Even if I go to Mass everyday,
faithfully participate in the prayer group,
receive all the formation that the Church offers me,
participate in all the events the Church organizes,
but do not have love, that is, do not see Christ in my brothers and sisters,
it is all useless for me!
Even if I know the Word of God perfectly,
have the gift to pray, sing and play music,
but do not have love, everything is lost!
The one who loves obeys, is zealous in service,
knows the right balance between speaking and remaining silent,
is humble, sincere, kind and merciful.
The one who loves witnesses to the truth.
Bible Week in Jaguaquara (BA)
To celebrate the Pauline Year, the pastor of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish, Jaguaquara invited the FSPs to hold a Bible Mission there.
Eager to help the parishioners come to know and love the Word of God, Sr. Aguida Puel and Sr. Alice Silva carried out many initiatives from 16-21 September. By means of study sessions, conferences, meditations, music, films and a radio program, they helped everyone get to know the Apostles fundamental role in the life of the early Church. Their various activities were enriched by book displays and the diffusion of Pauline products.
The participants all showed a lively interest in the life of St. Paul. At the end of the week, many said that a deeper study of his letters had offered them greater light, fortified their faith and filled them with the desire to become, in their turn, passionate apostles of Jesus Christ.
Sepac: Paul the Communicator
Sepac (the Pastoral Communications Service of our sisters of Brazil) held a course on Paul the Communicator from 4-5 October. Twenty-five people (pastoral workers, communications professionals and The main theme of the encounter was Pauls experience on the way to Damascus, the central point of his mission of evangelization. The course focused on the socio-cultural-religious environment of the Apostles time and compared it to todays situation, pinpointing the challenges posed to evangelization by the culture of communication.
The participants found the encounter an engrossing experience that strengthened their determination to be Paul today.
On 7 October about 160 people, fired by the desire to get to know the life and teachings of St. Paul, participated in a course on the Apostle being held once a month in a meeting room attached to the FSP Book Center of Domingos de Morais, Sao Paulo. The theme of this months lesson was the two Letters to the Thessalonians, presented by Fr. Celso Pedro, an expert on the subject. To facilitate participation, two maxi-viewing screens were installed in two different conference rooms.
The many projects our sisters have organized to celebrate the Pauline Year are helping the public get to know the Apostle of the Gentiles and, as a consequence, Jesus, whom Paul met on the way to Damascus and to whom he afterward dedicated his entire life.
Belo Horizonte
Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish of Belo Horizonte held a course from 6-10 October aimed at helping its parishioners get to know the life of the Apostle Paul more profoundly. Guest speaker Jacil Rodriges, a consultant for SAB, spoke about The Mission of Paul and Pauline collaborator Ramon discussed Grace in Paul and Ecclesiology in Paul. Sr. Elisabete Corazza, fsp, focused on Pauline Cristology, saying that in the light of his encounter with Christ on the way to Damascus, Paul came to understand his vocation and mission and encouraged others to live the same itinerary, namely:
that Christ be formed in you (Ga. 4:19).
The 65 people who participated in the course were very pleased to have the chance to reflect more deeply on the life of Paul and his missionary dynamism.
Itapajé – Paul the Evangelizer
From 22-29 March, the FSPs participated in a Mission Week in Itapajé (Diocese of Itapipoca). The initiative was organized by Fr. Arnoldo José de Lima with the help of the religious and laity of his parish and the special collaboration of the Daughters of St. Paul. The theme of the Week was: Woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel (1 Co. 9:16).
The Week offered the people a powerful experience of faith, lived in harmony with the special characteristics of St. Paul: a missionary spirit, prayer, and radical love for God and for all people. The initiative opened with a Pauline Pilgrimage that began at 5:00 a.m. Just as Paul left his established communities to reach dispersed ones, the pilgrims also left their parish for other parts of the town in the name of the Gospel, concluding their journey with a Eucharistic Celebration.
After a communal coffee break, the participants then scattered to visit the families of the area, approaching each one as the Apostle Paul would have done, that is, by listening to the people they met and offering each one a message of hope and love.
From 23-28 March the parishioners were offered the chance to participate in a creative and dynamic workshop designed to help them get to better know the great Apostle of the Gentiles: his meeting with Christ on the way to Damascus, his mission and the places in which he carried it out.
Other events during the Week included a theater performance, a concert inspired by the figure and writings of St. Paul, and the presentation of the results of the different activi-ties carried out during those days.
Mission Week closed on Sunday, 29 March, with a Eucharistic Celebration presided over by Bishop Antonio Roberto Cavuto of Itapajé. Representatives of many groups in the city and outlying districts participated in the Liturgyin fact the assembly was so large that it spilled over into the church plaza. Everyone expressed their joy at having come to know the Word of God and its great Apostle more profoundly and the directive team took advantage of the opportunity to invite the people to now continue the Mission in their families and workplaces.
Sao Paulo – Solemn Conclusion of the Pauline Year
On 28 June, Archbishop Pedro Odilo Scherer of Sao Paulo brought the Pauline Year to a close in a solemn Eucharistic Liturgy celebrated in the citys cathedral. The Liturgy was concelebrated by other bishops, priests and deacons, and attended by a large crowd of religious and laity. The hymns sung at significant moments by the Baccarelli Choir enriched the event even more.
At the end of the Mass, the Archbishop blessed a statue of the Apostle of the Gentiles presented to him by about 20 young people representing the Eoncontro de Casais com Cristo Movement (Couples who have met Christ Movement).
The statue will make the rounds of the dioceses of Sao Paulo, Santa Caterina and Rio Grande del Sud as a preparation for the Movements 15th Congress. After blessing the statue, the Archbishop then gave twenty-six seminarians a mission cross and commissioned them to carry out an evangelization initiative in various parishes during the month of July. The Daughters of St. Paul are collaborating with this mission by providing the evangelizers with material to distribute on their visits to the families.
The blessing ceremonies concluded in the main square outside the Cathedral, with the inauguration of a bronze monument dedicated to St. Paula gift to the city and state, both of which bear the Apostles name. Mauricio, the young sculptor of the work of art, was present for the occasion.