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I will be Your Simon Prayer Campaign

And they compelled a passer-by, Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to carry His cross. And they brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha" (Mark 15:21-22).

Please join the I WILL BE YOUR SIMON Spiritual Bouquet campaign – a lay-led prayer crusade for the victims of abuse and the priests and seminarians of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. Click on the link https://sites.google.com/site/iwillbeyoursimon/ to learn more about this prayer campaign. Fill in the form and click "submit" to register your prayer pledge. At the end of Lent this Spiritual Bouquet will be presented to our shepherd, Cardinal Justin Rigali, at the Chrism Mass on Holy Thursday.

For additional resources for healing and renewal, please go to http://pauline.org/PublishingHouse/PrayerforOurChurch/tabid/414/Default.aspx

Search for the Lord with Pope Benedict XVI!

Jesus of Nazareth Holy Week:
From the Entrance into Jerusalem to the Resurrection
By Pope Benedict XVI

“This book is my personal search for the face of the Lord.”

Come, learn more about the thought and contributions of Pope Benedict XVI.
• Explore his writings
• View interactive media
• Participate in discussions
• Join in a time of prayer
Introduced and guided by Mrs. Anne Chavez & hosted by the Daughters of Saint Paul.

This Week
Where: Nativity of Our Lord Church Hall
(Please use back parking lot)
605 W. Street Rd.
Warminster, PA 18974
When: Thursday, March 24th ~ 7:00 P.M.

Coming Soon...
Where: Corpus Christi Parish Rel. Ed. room
900 Sumneytown Pk. Lansdale, PA 19446
When: Thursday, April 14th after 12:05 mass

For more information about this event, call (215)676-9494 or email philadelphia@paulinemedia.com

Prayers for Special Needs

Yesterday two ladies called to order a booklet titled Reflections and Prayers for Visits with Our Eucharistic Lord. They called especially because in the booklet there is a prayer "For Priests." The ladies' response to the current crisis of alleged sexual abuse by priests in the Philadelphia Archdiocese is to turn to God to pray for the priests who may or may not be guilty of abuse. May God reward these dear women and may all of us pray for priests that they may be always more faithful to their vocation.

In an earlier post we gave a link to prayers for victims of sexual abuse and for resources to help towards healing and coping with this wound. We put it here once more for those who may not have seen it: http://pauline.org/PublishingHouse/PrayerforOurChurch/tabid/414/Default.aspx

During this Lenten season we intensify our prayer-life, and we pray for our Church for healing and for holiness.

Let us pray too for those far away who are suffering from natural disasters: for those suffering from the Japan earhquake and tsunami, for the people of Libya, and for peace in all areas of strife--and for peace in our hearts.

Jesus of Nazareth Part II

I realize that I was mistaken about the release date of Pope Benedict's new book, Part II of Jesus of Nazareth. The release date was yesterday, March 10th! If you'd like to order this inspiring book, please email us at philadelphia@pauline.org, or call 215-676-9494 from 10:00 AM until 6:00 PM Mon--Sat. If no one answers, leave a message and we will return your call.

Pope Benedict has a way of drawing the reader into the story. This makes for a deeper appreciation of who Jesus is and what he has done for us.

May your Lenten observance bring you closer to Jesus of Nazareth!

The Best Lent Ever

I formulated my main Lenten resolution a few weeks ago: I plan to read and absorb Pope Benedict' s message called "The Word of the Lord", or Verbum Domini in Latin. Especially for Holy Week, I plan to read and meditate on Pope Benedict's newest book, Jesus of Nazareth, Part II. We already have the book, however its release date, or street date, is March 15. So we are not allowed to distribute it before the ides of March!

Tomorrow we Philadelphia Paulines will be at the Cathedral of Sts. Peter and Paul in Center City Philadelphia with a display of Lenten titles and other books and media. With the media we make available, we hope assist all who read, view or hear our media to receive the message of Christ through these means. The Italians call Lent one of the "tempi forti", literally the strong times of year, when we are invited to pay more attention to Christ and to what he did for us. And, through deeper prayer and reflection we can see what he is doing for us and inviting us to do for him in Lent. If you are in Center City Philadelphia on Ash Wednesday, stop in at the Cathedral to see what Pauline Books & Media offers for Lenten reflection.

In another part of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia will have a media display at Holy Martyrs Church in Oreland on Ash Wednesday. We look forward to meeting some of our readers at either the Cathedral or at Holy Martyrs Church.

Goodbye Sr. Emily!

Last week Sr. Emily concluded her apostolic experience with our community in Philadelphia. She returned to Boston to continue her time of novitiate. We had a simple but beautiful "good-bye", celebrating our shared apostolate, life in community and prayer during the past 5 months. While we miss Sr. Emily, we are excited about the wonderful things that await her as she continues her journey in the school of Jesus, the Divine Master. Thank you Sr. Emily & blessings on your journey!

Pauline Cooperators Elly and Stephanie joined Sr. Mary Peter and Sr. Neville Christine at the Annual Philadelphia Catechist Convocation last weekend. The Sisters and Cooperators offered the catechists teaching resources and inspiring new books from our publishing house, Pauline Books & Media. To learn more about the Pauline Cooperators, an association of laity living the Pauline charism, click on the link below.
http://paulinelaity.blogspot.com/

Prayers for Healing in Troubled Times

This is my first blog on our Philadelphia blog site. I am Sister Mary Peter, one of the older members of our community in this City of Brotherly Love. Although many people whom we have met love and respect their parish priests and deacons, others may feel apprehensive because of the allegations of sexual abuse by some of the clergy in the Philadelphia Archdiocese. As we continue to support our faithful and dedicated clergy, we pray to for those who remain victims of the ordained ministers of the church who are guilty of sexual abuse.

There are prayers directed to God asking for healing for individuals and for entire parishes. Below is a link to a number of prayers and meditations to help heal the victims and strengthen all of us. The link also leads to articles and resources to help in this time of sadness for so many people.

http://pauline.org/PublishingHouse/PrayerforOurChurch/tabid/414/Default.aspx

May these prayers be a source of peace and healing for victims, and for anyone who suffers at the very thought that a clergy person would violate their innocence. May Jesus, our Sea of Peace, gift the wounded with healing and unshakable peace. May this month of March which will soon usher in the Lenten season bring with it a return to prayer, spiritual reading, reflections and good works.

On the calendar you may notice that this weekend will be a busy one. With the help of friends and Pauline laity, we will have a display of Pauline Books and Media at the Catechists Convocation to be held at Archbishop Carroll High School, 211 Matson Ford Rd., in Radnor, PA on Saturday from 8:00 AM until 2:30; Saturday evening we will be at St. Albert the Great Church for their 5:00 PM Mass. St. Albert's is at 212 Welsh Rd., Huntingdon Valley. On Sunday, March 5, we will return to St. Alberts for all their Masses; and also we will be at St. John the Evangelist Church in downtown Philadelphia. St. John's is at 21 S, 13th Street, between Market and Chestnut Streets. We look forward to seeing you at one of these upcoming events. God bless you! Sister Mary Peter