Pauline priestsP
Taken from the albahouse website!
Pauline priests
What Is the Role of the Pauline Priest?
The priest in the Society of St. Paul serves the congregation by being steeped in God's word and preaching it tirelessly. He is to be immersed in the Eucharist himself and to nourish the congregation, the entire Pauline Family and the Church as a whole in his willingness to proclaim God's truth while living a vowed life of poverty, chastity, obedience and fidelity to the Holy Father.
The priest lives and works within the community and generously makes himself available to the local Church for sacramental ministry where needed. The main focus of his apostolic life, however, always remains within the field of mass media and social communications which extends his preaching into the world.
Pauline priests incorporate into their spiritual lives the Way, Truth and Life approach of Blessed James Alberione. This distinctive spirituality is Christ-centered and focused on the Word of God and the Eucharist. It is enhanced by devotion to Mary, under the title of Queen of Apostles, and to St. Paul the patron of the congregation.
As a member of an international congregation the Pauline priest must be willing to serve anywhere in the world. This is in keeping with the spirit of St. Paul. Through his media work, however, the Pauline priest is able to touch the whole world while remaining in one place. For the Pauline priest, "the whole world is his parish."
Pauline Brother
A Pauline Brother.
What Is the Role of the Pauline Brother?
The Pauline Brother participates in every aspect of the Society's spiritual and apostolic life. He consecrates himself to God by taking the vows of poverty, chastity, obedience and fidelity to the Pope. He gives his time, his talent, his life to spreading the Gospel through the media apostolate while sustaining and being sustained by his fellow religious in a vibrant community life. His work takes the priests' preaching of the Gospel and multiplies it thousands of times over. The brothers of the congregation participate in every aspect of the media ministry. As bookstore directors, editors, artists, writers, TV directors etc. the brothers spread the Gospel of Christ by making it attractive and intelligible to a world that needs the Good News like never before.
Home
The spiritual life of the Brother is nourished by the Way, Truth and Life methodology of Blessed James Alberione the founder of the Society of St. Paul. The Brother nurtures his soul with the Eucharist and the scriptures in order to lead a Christ centered-life. This Christ-centered life was exemplified by Mary, whom the members of the Society honor with the title Queen of Apostles , and by St. Joseph the special patron of the Brothers in the congregation. The Brothers make Christ relevant to the diverse cultures of the world in the twenty-first century just as St. Paul did in the first century. They especially try to master an understanding of the universal "culture of communications" and they strive to be "St. Paul alive today."
Pauline Coorperators
Our founder starter another group in our Congregation called the Cooperaters! They are men and women who have our spirit who live and work in the world but do not necessarily have vows!
Hwere is some information about them! Ther is a process of admissions for them also!
Pauline Cooperators: Bring the Gospel to Everyone Through the Media
"We are sharers in the same promise in Jesus Christ through the gospel so that through the church the wisdom of God may be made known." Eph. 3:6-1
Taken from the Daughters of St Paul website!
New Year's Eve Posting
The Saint for New Year's Eve is Pope Sylvester I
Pope Silvester I
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Silvester I
Birth name Silvester
Papacy began January 314
Papacy ended December 31, 335
Predecessor Saint Miltiades
Successor Saint Marcus
Born
Died December 31, 335
Silvester I (or Sylvester) was pope from January 314 to December 31, 335, succeeding Pope Miltiades. The accounts of his Papacy preserved in the Liber Pontificalis (7th or 8th century) and in Anastasius are little else than a record of the gifts said to have been conferred on the Roman Church by Constantine the Great.
