Pallottine Reflections

God the Infinite Love of St. Vincent Pallotti
2nd meditation
The Creation of the Angels
for the Benefit of Man
Prayer
Father in heaven!
Let our hearts be totally consecrated to you.
Fill us with great love for you and for our neighbour.
Let this time of meditation be a light
that will enlighten our way.
Let it strengthen us so that we can serve you. Amen.
(Pallottine Community Prayers, Sunday, morning prayer)

Introduction
The 2nd meditation in Vincent Pallotti’s book “God, the Infinite Love” is the first of four meditations on the angels.

How do we feel about this topic? For some years there has been an outright “angel boom” in our country; you meet them as figures and in pictures, in books and in the cinema. They are presented as being saccharine, touching, caring. Often this is a far cry from the powerful appearance of angels in the Bible. Yet in this trend many people find access to them whether they believe in God or not. These angels appeal to them because the presentation does them good. The trend touches an emotion which takes over from years of scepticism during which anything supernatural was questioned and even among theologians there has not been clarity regarding the existence of angels.

For Vincent Pallotti the issue was not one of an entry into discussion between the two positions, apart from the fact that the modern fascination with angels as we now have it did not exist at his time. He writes his meditations on the Creed. First and foremost they are about God, the Creator, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible. And with this, as in each meditation, his starting point is the “revelations of our faith, found in the Bible and in the teachings of the Fathers”. With this it is simply clear to Vincent that as a part of the invisible ‘things’ created by God there are angels and there is a hierarchical structure and classification among such celestial beings.

Based on this premise St. Vincent wants to invite us for prayer. Therefore the issue is not one of theological reflection or discussion, but rather it is about faith: what role do matters that we are told by the tradition of Holy Scripture or the Fathers, play in our faith, in my faith?

Reflection and Sharing

Vincent Pallotti wants to awaken our sense of faith and to revive faith. Therefore, let us open our thoughts, our attitudes and mindset to his words: “God is always engaged in communicating His gifts, graces and mercies to man. These He grants them either directly through Himself or indirectly through the guardian angels”.

Can I imagine this? Can I accept and believe that God is so interested in us, cares for us, for me and for each person? How does this affect my life, the manner in which I live my daily life?
Again and again St. Vincent confronts us with the invitation of faith. We are invited to believe and to accept that God desired my existence and loves me. And even more than this that God has also created more things than I can imagine to be of service to me and my life. “Yes, such is Your esteem for our souls that You wisely employ all Your works and the service of so many millions of angels to help us and provide for our needs of body and soul. In this way we will not meet with any hindrance in attaining our ultimate goal, which is You ...”.

• Do I live with the awareness that God, infinitely great, has created all visible and invisible things so that they may help me to live rightly and well? Do I experience myself as being served by God and not hindered by him?

With this we come to a second important point which Vincent Pallotti addresses in this meditation, namely, that all of this is given to us for an “ultimate goal, which is You and the manifestation of Your immense, infinite, eternal and incomprehensible glory”.


• Is God the goal of my life, the goal that shapes my daily life and gives direction to it? Does all that is given to me – for body and soul – serve as a source of assistance and a stimulus to me towards this goal?

In prayer Vincent refers to this, he calls it ‘deficiency and guilt’: “I have not profited from the most loving plans of Your infinite love, mercy and graces as I should have. I have abused Your infinite love and mercy.”


• Do I profit from and use the everyday gifts and experiences of my life to nurture faith and trust in God? The access to faith that is given to me, the insights and experiences, nourishment and material goods, talents and abilities, relationships and friendship, family and community, disappointments and set-backs, hurts and illness ...?

Faith does not only mean the acceptance of what is true. Faith shapes and forms our lives: I do not leave the ‘gift’ that is given aside, but I perceive it as a call of God, to trust him and to go deeper and deeper in my relationship with him. We do have a way, a goal, before us: to reach God, in order to finally be with him, to live in his presence. We need not, and cannot, travel this way on our own. We are given other persons and things as assistance which bring life to us and convey that we are cared for and loved, guided and accompanied. All this is an invitation and challenge, to trust in God and to believe that he loves me infinitely.

