Being Local, Thinking Global

About two years ago the Daughters of St. Paul throughout the world began a process of “redesigning” the presence of the congregation in the 55 nations and territories where the 2,600 of us are established. It was occasioned by concerns over dwindling human and financial resources in many locations, as well as by the unprecedented pace of media development. On the other hand, new opportunities (and challenges) have arisen, not the least of which is renewed interest of local Churches in our mission, plus a steady influx—and even an increase—in Pauline vocations in some places. We have now begun taking initial steps toward a revitalization of several aspects of our life and mission.

The first step for us in the Western Hemisphere, was a pan-American FSP conference in Brazil last year. It led us to launch a remarkable missionary initiative, that can only be attributed to the Holy Spirit working through our desire for an organized, collaborative effort between North and South, in carrying out the Church’s call for a new evangelization.

The following article by Hosffman Ospino, PhD, is the first in a three-part series on this initiative. He outlines the Church’s vision of a unitary project for “the American continent,” first proposed by John Paul II. Next week I will explain the Pauline project in greater detail. Finally, the third week, Father Joseph A. Benson of New Orleans will reflect on what that project entails from a parish perspective. As the U.S. observes National Hispanic Heritage Month between Sept. 15 and Oct. 15, I hope that such a series will lead to fruitful soul-searching, conversation, and commitment.

Dr. Ospino’s expertise has been indispensable in establishing a socio-ecclesial reference point for U.S. Paulines to strategize together with a team of our sisters from Latin America. Originally from Colombia, he teaches pastoral theology and religious education at Boston College’s School of Theology and Ministry, where he is also the Director of Graduate Programs in Hispanic Ministry. He is the editor of Hispanic Ministry in the 21st Century: Present and Future (Convivium Press, 2010) and is the author of Peter’s Catechism: Who Do You Say That I Am? Why Did You Doubt? Do You Love Me? (Liguori, 2011). Both books are also available in Spanish.

Globalization, a phenomenon that many invoke to explain, sometimes to justify, what happens in our world, is the perfect opportunity to think deeply about our identity as Christians and as Church in the world. This I have confirmed in my many travels and conversations as a theologian and educator throughout the United States and Latin America during the last decade. From the newly created parish in a city that tripled its population over the last twenty years to whole Conferences of Catholic bishops, ecclesial movements, and religious orders, Catholicism in the American continent—North, Central, South, and the Caribbean—is in a major process of discernment: what does it mean to be Catholic today? No need to digress here about the various definitions of globalization. Suffice it to say that we live in a historical moment in which we are uniquely aware of who we are at the local level because of what happens beyond our immediacy—and vice versa.

Soon after arriving in the United States as a theology student I became involved in various forms of ministry in parishes serving Hispanic Catholics. At first my Colombian identity permeated my thoughts, perspectives, and reflections. That’s who I was; there was where I lived. Soon I realized that I was part of a larger whole. I did not stop being Colombian; I simply learned that I was a Latino in the United States, because this is where I lived. Today I continue to be involved in some projects and conversations in Latin America, an even larger whole, but I do it as a Latino Catholic theologian living in the United States. Globalization demands that all Christians, rooted in the particularity of our own realities, think in global terms. We must become experts in maintaining the balance between the local and the global.

At the end of the twentieth century, which also marked the end of the second millennium of the Christian era, the Church embarked in a process of reflection about what it meant to be Catholic at the continental level. Pope John Paul II led important gatherings of bishops in all continents. The key insights from these meetings are gathered in documents entitled Ecclesia in… (Africa, America, Asia, Europa, Oceania). Ecclesia in America speaks closer to us in the United States. The document is amazingly rich and visionary. Two insights that I think are worth highlighting are that all the Americas are one continent and that cultural diversity in the continent has the potential to enrich our societies and the larger Church. Let’s say more about both insights.

In terms of unity the Pope, in Ecclesia in America, said that speaking of “America” in the singular expresses both an already existing unity, as well as a desire on the part of America’s peoples to forge a still closer bond. He points out that, because her mission is to promote the communion of peoples in the Lord, the Church also longs to do her part to foster this unity (cf. n. 5). While there is still much that is unique to the identity of each nation and culture in the continent, the bonds of unity seem to be stronger, particularly through our shared Christian faith and the realization that only in solidarity our societies become stronger. One could think of multiple realities that embody such unity such as democracy or the market economy or even popular culture. However, these often fall short.

More than a factor, it is a body of people—more exactly a body of Christian believers—who, thanks to their faith and practices, express such unity most clearly: Catholicism. The Church has been an icon of unity in many cultures and continues to be so today. Keep in mind that unity here does not mean uniformity or homogeneity. It rather means a shared consciousness about being one in Jesus Christ, a consciousness that we celebrate (liturgy), teach (catechesis), and live in the everyday (service). In America, the continent, being Catholic means that, regardless of our differences, faith makes us one. It is a bond that is fully expressed in the idea of communion. Communion alive in what we believe; communion alive in the way we care for one another. In America one cannot fully live the Catholic experience “here” without being mindful of what happens to Catholic brothers and sisters in the rest of the continent. Such is the consciousness that fuels the missionary efforts of the Church, justifies that countless women and men spend their lives bringing Christ to each other—from North to South; from South to North—and inspires the generosity of many to make sure that everyone’s most basic needs are truly met.

The second insight proposed in Ecclesia in America, is that thanks to the way the Church is organized in and among nations, cultural diversity in the continent has the potential to enrich our societies and the larger Church (cf. n. 32). What makes being Catholic a very exciting experience in America, the continent, is the richness of its peoples and cultures. One could spend a lifetime contemplating how the Gospel has become incarnate in the various communities in the continent through expressions of popular religiosity, rituals, prayers, practices of faith, stories, etc. In the United States one can still appreciate glimpses of that European Catholicism that traveled across the Atlantic two and three centuries ago. Mexican culture breathes mestizo Catholicism, fruit of the encounter between Spanish Christianity and indigenous traditions. In Ecuador one cannot but stand in awe before the beautiful churches built in colonial times, capturing the spirit of a whole era. In Brazil elements of Portuguese, African, indigenous, and mestizo cultures concocted to produce a uniquely vibrant way of being Catholic. Every one of these general experiences is important to understand what it means to be Church in America—the continent.

But we must also pay attention to the more particular experiences that each nation and culture has developed in response to its own particular reality. I think, for instance, of the great efforts to advance ecumenical and interreligious dialogue in the North, or Central and South America’s amazing examples of theological reflection and commitment to being in solidarity with the poor in light of the Gospel, to mention only two. Many of these experiences, without a doubt, have been the result of how particular faith communities have read and appropriated the teachings of the Second Vatican Council. Globalization has made us more aware of these life-giving expressions of Catholic life, which allow us to affirm better who we are at the local level while appreciating others beyond our immediacy.