He was represented at the First Council of Nicaea, and is said to have held a council at Rome to condemn the heresies of Arius and others. The story of his having baptized Constantine is pure fiction, as contemporary evidence shows the emperor to have received this rite near Nicomedia at the hands of Eusebius, bishop of that city. According to the 19th century historian Döllinger, the entire legend of Silvester and Constantine, with all its details of Constantine's leprosy and the proposed bath of blood, cannot have been composed later than the close of the 5th century, while it is certainly alluded to by Gregory of Tours and Bede. The so-called Donation of Constantine was long ago shown to be spurious, but the document is of very considerable antiquity, and in Döllinger's opinion, was forged in Rome between 752 and 777. It was certainly known to Pope Adrian I in 778, and was inserted in the false decretals towards the middle of the next century. Silvester's legendary relationship to Constantine was important in the Middle Ages. Pope Silvester II (999-1003) chose the name Silvester in imitation of Silvester I; Silvester II was a close associate of emperor Otto III.
According to Jewish tradition, January 1st, the day of the secular new year is known in Hebrew as Sylvester [Day] (by which it is also known in German), named for Silvester I, who convinced the emperor Constantine to prohibit Jews from living in Jerusalem, and who arranged for the passage of anti-Semitic laws more than 1,700 years ago.
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References
* This article incorporates text from the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica, which is in the public domain.
Mary, the Mother of God
There are several Saints for the New Year but I thought this would be nice for you to read and have something on which to meditate.
Blessed Virgin Mary
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Blessed Virgin Mary
A traditional Catholic picture sometimes displayed in homes. It may be
The Blessed Virgin Mary, sometimes shortened to The Blessed Virgin is a traditional title specifically used by Roman Catholics, Anglo-Catholics and others to describe Mary, the mother of Jesus. It carries with it a belief not merely in the virginity of Mary, but of her continuing role within the church and in the life of ordinary Catholics, for which Roman Catholicism in the Dogmatic Constitution of the Church (21 November 1964), passed during the Second Vatican Council, granted her the title Advocate, Auxiliatrix, Adjutrix, and Mediatrix. Colloquially she is often referred to as Our Lady.
Catholicism and Orthodoxy focus on Mary as a living person who can intercede with her Son, Jesus Christ, on behalf of humanity. From the beginning of the Church, Catholic theology has believed that Christ is the sole Mediator between God and Man (1 Tim 2:5). Yet as Ludwig Ott observes, "there is nothing to prevent others in a certain way (secundum quid) from being called mediators between God and man, in so far as they, by preparing or serving, cooperate in uniting men to God" (Bk III, Pt. 3, Ch. 3, §7) (emphasis added). Catholic theology proposes that Mary's willed obedience (Lk 1:38) is contrasted with Eve's disobedience (Gn 3:6), an idea with roots in the writings of the Church Fathers. Mary herself required redemption and is not equal to Christ in Catholic theology. Nonetheless her role was pivotal, as emphasized by St. Jerome, St. Irenaeus inter A.D. 180-199 (see Jurgens §224), Tertullian c. A.D. 212 (see Jurgens §358) and others including herself in Scripture: "behold the handmaid of the Lord" (emphasis added). Mary is also described by St. Ambrose as "the prototype of the Church"[1].
Marian devotions play a key part in the ritual and liturgy of Western Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy. However, many of the traits attributed to her and devotions given her by those Christians who adhere to the Pope of Rome are not found among the Eastern Orthodox. The remainder of this article ought not to be taken as normative of Eastern Orthodox Christian doctrine regarding the Theotokos.
Marian prayers
The most famous Marian prayer is the Rosary, a form of prayer in which an Our Father, ten Hail Marys and a Glory Be to the Father (together forming a "decade of the Rosary") are recited five times while meditating on the mysteries of the life of Jesus and Mary (Joyful, Luminous, Sorrowful and Glorious) to be followed by a prayer called the "Hail Holy Queen" and perhaps the "Litany of Loreto".
Other famous Marian prayers include the "Magnificat" and the Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Marian hymns include O Mary, we Crown Thee With Blossoms Today, O Purest of Creatures, the Regina Coeli, and the Ave Maria. May and October are usually seen within traditional Roman Catholicism as Marian months.
The Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary is a weekly cycle of prayers said throughout the day, based on the Liturgy of the Hours, and consists of hymns, psalms, scripture, and patristic readings.
