“Late have I loved you! O Beauty so ancient and so new; late have I loved you! For behold, you were within me, and I was outside; I sought you abroad and, in my ugliness, fell upon the lovely things you had made. You were with me, but I was not with you.”[1] These words of St Augustine, spoken upon discovering God within himself, perfectly echo the hunger and thirst for God yearned by the twenty-first century Paulines.
To be precise, we often search for the meaning of the religious life and the relevance of the Pauline apostolate outside of ourselves. However, we fail to recognise that these very treasures are already ours—inherited through the rich patrimony of our Founder, Blessed James Alberione, and pulsating within the ever-living, dynamic Pauline charism. The answer resides within, yet we remain curiously blind, gazing outward for a light that already burns brightly in our own hearts.
That concerns the evangelisation through the means of social communication, more than the 20th century, today, the means of communication and the modern technology are far developed, more powerful and relevant. Certainly, we recognise and acknowledge their advancements, yet we hesitate and stumble to enter into them or to properly employ and mange them. Will it be perfect to say with St Augustine about our apostolate—‘you were with me, but I was not with you’.
On 20th August 2025, the Society of St Paul celebrated its 111th foundation anniversary, while the Society in India marked its 90th year. The journey has been quite a long one, yet many milestones remain to be discovered and achieved for the mission. At this historical juncture for the Congregation and also for the Catholic Church which is celebrating the Synod of synodality and the Jubilee Year 2025, calls us for reflection. For a more synodal model and renewed discipleship as people of ‘Pilgrims of Hope’.
In this momentous period, in addition to the present historical events, the words of Pope St John Paul II call all members of the Society of St Paul to an introspection concerning our life and mission: “Do not be afraid. Do not be satisfied with mediocrity. Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch (cf. Lk 5:4). Go to the roots! Be demanding with yourselves, perhaps with others, but first of all with yourselves!”
Let us make a journey into our life and mission in the light of “going to the roots”—a pilgrim age of walking together, sustained by lively faith and hope, inviting divine intervention to have a divine experience!
Night of Light: The Eucharistic Renewal[2]
Think, what if, the Eucharistic experience of Blessed James Alberione on that Night of Light[3] also becomes ours—yours and mine—in shaping our life and mission in today’s context of the Church, Congregation, people of our century? Blessed Alberione had a clear understanding of his NOTHINGSNESS, at the same time, he strongly believed to have Light, Nourishment, Consolation, Victory over evil and everything from the Eucharistic Lord. Yes, for us, it’s a journey again ‘going to the roots’ from where we were born—the Tabernacle. It’s not another Visit to the Blessed Sacrament to fulfil our obligations but a pilgrim journey of faith, hope, transformation and mission in the twenty-first century.
On that night, Alberione went to the adoration with most willingness and open-mindedness to be enlightened, engulfed by the divine grace and to be totally depended on God—as a result ‘his mind and heart became so fixed on the Eucharist, the Gospel, the Pope, the new century, the new means.’[4] Today, we are called to anchor our mission in these same pillars, embracing modern tools like Artificial Intelligence and digital platforms, to mention a few. When our communities are grounded in this age-old Eucharistic devotion and spirit, they become living reflections of Alberione’s vision—new Houses of Alba, resonating with divine purpose. Today, in a way, we are responsible to keep alive this noble gift of the Holy Spirit which has come down to us through our Founder.
Continuity of the Pauline mission
Blessed James Alberione was determined to have the consecrated men and women for the new form of the apostolate with the goal, leading them to more perfection, specially through the evangelical Councils, receiving the reward of the apostolic life and of an apostle. This particular charism of Blessed Alberione has sustained the Pauline mission through the ages with unity, stability, and continuity.
As Paulines today we have the added responsibility to keep alive the gift of inspiration which our founder received from the Holy Spirit, namely fostering a congregation of men religious. In the effort, meticulous steps to be taken for vocation promotion and the formation of young Paulines with the very zeal and spirit of St Paul, the apostle. Specialisation in the field of communication, specifically of the editorial sector, among the young Paulines have to be fostered as steps towards strengthening our apostolic efforts. A special care is to be given to all members in the on-going formation.
Sole spirit: to live Jesus Christ and to serve the Church[5]
The spirit and mission of every Pauline, according to our Founder, is “…to live the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Way, the Truth, and the Life, fully and completely, in the spirit of St Paul, under the gaze of Mary, the Queen of Apostles.”[6] Anchoring our lives in the words of our Founder, Paulines are called to live their consecration within the Church and for the Church. Furthermore, the Paulines “always incline their mind, heart, and will to think, work and feel with the Church and, hence, to write in conformity with her teaching”; our relationship with both the Universal and the Local Church is indispensable and crucial—that relationship should be of living in rhythm with the heart of the Church wherever we are present.
