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 Spirituality
Spirituality is the living, vibrant, personal encounter with the
living God. It is a wide road open to everyone who desires to participate
in the Church’s rich spiritual heritage.
Responding to the human and spiritual needs of their times, many
of the great religious founders and foundresses in the Church emphasized
particular values in their work, teaching and mission. These values
formed a spiritual vision, or a spirituality, which in turn "colored"
every aspect of the life of a religious congregation.
The spirituality of the Daughters of St.
Paul is called "Pauline," and it reflects the spiritual
values and vision of Father James Alberione.
In the Pauline spirituality, Father Alberione offered the Daughters
of St. Paul and the other nine institutes he founded (all together
called the Pauline Family*), an integrated vision of Christ and
the human person: "The whole Christ, Way, Truth and Life for
the whole person, mind, will and heart." The unifying center
of our lives is Jesus Christ the Master
who invites us to become one with him in love. In Jesus Master every
human heart finds complete fulfillment.
Father Alberione rooted us in the life and teaching of St.
Paul, the apostle who lived in intimacy with Christ and spent
his energy and his life to proclaim the Good News to all peoples.
St. Paul’s spirit of love for Jesus Master, of energy for the
kingdom, of thanksgiving and of tireless dedication inspire each
Daughter of St. Paul with the same sentiments.
The presence of Mary, Queen of Apostles,
in the life of the Daughters of St. Paul inspires the same total
availability to God that was Mary’s lifelong attitude. Mary
is the model of faith and love who leads us to Jesus Master, and
forms us for the mission of communicating God’s Word to the
world.
Pauline prayer is nourished
at the living fonts of the Word of God and the Eucharist. It is
from here that the Daughters of St. Paul derive the strength needed
to spend their lives seeking holiness of life in the service of
the Gospel. As Father Alberione put it: "The Daughters of St.
Paul live in the Eucharist, in the reading of the Gospel, in the
contemplation of the examples of Jesus Master."
Pauline prayer is characterized by the daily Hour
of Adoration before the Blessed Sacrament. In fact, Father Alberione’s
inspiration to begin the Pauline Family of congregations and institutes
was the fruit of his own Eucharistic prayer.
During the night which separated the
19th century from the 20th (December 31, 1900 to January 1, 1901),
James Alberione was a sixteen-year-old seminarian. He was praying
in the Cathedral of Alba after midnight Mass which had been celebrated
to welcome the new era. The Blessed Sacrament was exposed for adoration
and the seminarians were free to remain as long as they wanted.
James’s prayer lasted four hours. Jesus Master spoke to the
heart of the young seminarian and inspired him with a great apostolic
vocation: to bring the new century to Christ and Christ to the new
century by means of the Catholic press and any other forms of communication
that human genius would invent.
From the age of sixteen, James Alberione was committed to announcing
Christ to the culture being created by modern communications. When
he eventually founded his religious congregations, the Hour of Adoration
before the Blessed Sacrament became a distinctive expression of
the daily prayer of the members.
In explaining the great advantage of the Hour of Adoration, Alberione
said that this time of prayer is a "visit to Jesus." This
term captured the imagination and deep sensibilities of the members
of the Pauline Family, and even today the Hour of Adoration is commonly
referred to as "the Visit."
This special moment of the day, the Hour of Adoration, can be likened
to the disciple listening to and communicating with Christ, the
Divine Master, Teacher, Shepherd. During this privileged time, each
Pauline religious prays with confidence, receives the Word, compares
her life with Christ’s and intercedes on behalf of all people,
especially those who work in the field of communications, and those
who are directly influenced through this mission.
Pauline spirituality gives meaning to every aspect of the life
of the Daughters of St. Paul and binds it together. The Pauline
vision of announcing the Gospel message in today’s culture
can only reach fulfillment when each Daughter of St. Paul values
her personal relationship with Jesus Master, making him the unifying
center of her existence and of her apostolic dynamism.
"The Pauline Family was born of the Eucharist."
The Visit is the meeting of our soul
and of all our being with Jesus.It is the creature meeting his Creator,
the disciple before the Divine Master, the patient with the Doctor
of souls,
the poor appealing to the Rich One,
the thirsty drinking at the Font,
the weak presenting himself to the Almighty,
the tempted seeking a sure Refuge,
the blind searching for the Light,
the friend who goes to the True Friend,
the lost sheep sought by the Divine Shepherd,
the heart led astray who finds the Way,
the bride who finds the Spouse of the soul,
the afflicted who finds the Consoler,
the youth who finds life’s meaning.
—Father James Alberione
Prayer to Jesus Master
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