The United States is perhaps the closest example to us where the local and the global coincide to shape the experience of being Catholic. Catholicism came to this nation with immigrants mostly from Western Europe and is currently being transformed by immigrants from other parts of the world, mostly from Latin America. That vision of one continent shaped by many cultures described in Ecclesia in America is in many ways a reality in the Catholic experience in the United States. But this presents us with a triple challenge: first, to remain sufficiently open to let the diversity that constitutes our Church today shape how we live our Christian faith as Catholics in North America and Catholics in America, the continent; second, to know better our own histories and contributions; and third, to sincerely appreciate what other Catholics beyond our own context have contributed to the experience of being Catholic in the American continent.

I began this reflection asserting that globalization seems to be the perfect opportunity to think deeply about our identity as Christians and as Church in the world. Now that we have a better understanding of what it means to be Catholics in America, the continent, we are now in a better position to do this exercise of discernment. Many Catholic organizations and religious communities have begun a serious process of engaging this question. It is imperative that they be provided with the resources and the time to do this reflection carefully because, in a global world, the implications of their decisions will affect not only their mission at the local level, but also the mission of the Church in the continent—and beyond.

Dr. Ospino can be reached at ospinoho@bc.edu.

Afternoon Tea with the Daughters honors Fr. Robert Reed

Sr. Anne Eileen Heffernan, FSP, ably does the honors this week. From our Development Office, she shares her report about last Sunday's much-anticipated event at our Boston convent, that benefits our sisters all over the U.S....and everyone they serve. Read on!


 On Sunday, September 18, the weather was already autumnal—brisk, with a mixture of sun and clouds—as guests arrived at our Jamaica Plain convent to attend our second annual Afternoon Tea, an annual fundraiser for the Daughters of St. Paul Education Fund. The atmosphere was joyful as priests and laity socialized with sisters and each other, inspected the ten enticing raffle baskets (each with a different theme) and purchased raffle tickets.

Tea in a festive setting was followed by a welcoming address by Sr. Mary Leonora Wilson, provincial superior, and a video clip illustrating the importance of the fundraiser, which helps prepare our sisters academically, professionally, and spiritually for our mission. This was the second annual Afternoon Tea held at our Jamaica Plain motherhouse to bestow the Cordero Award on a Catholic who has striven to uplift the human spirit and recognize the dignity of the person in or through the media. The Cordero Award is named after Mother Paula Cordero, the first Daughter of St. Paul to come to the United States, who from the very beginning valued and encouraged the education of our sisters.

This year’s award recipient was Fr. Robert Reed, priest of the Archdiocese of Boston and President of the Catholic TV Network, who oversees the production, acquisition, and broadcasting of diverse, high-quality Catholic programs on a national level.
The proceeds from this annual event contribute to the Daughters of St. Paul Education Fund, which helps prepare our sisters effectively to meet the needs of today's people with the Gospel message. Sr. Mary Leonora recently explained that, in striving to respond to the Holy Father’s call for new evangelization:

“We must go beyond the print media and be proficient in the digital and virtual universes that have become a part of the culture of our society. Our hearts also go out to the unchurched, who may never approach a Pauline Book & Media center, but who, in the core of their being, long for an encounter with a loving and forgiving God. The more prepared we are, the better we can respond to the needs of humanity.”

Cardinal Seán O’Malley was present for the reception of the award by Fr. Reed, who thanked His Eminence for encouraging Boston Catholic TV to become a national network. Following the drawing of the winning raffle tickets, the Cardinal imparted the closing blessing. Tours of the publishing house followed. It appeared that a good time had been enjoyed by all.

As soon as we’re able—within the next few weeks—we’ll be sure to let you know if we at least came close to our $50,000 goal. If YOU would like to make a contribution to the Daughters of St. Paul Education Fund, click on the Donate Now button on the right sidebar.

Photos: Sr. Ann Richard Heady, FSP

Planting the Tree of the Cross

Pilot Printing. Used
with permission.

In the array of religious symbols, few are as ambivalent as the cross. Within a few centuries after Christ, a horrifying method of Roman capital punishment became the universal symbol of Christianity and permeates Western society. Although a growing respect for religious pluralism in our nation allows us to make room for other expressions of faith, American cultural instinct still assigns to the cross its most poignant memorial.

So when did the greatest hope of the human race once again come to mean primarily suffering and shame? We’ve all heard it and have probably said it: “What a cross…he carries (…she is…that would be)!” This aspect of it can’t be denied. In fact, Jesus made carrying the cross daily a requirement of discipleship (cf. Mt. 16:24). But why? Is it because of the suffering it entails, or the salvation?

Today’s feast of the Exaltation of the Cross comes down on the side of salvation. Jesus’ self-emptying in the Incarnation and later on the cross is his supreme act of love for the Father, who sent him to save the world. St. Alphonsus de Liguori declared that “love, not nails, fastened Jesus to the cross.” Jesus himself said, “I lay down my life in order to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord” (Jn. 10:18). While the cross is no picnic, the message of the Gospel and of this day is that Jesus’ love for the Father and for us, which led him to the cross, released the stranglehold of sin and death, triumphed in the resurrection, and so, by the Holy Spirit, guaranteed undying life for everyone and everything human. No wonder the author of the book of Revelation could cry out in Christ’s name to a hunted, martyred Church, “Do not fear what you are about to suffer….Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life” (2:10).

Using a vivid image, contemporary theologian Hans Urs von Balthasar says that Jesus “exploded” sin from within. When I read that recently I couldn’t help thinking of…Harry Potter. Pursued by Valdemort, his nemesis, Harry made it his mission to find and destroy every “horcrux” that contained a piece of Valdemort’s soul (OK, so the theology skips a beat here) to put an end to the death and grief caused by Valdemort’s ambition. Although he didn’t realize it, Harry himself was the last “horcrux.” Valdemort mistakenly believed that if he could overcome Harry, he would be invested with unconquerable life. A matured Harry gave himself into Valdemort’s power in order to save his friends and in dying, became the evil lord’s undoing.

Whether we talk about wars or the petty rivalries in the workplace and the home, human struggles aim for a winner-take-all conquest. This may come as a surprise, but the sacrifice of Jesus did, too. The only difference is that God in Jesus triumphed not over human beings, but over what makes us less human—sin and death. He “made captivity itself a captive” (Eph. 4:8).