Vincent Pallotti’s trust is unlimited. He looked at the negative ways of abusing God’s gifts that lead us to other goals, however he did not end up at an impasse of resignation or self-pity. Rather he trusts that God will recall his attention to: “the fact that the greater my unworthiness the more You will grant me graces in order that I may always profit by Your infinite love and mercy.”

From many of his other writings we know that Vincent was convinced that we only profit from the love and mercy of God by making his care for human beings our own: “Who does not know that in not observing the precept of charity one cannot gain eternal life? Therefore everyone … is bound to confess that each person who lives on this earth must effectively procure the eternal salvation of his neighbor in so far as he can … because we have received every good from God and we have received them in order to use them for his glory and simultaneously for the salvation of our own soul and that of our neighbour…” ^{(OOCC IV, 173-174)}

Final Prayer

Finally, let us give thanks to God for the gifts he has given to us in this hour of reflection and prayer:

“We thank you, Lord, for all the lights and favours which you have given us. Give us the grace to profit by them. By ourselves we can do nothing, with you we can do everything. Because we love you, our Lord, we will do all for you.” (Pallottine Community Prayers, ibid.)
Vincent Pallotti made use of the angels’ care also by invoking them again and again as intercessors. Let us pray together with him:

“Queen of the Apostles, ask your Son, the Lord of the harvest, that he may send workers into his harvest and have mercy on his people. All holy angels, archangels, thrones and dominations, princes and potentates, virtues of the heavens, cherubim and seraphim, patriarchs and prophets, holy doctors of the law, apostles, all martyrs of Christ, holy confessors, virgins of the Lord, anchorites and all saints, pray the Lord of the harvest, that he may send workers into his harvest and have mercy on his people, that all of us with Him and the Father and the Holy Spirit may rejoice for ever and ever. Amen” ^{(OOCC II, 378)}.
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Segretariato Generale, Unione dell’Apostolato Cattolico
Piazza San Vincenzo Pallotti 204, Roma, Italia
uac@uniopal.org}

God, the Infinite Love
of St. Vincent Pallotti

Prayer

Come, oh Holy Spirit,
speak to my heart, now,
through this meeting with You:
Infinite Love.
Fill me with wisdom and discernment
in order to enter into the mystery of the tender
heart of the Father, who continually
regenerates me through Jesus,
with Love and for Love.
Place in my heart
the desire to love infinitely
with the same intensity
with which St. Vincent loved you
so that I too
become a place of love
and a proposal of love for all. Amen.

Presentation

This month we begin to present you with the text God, the Infinite Love, written by St. Vincent Pallotti.
It is a small book, meant for all the faithful, brothers and sisters of our crucified Lord Jesus Christ and is composed of 31 meditations on the Apostles’ Creed.
Each article is laid out in a way that follows a constant rhythm of a meditation, with a prayer that is relevant to the theme and then a prayer which is also an offering of oneself; the same pattern is followed in each meditation.

Vincent Pallotti, the author, proclaims the marvels of God at the top of his voice, he enters into a dialogue with Love, a dialogue of reverence, respect, admiration, a fusion of hearts …
Every word is steeped in contemplation of God. A God who takes care of human existence and who gives life, body, colour, taste to every living being and who creates the marvels of the universe and the beauty of the Earth for humanity.
Through these meditations one plunges into and is submerged in the depths of the soul of the Saint and one comes to know the depth of his faith, the strength of his charity, of his continuous prayer and above all else, of his humility and his infinite trust in God.

The title: GOD, the INFINITE LOVE.

There is no more beautiful attribute that one could give to God than that of LOVE, for Vincent God is not only Love but he is also INFINITE LOVE.
He made of the Infinite a style of life.
Frequently he pauses and becomes aware of his existence:
“Who am I before you, my god, and You, day and night, whether I am awake or asleep, whether I think of You, or whether I do not think of You, notwithstanding my ingratitude and sins, with Infinite Love, You always think of me so as to destroy my unworthiness and transform me in You?” (OOCC X, 472).
There are many other of his expressions which are written in the “Lumi” (volume X of the complete writings of St. Vincent which contains his spiritual diary), and which spring readily to mind:
“I would love God with an infinite love…I would multiply the works infinitely… Oh love, love, infinite love… infinite Mercy… infinite tenderness and wisdom…”
The preface to the book ‘God, the Infinite Love’, written also by St. Vincent, leads us as it were by the hand to observe the preciousness of life and of each and every thing which God has placed at our disposal.

