Hope for the Church (and for the Pauline Family!)

Sr. Tracey: Face Painter

4000 youths gathered on the grounds of St Joseph’s Abbey in St Benedict, LA this past Saturday for the annual Abbey Youth Fest- And it was amazing! Young people came from all over the Gulf South to celebrate their faith, to be inspired by awesome Christian witnesses, to pray and praise God, and to have fun. And this they did!

They listened to top-notch speakers, enjoyed great music, participated at Mass celebrated by the Archbishop. And after supper prayed Evening prayer and adored the Blessed Sacrament by candlelight! It was beautiful!

There was a Pauline presence, too, with our booth. We provided vocation materials and a selection of our books to help these young people on their faith journey. And Sr Tracey offered face painting. This popular attraction drew a continuous line of young people to our table, and was a great opportunity for evangelization.

Youth Fest at the Abbey

But I think the most amazing part of the day was the altar call. At the end of the Liturgy the Archbishop invited those young people who are considering the call to priesthood or religious life, or who are open to the possibility to come forward. Close to 300 young accepted the challenge and stepped forward. It was truly inspiriting, and it was evidence that Christ is calling and speaking to the young. Yes, there is hope for the Church, for the world and for the Pauline Family. A number of teens stopped by our booth, interested in learning more about our mission. Let us thank God for these young people with their generous and open spirits, and let us, most importantly, pray for them.  Sr. Laura, Louisiana

From the Statutes of the Pauline Cooperators: Who can be a member of the Association of Pauline Cooperators? Persons who understand the value of the Pauline mission and want to collaborate in its fulfillment, thus finding a precious opportunity to use their skills to fulfill their Christian vocation and enable the talents they received from the Lord to bear fruit. In welcoming his/her special call, the Cooperator adheres to the Pauline ideal and commits him/herself to incarnating it in daily life according to the directives of the Church, which invites the laity to “share more intensely in the spirituality and mission of various religious Institutes” (Vita Consecrata, 54).

“To pray and work for vocations: this is the principal form of cooperation. There is the apostolate of the press…. There is the apostolate of the Sacred Liturgy…. There is the pastoral apostolate of the priests and Pastorelle Sisters…” (From a manuscript of Fr. Alberione, 18 Dec. 1965).