Tuesday, January 23, 2007

A St. Paul triduum

I intended to post a little thought about St. Paul for each day of the novena before the Feast of the Conversion. Then, missing the novena, I said to myself, "Okay, then, a triduum." Well, that would have been yesterday. That leaves a little two-day preparation for this feast, which is "the" feast of St. Paul for the Paulist Community founded by Fr. Isaac Hecker, but a "lesser" feast for the Pauline Family founded by James Alberione. (Our "big" feast is celebrated the day after the Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul.) The thought I'd like to post for today is a simple one, because I don't have anything prepared and I didn't want to just wait and offer something on the vigil of the day itself. Besides, I was reminded of it yesterday when I did a simultaneous translation for our novices of a DVD of the Founder's beatification. During the audience the day after the beatification, Pope John Paul said that, as Paul had the heart of Christ (I think he was quoting John Chrysostom), Alberione had the heart of Paul. Remember that Paul said "Imitate me as I imitate Christ." The feast of the Conversion offers us a first moment of that life, of that heart, to imitate.

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