We read:
“Nobody is capable of profiting from a precious object if he or she does not know its value and the benefit which can accrue from it for oneself and for others; therefore we who are privileged to have the gift of faith amongst so many millions of persons, we need to know or at least to remember according to the illuminations of faith, the infinite love and the infinite mercy with which God has created us and keeps us in being, with which he has redeemed us and sanctified us with the grace of holy Baptism, and if we have lost baptismal grace through sin, God himself who time and time again has been offended by us, sanctifies us again with the sacrament of penance, and he further fills us with his gifts in the sacrament of confirmation, and above all else he sanctifies us with the Holy Eucharist because with infinite love he wishes to glorify us for all of eternity”.
By simply meditating quietly on this presentation one becomes aware of the horizon of his infinite contemplation.

Vincent had truly understood the preciousness of life and of salvation.
Who knows the number of times he took time to contemplate creation together with the mystery of redemption. The number of times he touched with his hands the sanctifying activity of the Spirit in his “to be among the people”.
He repeats and he repeats again, he stresses and he invents new expressions in order to highlight the preciousness of God’s Infinite Love and of his infinite mercy towards all of humanity.

How many occasions of grace God preparing for us!
Being with Vincent it almost seems as if we are seeing with his eyes the “guile of God” in order to save humanity.

Often, this reality leads him to cry out:
You are crazed by Love, oh my infinite mercy…
… oh, my God, I do not understand, I feel your infinite love and your mercy, but I do not understand it, and I forget it at each moment (OOCC XIII, 144).
Vincent leads us to see the sacraments as very special instruments in the hands of God for our salvation and to receive them as such. Everything which was done with Love for us by Him who is Infinite Love.

In the preface Vincent writes: “…in these few pages we will recall those truths of faith which are contained in the Apostles’ Creed…and because God has done all with love and moved by his infinite mercy for us, …thus will we pray these prayers in order to know and to recall the infinite love and the infinite mercy of God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.”
The pages which follow are, in effect, meditations and prayers which arise out of his heart and reach into ours so that we in turn reflect them into the hearts of those with whom we are in contact.
Vincent concludes:
“Blessed are those fathers of families, and those Superiors of homes for the sick, residential schools and communities of every kind who in common prayer …will unite with us in this pious exercise of faith”.
Yes indeed, we are blessed, we will be blessed if this abundance of grace does not fall in vain, blessed are we if we are capable of receiving it and pouring it out in the world of the apostolate.
I would like to conclude by expressing a wish that all, and principally myself, profit from this opportunity to enter into the catechetical and apostolic experience of St. Vincent which is expressed in this text and to make it our own by incarnating it in our daily lives so that it be an instrument of evangelization and of conversion.

Concluding prayer

Let us make the desire of St. Vincent our own and pray together with him:
“My Jesus, communicate to me and to all
All of your Love!
May the universe be all Love.
Fill all things.
May I and all persons
live immersed in Love.
My God, all Love,
in everything Love.
My Jesus,
the proof of the love that you want from me
is that it save souls:
give me all of your life,
all of your energy
in order to bring all people to your Heart. Amen”. (OOCC X,676)

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Segretariato Generale, Unione dell’Apostolato Cattolico
Piazza San Vincenzo Pallotti 204, Roma, Italiauac@uniopal.org

In communion with Mary
III. “Mary, Queen of Apostles, exemplary model of apostolic zeal”.
This month we conclude our three part reflection on article 3 of the General Statutes of the UAC and take as the theme for our reflection ‘Mary, Queen of Apostles, exemplary model of apostolic zeal’. As such Mary is the Model for the Apostolate of All. Vincent Pallotti’s 1835 appeal to the Catholics of his time to join the “Union of Catholic Apostolate,” was born out of an urgent need to awaken the whole Church to serve the mission which Jesus had entrusted to her. Vincent’s was not a movement in the Church but a movement of the Church. His vision of apostolate was world-embracing, it was not to take over the official apostolate of the Church (of which as he was accused) but to be of service to it. He was aware of the mobilization of anti-Christian forces that intended not only the unification of Italy but the creation of a new humanistic secular society with Rome at its centre. In response Vincent sought to mobilize all, especially religious and lay people, in a collaborative work of “Catholic Apostolate.”