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Apparitions
The central role of Mary in the belief and practice of Catholicism is reflected in the fact that many Catholic churches contain side altars dedicated to the Virgin Mary. She is also celebrated through major religious sites where it is claimed apparitions or appearances of the Virgin have occurred, often with claims by witnesses that messages to humanity were delivered.
The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary into Heaven
Catholic dogma proclaimed under papal infallibility by Pope Pius XII in 1950
The Immaculate Conception
Since the Middle Ages, Catholic theologians had argued the question of whether or not Mary had been subject to original sin. In general, the Franciscans argued in favor of her "immaculate conception", the doctrine that she, from the moment of her conception, had been preserved by God from all sin and all tendency to sin; the Dominicans, on the other hand, including most notably St. Thomas Aquinas, argued that Mary's sinlessness is a grace granted to her at some time after her conception. In 1854, Pope Pius IX effectively ended the debate for Roman Catholics by proclaiming the dogma of the "Immaculate Conception", stating that "the Blessed Virgin Mary in the first instant of her conception was preserved exempt from all stain of original sin by a singular privilege and grace granted by God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the human race." (Ineffabilis Deus, issued on 8 December 1854). It was subsequently claimed that the Blessed Virgin Mary during her sixteenth appearance in Lourdes on March 25, 1858 announced to Bernadette Soubirous "I am the Immaculate Conception". The term Immaculate Conception is also widely used within Catholicism to refer to the Virgin Mary.
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Dogma of the Assumption
In 1950, speaking ex cathedra (that is, for the whole Church), in his encyclical Munificentissimus Deus Pope Pius XII proclaimed the Dogma of the Assumption, in which he stated that "at the end of her earthly course, Mary was assumed into heavenly glory, body and soul". He stated that "holy writers who ... employed statements and various images and analogies of Sacred Scripture to illustrate and to confirm the doctrine of the Assumption..." He also stated that he was relying both on scripture and on "apostolic tradition". As an infallible pronouncement, the Dogma of the Assumption is thus a mandatory belief for Roman Catholics. No pope since has issued an infallible dogma.
Mary as "Co-Redemptrix"
Some Catholics in the late twentieth century urged Pope John Paul II to infallibly declare Mary Co-Redemptrix, not meaning by this title that Mary herself redeems mankind, but that she cooperates with Jesus in His redemption of the world; as a co-pilot is not equal to the pilot of an airplane, so is the case with Jesus and His Mother.
Professor Mark Miravalle of the Franciscan University in Steubenville in the United States launched a petition to urge Pope John Paul to make such a move, by defining the teaching of the Church that Mary is Co-Redemptrix, Mediatrix of All Graces, and Advocate for the People of God. More than six million signatures were gathered from 148 countries. Signatories included Mother Teresa of Calcutta, Cardinal John O'Connor of New York, 41 other cardinals and 550 bishops. However, such a proposal was also heavily criticised by many Catholics who suggested that only Christ could be a Redeemer and that such an act would drive a wedge in relationships with other apostolic tradition Christian faiths, notably the Orthodox Church and Anglicanism, neither of whom would accept such a designation. Though both Pope Pius XI in 1935 and Pope John Paul II himself in 1985 did use the word co-redemptrix to refer to Mary, no formal infallible dogma supporting such a designation has been issued, notwithstanding the petition.
Accusations of idolatry
Some Protestants have accused Catholics and Orthodox of mariolatry, suggesting that Catholics adore the Virgin Mary in breach of the Ten Commandments which condemn keeping "false gods". This point was offered especially by Calvin. In Catholic theology there is a clear distinction drawn between the worship of latria (adoration, which may be offered only to God), and veneration and praise, or dulia. Catholicism has traditionally accorded to the Virgin Mary the veneration of hyperdulia which rests in part upon the angelic salutation, "Hail, full of grace" (Lk 1:28), a phrase with momentous theological impact. Over the centuries, according to the Roman Catholics, the nature of Mary within theology became clearer. By A.D. 403 we find St. Epiphanius refuting a sect called the Collyridians who adored Mary, telling them: "Mary should be honoured, but the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost should be adored. Nobody should adore Mary" (in Ott, Bk. III, Pt. 3 Ch. 3, §8). Thus we find, from the third century Church, veneration of Mary. Later, the belief that Mary intercedes for us with her Divine Son, and a clear distinction between latria and dulia together with a rejection of the notion of giving latria to Mary. The Saints, for their part, receive dulia. This distinction between latria, hyperdulia, and dulia, is key to understanding Catholic Tradition (the Orthodox do not distinguish hyperdulia from dulia).