The way that that comes to us? Forgiveness. The cross is not only the sign that God reconciled us with himself. It is the act of reconciliation; it brought about that reunification with God and made unity with one another possible. Ever since then, the two aspects of suffering and salvation have always worked in tandem. Jesus planted the tree of the cross on Calvary, watered by the Holy Spirit and his own blood and tended by the Church in the sacrament of Reconciliation. Not surprisingly, the process doesn’t stop there, but out the confessional door, making us ambassadors of reconciliation (cf. 2Cor. 5:16-21).

Oh if ever there was an intersection of suffering and salvation in our relationships it’s in forgiveness! The cross attests that evil inflicts a gaping wound in our hearts that only forgiveness can heal. “Anything but that!” we protest, and so we cast about looking for something or someone else to do the job. Instead, forgiveness is a gift we give to ourselves. It doesn’t necessarily change the one we resent, but allows something life-giving to take its place in us, so that we’re no longer burdened by the other person we can’t change.

Indignation and a desire for revenge would not have been enough to fuel the compassion of millions of people we saw, read about, or heard about on 9/11 and in its aftermath. Only a need to give senselessness some meaning, a meaning springing from love. One reader of this blog e-mailed me after the post of May 4, 2011, that commented on the assassination of Osama bin Laden. He wrote:

“Even though the event of 911 was horrific, we should not forget the outpouring of charity, altruism and love for neighbor that overshadowed the evil in the days and months after 911. It’s hard to stay angry, unless you really want to - and love (NOT time) heals all wounds, if we let it” (Kurtis D. Welton).

St. Paul would say: “Where sin increased, grace increased even more, so that just as sin reigned in death, so too would grace reign in reconciliation leading to eternal life through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom. 5:20-21).

Thoughts to help us in the process, from Forgiveness: A Catholic Approach, (which, this week, ranks #16 in Amazon.com’s top 100 Christian best sellers). Go to Embrace Forgiveness on Facebook to read stories, post a question,  and interact with the author, Fr. Scott Hurd:

“‘Forgive and forget’ may sound noble. Unfortunately, it’s just not realistic….Our minds don’t come equipped with a delete button…. Forgiveness may not require forgetting, but it does require letting go.” 

 “‘I would often tell people that the only thing worse than a bullet in my spine would have been to nurture revenge in my heart’” (Steven McDonald, NYPD, after forgiving the teen who shot and paralyzed him).

“Guilt does not have to paralyze us. Instead, it can provide the energy that spurs us into action, leading us to seek forgiveness….Simply put, people who know they’re forgiven are much more likely to be people who forgive.”

“God wants to forgive us more than we could ever want to sin….He’s dying to forgive us—which is exactly what he has already done!”

To order copies with prayer below,
click PilotPrinting.net/911bookmarks

Teens, Technology, and Christian Leadership

Now that school is back in session, our guest blogger is Romeo Marquis, Executive Director of The Learning Curve Consortium. He explores ways in which we can learn together how to navigate the world of communication as Christ’s disciples. Far from being “kids’ stuff,” he says, our approach to media shapes our lives as believing parents, educators, and clergy. As a vehicle for transmitting our values to our young people and to others, it also serves as a model for them in lifelong learning.
“I hate computers, I hate the future, I hate progress, I hate that things are moving so fast that unless you work at it every day you are left so far behind.” So began the journey for a teacher in an online graduate course I recently taught. The story has a positive ending, however. Her final thought in our online forum was, “I look forward to the future now and to my participation in what it has to offer.”

I truly admire teachers who show growth as this teacher did. They work hard and sometimes it can be a real challenge for them to embrace technology, especially if they are not accustomed to working with emerging technologies. The same can be said of parents, pastors, and others who work with teenagers, yet have not kept pace with ongoing changes in the technology field. The danger, of course, is that while they are in positions in which they can have positive influence on teenagers, they will continue to fall behind them in their use of computing devices and the Internet.

Have you already begun a new academic year? So have I, although perhaps not in the same way. As a teacher I belonged to the BT generation – Before Technology. I was also a high school principal for twenty years. I’ve also been a college administrator and online instructor. Today I work mostly with teachers over the Internet. We work to develop the online environment in safe and constructive ways.

I began teaching high school science decades ago when the major piece of technology at my disposal was a slide rule. Remember those? I had a huge one mounted at the top of my chalkboard so I could demonstrate its use to my students. We didn’t even have calculators in those days, either. This was one of the few tools I had that could be classified as “technology.” The others were a 16 mm movie projector and a 35 mm slide projector. At one point I was given an overhead projector. Wow! Those were the days when technology was safe and completely under my control as a teacher. Not so today!

Today I truly enjoy my laptop, my tablet, my smart phone, and just about any gadget I can get my hands on. I suppose I’ve become somewhat of a geek even in my seventies. I use these devices to help teachers bridge the gap between past and present in classrooms. To do that, we have to use the Internet, fully realizing that it can be a risky place. However, it is also rich in resources not only for teaching and learning but also for Christian living.

I am also a lifelong Catholic, a husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather. I get concerned when I hear some parents and teachers say that they are too old to learn about these new technology tools. That’s a real problem. When we adults fail to accept today’s digital environment, we inadvertently enable teenagers to enter the high-risk online environment without adult leadership. So now let me set the stage for a multi-faceted view of technology not only as an educational and social tool, but also as a gift from God – a gift not only to teenagers but also to parents, teachers, pastors, and all who are responsible for teenagers in one way or another.

Several years ago I listened to a homily explaining how we Catholics can make this a better world. The priest’s closing remark was, “And it is not about high technology.” To this day I cannot understand the connection between that remark and the rest of the homily. Why do we often blame technology for its dark side? That’s like blaming the snow for a car accident. The snow didn’t cause the accident; the driver who failed to adjust to changing conditions did. As long as we continue to blame inanimate things for our failings, we will never see the true picture.

Technology is a gift; like most gifts, it can be used for good and it can be used for evil. When we focus primarily on its dark side, we tend to come up with an abundance of rules to control it or even to block it. Remember the days when the Catholic Church published the “List of Forbidden Books?” Did that work? The list was discontinued. Today we have the World Wide Web, YouTube, My Space, Facebook, Twitter, Moodle, and more. We have personal computers, laptops, netbooks, tablets, and smart phones. All are gifts. We can choose to use them for good or for bad. We can choose to ignore them or even pretend they are not there. Let’s consider an example of such a technology.

In its early days, YouTube was a place where anyone with basic Internet skills could upload their videos for others to see. It didn’t take very long for teenagers to discover that they could find some pretty racy videos simply by entering a key word or two. Over time, YouTube became a legitimate search engine now owned by Google. Can we still find dangerous and untrue information on YouTube? Of course. Suppose your teenager tells you that the Holocaust never happened and that he knows that’s true because his friend showed him a Web site as “proof.”  This example really happened!