Mary, Queen of Apostles: trigger releasing the Church’s hidden potential
How could he do this when the official Church was opposed to any seemingly laicist movements? The theology of that period was that Catholic Apostolate belonged only to the Pope and the Propagation of the Faith to those trained for it. Vincent found his answer in the title given to Mary in the Litany of Loreto as Queen of Apostles. She was neither a priest or bishop, she did not preach, yet the Church acknowledged that she was superior to the Apostles. He wrote, “The Church honours Mary as having the merit common to the Apostles without the office of preacher” (OOCC IV:325). Mary’s unique role is as a lay person who, nevertheless, is endowed with the title and merits of the Apostles. Her role is extended to include not only Apostles with a capital “A” but the myriad of small “a” apostles in every sphere of life. “One who is not a priest can be honoured with the name apostle, and his/her work an apostolate” (00CC III: 140, cf. 182).

Mary’s life: a Gospel beyond words
In 1976 a French Church Commission consulted women on their role in evangelisation. One woman wrote, “A woman is more suited to what pertains to life rather than structure, more suited to activity involving personal relationships. A true life is a life lived according to the Gospel. This goes before any other consideration. If you would preach a sermon, you must yourself be a sermon.” This was especially true of Mary, honoured three-fold as Queen of Apostles: by “her true Catholic zeal and perfect love;” her “surpassing the Apostles in merit”; her “cooperation in spreading the faith far beyond the Apostles” (OOCC I:7).

Catching the fire of the Spirit
Mary evangelised in a unique way by her faithful mothering of Jesus and the apostles. Mary’s radical openness to God’s Word and Will sprang from a strong, realistic self as she enquired, “How can this be?” A self coupled with a readiness to surrender, “Let it be, let it be done, let it become flesh in me.” Mary remained faithful under the cross. She put courage into the disciples by her presence, and readied them for the transforming experience of the Spirit. Did they ask Mary, “Oh tell us, tell us what happened when the Spirit came on you?” Mary would not only tell them, but lead them to prepare for the Spirit in the ways she knew: of silence, unceasing prayer and by interceding powerfully with her Spouse the Holy Spirit. What came first was the desire, wanting to be used by Jesus, to carry on his mission. Mary led them further in disciplined learning, to await the Spirit who ignited them into action. That desire disposed them to receive the Spirit who brought all they had learned from Jesus on fire within them. “If you lack courage,” Mary says to priests, “pray to me with confidence. I shall ask the Holy Spirit (my Spouse) that he may set you on fire with his infinite charity, so necessary to exercise the apostolate of Jesus Christ” (Month of May for Clerics, 80). Vincent’s own life, his initial devotion to Mary, Queen of Apostles in the Cenacle, became a dynamic reality after his Espousals of December 31st, 1832, when Mary, Spouse of the Spirit and Queen of Apostles, empowered him for ministry through the graces of her Son. When Vincent wanted to rouse apostolic idealism in people he invoked the image of Mary as Queen of Apostles; when he wanted to awaken the inner life of the people, to nurture them, he spoke of her Motherhood.

Holiness: living from the heart outwards
Vincent was convinced that holiness gives power to apostolate. “Holiness consists in fulfilling with exactness and pure intention the duties of one’s state of life” (OOCC X:111), and doing it from an apostolic intent. “With all her power Mary cooperated in the propagation of the faith without preaching but, in the ordinary circumstances of her life, doing it with such perfection that she surpassed the Apostles in merit ….” (OOCC III: 145). When we try to live the virtues of Jesus and Mary in an inner way we become transparent of God, not for ourselves but for others. Vincent described this process for lay people, “Internal holiness of heart enlivens and vivifies the exterior of a person so that all may glorify our heavenly Father” (Month of May for Lay People, Day 18). The external act had to mirror the inner intent. Mary modelled the interior quality of holiness linked to a gospel following of Jesus in her daily life. It was lived holiness.
Every aspect of Mary’s self was consciously used to bring Christ to birth in herself and in others. How Mary used things to nourish the humanity of the incarnate One, inspired Vincent “to understand and imitate [Jesus] in the use of created things … to do the Will of the Father according to the designs and ends of infinite Love.” (OOCC X: 260). Her divine maternity nurturing Christ through faith, became a spiritual mothering of all under the cross. In her zeal, “Mary, burning with love, desired to give her life with her Son for the salvation of the human race” (OOCC IV: 450). She journeyed from a mother’s love to the dedication of a disciple. Vincent taught people that they could share in the merit of the apostolate corresponding to their zeal in cooperating in the spread of the Gospel (OOCC IV:136).

