Cheers to Poverty!

Three years ago, as the entire Church prepared to observe a “Pauline Year” in honor of the Apostle, we received the following letter:

“…The coming year of St. Paul….should be a powerful year for his daughters. Expect special blessing, even more vocations and more than adequate provision for your ministry….The greatest blessing will be deeper intimacy with Jesus as you “gladly spend yourselves and are spent” for him.”
Dr. John B., Ellicott City, MD

God so graces our lives every day, that it’s hard to know whether that year was more blessed than others. It was certainly marked by a fresh impetus in spirituality and mission, new publications on Paul, communal reflection on the heritage we’ve received from him, and a month-long seminar in Italy for representatives of all the congregations and institutes of the Pauline Family. This was convoked by Fr. Silvio Sassi, superior general of the Society of St. Paul, with the express intention of jumpstarting a renewed outlook on study, spiritual life, mission, and our “lifestyle” at the service of the Gospel.

That “lifestyle,” shaped by our vowed life in community, is part of the patrimony from our founders, James Alberione and Thecla Merlo. As they meditated on the lives of Jesus and Paul, their lives were gradually marked by poverty, which they understood not as destitution, but as simplicity and a strong work ethic that’s meant to give life to individual Paulines, Pauline communities, and those we evangelize.

In fact, as they “digested” (Alberione’s word) the example and teaching of the Apostle, they ended up describing Pauline poverty as life that renounces the superfluous, preserves the goods of creation that are given to us, provides for our needs, produces for the mission, and builds up (“edifies”) the Church.

Fr. Alberione was accustomed to hard work all his life, first out in the fields of Piedmont, and later, in the religious houses he founded. So, linking his own experience with Christ, he wrote that Jesus’ sweat in the carpenter’s shop at Nazareth was no less redemptive than his bloody sweat in the Garden of Olives, since it was the world’s Redeemer who underwent both. Paul was another model for him, too, since he had labored both as an Apostle and as a tentmaker, providing for his own needs and those of his companions (cf. Acts 20:34).

Neither of them ever said no to a donation, though! Time and again, in his letters to the communities he had formed, Paul thanked those whose generosity made it possible for him to live and not be a burden on those in whose city he was currently evangelizing. He boldly labeled their donation a “spiritual offering,” given in exchange for the chance they had received to share in the blessings of the Gospel he had preached to them. Jesus and his disciples, too, benefitted from the gratitude of women Jesus had healed and “who provided for them out of their means” (Lk. 8:3).

There’s the catch. Those who followed Jesus and Paul were not priests or religious. They were regular working people, family men and women with several mouths to feed, a number of them—at least in Paul’s company—slaves to unrelenting masters, adherents of a scorned religion. Relatively few were sophisticated, powerful, or born with a silver spoon in their mouths (cf. 1Cor. 1:26). Yet the Pauline poverty that renounced, preserved, provided, produced, and built up the Church was their call as much as it was Paul’s. It characterized their lives as much as it did his.

So it is with us and those who come to share in the blessings of the Gospel through our mission. While the Daughters’ ordinary way of providing for our needs is remuneration for our products and services, we also appeal to others’ generosity…in Paul’s spirit. They, in turn, gradually, maybe even imperceptibly, absorb his “style,” not in the radical way we do by a vowed life, but by integrating it into their lives. It changes them.

Yesterday the Church celebrated the feast of the Conversion of St. Paul and today remembers his closest collaborators, Sts. Timothy and Titus. May they give all of us something of their mission-mindedness…and a little of their poverty!