Parent, teacher, or pastor, how would you respond if you heard a young person claim that the Holocaust never happened because he read it on a Web site? Many adults react in a kneejerk sort of way by seeking to block certain Web sites or by criticizing today’s technologies, as seen in the example of the homily I already mentioned. Instead, we can search YouTube for lots of helpful information. We can find videos about any topic that interests us. We can watch videos about our faith, we can follow presidential elections, we can watch Vincent Price render his version of “The Raven,” and we can watch videos about Newton’s Laws of Motion. We can also find videos describing the reality of the Holocaust, why it happened, how it happened, and how we can learn from it.

Actually, this really isn’t about YouTube at all. It’s about how we adults can choose to help our teenagers make wise decisions regarding technology – computers, laptops, smart phones, tablets, and the Internet. Albert Einstein (1879 – 1955) once said, “Computers are incredibly fast, accurate, and stupid. Human beings are incredibly slow, inaccurate, and brilliant. Together they are powerful beyond imagination.” What wisdom! How, then, should we approach this gift of technology with our teenagers?

Many adults must catch up to today’s online environment. Sometimes it’s like trying to catch a seventy mile-per-hour bus by increasing our speed from thirty miles per hour to thirty-five. However, we must be prepared to teach and lead by example whether at home, at school, at church, or at work – everywhere. Every adult who has influence over teenagers must accept the challenge described by the teacher quoted at the beginning of this article. That choice on our part is already having a profound influence on the growth of our young people, whether or not we recognize it.


Teacher resource,
grades K-8;
Media Mindfulness,
grades 9-12.

 Our teenagers can choose to apply technology to reinforce human dignity or to deface it. Those choices are best made when they experience human dignity from us adults. The Catholic Church’s stance on technology affirms human dignity. To be convinced of this it’s enough to glance at the fifteen major Vatican documents on communication and its scores of related messages, plus the U.S. bishops’ documents, such as its Social Media Guidelines. In addition, go to the Daughters of Saint Paul Web site to discover an approach that highlights technology and other media in a healthy, wholesome, and Christian manner. A parent or teacher or pastor who embraces and models the positive aspects of 21st century technology in this spirit provides much needed moral leadership to our teenagers.

Fortunately, many adults are changing the way they think about the gift of technology. The good is far stronger than the bad. As we embrace this gift and model its use, we can take real strides to help our teenagers choose the good over the bad. Here are a few suggestions:

1. Parents: Take an interest in how teenagers use their technological tools. Talk to them. “What are you working on?” can lead to a wholesome and productive discussion. Insist that your teenager uses the computer in an open area like the living room, the den, or the dining room, rather than in a secluded bedroom. Make the decision to learn about the tools your young people are using. They are not as complicated as you might think. Ask some of your friends who are already computer savvy to show you what these tools are all about. Maybe your own teenager can give you a few lessons. Learn how to use email and texting. Find out about Facebook and Twitter and other social networking sites. Talk to other adults who use these tools.

2. Teachers and administrators: Insist that computer placement allows for open view of the screens rather than in study carrels with front and side panels. Teach and model critical thinking. Ask teenagers how they make their decisions about Web sites that they use as references. Do they know who the authors are? Do they understand the structure of a Web site address (URL)? Do they know how to determine the validity of a YouTube video before deciding to use it in a homework assignment? Do they understand that anyone can post information on the Web and on YouTube, even if they have little or no expertise? Are they “friending” others in Facebook without knowing who these people are?

3. Pastors: Integrate Web based technologies, human dignity, and the Gospel message. Talk to your parishioners – adults and teenagers. Support technology based workshops for the adults in your parish. Insist on the teaching and modeling of faith based use of Web based technologies in your religious education programs. How else are we to get our young people off to a good start? It’s much easier to help them learn the right habits early than try to have them catch up once they’ve developed bad habits.

Intelligent and wholesome use of Web based technology doesn’t lie in whole scale blocking of information or even denying teenagers the tools they need. Nor does it lie in ignoring Web based technologies. It rests in focusing on Christian values and in affirming human dignity. It rests with parents, teachers, administrators, and pastors, who acknowledge technology as a gift and share that gift through modeling, through healthy discussion, through leadership, and through reasonable supervision. The alternative is to believe that kids will be kids and we don’t need to be concerned. Do we really have a choice? 

Romeo Marquis can be reached at Rmarquis@thelearningcurve.org.

The Secret of Success



The NonProfit Times, Aug. 1, 2011. Reprinted with permission.

If you ever want to mount a case against religion, don’t bother trying to solicit testimony from American non-profits. According to a June 2011 survey of U.S. adults by The NonProfit Times, those who give to religious organizations are the top supporters of secular ones, as well:
• Forty-seven percent of those interviewed contribute to religious groups.
• People who donate to religious causes are three times more likely to donate also to secular causes than are those who never support religious charities.
• Where age is a factor, the highest disparity between those who give to religion and those who do not is in the 18- to 34-year-old bracket: 23%. Eighty-two percent of these young adults who give to religion also support secular causes, compared with 59% of those who expressed no interest in giving to religion.
• Consistently, among all ages, educational backgrounds, and household incomes, religious donors support more than one other charity. Two of the most dramatic differences occur in the age and education categories: 11% of religious donors of all ages give to between six and ten organizations annually, compared with 4% among the non-religious; and 25% of those religious donors who never finished high school give to more than ten, compared with 4% among the non-religious.

In addition, basing itself on IRS estimates for giving, Giving USA Foundation reported that the cause which U.S. adults supported most in 2010, was religion: 35% of the nearly $300 billion that Americans donated, followed by education at 14%. 

If that isn’t enough to upend preconceived notions, here’s another. Giving USA also recently published a study entitled, “Charitable Giving and the Millennial Generation,” 
that highlights giving patterns in “Millennial” donors—adults born since 1981. It states: “As with earlier generations, Millennials who give contribute the largest share of their dollars to religion. There has been a lot of information reported on the secularization of America, so this could be a countering trend” (Una Osili, Ph.D., director of research at the Center on Philanthropy).* Joanne Pong’s story, featured in the August 17 post of this blog, is a case in point.

Why this interest among our youngest adults? I spoke with Melanie McKitrick, one of the two researchers and authors of the study, who told me that while only 16% of Millennials preferred faith based giving in 2006, for example, it was a significant preference: three times more in contributions than to secular purposes. As with other demographics, Millennials who do give tend to have a steady income, are married, and have already graduated from college. Part of establishing themselves and raising a family is connecting with a faith community they can commit to, and a concrete part of that commitment consists of nearly $800 in donations annually.