These proclamations by the Roman Catholic Church, in addition to calling Mary the mother of God, which echoes the term Theotokos, instituted by an Ecumenical Council (instead of the mother of the human body of Jesus Christ, which may echo the term Christokos, specifically condemned as Nestorian by an Ecumenical Council), the Queen of Heaven, and the Queen of the World has led to such accusations. It should be noted however, that Catholics and Orthodox Christians believe that Mary is the Mother of Jesus, and that He is both God and man. Catholics counter the attack lead by Protestants by stating that many Protestants have fallen into the Nestorian heresy which claimed that the "man Jesus" is not both fully divine and fully human, two natures (ousia) united inextricably in one person (hypostasis). Instead, Nestorianism claims that the "man Jesus" had Divine nature bestowed upon him at some time later than His conception and, therefore, Mary could not have been the Mother of God. Instead, the Nestorian doctrine was that she was merely the "mother of his humanity". Catholics do not believe Mary is the source of Jesus' Divine nature, but the source of his human nature. Yet as a person he is truly God and truly man, thus making her His mother as a person, if not the source of all traits. This has led to disagreement between Catholics and Protestants.
Marianism describes the excessive veneration of Mary, as opposed to Christ. The term was first used in the 19th century to condemn the "perversion of Christianity into Marianism."
* January 1 Mary, Mother of God
* February 2 Purification of Mary
* February 11 Our Lady of Lourdes
* March 25 Annunciation by Archangel Gabriel
* May 13 Our Lady of Fatima
* May 31 Mary, Mediatrix of all Graces
* June 27 Our Lady of Perpetual Help
* August 15 Assumption into Heaven
* August 21 Our Lady of Knock
* September 8 Our Lady of Good Health
* September 15 Our Lady of Sorrows
* October 7 Feast of the Most Holy Rosary
* December 8 Feast of the Immaculate Conception
* December 12 Our Lady of Guadalupe
* December 25 Mary's Son Birthday Jesus Christ
Just curious, nancyann, - are you familiar with
?
And just a personal observation, if you don't mind - often its better to synopsize lengthy articles, offer your comment pertinent thereunto, if any, and provide a link to the parent work where practical as opposed to simply cut&paste - your call, of course, but IMO, if you wanna engage the typical internet viewer, you wanna do whatchya can to avoid the MEGO (
My
Eyes
Glaze
Over) effect - not that I'm one to avoid glazing over the typical observer's eyes in some of my posts from time to time, copy&paste or otherwise
:wink:
Still reading. Er, scanning.
Yes, I bought lots of John Michael Talbot's music and like it lots! I read his life, very interesting!
Thanks for the help. I don't know how to do what you said though yet. I will try and learn.
n
Timber and Neo Thanks for posting!
n
Stay cool nanny.
I had a nanny actually.She taught me everything I needed to know.It's amazing really.She was only 21 and had had no training.
Sorta knew, and pretty much worked alongside the Talbot brothers back in the early '70s. John always seemed the more "spiritual" of the 2, Terry, though, was the frontman and main lyricist for their band Mason Proffit - I worked soundsystem at a lotta concerts and festivals they played. Didn't really hang out with 'em or anything, John in particular wasn't in evidence during the just-about-nightly episodes of "extracurricular debauchery" that was part of the rock'n'roll-on-the-road life back then. Bandmembers often showed up, and older brother Terry once in a while, but John, just in his mid teens at the time, didn't go much for the customary, traditional entertainments :wink:
Thanks so much for that Timber! That was so nice to say to us! He is a spiritual man of God and his music is great!