“Our first encounter [with the Daughters of St. Paul] was when some sisters visited my home when I was first married. My wife was so impressed that she chose St. Paul as her patron saint. Then in 1978 when I was broke and out of work with a second child on the way, you fed us. I have never experienced the love of God in such a powerful way. The Church and the world are in such great need of the truth which you spread through your apostolate. You are in my daily prayers, and I unite my sufferings for the success of that ministry.”
 Gerald G., Bridgeport, CT

The Feet of Those Who Publish Salvation (Is. 52:7)

People confuse us with the Paulists all the time: St. Paul, publishing, book stores, evangelization, that sort of thing. If I myself didn’t have a problem keeping religious communities straight—what with all the Charities and Mercies, and St. Josephs—it could get maddening. After all, we’ve both been around a century each, longer in their case. What makes it even harder for people is that there’s a masculine branch of the Paulines, too, who have the same mission we have: The Society of St. Paul, with their own publishing, once known as Alba House, now “St. Paul’s,” like their—our—brothers worldwide.

The Paulists’ mission “gives the Gospel a voice today” in several keys ways. Naturally, it makes sense to do it through media, but they’re not bound to that. The Pauline Family, on the other hand, is: evangelizing specifically through media and evangelizing the media culture, as St. Paul would have done were he walking the earth today.

Same Church, different pew.

Copy editor Sr. Linda S. Boccia hugs "Goliath,"
proofs of John Paul II's monumental work,
Man and Woman He Created Them. 



With our 40 publishing houses around the world, it explains why Pauline Books & Media (PBM) gets serious about the craft. From marketing and editorial, to order fulfillment and customer service, the books and other printed materials, CDs, and DVDs we put out in either digital or hard copy are the premier way we carry out our mission. PBM covers not only our products, but our services, as well: our Web site and store, the J-Club (a school book fair program with a corresponding Web site in the works), workshops and media literacy courses, plus the array of emerging social media we engage in: Facebook, Twitter, and blogs. It doesn’t stop there, either. Whatever is coming down the technological pike falls within the scope of our mission.

Thus the need for continual discernment. PBM doesn’t exist for itself, but for the world it evangelizes. As times change, how is Christ the Master, the Teacher, calling PBM to change so he can respond to the needs, the cries, of his People?

Pauline Books & Media Mission Statement

As apostles of Jesus Christ, evangelizing today’s world:

We are CALLED to holiness by God’s living Word and Eucharist.

We COMMUNICATE the Gospel message through our lives

and through all available forms of media.

We SERVE the Church by responding to the hopes and needs

of all people with the Word of God, in the spirit of St. Paul.

You’ve told us some of what you value in Pauline Books & Media. Following are excerpts from your notes to us:

My mother passed away in May. During Mom’s final days, we played your beautiful Adoration/Eucharistic Hymns CD over and over again. The presence of the Holy Spirit is evident in your music. The CD was the last thing my Mother heard on this earth. The atmosphere it provided her was a gentle transition into Our Lord’s arms. We will be forever grateful to all of you!

Frances M., Tacoma, WA

[PBM] means a constant source of nourishment in my daily routine of spreading the Gospel always.

John, MA

Pauline Books & Media definitely is a way of evangelization, introducing Jesus to those who do not know Him yet.

Audra T., MA

I was moved [to send this contribution for your] important work in furthering the spread of the Gospel because of my personal relationships with your sisters in Pakistan over a period of 33 years while I served in Karachi and Lahore. They are a wonderful group and helped me very much in many ways.

Rev. J. M. C., OP, Hawthorne, NY

As I understand it, your mission is to bring the Word of God to the world.

Your publications and stores are one strategy to do so. These are great resources, and one particular “business model.” As a “brand” your products and recommendations, i.e., what you publish, and what you carry in your stores, provide a “guarantee” for those of us struggling to make good choices.

Robert S., Milton MA

I wish to thank you for all the beautiful tapes and books which I purchased from you. It has been a wonderful experience and I am grateful for all the joys I have received from you. May God continue to shine on all your endeavors.

Rosalind L., Long Island, NY

Clicking on http://www.pauline.org/ will help you keep up with the latest
at Pauline Books & Media. By the way, last week I forgot to tell you that you can connect with the Pauline Books & Media Centers in the U.S. and Toronto on Facebook. Become a fan and you can stay connected.