In 2010, donors often gave to trusted umbrella groups that distribute funds among those they serve, for example the United Jewish Fund or Catholic Charities. Catholic Relief Services and other religious organizations ministered in the aftermath of Haiti’s earthquake last year—a key humanitarian cause for many donors in the U.S., religious and otherwise. Melanie acknowledged that it’s not yet possible to determine donors’ reasons for choosing charities, but she agreed that it’s very likely that not only Millennials, but other demographics made at least some of their religious contributions through this cause.

That said, it’s also true that people of faith tend to see God, not only in clearly religious settings, but also in what appears ordinary, even banal. As one man told me last week, “We should be able to hear the Word of God when we dig a hole in the garden and plant a flower.” From the Christian perspective, the Incarnation of God’s Son carries precisely this message. Nothing truly human is off limits for the divine.

So for these same people of faith, donating to charity, whether strictly religious or purely humanitarian, is an act of faith—whether they call it that or not. “It’s a good cause” means exactly that, since every good comes from God. Larry May at infogroup, which helped in carrying out The NonProfit Times survey, commented, “It might feel like our country is becoming more secular, but it’s not the case for these donors.”**

Against the current economic backdrop, that faith-in-action evidently moves such people to give even “until it hurts.” If my parents are any indication of the spirit behind this kind of giving, people of faith feel that God has been very good to them and will continue to care for them. In our house, you didn’t throw the scraps to God. I remember my father in particular saying, “We’re not rich, but we have a roof over our heads and food on the table. Everything we have comes from God, and it’s on loan to us to use as he wills. It’s up to us to find someone to share God’s blessings with, because they came from him.” This attitude is what motivated both my parents to give their blessing to both their daughters—their only children—when we chose religious life.


Mosaic rendering of the emblem worn by every
Daughter of St. Paul

This is the spirit behind what has become known in the Pauline Family as the Pact or Secret of Success. This “Pact” was first made between Fr. James Alberione and Fr. Timothy Giaccardo as one party and—upon what they felt was God’s invitation—the Holy Trinity as the other. Alberione and Giaccardo took seriously Jesus’ words in Mt. 6:33 and literally drew up a “deal” with God: “Seek first the kingdom of God and his holiness” (here they signed their names), “and all else will be given you besides” (here they wrote “the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit”). It was based both on their prophetic intuition regarding the responsibility they felt for evangelizing the world according to God’s call, as well as their trust in God’s liberality in giving these first members the help they needed to be saints and to carry out that mission.

That help certainly included material goods. In a talk, though, to the members on the feast of St. Paul’s Conversion in 1919, Fr. Alberione—“full of conviction and persuasion,” as Fr. Giaccardo recalls the founder that night—was quick to point out that their trust had to extend far beyond the material: “Our House lives on Providence. The greatest offense that God receives from our House is lack of trust in Him. He shows that it is he who does all things; we are stupid not to trust him….We must go before Jesus and tell him not to fail in his promises….Clear pacts and trust. The apostles were ignorant, but once they received the Holy Spirit, they amazed the world, confounded the learned, and enlightened everyone. This faith is essential to the spirit of the House; as the spirit is new, so it possesses new means. We must work for God and we need to know many things. So we work and the Lord takes care of providing our food, food not only for the body, but also for the mind and the heart….”

The Pact went through various revisions even during the founder’s lifetime. Here it is in its present form:

The Secret of Success     Jesus Master, accept the pact that we present to you through the hands of Mary, Queen of the Apostles, and of our Father, St. Paul.
  
We must correspond to your sublime will, arrive at the degree of perfection and heavenly glory to which you have destined us, and perform the apostolate of social communication in a holy manner. But we see that we are very weak, ignorant, incapable and inadequate in every way: in spirit, in knowledge, in the apostolate and in poverty. You instead are the Way and the Truth and the Life, the Resurrection, our one and supreme Good. We trust in you alone who said: “Whatever you ask the Father in my name, you will receive it.”
  
For our part, we promise and commit ourselves to seeking wholeheartedly in all things, in life and in the apostolate, only and always, your glory and peace to all peoples. We trust that on your part, you will give us a good spirit, grace, knowledge, and the means for doing good. According to your immense goodness and the needs of our special vocation, multiply the fruits of our spiritual work, of our study, of our apostolate, and of our poverty. We do not doubt you, but we fear our inconstancy and weakness.
  
Therefore, good Master, through the intercession of Mary, our Mother, extend to us the mercy you used with the Apostle Paul so that, faithful in imitating our father here on earth, we may be his companions in the glory in heaven. Amen.



Ed Robinson, president of NCCF, and
Paul Zambernardi, Raskob Foundation

One unique organization that facilitates this kind of giving is the National Catholic Community Foundation. NCCF believes that donors are looking to endow their favorite charities within the Catholic community, choosing long term growth over short term goals or projects. So it structured itself as “a pool of individual, perpetually created funds,” such as donor-advised or donor-designated funds, as well as field of interest funds, either in the name of specific Catholic non-profits or as vehicles for funding ministries according to donor intent. In this way, it hopes to assist Catholic non-profits in gathering “onto the bridge we provide between philanthropy and deserving Catholic ministries” (Richard J. Dowling, NCCF trustee). 

We learned of their services when an anonymous donor, a couple actually, decided to establish a small endowment of $400,000, called the “Daughters of St. Paul Fund” to support the life and works of our religious congregation. They wanted their contribution to begin doing good, and at the same time, continue to grow, both through investments made by the NCCF and through additional contributions from others who feel inspired to share in our mission in this way. So the fund was established to accomplish both goals, allowing our community to access a minimum percentage each year, while continuing to grow the principal. No contribution is too small. Click on the hypertext above or call the NCCF at 1-800-757-2998 to learn more.

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“Charitable Giving and the Millennial Generation,” by the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University. Reprinted with permission.
“Religious Donors Give to Secular Groups Too.” The NonProfit Times, Aug. 22, 2011. Reprinted with permission.

Discover Hope

Even if you’ve never come up with one, you know what a tagline is. Recognize these? “Just Do It.” “That Was Easy.” “It’s All Inside.” Taglines synthesize values, express company commitment, and ensure brand recognition. Memorable ones resonate on a level deeper than commerce or sentiment and drive markets into their companies’ corner. For this reason corporations pour millions into clinching the mother of all catchphrases.

In crafting its new tagline, Pauline Books & Media meditated instead. As individuals and as small groups of sisters and co-workers, Pauline Cooperators and friends, we began a year ago to ask ourselves what makes us who we are: What are people looking for when they turn to us? What do we value and how do we communicate that? What message do we want to convey that says “Gospel” to the people of today?

