Being For Others

The action of the Holy Spirit is revealed in a special way in the life and mission of Mother Pauline. He inspired her to build a home, with a group of young women friends, that was later called by the people the “Little Hospital of St. Virgilius” and destined to provide material and spiritual assistance to the suffering and the marginalized. Thus in response to the plans of Providence, is born the first religious community in Southern Brazil: named the Congregation of the Little Sisters of the Immaculate Conception. It was in this hospital that “being-for-others” became the guiding motive for Mother Pauline. In service to the poor and the suffering, she became a manifestation of the Holy Spirit who is “the best comforter; the soul's most welcome guest, sweet refreshment here below.”

-Saint John Paul II, May 2002

St. Pauline of the Agonizing Heart of Jesus, please pray for us on this day of your feast!

St. John Paul II In The City Of Freedom

Declaration of Independence, by John Trumbull, 1819

The schedule is set for the Holy Father’s visit to the United States. Pope Francis will visit both Washington, D.C. and New York City in September, followed by a stop at the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia.

Pope Francis won't be the first pontiff to step foot in Philadelphia. Saint John Paul II actually visited the city twice—once before he was Pope, and once at the beginning of his pontificate. He was sent to the International Eucharistic Congress there in 1976, and he stopped in the “city of brotherly love” during his pastoral visit to the United States in 1979.

During his pastoral visit, John Paul II said Mass at Logan Circle. In his homily, he named Philadelphia as the city of the Declaration of Independence and the Liberty Bell. He said:

Your attachment to liberty, to freedom, is part of your heritage. When the Liberty Bell rang for the first time in 1776, it was to announce the freedom of your nation, the beginning of the pursuit of a common destiny independent of any outside coercion. This principle of freedom is paramount in the political and social order, in relationships between the government and the people, and between individual and individual. However, man's life is also lived in another order of reality: in the order of his relationship to what is objectively true and morally good. Freedom thus acquires a deeper meaning when it is referred to the human person. It concerns in the first place the relation of man to himself. Every human person, endowed with reason, is free when he is the master of his own actions, when he is capable of choosing that good which is in conformity with reason, and therefore with his own human dignity.

Our beloved Holy Father reminded Philadelphians of the gift of their freedom, and what that freedom really means for the human person. May we be reminded of that again as we prepare for the World Meeting of Families and Pope Francis’s visit.

Saint John Paul II, Pray for Us!

Praying For America

Associated Press, 1979

We thank you, Lord Jesus,

because the Gospel of the Father's love,

with which you came to save the world,

has been proclaimed far and wide in America

as a gift of the Holy Spirit

that fills us with gladness.

We thank you for the gift of your Life,

which you have given us by loving us to the end:

your Life makes us children of God,

brothers and sisters to each other.

Increase, O Lord, our faith and our love for you,

present in all the tabernacles of the continent.

Grant us to be faithful witnesses

to your Resurrection

for the younger generation of Americans,

so that, in knowing you, they may follow you

and find in you their peace and joy.

Only then will they know that they

are brothers and sisters

of all God's children scattered

throughout the world.

You who, in becoming man,

chose to belong to a human family,

teach families the virtues which filled with light

the family home of Nazareth. 

The Apostle of California

Very often, at crucial moments in human affairs, God raises up men and women whom he thrusts into roles of decisive importance for the future development of both society and the Church. Although their story unfolds within the ordinary circumstances of daily life, they become larger than life within the perspective of history. We rejoice all the more when their achievement is coupled with a holiness of life that can truly be called heroic. So it is with Junípero Serra, who in the providence of God was destined to be the Apostle of California, and to have a permanent influence over the spiritual patrimony of this land and its people, whatever their religion might be. This apostolic awareness is captured in the words ascribed to him: “In California is my life and there, God willing, I hope to die.” Through Christ’s Paschal Mystery, that death has become a seed in the soil of this state that continues to bear fruit “thirty - or sixty - or a hundred-fold.”

-Saint John Paul II, 1987

Blessed Junípero Serra, soon to be canonized, please pray for us on this day of your feast!

Papal Intentions For July

As we prepare for the month of July, let us remember Pope Francis’s intentions in our prayers.

His universal intention is that “political responsibility may be lived at all levels as a high form of charity.”

The Holy Father also asks us to pray that, “amid social inequalities, Latin American Christians may bear witness to love for the poor and contribute to a more fraternal society.”

So let us join Pope Francis in praying for political responsibility and Latin American Christians this month.

Saint John Paul II, Pray for Us!

The Christian Home

The Holy Family by Giorgione, 1500

When I think of Christian homes, I like to imagine them as being full of the light and joy that were in the home of the Holy Family. The message of Christmas is heard in all its forcefulness: "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men of good will." "And may the peace of Christ triumph in your hearts," writes the Apostle. It is a peace that comes from knowing that our Father God loves us, and that we are made one with Christ. It results from being under the protection of the Virgin, our Lady, and assisted by St. Joseph. This is the great light that illuminates our lives. In the midst of difficulties and of our own personal failings, it encourages us to keep up our effort. Every Christian home should be a place of peace and serenity. In spite of the small frustrations of daily life, an atmosphere of profound and sincere affection should reign there together with a deep-rooted calm, which is the result of authentic faith that is put into practice.

-Saint Josemaría Escrivá, Christ is Passing By

St. Josemaría Escrivá, canonized by our beloved St. John Paul II, please join us in praying for a greater respect for the sacrament of marriage in America today, especially as we prepare for Domestic Church Day.