Centers Where the Word Is Made Flesh

This Nativity set filled the window display at the Pauline Books & Media (PBM) Center in Chicago this past Advent and Christmas. A favorite seasonal tradition in Chicago is to go window shopping in the city, so stores, large and small, oblige by decorating to the nines. Sr. Frances A. Obrovac (yes, we’re related; she’s my sister) is assigned to our community there and told me how our staff caught glimpses of the ways this arresting display evangelized people on Michigan Avenue.

Apparently it was common to see people stop in their tracks in front of it and smile wide in sheer joy or wonder. Some panned the scene with video cameras, or had their pictures taken next to it. Parents especially grabbed this made-to-order, teachable moment: while the kids gazed at the figures, parents pointed and talked, no doubt reminding them of the story. One family of six paused, and a girl, maybe nine-years-old, spontaneously held her hands up in prayer.

A display of faith in a business area like the Loop is striking. We North Americans have so departmentalized and even privatized religion that placing it within a commercial setting seems incongruous. Yet, “missionaries to Main Street” is precisely how Blessed James Alberione and Sr. Thecla Merlo envisioned the Daughters of St. Paul and all our co-workers in each PBM Center. People who frequent these Centers get that. Following are eleven of the many comments we’ve received from our guests within the past few years:

Pauline Books and Media is a respite and niche where I find comfort and peace. It is a pool of knowledge where I gain access to the wisdom of God.
Easter A., Hawaii

It is an extension of home, the sisters are welcoming, I know them by name, and they are extremely helpful answering questions and recommending books.
Lucia M., Florida 



Juan Villegas, PBM Chicago,
serves a guest.

 The store you operate in New York City is a great blessing to me. I know that I can get away from my troubles (whether a frustrating day at the office, need for encouragement or spiritual renewal). There is always calming, uplifting music being played, and the staff (the sisters and lay people) are always so helpful!! The store contains items not always obtainable elsewhere. Please pray for me and my intentions, and thanks for all you do to bring the WORD to the world!!
Robert G., New York

A heart doctor from Sweden just came into the book center here. He wanted me to let the sisters know how much he appreciates our mission in Manhattan. He said this is his favorite stop whenever he comes to New York.
Sr. Susan J. Kraus, FSP, New York

It is both an expansive oasis and a barren desert where I can find God in print—a fuel and water station of sorts!  Here the Word of God comes alive and penetrates the heart when one is fully and prayerfully engaged. And the Sisters, heralds of zeal and faithfulness to many!
Isabel G., Florida

Was over at the store today [Redwood City, CA] 09.03.09. No words to describe it. Like a Black Hole, something draws people from the public sidewalk, and once inside, good luck if one can ever escape....The center of this Black Hole is definitely the chapel: one's inner-light is absorbed into this core, one experiences a sort of time warp, that is, we planned to stay only 15 minutes, but when we came out it was really an hour!!!...It's a vortex; one's appetite for physical food disappears. One feels content, satisfied, and full....If one is lucky enough to escape this phenomenon, one feels rejuvenated, young, happy, content, can't stop smiling...a very, very strange and unnatural experience indeed. Please share this feedback with others. I hope I am not the only one to report this mystery.
Paul M., California

A stylish lady in her 40’s came up to the counter, and I rang out her purchases. At the end I invited her to stop in to our beautiful little chapel for a visit with Jesus.
     She said: “Sister, I really can’t stop in today, but I just want to tell you that I was in your chapel another time. At that time, although I tried not to show it, I was having a very bad day. I went in with a terrible problem for which I could see no solution. I got my answer there. Imagine my surprise when I saw it written right on the wall: ‘Do not be afraid! I am with you’” [the words of Jesus to our Founder, Blessed James Alberione, found in many Pauline chapels worldwide].
     The lady patted my hands and whispered, “That made all the difference. Everything worked out.”
Sr. Susan H. Wallace, FSP, Massachusetts, July 15, 2008

When I think of Pauline Books and Media, I think of the centers. I don't think of it as a “brand” like Coca-Cola. I was struck by Sr. Margaret [Obrovac’s] discussion of how the centers are at a point where they need to change, because retail stores no longer function as the primary places where people purchase media. What will a PBM center in the future look like? I ask myself this question as I think about the proposal I want to write for a [Pauline] Cooperator-run PBM center in Wilmington. This question gets to the core of what “Pauline Books and Media means.” It means primarily a mission to evangelize along the lines that Blessed Alberione envisioned. It means a mission to bring to the world the truths, way, and life of the gospel using modern media. How? The “good press” has been a primary means in the Centers, along with a decent collection of music and video. And the future?
Rae S., Delaware



Sr. Anna and a guest in the
PBM Center, Dedham (Boston).

