There is no doubt that all of us have heard at least some news about the difficulties in Sudan. Our sisters are in Juba and have been sending us information about the situation so that we be in solidarity with them and continue praying.A short historyIn response to the invitation of the Bishops of Sudan, the Daughters of St. Paul opened a community in Juba in 2008. We repaired an old, abandoned prefabricated house to use as a residence and also renovated a second bu...

Dearest Sisters, Affectionate best wishes that the experience of Christmas,our meeting with Love, will enable us to recountour intimate joy, made up of wonder and tenderness,in communicating “what we have heard,what we have seen with our eyes,what we have looked upon and touched with our hands–the Word of life.”Let us gather before the Babe of Bethlehemand ask of him the gift of a bold, missionary and joyous faith.Let our wish for one another be that we might make space fo...

«Were he to comply with your request and tell you something of what he still remembers and that you consider useful for the Pauline Family, he would have to recount a twofold story: [first] the story of God’s Mercy so as to sing a marvelous “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to all people.” And then, the humiliating story of his lack of conformity to the overabundance of divine love and his need to compose a new and sorrowful “Miserere”» (AD...

One thing about the new translation of the Mass prayers that I noticed between yesterday and today is how the "proper" prayers for saints like Nicholas (yesterday) and Ambrose (today) identify the saint first as "Bishop": "O God, who made the Bishop Saint Ambrose a teacher..." Their vocation in the Church becomes part of their name.Ambrose is one of those saints whose vocation story itself did not fit the usual model. He was the governor of the Roman province centered at Milan; just a civic lead...

My cousin Sarah teaches music history in St. Paul, MN, at the University of St. Thomas, which held its Christmas concert last week at a packed Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis. Since she also plays the French horn, she lent her talent to the event—no small achievement for a breast cancer survivor. Afterward, she e-mailed me: “When the men from all [five] choirs sang Ave Maria, and when the large choir sang Martin Lauridsen's arrangement of O Magnum Mysterium, I was moved to tears at wit...

Following is a Christmas reflection by Bl. James Alberione (source unknown):Whoever wishes may receive Jesus in the Eucharist every day, he who is the Son of Mary and the blessed fruit of her womb. In the soul sullied by sin, Jesus lies down as if in a new manger; and he affects a physical and spiritual union with us that is transforming and is permanent by its very nature. Jesus’ mind, which is the true sun, enlightens our intelligence with the splendors of the faith, and it allows us to ...

by Rae StaboszEach week this Advent-Christmas season, we happily bring you back to some blog posts of previous years. Feel free to send us a new comment. May the season be bright with the truth of God’s love for you in Christ.I heard that some of the Italian sisters were working on a digital database of Father Alberione's writings. So I went hunting today and found a treasure! Check out http://www.alberione.org/operaomnia/operaomnia_opere.php . It will blow your mind!! Alberione texts...