Thus was born “Discover Hope.” We believe that Jesus Christ is the ultimate reason for our hope, and our mission exists to bring people into conversation and relationship with him by entering into conversation with them, building community with them. It may be through one of our media products or services or through our own witness as his disciples. No small task, but that gives us reason to live in hope too! In fact, one of the first steps in deciding upon this tagline was the realization that “we are meant to be the first encounter with Christ that each person experiences when coming into contact with us; we are meant to be the communication of Christ" (Sr. Margaret Timothy Sato). We may stammer or blur the image in the process, as everyone does, but we can’t stop communicating. “When they see our logo, they will feel like they’ve just pulled up in the driveway of their best friend” (Sr. Leonora Wilson, superior of the US/ESC province).

Whom are we trying to reach in this way? Sr. Margaret Timothy, the provincial superior at the time of the internal launch, named them clearly: “a much wider audience than we presently reach—the broader, and for the most part, unchurched audience that is the vast majority of our population.”

How does the tagline do this? What are we saying by the process? Again Sr. Timothy points out: “we are revitalizing ‘Pauline’ as a name that identifies all of who we are and what we do in mission…. In reflecting on ‘Discover Hope,’ four key attributes emerged that articulate this well, elements that we have long recognized as characteristic of our mission, and therefore of Pauline.” They are elements that “describe our values [and] express how people have benefitted from us over the years. The four attributes of our branding statement—PASSIONATE, TRUSTED, JOYFUL, and SANCTUARY—are promises we can make to the people we are called to minister to…. what we are known for.  These qualities are found in our community’s Constitutions and they express what we strive to be for the people we serve.


Sr. Margaret Timothy plays and
directs at the Jubilee Mass last
Saturday.


“We are PASSIONATE – “We invest our whole lives to bring the Gospel of hope to people yearning for God’s love.” This is the gift and privilege of our total belonging to Christ! ‘We will use any form of technology to proclaim God’s message in the best way possible.’”

The second key element is that for generations we have been TRUSTED by others in the area of life they most wonder about or that is most precious to them—their faith. Fidelity to our mission, like fidelity to our consecration, means we can communicate to the people of our society, “You can trust us to be your authentic resource for books and media solidly rooted in our Catholic identity.”


Sr. Fay and Sr. Nazarene

A third element which describes us as Paulines, “We are JOYFUL—In whatever venue you find us, we will welcome you with joyful hearts.” Both our founder and co-foundress point out to us the joy that should characterize our lives, a joy that was often captured in photos of them. It was the joy of the sisters that drew many of us to our community and that still invites young women today.


Sr. Tracey and Sr. Anne Joan
cantor the responsorial psalm.

Sr. Margaret Timothy concluded, “The fourth element descriptive of our Pauline mission is that wherever we meet people, and in whatever context, we know that the encounter is sacred. We are a SANCTUARY. The communication—of our words, actions, gestures, and silences—because we are sincerely striving to live Christ, provides a sanctuary for others. We communicate to the people we meet, ‘in encountering me, you can ‘encounter God.’ And it is God ‘who gives [to all of] us wholeness and meaning.’”

At first glance, it would seem we’re still addressing those we have addressed for years. To some extent we are; we don’t want to abandon them either! But if these, if you, can capture some of what we’re promising, if you can be “passionate, trusted, joyful and a sanctuary” for many we may not reach directly, Jesus Christ can be proclaimed to those many, as well. We are inviting you to be ambassadors of Christ like Paul. It can sound strange, but in a very real sense, together with you we need to “be” the brand—because by our Christian vocation we are all meant to be Christ who is our hope. So whether you access our new Web site, walk into a PBM Center, share your story of hope on the Discover Hope Facebook page, give a PBM media gift to someone, donate to a Pauline project (see the “Donate” button on the right sidebar), or pray for this mission, you can be a Pauline ambassador of hope!

But even directly, the unchurched can discover hope through Pauline media. These four characteristics are primarily our commitment to proclaim “peace to those far off [from faith] and peace to those nearby” (Eph. 2:17). “Today’s digital media give us the best opportunity we have ever had to give the Gospel to every person. As the number of cell phones in our nation approaches the number of teenagers & adults in our nation, we genuinely have the possibility of reaching our GOAL—to place the Gospel in everyone’s hands, and even more importantly, in their hearts” (Sr. Margaret Timothy).

We had our own internal tagline launch in the spring and planned the public launch to coincide with the anniversary date of our founding as a Pauline Family—August 20. It just so happens that the launch also coincides with the start of the triennium—or three years of preparation—leading up to the centenary of our founding in 2014. In addition it coincided with seven other anniversaries—those of four sister silver jubilarians, one golden, and two diamond. Sisters Marie James Hunt, Marie Bernard Tran, Jane Raphael Livingston, Sean Marie David, Mary Mark Wickenhiser, Mary Paula Kolar, and Mary Louise Oddi celebrated and reaffirmed their commitment to incarnate Christian hope and to be hope for the culture of communication.

It was a wonderful day! Of course families and friends joined the community in pulling out all the stops: Liturgy, flower arrangements, music, preaching, food, décor, and more tell something of our love for these sisters and of the sign they are for us all.

Decades of fidelity are impressive. So I asked some of them to share the “secret” of their fidelity. “I know,” I said, “the grace of God. So now that we’ve established that, what is it—an attitude, a practice, whatever—that is yours personally, that has made the grace of God fruitful in your perseverance?”

Sr. Jane responds, “God is full of surprises. Expect the unexpected. When the reality that ‘Nothing is impossible for God’ meets with our willingness to trust, the recipe for miracles is present, and the rest is history.”

Then I ask Sr. Mary Mark. Her laugh tells much…and has you guessing at the rest! Sincerely, though, she answers with a memory that stretches back to her earliest years of formation. “Since I was a postulant, I have prayed the Pact* every day of my life. You know, when you’re young, you’re not sure about [your vocation], and you go day by day trusting those who tell you what God’s will is. I reached a certain point, though, when I had a heartfelt conviction that this Pauline life—its consecration and apostolate—is God’s will for me.”


Sisters Louise, Mary Paula, and Mary Mark

 Sr. Louise understands that. She says, “I used to ask: Is it really God’s will [that I stay]? Yes. I had signs that it was. When I was a postulant, I went to Confession to the Founder, and he didn’t say I wasn’t meant for this life. So I took it as God’s will. Everything wasn’t very easy for me, but when things crossed me, I kept thinking, ‘Let go of it, don’t dwell on it. Five years from now it won’t matter. I won’t even remember what it was.’ So much of our life is like that.”