 It is where I can get good books on my faith and to increase my understanding of my Lord and lay ministries duties.
Howard, Hawaii

Pauline Books and Media store is a place where Catholic faith and culture is promoted and nurtured in an increasing secular society. The Daughters of St. Paul have been visible signs of our Catholic faith and help to nurture vocations to the religious life. 
Melissa C., Hawaii

Entering a Pauline Bookstore is like coming to a welcoming home that is my home, also.  Inspiring and instructive books on many topics for all ages, religious articles that enrich our lives, as well as the presence of the Sisters make the Pauline bookstore a special place—a great source of evangelization in this most needy world.  I think that untold lives have been touched by this presence in the midst of the cities where there is a Pauline Bookstore.  
Louise H., Alabama

Making a New Year's Transition

One of the few things I remember from high school biology is that all living things change. In fact, change is a sign that an organism is alive; if it doesn’t change it’s dead.

The most consequential changes in the human spirit come in the form of transitions, those life-altering periods that catch us off-balance for a time, cause us to question what we thought we knew, then nudge us to look for more meaningful markers on the journey and begin a new phase of life’s adventure. Without a doubt, they keep us guessing, but they can also get us trusting God and others in a new way.

With the digital revolution, the book and music industries, from creation to completion, are morphing at a dizzying pace. More than ever before, this flux defies us to anchor the direction of our mission on any permanent ministry—or form of carrying out our mission—a fact that challenges us on every level. Actually, if you’ve been involved in ministry for any extended period of time, you’ve noticed that the entire Church is experiencing much the same thing, to one degree or another. We are all in transition.

As a result, we’re working with our Mission Strategy Team to determine the direction God is leading us in and the steps needed to take us there. Our Pauline Books & Media (PBM) Centers are a major player in this process. We’re currently studying ways to rejuvenate or reinvent our PBM Centers to make them even more pastoral, to meet the new needs of people, so that these centers can continue the tradition set by Fr. Alberione, to be “centers of light and warmth,” where the Gospel can be preached in new ways.

This has meant closing some of our locations in recent years, always a painful decision—for us as much as for the people we serve. We’ve received some touching letters from these men and women. I’d like to share excerpts of a few from Edison, NJ, which we closed a little over a year ago. They demonstrate how gracefully people can enter into the rocky process of transition, making way for something new:

“It is with joy that I every day I remember in prayer each of you sisters, your families and all with whom you minister. Mary and I were privileged to be the first Cooperators in Edison. Perhaps you remember that an abortion clinic was attempting to open in the Wick Plaza around the same time; the township didn't grant them a permit. I find it most interesting that people were planning to take life in the Wick Plaza and you sisters brought the Author of Life Himself to take up residence.

“The French have a saying, ‘When two people separate, each takes a part of the other and they are united forever.’ Dear sisters, you can be certain that Mary and I will take good care of the parts of each of you as gift and blessing that remain with us. God bless each of you and may your community be blessed with many new vocations.”
Mary & Jim Varick

A letter from one of our sisters reads:

“One woman told how years ago she was helped so much by our staff while she was being received into the Church. ‘Ever since then, my friends & I always get each others’ presents from here.’ One of the children who used to come for all our children’s events is now thinking about religious life. In the 1990s, Deacon Sam did much of his preparation for the diaconate using resources from our Center. Now he’s in charge of the diaconate program, and 29 new deacons will be ordained this year! The seeds of the Gospel planted through our service will indeed bear fruit for years to come!”
Sr. Karen Marie Anderson, FSP, former manager

The following person ritualized a farewell in the form of a prayer:
“Dear Lord,
Thank you for this Pauline Book & Media Store. Eleven years ago I came here with many questions and wandering in a desert – not knowing where to go. Through your guidance, early Church Fathers, and Sister Laura’s patience & encouragement – your grace led me to the Catholic Church. Bless the sisters in their new journey. Amen!
Thanksgiving – The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away – You, dear friends of St. Paul, will be so missed. God bless you.”

