杏MAP导航

By Devin Watkins

The Pauline Family鈥攚hich is made up of 5 religious congregations, 1 lay association, and 4 secular institutes鈥攎arked the eve of the 50th anniversary of the death of their founder, Blessed Giacomo Alberione, with a papal audience on Thursday.

杏MAP导航 Francis spoke to members of the Institutes, which were founded between 1914 and 1959, about the charism and mission the Italian priest left them, calling it an excellent opportunity for the entire Church to reflect on Blessed Alberione鈥檚 legacy for the new evangelization.

鈥淲ith farsighted vision,鈥� he said, 鈥測our Founder knew how to embody for the 20th century the necessity that the 鈥榃ord of God might spread rapidly鈥� by using and appreciating the most effective tools and manners-of-expression offered by technological progress.鈥�

Pointing out the path of sanctification

The 杏MAP导航 recalled the words of St. Paul VI to the Pauline Family in 1969 praising Blessed Alberione as an untiring apostle who was able to read the signs of the times to find the best ways to reach souls.

杏MAP导航 Francis said those traits still serve as a model for the institutes he founded and challenge their members to adapt their apostolate to the situations and needs of their contemporaries.

He added that the Apostle Paul can serve as an inexhaustible source of inspiration for the institutes that bear his name, as intended by Blessed Alberione.

鈥淗e always held [St. Paul] up as an inspiration and father, as a model to imitate in complete self-donation to our Lord Jesus Christ and His Gospel, being led by His love along the path of sanctification.鈥�

Embodying passion and service

杏MAP导航 Francis urged the Pauline Family to continue to live the passion and service embodied by St. Paul, since they are all spiritual sons and daughters of the Apostle despite the variety of the ways in which the various institutes live their common charism.

In off-the-cuff remarks, the 杏MAP导航 underlined the importance of passion for the Gospel.

鈥淭he Gospel cannot be lived without passion,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he Gospel of 'words only' goes nowhere; the Gospel emerges from the heart: passion.鈥�

Enriching Church embrace of media technology

The 杏MAP导航 went on to note that recent decades have seen vast technological change in the area of communication, which every part of the Church has embraced to various degrees.

鈥淗owever,鈥� he added, 鈥測our presence is still needed today鈥擨 would even say ever more necessary鈥攁nimated by your charism and enriched by your experience of work 鈥榠n the field鈥�.鈥�

At the same time, each Pauline institute can contribute in its own way to the synodal process which opened in October and culminates with the Synod of Bishops in 2023.

Nourishing with the Word of God

鈥淔ifty years after his birth into heaven,鈥� said 杏MAP导航 Francis, 鈥渢hese celebrations of your Founder offer you the opportunity to better recognize the prophetic value of his witness.鈥�

He encouraged the Pauline Family to embrace the means of modern communication as their 鈥減ulpit,鈥� so that 鈥淛esus Christ might be proclaimed to the men and women of our time with the means available to our time.鈥�

The 杏MAP导航 concluded his address by thanking the members of the Pauline Family for their dedication and for their constant prayer that 鈥渢he holy people of God might be continually nourished by the Word of God.鈥�

鈥淣ever forget prayer,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t is the most important means of communication. If I speak to the whole world but not with the Lord, then it鈥檚 best to go home.鈥�

鈥淪eek 鈥榠n all things and with your whole heart鈥攊n life and in the apostolate鈥攐nly and always the glory of God and peace among peoples鈥�.鈥