Each in her own way singled out peace, humor, and trust. They’ve been at it for years and show every indication of staying at it for as long as God gives them breath. None of them says that now they can coast along or stop altogether. Fidelity in love is ongoing and calls for a commitment renewed every day.

In her comments about the tagline, Sr. Leonora says the same: “St. Paul posed the question, ‘How are they to hear if no one preaches?’ We…need to insure that the Word is heard. If nobody calls the 800 line or goes to the website, if no one walks into our Pauline Book & Media Centers, if no one turns to the PCMS for media literacy, if nobody wants our evangelization teams to touch their parishioners …what then? Thus the importance of launching out again and again.” This ongoing fidelity becomes “a hallmark of our one, apostolic vocation of giving Jesus to the world.”

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* The “Pact,” or “Secret of Success” is a prayer—a prescription for a way of life, really—given by the founder, Fr. Alberione, to the Pauline Family only a few years after it began. It will be the topic of next week’s blog. See you then!

When Faith Grows Young

At the end of this week, Pope Benedict will meet in Madrid with an anticipated 1.2 million people, the overwhelming majority of them young. John Allen, Vatican correspondent for the National Catholic Reporter, wrote a typically insightful article this week about World Youth Day, the triennial Catholic mega-church gathering that thrills believers and stymies naysayers. He focuses on the ramifications for society and the Church, rather than on the young participants themselves, and frames the event within the precarious socio-political-economic climate throughout Europe in general and Spain in particular. While he might have every reason to hope for the youth, he is cautiously optimistic about what the celebration portends on the social and ecclesial levels.

The theme for this year’s event is “Planted and built up in Jesus Christ, firm in the faith” (Col 2:7). One of the cardinal messages that will be stressed is the at core of what Paul himself preached: Christian faith is not a set of beliefs; it’s something active within us, not something we statically have. It’s not centered on doctrines about God, but on God, revealed definitively in Jesus Christ. We don’t believe some thing, but Some One. Even more, faith is responsive. We don’t just sit around and believe; God “believes” enough in us to call us into being, and we respond by believing in God, trusting God with our lives, our selves. It’s all about relationship. No one, not even a theologian, can have a bona fide love affair with a teaching. What we authentically believe translates into how we live because of the One we live for.


Joanne (left) and her sister, Jolene

That’s life changing. It’s an experience that one young woman in Hong Kong describes in a letter she recently sent to family and friends. Seventeen-year-old Joanne Pong had skipped her senior year of high school and was back home in Hong Kong after her first year at Whittier College, just outside Los Angeles, where she is majoring in environmental science. Wondering what to do with her summer, she volunteered for the World Wildlife Fund. Good as it was for the energetic Joanne, it wasn’t enough. Prompted by a suggestion from her mother Cheryl, who became a Pauline Cooperator in June, she decided to raise funds for the quake stricken Daughters of St. Paul in Sendai, Japan, from among relatives and from Cheryl’s friends.

Joanne wrote to them:

“I got to know the Daughters of St Paul  in Hong Kong 2 summers ago in their book shop and their warehouse. During that summer, I helped to catalog books, shared lunches with them, and we spent a lot of time together. In that period, I learnt their way of life in their vocation of spreading the Gospel through the media. They have a small book shop in Mongkok, Hong Kong, and they visit churches on weekends to bring good books and AV to the people. They also hold Book Fairs in schools. I too participated in one of those Book Fairs, it was an unforgettable experience. I developed a bond with them and know that if they were in the same situation as the sisters in Japan are in right now, I would hope that there are people reaching out to them.”

Joanne and Cheryl sat down at the computer and sent out 150 emails, with that message included. They referred people to the Pauline Faithways post of March 16, “How To Help Japan.” (No doubt due to their publicity, that post is the second most read individual Pauline post to date. For a blog that gets only about 250 to 300 readers per week, that’s impressive.) Donors sent emails to the two women pledging their contributions, and then the contributions would follow—checks or bank drafts made out to the Daughters of St. Paul. The amount would then be given to the Pauline sisters there in Hong Kong, who coordinated the transfer of funds to Japan and issued receipts to donors for tax purposes.


Cheryl celebrates Christmas
with the Daughters of St. Paul


Sixty-four relatives and friends—almost half of those contacted—responded, so that in the space of only two months, the “Pong Team” raised $18,500 U.S.!

In true fundraising spirit, Joanne promised in her thank-you letters that donors would be prayed for and that she would keep them informed about the progress of the sisters, presumably even from her college dorm in Whittier.

The August 1 issue of The NonProfit Times ran an article entitled, “The Next Generation,”  which examines the phenomenon of volunteerism and fundraising by young people, some of them children. Susan J. Ellis, president of Energize, Inc., applauds an attitude toward young—and older—volunteers that looks at their capacity and creativity rather than their age or experience, as a gauge for involvement: “Volunteering allows people to rise to the level of their ability, not their resumé.” *


The Pongs: Jolene, Joanne, Cheryl, and Wai Leung


When the fire of faith is added to that drive, it becomes an evangelizing experience, both for those who are approached as well as for those who ask in the cause of the Gospel. What impresses me also is the way in which some of the young awaken to the experience of volunteerism and to a lived faith. That is, based on their association with people of faith, they either make an existing initiative their own or organize one themselves. In Joanne’s case, she discovered, met, God in a new and personal way through the sisters she worked with. Because of her upbringing, she already valued the Gospel and she recognized lives of faith when she encountered them, but her experience of the Church’s faith was now real to her and her choice of the Church’s values was her own.

When it comes to us, her witness causes us to ask ourselves if we couldn’t be doing more than we are. At the very least, could we add just a little more love and a little less griping to what we already do?

Whatever the immediate consequences of World Youth Day for society or the Church, the utter concreteness of rubbing shoulders with hundreds of thousands of young believers who struggle to make sense of their lives and their faith, plus the chance to share for a couple of hours the same turf as the Pastor of their universal Church, cannot but trigger within individual young people a desire to take something of that back into their utterly concrete lives. If they can plug into the sacramental life of the Church, the “source and summit of Christian life,” their faith-in-practice will connect them also with all believers in a grace-filled way. Their spiritual expression may not be the exact replica of their parents’ faith-life in all its particulars, but it will be authentically Catholic and transformative because they will be in a vibrant relationship with Jesus Christ, the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

I offer you this prayer of Blessed James Alberione, SSP, so that these days do make a world of difference to them and those they love:

“Faith is a gift of God and the root of every good. O Mary, obtain for them a lively, firm, and active faith, faith that saves and that produces saints, faith in the Church, in the Gospel, and in eternal life. Amen.”