A new year is a natural moment to step back and reassess our life’s direction. Pray for the Daughters of St. Paul during these transitions--we'll pray for you in yours--and let us hear your ideas.

It's Christmastime in the Convent!

Monday I was talking with an acquaintance on the West Coast about how our Christmas celebrations, his and mine, had been. The holiday was fun for him, because his seven-year-old niece was still young enough to enjoy its magic. In the course of the conversation, Michael confessed that he hadn’t gone to church that day. “I haven’t been to church since I was about ten or eleven; my parents just stopped going. We observe the tradition: it’s something we’ve always done as a family, and it’s a good time for family to get together. But church just isn’t part of it.”

There was nothing hostile or defensive about Michael’s comments. He wasn’t avoiding religion and he didn’t rail against those of us who pray. It’s just that a relationship with God wasn’t on his toolbar.

It’s so hard to get through to the secular mindset these days, that many of us give up reaching out. Whether in Liturgy or school or family, we’re content to tell each other the story of Jesus, knowing it’ll receive a welcome there.

While it’s essential to remind one another of this Word and grow in our own friendship with God, we, the Church, are sent by this Word of God incarnate to proclaim him to those whose faith seems unresponsive. We need to find ways to reboot it, to click on the relationship with God that’s not absent from people’s toolbar—only hidden.

That’s the reason behind the photos below. I admitted to Michael that at Christmas, nuns go a little over the top spiritually, at least compared with most North Americans. But anyone who even glances in our direction can’t miss the authenticity of it all. It flows strong beneath the surface, so that both at prayer time and party time, it bubbles up clear and fresh. Not perfect, but life-giving, just the same.

Yes, it’s Christmastime in the convent—all 17 days of it this year. Flip through the album, offer a prayer for us, and pass both the album and a prayer on to the Michaels—or Michelles—in your world.

It's Christmastime in the Convent

Click here to view these pictures larger

Honoring Christmas Traditions

Throughout the nearly hundred years of our existence, the Pauline Family has benefitted from the faith and generosity of others. According to various historical accounts, it’s clear that from the earliest days, these people knew they were doing more than simply helping a new foundation in need. They were carrying out a mission. This was due in no small part to the gift Founder Bl. James Alberione had of being able to explain and inspire, even as he turned to them for the special needs of “St. Paul” or simply “the house.” On his part, he promised his own prayers and those of the community. It’s a tradition we gratefully continue.

In his November/December 1952 letter to the Pauline Cooperators, who were among our first donors and benefactors, Fr. Alberione wrote of an ambitious project: to build a temple in honor of Mary, Queen of Apostles, in Rome. This was the result of a vow he had made during the Second World War if she would keep every Pauline safe. Though money and materials were scarce, he kept his promise and lassoed friends and benefactors into the project with him. He wrote:
“Behold the Son of God who became man to save the human race.  We consider him as a gracious, beautiful baby in the crib. You are the Cooperators of this effable mission with prayer and good example, with the writing and the distribution of good books, with sacrifice, with your help, and with offerings to the Society of St Paul.

“Each year, in the name of this baby, Jesus, who begged a cave, a crib, and swaddling clothes, I come to ask charity and help from you.…the Cooperators and persons who will gather in this magnificent Temple to honor Jesus, the Master of humanity, and his and our Most Holy Mother, and to implore graces.

