Universal Living Rosary Association of Saint Philomena (ULRA)

A DIVINE WORK:

The Propagation of the Faith

The French Revolution had wrought havoc and destruction to the missionary effort. The entire attitude of the Church towards the missions was undermined. There existed no viable initiatives, collections or organized work to help the missions. Every Friday, Pauline visited the factories of her brother-in-law at St. Vallier. She prayed about this needed mission and had a sudden inspiration… the plan of the Propagation of the Faith by ten, then one hundred and one thousand became clear in her mind. Put to pen, it seemed too simple. She could not explain how it came to her mind without effort or calculation on her part. It was the work of charity, given by God, the fruit of her gift of immolation. The work of God is always simple and efficient. It is a kind of intrusion, clean and precise. Abbey Wurtz, upon learning of this discovery, strongly advised Pauline that it was from God and for her to put it into execution. (V. t, J. p. 187)

Pauline at once began to execute her plan. Every person must find ten other persons, and they in their turn, ten more, thus forming hundreds of thousands of associates. The wonderful secret of all of Pauline’s successes was that she individualized each one! She herself in person gathered the alms; 78 Francs, then 300 Francs, then 1800, etc. Pauline’s brother, Fr. Phileas, encouraged Pauline to speak about her plan to the clergymen in Paris. Pauline interested many in her project for the missions. Naturally, opposition arose. But single-handedly the work remained hers alone for three years. The focus for her funds was the missions of Asia. It was at this time that a group of distinguished persons of Lyon made some queries for the missions in America. They inquired about the plan used by Pauline and they adopted it in its entirety! Their design was to use her organization to unite the whole world that it might become the beneficent branches of a huge tree upon which would rest the missions of the whole world. Pauline hesitated. Then, she prudently abandoned the work to others. She kept her groups of 100 and focused on the missions in Asia. Her work of the Propagation of the Faith developed quickly and universally. Pauline kept silent for 30 years, until the day that Cardinal Villancourt would require of her that she lay claim to the founder’s title of this monumental work.

Pauline proclaimed strongly: “My rank in the work of the Propagation of the Faith is unique and it will remain always so. I am the real founder of this work. To my founder’s title, I add without deceit, my work as nurse of this labor for the three years, when I sustained the zeal of my partners.” (V t 11 p. 377)

Mystically speaking, the Propagation of the Faith is the Blood of Christ spilled out upon the whole earth!

The Propagation of the Faith is the mission of Christ upon earth, born of His merciful Heart crushed by the sins of mankind, yet burning with love for sinners. This Love of Christ’s Heart was poured into the Heart of Pauline. ‘I wish to make your heart a vessel of My Blood that It may be spilled out upon all who will beseech your help.‘ The divine inspiration of the Propagation of the Faith had its origin in God. Pauline was given the first impulse to work it, develop it, shelter it as an immolation and return it to the Church fertile and abundantly fruitful. All this was accomplished through the sacrifice of herself for Merciful Love. Pauline was the first match to light the Fire, which now burns brightly in over 115 countries today.

“You must be permeated with the deep reality of Our Father in the Eucharist to be yourself a living Eucharist.” ADL 1,5,16

Devotion to the presence of Christ in the Holy Eucharist was the pivotal axis of Pauline’s spirituality. At 23 years of age, Pauline wrote a small book on THE INFINITE LOVE OF THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. Many times, this book has been republished. In the book, Pauline spoke of the Eucharist as the principle of the spiritual life of mankind, the heart of man, the very core of life and love. It is the heart which irrigates our whole being. Life and death depend upon it. In the spiritual realm, there is no difference. All depends upon Christ. The presence of Christ in the Most Blessed Sacrament is the seal of His Love for us. He ascended into Heaven 40 days after His Resurrection, but He left with the Church His Sacramental Body. “HE IS THERE!” St. Jean Marie Vianney would say pointing to the Tabernacle, “It is Him indeed!” It is God’s Heart on fire with love that invented this extraordinary miracle; it is His Heart, which divinizes every man through the Holy Eucharist. During all her life, Pauline never ceased singing the praises of Christ in the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist. She was drawn to Him irresistibly. She spent hours in conversation with Him many times passing the entire night at the foot of the Altar in the church of St. Nizier. During those times, Our Lord heaped His graces upon her soul. Pauline lived in the presence of God and chose always those positions, while at work or rest, would place her in the closest proximity to Him. She secured permission while at her residence of Lorette to keep the Most Blessed Sacrament present in her home. She lived at Lorette from 1833 until her death. It was here that she established perpetual adoration. At night, she would settle herself in a small room adjacent to the chapel. All ordinary human life loses its imperfections and becomes super-naturalized when exposed to the God-Man whose every human action was divine.

THE SWORD OF RESPECT FOR AUTHORITY

Direct your glance to Nazareth and contemplate the Holy Family. See what a splendid example of obedience the Divine Redeemer gave to all and to young people especially. Jesus was subject to them. Jesus became for us the model of respect for authority and the virtue of obedience. Obedience is order, and order must exist wherever God rules and reigns. “Disobedience, the offspring of pride, kindles the flames of Hell. Take away self-will and Hell would cease to exist.” (St. Bernard)

Obedience springs from humility, faith sanctifies it and love lightens its yoke. In an Age when respect for divine and human authority appears to be vanishing from the earth, the example of childlike veneration for parents is a singular blessing and a victory. God did not say, honor a good father and a good mother, but Honor thy father and thy mother! Be generous to them in their old age and sickness, pray daily and fervently for your parents. The respect, honor, love and obedience you show your mother, is the characteristic virtue of a good Christian. However, you have three mothers: your earthly mother, your heavenly Mother – the Blessed Virgin Mary, and your spiritual Mother – the Holy Catholic Church. If you have the good fortune to love and honor all three, happiness and wellbeing will perpetually encompass your path in this life, and a rich reward will await you in Eternity! You will be welcomed in Heaven with these words, “What you did to your parents, you did to Me. Come ye blessed of My Father; possess ye the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” God has given us the truly remarkable freedom to do what is right. The freedom exercised by those who rebel against God’s Law – the freedom of sinners, the freedom of evil and the flesh, of passions and lust, is not freedom but bondage itself which makes us servants of sin!

Share Your Gift of Faith

For centuries, our cherished Catholic faith has been passed from person to person, parent to child, etc. Each of us carries in our heart a special memory of how God first graced us with the knowledge of the faith and how Our Blessed Mother, Saint Philomena, Venerable Pauline Jaricot and other saints changed our lives and brought us closer to Christ.

In our work in the Universal Living Rosary Association, we see first hand how millions of souls are currently living without that knowledge of God and are living outside of His grace. We have been given a beautiful opportunity to carry out Christ’s work and pass on our faith and blessings to others who would otherwise never be introduced to Our Lord, the Savior of all mankind. Just as we pray for the souls in Purgatory who have no one to pray for them, we should also make it a part of our life’s mission to pass on our faith to as many souls as possible who have no one else to pass it on to them, who don’t know Our Lord and His promise of salvation.

This is the box we send out to the foreign Missions $77.95. It contains Rosaries, Scapulars, Miraculous Medals, Cord & Oil, Newsletters, Calendars, Catechism books, 2 TAN books, large color prints, lists and encouragement for our Promoters.

Please Click here to Share Your Gift of Faith