (June 29, 2008--June 29, 2009), as well as in the years to follow. They also presented some beautiful and profound reflections on St. Paul and our life and mission.
All of us joined in a dialogue about our own community, and our extended community of Daughters of St. Paul in the USA and English-Speaking Canada.
The two Sisters left for Chicago last Tuesday. Sr. Helen called from the Windy City to let us know that they arrived on time. We thank God for those small favors too.
Our Superior General arrived the next day with Sr. Inocencia Tormon. Sister is a Filipino who served especially as a translator for the Superior General. Some of my community speak Spanish, I speak Italian, and another Sister speaks it in a limited way. Still another Sister does not know either Latin language. At table it could become a bit noisy with three languages being spoken--sometimes at once. (We are women after all!)When Sr. Hosea, our local superior, discovered that Mother General had never seen Niagara Falls even though she has visited the USA often, we decided to give her a partial "free day." After some necessary errands on Friday morning, seven of us packed into our mini-van and drove to Niagara falls. In the morning I had listened to the Niagara Falls station. Weather-wise it was not good news: "possible scattered showers." Instead we had very sunny and pleasant weather. We picnicked on the grass near the parking area. As we ate, gusts of wind would blow spray from the Falls onto our faces. At one point a red winged blackbird ate from my hand. Some people at the Falls wanted to take their photos with us: one was a family from Afghanistan with ladies wearing colorful scarves; the other family was Australian. Now our faces may be in a photo album in the heart of the Middle East, and down Under.
Colorful rainbows appeared here and there as we peered at the torrents of water. We had been praying to the Holy Spirit, so the cascading waters reminded us of the Spirit's onslaught of gifts.
May you be filled with the Holy Spirit. In the next blog I will include some pictures.
God bless you!
Sister Mary Peter Martin, fsp

Prince Caspian

You may notice the widget, that's the film poster on the sidebar of my blog. It's a mini-poster of the movie Prince Caspian.
I plan to see it on Sunday. I saw a few very detailed and positive reviews so far. One of our Sisters saw it today and liked it. That's a good sign. I hope that those looking for wholesome viewing for their families will go to see it soon.
God bless you!
Sister Mary Peter

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!