Mary, model of ministry
By her life Mary witnessed to that essential aspect necessary in every ministry, whether priestly or lay, namely, spiritual motherhood: a faith-filled and loving openness to God’s power giving birth to Jesus. Mother Mary uses her intercessory power to produce Christ in us (cf. OOCC III: 78-9); and discipleship: a conforming of herself to Jesus, that is, a faithful imitation of him in her whole life, body, mind and heart, thereby making Christ present to men and women so that they may experience God’s saving power. “Mary walked so faithfully in the footsteps of her Son that she surpassed all the angels and saints” (Ep Lat 20). Mary, Queen of Apostles, stands at the very heart of the one mission and diversity of ministries within the People of God. When the title of the Union “Catholic Apostolate” came under fire, Pallotti placed it under the special protection of Mary Queen of Apostles. That name said it all. She was his advocate, intercessor, and the great missionary.

Shared reflection:
- In what way can Mary, Queen of Apostles, help us catch fire as apostles?
- How would Vincent motivate people to live the spirit of UAC?
- What is your experience of Mary reawakening your faith-relationship with
Father, Son and Spirit?

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Segretariato Generale, Unione dell’Apostolato Cattolico
Piazza San Vincenzo Pallotti 204, Roma, Italiauac@uniopal.org}

In communion with Mary.
I. Mary, Patroness of the Union of Catholic Apostolate

Introduction: the month of May is traditionally a month dedicated to Mary, Jesus' beloved mother; in this month we celebrate the feasts of Mary, Queen of Apostles, and of the Visitation of Mary. St. Vincent entrusted his nascent foundation to Mary, he put it under her protection, he entrusted it to her as patroness and relied on her prayers and intercession. Article 3 of the General Statutes of our Union reads: "The Patroness of the Union is the Blessed Virgin Mary, Queen of Apostles, exemplary model of the spiritual life and of apostolic zeal". We propose to reflect on Mary and pray with her in three issues of Apostles for Today.

St. Vincent wrote: "The pious Society operates under the efficacious protection of the Immaculate Mother of God, Queen of Apostles, for two holy purposes: the first is to obtain through the merits and the intercession of the great Mother of God, the Immaculate, all the graces and all the gifts in order that the Pious Society considered both as a moral body and in the individual (members) present and future may exist always in the Church of God and be fruitful and that it spread rapidly according to the needs of souls in any part of the world. The second purpose is that they all, lay people, secular clergy and religious of any order, state and condition have in Mary most Holy, after Jesus Christ, the most perfect model of true catholic zeal and of perfect charity …". (OOCC I, p. 6-7, cf. also OOCC III, p. 6).

Mary, our Mother, our Protector, our Patroness.

This month we take the first purpose, Mary as our Mother, protector and patron. Fr. Vincent had a particularly strong devotion to Mary throughout his life even though the foundational experience of his life was his experience of God and his one over-riding purpose was to correspond to the three Divine Persons of the Holy Trinity, individually and as One God. His relationship with Mary did not take from this centrality of God in his life, rather Mary was Mother to him, and as the years went on Mary undertook to reveal to him her Son Jesus Christ, to obtain for him from her Son all the graces necessary for his life and mission. It was similar to Mary's attitude at the Wedding Feast in Cana of Galilee (Jn, 2,5), she noticed a need, a lack, and she pointed it out to her Son, then she told those who were there "Do whatever he tells you", and with complete trust and confidence waited until he responded and fulfilled her request.

