For a long time I have been preoccupied with the realization that in the United States we do not have a theological foundation for our spirituality. We are learning more and more about our Founder and the charism, but the lens through which we are receiving this information remains a catechetical one. It lacks the depth, breadth, and nuance necessary to understand accurately and authentically the thought of the Founder.The Superior General of the Society of St. Paul has said on numerous occasion...

The Pauline spirituality is scripturally based, a synthesis of some of the richest passages in the New Testament, particularly in the Gospels and the Pauline letters. Beginning with the disciples’ initial experience of Jesus as “Teacher” or “Master” in the Gospel, Father Alberione chose the word “Master” to describe the personal and unique relationship Jesus has with each of his disciples. However, the term “master” has some negative associat...

A review of the history of the Pauline Family, and thus the history of Pauline holiness, brings to light in a powerful way our points of reference with regard to our charism: the Divine Master, the Queen of Apostles, and the Apostle Paul, who was considered to be our father, founder, model, and teacher (cf. AD 2, 64, 159).We must look especially to Paul to understand our foundation. St. Paul casts light on our relationship with the Lord and gives a particular significance to our genesis in the C...

Introduction That authentic Marian spirituality must be apostolic was central to the Marian teaching of Blessed James Alberione, the founder of the Pauline Family. Throughout his life, he strove to develop a spirituality that was both profoundly apostolic and Marian. His favorite title for Mary, “Queen of Apostles,” was, he felt, the term which best expresses Mary’s important role in the Church’s mission of evangelization. The Collection of Masses for the Blessed Virgin M...

The evangelist Luke and Paul himself assure us that the Apostle was a pure‐blooded Jew, who was very proud of his origins and who was faithful to his religious beliefs to the point of martyrdom. This very fidelity caused him to persecute the Christians, whom he believed were dangerous enemies of the Jewish faith. His socio‐religious roots are confirmed by important testimonies:a)   “I am a Jew, from Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of an important city” (Acts 21:39).b)&n...

The Church celebrates the Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul on 25 January. Yet, throughout the ages, countless people from many different cultures were also converted to Jesus, moving from sin to a holy life, from atheism to the Christian Faith. Like Paul, some of these individuals were martyred for their fidelity to Christ. But the “conversion” of Saul is very different and has no comparison among the great conversions that have marked the story of the saints. Paul himself di...

Of all the saints in the Church under whose patronage Blessed James Alberione could have placed our Congregation, why did he choose Paul, whose life and letters form such a large part of the New Testament? The answer to that question paints the horizon of our spirituality, of our mission, of our living together as community, indeed, of every aspect of our consecrated life.Paul—you lived your experience of faith, and you shared it with others through preaching and writing…Paul&m...

Mary plays a notable role in Pauline spirituality. The Pauline Family has the mission of making Jesus Christ known, imitated, and lived as the Master. It will carry out this privileged mission in a holy manner by making Mary, Teacher, known, loved, and invoked. She gave the world Jesus Master, who is the blessed fruit of her womb. Pauline teaching will be immensely more effective if it is inspired, guided and comforted by Mary: "With her help you will not grow tired," we sing in one of...

Paul yearns to make Jesus known. He is not interested in anything else. By proclaiming the Gospel, he wants to provoke others to meet Jesus personally, similar to the way he met the radiant Lord on the way to Damascus.  But in speaking about his encounter with Jesus, Paul is also obliged to speak about himself. And this is providential because in doing so he reveals that what he believed to be a personal story he had fashioned “with his own hands” was in reality a story God had ...

Considered from the perspective of the spirit that animated it, the various aspects of Paul’s work formed a perfect unity inasmuch as his mission consisted of service of the Living God to the exclusion of all else. Prior to the Damascus event, this mission was characterized by zealous service of the Law of Moses (a zeal worthy of imitation); afterward, it was characterized by fervor for Christ and his Gospel, because under the noonday sky of Damascus Paul was “seized” by God an...