This entails a close collaboration with the Church's mission as our constitution states, “One of the principal commitments of our Congregation regarding the apostolate is insertion into the organic pastoral action of the Church, both on general and local levels. The Congregation achieves this by cooperating with the Church in the area of social communication and by dovetailing its own programs with those of the Church’s.”[7]
This commitment extends beyond collaboration in the apostolate, i.e. finding meaning for our life, finding fulfilment in the mission of Christ, the Master, ensuring our Pauline Mission remains ever relevant to our times, to the people, and to the world at large. Not to be worn-out amidst our laxity. It calls us to embody the vision of Pope Francis and what he said at the opening of the Synod on 9th October 2021, “A Church that does not stand aloof from life, but immerses herself in today’s problems and needs, bandaging wounds and healing broken hearts with the balm of God. Let us not forget God’s style, which must help us: closeness, compassion, and tender love.”
Being Apostles Today[8]
The young Alberione was enlightened by the talk by Toniolo who insisted ‘to be apostles of today’[9], since then and later in his lifetime, our Founder always lived as an apostle of his time. At this 111th anniversary of the Foundation, we cannot be apostles of bygone or future years, but be the apostles of today, of present human realities.
In this context, the two ecclesial realities—the Synod 2021-2024 and the Jubilee Year 2025—provide a definitive roadmap for our mission: to be apostles for today's world. The themes and the mottos of these events speak boldly to every aspect of the Church and the modern conditions, including humanity, culture, economy, and ecology. As Pauline apostles, we can draw from them profound inspiration, a deeper knowledge of the world around us, insight into the Church's intentions, and, most importantly, a renewed sense of our call to be alive and active in the Church for Christ Jesus.
The aforementioned Synod stressed upon Synodality and its meaning and dimension are well explained in the final document, “The walking together of Christians with Christ and towards God’s Kingdom, in union with all humanity. Orientated towards mission, synodality involves gathering at all levels of the Church for mutual listening, dialogue, and community discernment. It also involves reaching consensus as an expression of Christ rendering Himself present, He who is alive in the Spirit. Furthermore, it consists in reaching decisions according to differentiated co-responsibilities. Along these lines, we can understand better what it means to say that synodality is a constitutive dimension of the Church (cf. ITC 1).”[10]
Attaining the synodality is a process, and so also becoming Pauline apostles today. It presupposes three-step process:
- Listening to the realities of the world around us, beginning from the Church to the global political standards, from global humanitarian issues to ecological crisis, and from Artificial Intelligence to space research developments. Certainly, it’s not a passive listening or a diplomatic duty-fulfilling act, but rather something serious and sacred—listening to the Holy Spirit for renewal and conversion.
- The next step is Dialogue with the above listed pressing issues and drawing a pastoral programming of our apostolate at Congregational, Provincial and Regional level.
- The third and final step is Community Discernment. The Pauline apostolate is always unifying and communitarian. Our mission represents efforts of all individual members and of all sectors. Every act of Pauline evangelisation is to be a result of common, collegial and co-responsible efforts.
As we celebrate historic realities in the Church as well as in the Congregation, we stand at a crossroads of grace and challenge. The synodal and the renewal journeys are to be made as Pilgrims of Hope in the shadow of the Word of God and the Eucharist. Amidst uncertain and chaotic situations, when the journey of our life and mission confronts rough seas, and the road gets longer and tougher, our hope is in the Lord who does not disappoint us.
All that we need is the steadfastness in following Christ Jesus, just as Saint Paul the Apostle did, “So then, my dear brothers, be firm, steadfast and immovable. Improve constantly in the work of the Lord, knowing that with him your labour is not without fruit.” (1 Cor 15: 58).
Thus, we are called to a great convergence: to turn our gaze inward, as Augustine did, to discover the Beauty that has dwelt within us all along, and from that wellspring of Eucharistic grace, to turn outward with apostolic courage. The milestones we celebrate are not merely commemorations of the past but launchpads for the future. They call us to be, unequivocally, apostles of today—to listen to the cries of our world, to dialogue with its complexities, and to discern, as a community, how to proclaim the Gospel with the tools of our age.
Let us, therefore, step out of the shadow of mediocrity and into the "Night of Light" that beckons every Pauline. Let us embrace our founder’s spirit, not as a relic to be venerated, but as a fire to be rekindled—a fire that fuels our journey as Pilgrims of Hope. Anchored in the Eucharist, united with the Church, and armed with both the wisdom of our roots and the boldness of the Spirit, we can indeed put out into the deep. For our mission is not a search for a distant light, but the radiant unfolding of the Light that already burns within, calling us to set the world ablaze with the truth of Christ.
[1] Augustine, Saint. Confessions. Translated by Henry Chadwick. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Book X, Ch. 27, §38.
[2] G. Alberione, Abundantes Divitiae Gratiae Suae (AD), n.13.
[3] The Night of Light was between 31-12-1900 to 01-01-19001when James Alberione received particular light from the Eucharistic Lord during the adoration.
[4] Cf. AD n.19
[5] G. Alberione, Abundantes Divitiae Gratiae Suae (AD), n. 34.
[6] AD, n. 93.
[7] The Constitutions and Directives, Society of St Paul, article 71.
[8] G. Alberione, Abundantes Divitiae Gratiae Suae (AD), n. 15.
[9] AD, n.15
[10] Pope Francis, XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops: For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation, Mission, no. 28.