Fr. Vincent was graced with several mystical experiences during the course of his life, one of these was his experience of January 9th when he received the charism of the Union. A second event that had a lasting effect on him and on his life was a Spiritual Espousal with Mary which took place on December 31st 1832, from this point on his relationship with Mary took on a new dimension, the experience is recorded in OOCC X, 195-6: he experienced it as a special grace which allowed him to enter into an intimate relationship with Mary. It is for him essentially an experience of mercy, first of all the mercy of Mary who mercifully deigned to make a spiritual marriage with him, he who considered himself to be among the poorest of all creatures on earth. Mary does not come empty-handed to this spiritual marriage, she brings her dowry, the dowry she gives Vincent is "all she possessed and helped him to recognize her own divine Son, and being the Spouse of the Holy Spirit she committed herself so that he be entirely transformed in the Holy Spirit." Mary promised to give Vincent the gift of knowing her Son Jesus, and because she is the Spouse of the Holy Spirit, she commits herself to work for Vincent's inner transformation in the power of the Holy Spirit. Vincent is deeply moved by this manifestation of God's mercy; he speaks of "the mercy of Mary, immaculate Queen, who in love and devotion prays, intercedes and obtains" for him graces. He is convinced that this grace is an expression of the mercy of Jesus as he listens to the pleas of his Mother Mary on Vincent's behalf. He concludes his account praying "Mercy, mercy, mercy, mercy, mercy, mercy, mercy, mercy, Paradise is full of Mary's mercy. I will sing the mercies of God for all eternity, I will sing the mercies of Mary for all eternity. My God and my all." In this account we see that Mary was not merely an object of devotion for Vincent, far from it, she was an active presence, it was she who took the initiative here, it was she who gave all of herself to him as dowry, she who committed herself to reveal her Son to Vincent.

We see here that Mary was Mother for Vincent, concerned for him, for his well-being, for his growth, for his happiness. She was a merciful Mother, mother of mercies. His experience was of Mary as Mother, a mother who was so moved by the 'wretchedness' of her son that she prayed, interceded and obtained for him this special grace. Recently a woman asked me how Vincent's term of address for Mary can be translated, he referred to her as "la mia più che innamorattissima Madre", I suggested 'my beloved Mother', she was not satisfied with this and suggested 'my mother who is deeply in love with me and most dear to me'. She as a woman and mother was struck by the intensity of Vincent's feelings for Mary, fruit of her love for him and her activity in his life.

It was after this experience that Vincent began to prepare and write his treatises on the Month of May (of Mary) for the faithful, for religious and for the clergy. In fact he prepared all three texts in 1833, so full was he of enthusiasm and zeal to lead others to a deeper relationship with May. In the meditations for the faithful, Vincent puts words into Mary's mouth, she speaks lovingly to her children, invites them to learn of Jesus, through her, she invites them "…I, as a heavenly teacher will teach you with motherly affection to way of Paradise." (Preliminary meditation). Mary encourages the faithful who engage in these exercises by saying "I assure you my child in the joy that comes from the Most High, that my heart with maternal affection, and the heart of Jesus with infinite love, burn with a living desire to see you a saint, to see you a saint soon, to see you a great saint." OOCC XIII, p. 573. Mary goes on to assure the retreatant that the road to holiness is simple, it consists in listening in faith to her Son, who with his Word and his message of salvation offers us the means to attain it.

Mary is presented as Mother, as Teacher, as Mother of Mercy, as Advocate. This is clearly evident in the text of the day of preparation for the exercises; "Jesus said on the Cross: 'Behold your Mother' (Jn.19,27), my divine Son Jesus, in his agony on the Cross forgot the sins of his creatures … and left me to his beloved disciple John as Mother, and in John Mother of all the children of the Church … he (Jesus) wishes that you, my child, even though you may be a sinner, in this month consecrated to me, recognise me as your Mother, experience me as Mother of Mercies … I, as your heavenly Teacher will teach you with maternal affection to way to heaven … and even though you know your sins I do not want you ever to lose courage because I am your Mother, your Advocate, the Refuge of sinners, and as the Daughter of the Eternal Father I am able to help you in all your needs…" OOCC XIII; 550-51.

However, in all of this devotion and love of Mary Vincent never loses sight of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. All the exercises are based on an attentive listening to the Word of God as seen though the eyes and heart of Mary, the purpose of the meditations is the building up of the Kingdom of God. The entire spiritual exercise is oriented towards an increase of faith, hope and love, and to lead the person to a greater commitment to the works of faith and charity in the world.