“See what great joy and value it is to give something to Jesus?…Jesus will say to you, dear and generous Cooperators: ‘I was naked and you covered me; I was thirsty and you offered me to drink; I was a stranger and you took me in… Come therefore, O blessed, into the reign of my Father ….’ You have the wisdom of the Divine Spirit and the supernatural virtue of charity. Know that we have had many proofs of this in the past, in fact, every year.

“God willing, we will celebrate a special Mass for you on Christmas night.  Unite yourselves to us in spirit. I will make your intentions my own.

“Most fervent best wishes for the New Year: to you and your families, and for all the things which are close to your heart. Through your generosity we are opening a new house abroad, new vocations are coming, and new editions bring light and comfort to the human race.

“Let us always fix our gaze toward heaven. Children, society, and the interests of God have won you, who are courageous persons living their life of faith at home, in church, and in society.

“May the blessing of Almighty God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, descend upon you and remain always in you—in light and joy and in an increase of grace and merit, now and for eternity.
                                                                        Affectionately, Fr. Alberione"

Our Donors Share the Word With U.S. Bishops

Say “Sr. Sara Butler” to those who, like me, came of age shortly after Vatican II, and they’ll remember a very vocal and formidable proponent of women’s ordination. Somehow, when I wasn’t looking, she made a 180 degree turn and is now an equally vocal and formidable opponent. More, in Women, Sex, and the Church: A Case for Catholic Teaching, a book recently published by Pauline Books & Media, she connects this exclusively insider topic to the global and controversial issues also covered. Any support for the fittingness of (different from the reason for) the Church’s tradition, she claims, must take into account that sexual complementarity is not “significant only for reproduction….Being a man or a woman is central, not simply incidental, to one’s identity and defines one’s capacity for relationships, that is, for ‘making a gift of self’.”

Editor Erika Bachiochi autographs a copy at the book
launch this Fall at Boston College.

This giftedness is at the heart of the contribution made by each of the book’s nine authors—all women except one, including the editor, Erika Bachiochi. Their readable insights can be easily grasped by anybody with a serious and lively interest in reproductive issues, or women’s role in the Church and public life, as well as the rapport between sexuality and social justice.

Don’t think Women, Sex, and the Church is “just for girls.” You know that e-reader you’re going to get for one of the men in your life this Christmas? For another $10, you can download the book, too. Parishioners, do you wonder what to buy for a priest? Look no further. Either our Web store or a Pauline Books & Media Center near you can help. Give someone this key that opens a door to the Church’s understanding of sexuality from the perspective of modern American women.

Insight into that perspective is what prompted us to send it for Christmas to each of the 424 bishops in the U. S. Most years, we send one of our new publications or productions to them, along with our thanks for their ministry in the Church and our promise of prayers. This year our gift was made possible by the donors on a direct mail list that’s managed by Sr. Anne Eileen Heffernan. They contributed the $6,360 we needed. As the bishops write us with their thanks, we’ll pass on some of their comments to you in future blog posts, since they’re really thanking our donors, too, for sharing the Word with them.

Of Christmas Concerts and Pauline Cooperators

Staten Island Advance photo. Read all about it here!

Sad. I can’t walk and chew gum at the same time. If I could, that would mean I could sing and clap, dance and act. And that would mean I could have jumped up and joined my Pauline sisters on stage at our Choir’s Benefit Dinner Concert in Staten Island last Thursday. Or at the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist in Cleveland the following night. Princeton or Piscataway, NJ? How about Philadelphia? Or Brooklyn, NY or Marshfield, MA?

Not that they needed my help. They wowed the crowd plenty all by themselves. Even more, in both word and song, they reminded us of the true meaning of Advent and Christmas. Even as we, the audience—600 in Staten Island and 450 in Cleveland—sang along or pondered the lyrics or enjoyed the teamwork that pulled such a spectacular together, the Spirit of God too danced within us, bringing God’s Son to birth in our hearts and lives, planting seeds of the kingdom to come.