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* Reprinted with permission, The NonProfit Times, August 1, 2011.

Partying with St. Paul

I have a confession to make: I know I shouldn’t have worried, but I did. The Pauline Family’s first annual St. Paul Friends & Family Fest was scheduled for August 7 on the grounds of the Society of St. Paul in Staten Island, NY, but the weather was clearly not on our side. The forecast promised 100% chance of precipitation, with heavy showers in the morning and thunderstorms in the afternoon. In fact, it had rained all night, so that by 8:00 Sunday morning the ground was soaked, it was still drizzling, and skies to the west were not at all friendly. People from Manhattan, S. I., and New Jersey began to call, so we had to decide what to do.

After we considered several options, we made our leap of faith. I wasn’t as daring as Brother Peter Lyne, SSP, co-organizer of the event, but so many people, religious and lay, had worked so hard, that it would have been a shame to cancel or postpone. Besides, what would we have done with all that food?

Amazing—not one drop of rain all day long! It was hot as blazes and a lot muggier, but if anyone complained I sure didn’t hear it. Sr. Carmen, novice director and provincial secretary in Boston, texted me to say they were all praying for us. So did Sr. Helena Burns in Chicago. Of course, she had a vested interest in the day: The proceeds were going to support the documentary she is working on about Blessed James Alberione, SSP, our founder. Still, it was thoughtful of her to remember us, so she deserved a phone call with the good news at day’s end.

About 125 people attended the noon Mass presided over by Fr. Jeffrey Mickler, who gave an insightful homily, as usual. He pointed out that in case any of us thought that documentaries were passé, let it be known that August 7 marked the twentieth anniversary of Madonna’s Truth or Dare. As a matter of Pauline Family history, it also marked the sixtieth anniversary of the inauguration of work on a different “Madonna” movie, San Paolo Film’s Mater Dei, the first color film in all of Italy. The silver screen still captivates us.

All told, approximately 200 people ate, played, and visited with each other throughout the afternoon. Five of the eight branches of the Pauline Family present in the U.S.—Sister Disciples of the Divine Master, Daughters and Pauline priests and brothers, Holy Family Institute members, and Pauline Cooperators—were all represented. After Mass we showed the preview of the Alberione film to those who wanted to watch and gave a little background. We then ran it on a loop, so that it showed continuously throughout the afternoon. It was set up in the cool basement of the SSP’s main building. So were the bathrooms. Nobody counted how many people really saw the film as they waited, or how often, but I think Fr. Alberione got plenty of attention.

Barbecuing in the heat and humidity was a heroic labor of love. Rolling Thunder Chapter 2 NY Staten Island bikers were those heroes. They’re members of a humanitarian organization that mainly supports U.S. vets…and they like to ride. Sporting their signature leather, tattoos, and hardware, they directed parking in the glaring sun and grilled hamburgers, hot dogs, Italian sausage, and chicken to perfection—and in incredibly good spirits. Between courses, they would take five to rest and chat. During one break they called me over to explain to them the difference between “the sisters in blue” (us) and “the ones in white” (the Sister Disciples). Then they wanted to know the difference between nuns and sisters. We had a great conversation.

Two of them came down to watch the film preview. One said he hadn’t been to church in so long that he was afraid the roof would cave in if he walked in. I can’t tell you how often I’ve heard that lame excuse, so I told him that the film in the basement would be a test run: If he survived that, he’d survive church. Halfway through the three-and-a-half minute showing, he got up, walked over to me and started asking questions about the Bible. At one point in our brief exchange, when I told him how Jesus didn’t have to die, but laid down his life “for you and for me,” he exclaimed, “I’m getting goose bumps!” Such a simple proclamation of the Gospel, but what an effect it had! It confirmed what I have long believed: No one can appeal to a lack of education as an excuse for not evangelizing. How many, sometimes without realizing it, are longing to hear the simple, core message of Jesus spoken in faith. How many opportunities we have to serve like that. If we pray, we will recognize those moments and, as Jesus promised, “what you should say will be given you….It won’t be you speaking, but the Spirit of my Father speaking in you” (Mt. 10:19, 20).

Back to the fest. Kids’ races, crafts, water balloons, and face painting made it fun for the under-12 set. The NYPD came to offer tours of its communications truck. People enjoyed themselves and each other. They ate to their heart’s content, told us stories of their connections to Staten Island or to this or that Pauline, and took chances on the 17 raffle baskets or one of the games. Early on, Hibernian Jimmy Haynes had to go out and buy more food. Clearly we had underestimated this crowd’s potential! We won’t know the total proceeds from the event until next week, but the generosity of the area’s business people, especially in this economic climate, widened the margin.



 The team who planned everything and kept things moving—none better! Most of them were recruited by Brother Peter Lyne. You know, if there ever is an award given for Networker of the Year, I’m nominating Br. Peter. If it hadn’t been for his connections, diplomacy, and dogged determination, it would not have gotten past the first meeting. Hibernians, Ladies Hibernians, Knights of Columbus, Columbiettes, Catholic War Veterans, and the scores of people they knew made it a real community day. Police Sgt. Brian and Patricia Reilly, Jimmy Haynes, and James Haynes IV, together with his wife Maria, constituted the central planning committee. Pauline Cooperator Marie-Louise Handal coordinated the promotion, and because of her, New York One TV aired its report on the event.

What made it news? The film, for one. It’s unusual. Who but James Alberione conceived of bringing a family to birth just to enter the media culture with the Gospel? But behind that is the nature of the event itself. This is the first time, certainly in my nearly 40-year Pauline memory, that we as a Family in the U.S. collaborated on a common outreach project. The Daughters and the Society collaborate often in publishing and distribution, but person-to-person contact—this is new.

Lastly, it gives us an opportunity to look forward in yet another way. Brother Richard Brunner, the representative of Fr. Silvio Sassi, superior general of the Society of St. Paul, had welcomed us all at the Mass, announcing that within a few days, the Pauline Family would begin its three-year preparation “in joyful anticipation” of the centenary of its founding. “August 20, 1914, is a date to remember because the Pauline Family was officially born. May this Mass and this gathering be the official start in the United States of our preparation for the centenary of our Pauline Family in 2014.”

He ended his remarks with the words of Fr. Alberione to the first young Paulines, so poor, so challenged, yet full of faith and hope. We listened, aware of our limitations, yet equally aware of our calling and our mission to share all we have from Jesus:


Foreground: Sister Disciples of the Divine Master



“Raise your eyes and look at this mighty tree [of our Family]—a tree so tall that its top cannot be seen. This is our Institute, which is truly a giant tree. You stand at the foot of a huge mountain; climb it and study the view. Your horizons are the world.”