Let us meditate together:

John 19, 25-27: "Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary of Magdala. Seeing his mother and the disciple he loved standing near her, Jesus said to his mother, 'Woman, this is your son'. Then to the disciple he said, 'This is your mother'. And from that moment the disciple made a place for her in his home."
John 2, 3-4 "…the mother of Jesus said to him, 'They have no wine'. Jesus said, 'Woman, why turn to me? My hour has not come yet.' His mother said to the servants, 'Do whatever he tell you'.

And with the Church let us sing Mary's hymn, the Magnificat.

Sharing of experiences

Which is my preferred title of Mary? Can I express why one of Mary's titles or attributes is more important to me than others? How do I live my relationship with Mary?
Let us end with prayer:

1. "St. Vincent Pallotti, from your earliest days you were ardently devoted to the Mother of God. You were indebted to her in a special way for your growth in grace and in the love of God.
2. We ardently desire the same effects of her intercession that you experienced in your life. Intercede for us, therefore, St. Vincent, that we may obtain an enlightened conscience and be able to understand the greatness of the Mother of God, to have an unshakable faith in her, and to leave our lives in her hands. Obtain for us also a child-like and truly dedicated love for her and a courageous heart to follow her virtuous example." Pallottine Community Prayers, page 241.

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Segretariato Generale, Unione dell'Apostolato Cattolico
Piazza San Vincenzo Pallotti 204, Roma, Italiauac@uniopal.org}

“Lord Jesus … may Your life be my life”

(OOCC X, p. 488)
St. Vincent Pallotti’s invitation

We have meditated on the 33 points of the Fundamental Rule each month during the past few years, in them St. Vincent exhorted us to imitate our Lord Jesus Christ and to make of his holy life the rule for our own lives. “The fundamental Rule of our little Congregation is the Life of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Fundamental Rule 1, OOCC III, p. 40). He was convinced of the basic truth that “If all Christians are obliged to imitate our Lord Jesus Christ, then with how much greater perfection, diligence and fervour must we imitate him? Have we not received the gift of the very life of our Lord Jesus Christ as the fundamental rule of our little Congregation? Do we not receive daily in the congregation numerous and special graces that allow us to imitate him? We should keep before our eyes God made man who is our example, our model and the practical rule of both our interior and exterior life. With trust in his omnipotent grace we should do everything in the best possible way and with the utmost diligence, attention, fervour and humility, trusting in the graces that our Lord Jesus Christ with infinite love wishes to lavish on us so as to imitate him. A person who believes in Jesus Christ and who in humility and trust strives to imitate him, receives (as grace) that Jesus destroys in him/her all faults and deformities. Jesus Christ enters into that soul and operates in it and Jesus Christ continues his very life in that soul, He lives in it and communicates to it the merits of his holy works, thus the promise of Jesus Christ is verified “I tell you solemnly the one who believes in me will perform the same works I do and will perform even greater works” (Jn. 14.12), this is indeed true, because Jesus Christ does everything in us” (Daily Practical Memorandum, OOCC III, 35-37).

St. Vincent, with bold assurance, affirms that if a person seriously undertakes to imitate Jesus Christ with humility and trust, Jesus Christ himself will destroy and straighten out in that person all that is to be destroyed and straightened. When everything is clean and orderly He himself enters in and takes possession of the person and fills his/her faculties, He lives and operates in the person, and his/her actions acquire the value and the merit of the holy actions of Jesus Christ himself.

Let us ask ourselves in silence:

What fruits we have drawn for our spiritual and apostolic lives as Pallottines from these meditations? Do we share in our hearts the same desire that St. Vincent had: “Lord Jesus … may Your life be my life”?