We heard the result: “I come to this concert every year, and it says something to me each time.” “It always starts the season for me.” “It reminds me of what’s important.” In Cleveland, several friends and donors we visited afterward were disappointed that they somehow missed the promo announcements. They know several Daughters and remember the mission that the sisters carried out in the diocese for thirty years, following a twenty-year mission in Youngstown. Now we’re in the process of reconnecting personally with people there through these concerts, as well as through school book fairs, parish displays, donor visits, and, possibly, media literacy workshops.

Some of this will be carried out by the Pauline Cooperators, who will formally begin their 18-month formation process in the new year. Many of these men and women start out as volunteers, but their association with the Pauline Family goes deeper than their work with us. As they gradually discern the Pauline charism within themselves, they resolve to live an intensely Christian life in the spirit of the Apostle Paul and commit themselves to evangelize, or share the Good News, in their contacts, undertakings, and liturgical or private prayer, in whatever way the Spirit leads them. Most do this through some form of media, even in simple, unassuming ways, such as giving an inspirational or educational book, CD, or DVD as a Christmas gift, or connecting the parish ministry they’re involved in with the Pauline Family.

One of the things I admired about the Cleveland group is the unity they express in the variety of their interests, ethnic origins, ages, and professions, which testifies to the universality of the Church, regardless of which parish they come from. It was a little hard to leave, but they give me reason to look toward the future in hope.

So it seems as if I missed my chance at multi-entertaining audiences this year. But I enjoyed being part of the Church’s story there in my own way, even if for just a few days.

There again, I could aim for one of the concerts at our Boston convent this weekend….

The World Wide Web of the New Evangelization

Cyber Monday. We never heard the name until five years ago. If you’re an Internet immigrant like me, you only recently learned that it’s the Black Friday of online retail. As if we needed another day of consumer hype before Christmas. Two companies are even extending it into “Cyber Week.”

Online sales this past Monday set a nationwide record: a 19.4 percent increase over last year. While one research firm projects a 4.5 percent increase in holiday retail sales in general, others predict an 11 percent increase in online sales. If sales “history” means much, it may happen. This week some online retailers already reported as much as a 51 percent gain over Cyber Monday 2009.

Then there’s the Pauline Books & Media (PBM) Web store.

On Monday it filled 25 orders with a total of 115 items. Such an inventory turnover could make a major outlet despair, but Sr. Patricia Cora Shaules, the Web store manager,  is enthusiastic. “Our sales are increasing, our customer base is increasing, and on the average we’re meeting our projections,” she reports. “The important thing is that we’re reaching people we couldn’t reach otherwise and we’re reaching them where they are.”

True. In fact, since September 2009 when it was launched, PBM Web has sent out almost 14,000 books, CDs, and DVDs in English and Spanish to people in all fifty states. In addition to filling orders, the store is often a conduit for other services that support the Church’s missionary efforts. Just two weeks ago, a priest in Thailand inquired about having a PBM title translated into Standard Thai. The store was able to help him begin the process. A Pauline Web presence in the “neighborhood” enables us to minister more effectively to those who shop PBM online. Getting to know the “neighbors” is an ongoing project, as the demographic continues to diversify.

Even though she’s optimistic about an effective online outreach, Sr. Patricia keeps an eye trained on the numbers. She changes highlighted products regularly and collaborates with PBM’s digital publishing, not only to make more of a splash, but to build and sustain the tide.

An entire Web site upgrade, scheduled for 2011, will give the store a facelift. This initiative, more than two years in the making, will enable both services to be even more user-friendly. Products will soon be inserted in more than one category, and whenever a title is highlighted, three other related titles will appear below it. Kinks in the credit card payment process have already been ironed out, and the system will be able to handle larger orders, growing the current capacity to fill requests for multiple copies of products.

For Sr. Patricia, the new Web site will be about both pre-evangelization and direct evangelization. “We’ll be accompanying people throughout their spiritual odyssey, including people who have not grown up with the faith.”

It has been difficult to budget for this, and the venture promises to be costly. For now, prayers are needed. As we have more details, we’ll keep you informed…and invite you to be part of it!