Thanks again
n
And Spendius Thanks for your vote of confidence and posting! I appreciaiated it so much! I think about the forum very much and work hard on it for all 'cause I like to!
n
I will be away from the computer friends until January 2nd and hope that all of you carry the forum by posting please, please, please and thank you! I will be with my family. My brother is home from Iraq! I will tell you about it on the 2nd!
Happy New Year!
Nancyann
Please Post!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
St Joseph
ANGELUS, FOURTH SUNDAY OF ADVENT: 18 DECEMBER
St Joseph: the "just', "silent' model for us all
On 18 December, the Fourth and last Sunday in Advent, the Holy Father introduced the Angelus for the faithful gathered in St Peter's Square with comments on St Joseph, "the Guardian of the Redeemer" who, "in perfect harmony with his wife, welcomed the Son of God made man and watched over his human growth". The Pope focused above all on the silence of this man of faith and presented it as an example for all the faithful in the period of preparation for Holy Christmas. The following is a translation of the Holy Father's Reflection for the occasion, which was given in Italian.
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
In these last days of Advent the liturgy invites us to contemplate in a special way the Virgin Mary and St Joseph, who lived with unique intensity the period of expectation and preparation for Jesus' birth.
St Joseph: the "just' man
Today, I would like to turn my gaze to the figure of St Joseph. In today's Gospel St Luke presents the Virgin Mary as "a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David" (cf. Lk 1: 27). The Evangelist Matthew, however, places a greater emphasis on the putative father of Jesus, stressing that through him the Child belonged legally to the lineage of David and thus fulfilled the Scriptural prophecy that the Messiah would be a "son of David".
But Joseph's role cannot be reduced to this legal aspect. He was the model of a "just" man (Mt 1: 19) who, in perfect harmony with his wife, welcomed the Son of God made man and watched over his human growth.
It is therefore particularly appropriate in the days that precede Christmas to establish a sort of spiritual conversation with St Joseph, so that he may help us live to the full this great mystery of faith.
The silence of St Joseph
Beloved Pope John Paul II, who was very devoted to St Joseph, left us a wonderful meditation dedicated to him in the Apostolic Exhortation Redemptoris Custos, "The Guardian of the Redeemer".
Among the many aspects on which this Document sheds light, the silence of St Joseph is given a special emphasis. His silence is steeped in contemplation of the mystery of God in an attitude of total availability to the divine desires.
In other words, St Joseph's silence does not express an inner emptiness but, on the contrary, the fullness of the faith he bears in his heart and which guides his every thought and action.
It is a silence thanks to which Joseph, in unison with Mary, watches over the Word of God, known through the Sacred Scriptures, continuously comparing it with the events of the life of Jesus; a silence woven of constant prayer, a prayer of blessing of the Lord, of the adoration of his holy will and of unreserved entrustment to his providence.
It is no exaggeration to think that it was precisely from his "father" Joseph that Jesus learned - at the human level - that steadfast interiority which is a presupposition of authentic justice, the "superior justice" which he was one day to teach his disciples (cf. Mt 5: 20).
An Advent of silent recollection
Let us allow ourselves to be "filled" with St Joseph's silence! In a world that is often too noisy, that encourages neither recollection nor listening to God's voice, we are in such deep need of it. During this season of preparation for Christmas, let us cultivate inner recollection in order to welcome and cherish Jesus in our own lives.
After the Angelus the Pope said:
On this Fourth Sunday of Advent I welcome all the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors present for the Angelus. As the celebration of Our Lord's birth draws near let us join with Mary in prayerful trust, ready to embrace God's will as a sign of hope for our world. During these last days of the holy season of Advent, I invoke upon you and your families God's abundant Blessings of joy and peace.
Thank you all for this pleasant visit. Have a good Sunday!
(©L'Osservatore Romano - 21/28 December 2005)
Trying to keep up; but so many words and my brain so small.