Let us pray using the invocations written by St. Vincent during a retreat he made in 1841 (OOCC X, p. 656- 681)
“My Jesus (…) Your prayers will become my prayers.
My Jesus (…) may the communication of Your holy life with all Your virtues and merits be in me and in all persons now and always.
My Jesus, infinite Wisdom (…) may Your life be my life.
My Jesus (…) make Your conformity my conformity.
My Jesus, my Judge (…) give me Your life, I want to live with it, I want to die with it and with Your life to present myself before Your divine tribunal.
My Jesus (…) give me Your purity, thus Your purity will be my purity.
My Jesus (…) form in me the Eight Beatitudes through the communication of Your life, and thus I will possess them in true fullness.
My Jesus (…) grant me all Your prayers and all the infinite merit of Your sacrifice.
Jesus my Truth (…) give me all Your life which is Truth, is true and eternal light.
My Jesus (…) give me Your charity, and transform me into Your charity so that I may live it.
Jesus is the most amiable, the most loving and is little loved. My Jesus (…) grant me and all persons, now and always all of Your love.
Jesus, the proof of love that You want from me is the salvation of Souls, therefore destroy in me all that stops me from being fully occupied and effective for the well-being of souls, give me all of Your life, all of Your virtues, all of your characteristics, all of Your energy, all of Yourself so as to bring the souls of every person living and who will be born to Your heart.
My Jesus (…) give me Your life, and with Your life may I always work and exercise all the different parts and functions of the Gospel ministry.
My Jesus (…) grant that the fullness of Your life may be in me and in all persons always so as to prepare all people for heaven.
My Jesus with the holiness and perfection of Your life destroy all of my life, give me Your life and I will always live with Your life”.
“My God I firmly believe that every moment you destroy all my life in me and bring Jesus Christ to life in me so that in everything and always it be Him who thinks, speaks and works in me with all of His being, all of His virtues and all of His works” (OOCC X, p. 261).

To pray with the life of Jesus

The journey of growth and the maturity that takes place in the life of each one of us helps us to understand its deepest meaning which is the gift of the infinite love of God. This consciousness or awareness reveals a reality to us, be it the revelation of what is good or the revelation of that which comes from evil. The season of Lent is an ideal time to rethink our lives and to adapt them more to Christ.
In the writings of St. Vincent we find numerous prayers which are the fruit of profound reflection on his life and go right back to the moment of his conception. Particularly fascinating are his attitude of humility and gratitude to God, his optimism and the search for the fullness of life. In his prayers his desire to live the life of Jesus is strikingly and ardently shown. One of these prayers is the “Benedicite” composed by St. Vincent shortly before his death.
It is a hymn that wells up from his heart with a singular thirst: “Lord Jesus expel me from within me and put Yourself in me. May my life and every action of mine be destroyed and may Your life be my life”. This prayer, like many others written in diverse moments of his life, show us how Pallotti prayed (with) the life of Jesus. In the light of the life of the Lord Jesus Pallotti would find the deeper meaning of the different stages and the events of his life and he allowed himself to be totally transformed in Jesus.

Suggestions for personal meditation:
The letter of St. Paul to the Philippians 3,7-12.

Sharing of experiences
We have seen from the letters that were received in the General Secretariat of the Union that many members, collaborators and friends of the Union in various parts of the world have been following this journey of the imitation of Jesus according to the teachings of St. Vincent. At the conclusion of this period spent meditating on the 33 points I feel as if I am at the start of a new stage in my life! As I reflected on the Fundamental Rule I used to ask myself: ‘what does St. Vincent want from me in proposing that I follow his path? I looked for a response to this question in his writings, especially in volume X which is called “I Lumi” (the enlightenments). There I discovered meditations, prayers and litanies which have all helped me to know better the treasure that has been hidden from my eyes up to now: the life of Jesus is a gift to me, but one to be shared with others! When I read in the Gospel of St. John a passage which was frequently quoted by St. Vincent “God so loved the world that He gave His Son …” I asked myself what these words mean to me and what God is teaching me for my life. And I borrow the words of St. Vincent and say “My God (…) with infinite love You thought to give me your beloved Son Jesus, and with Jesus You have given me everything” (OOCC X, 479).
It is true that:
“Jesus Christ, true God and true man, in soul, body and divinity is ours and is all ours; and all the life of Jesus Christ and all his infinite merits and most perfect virtues are all ours!
Jesus Christ is mine, the Word became man, in soul, body and divinity is mine;
the virtues (…) of Jesus are mine, and mine are the works that Jesus has done on this earth…” (God the Infinite Love med. XXII) As I meet with other members of the UAC what can I share of what I have experienced, felt and discovered in the itinerary of imitating Christ which we have lived in these 33 months?

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^{Segretariato Generale, Unione dell’Apostolato Cattolico
Piazza San Vincenzo Pallotti 204, Roma, Italiauac@uniopal.org}