I was introduced to the Servant of God Teresa Merlo (1894-1964) when I was first discerning my vocation to religious life. Although she became the Co-foundress of the Daughters of St. Paul, initially her fragile health prevented her from pursuing her dream to become a sister. When she was 22, she met Blessed James Alberione, who invited her to help him with a new congregation of women who would evangelize with the media. Teresa Merlo eventually took the name “Thecla,” and she became the Co-fou...

The Vatican released today its customary Message of the Pope for World Communications Day. We celebrate World Communications Day this year on Sunday, June 1, 2014. The message—which contains the pope’s annual teaching on how to inhabit the world of communications with faith—is always released on the Memorial of St. Francis de Sales, January 23rd. This allows us time each year to reflect on the words of the Pope and incorporate them into our lives.  Here’s a few ...

Not so surprisingly one of the greatest desires of people today is to know how to pray, to find silence for prayer, to pray silently. The other day I read an article about the extinction of "downtime." Someone else said that to survive in a career today you needed to get up "insanely early," it was the only time you could have to yourself, to think, to plan, to be. A growing number of us are longing for depth in a superficial society and for silence in a connected world  overrun by wor...

Planning a trip to Washington, D.C., Boston, New York City or Baltimore? Major cities offer so much to see and do—how do you decide what sites to visit? Pauline Books & Media takes the guesswork out of your travel and points you toward our rich American Catholic history. The new Catholic Tour apps offer valuable insight into people and places that will enhance your travel experience  while providing faith enrichment along the way.  Did you know? A gift of a commemorative...

Did you start off 2014 by making some new year’s resolutions? If so, that’s great, and by all means keep it up. But if not, don’t let that become a reason to beat yourself up. Instead, think about how you’ve actually made positive changes in your life. All of us have improved in some area at some time in our lives. Usually we do that when we have enough motivation. As a rule, we don’t change because we made resolutions but because we have to respond to the demands o...

As I’m writing this letter to you, a procession of cars carrying mourners is leaving the funeral home across the street from the coffee shop where I sit. A job interview is being conducted at the table next to mine. The candidate for the job is anxiously enumerating her past accomplishments, repeating too many times that she can "make it happen" and won’t be "a flash in the pan." I watch the people walking quickly down the sidewalk, bundled against the cold, carrying their secre...

An “inventory” of sorts has recently been re-shared over 6,700 times on Facebook: “Fill an empty jar with notes about good things that happen. Then on New Year’s Eve…see what awesome stuff happened this year.” One of our sisters said that her cousin and husband did that in 2013 and accumulated a box worth. As we begin 2014, we here at Pauline Books & Media want to tell you that you’re in our box! Any particular reason? Well, for starters, in th...

God reveals himself to the humble under the most lowly of forms, but the proud, who fix their gaze entirely on that which is extrinsic, never discover him hidden beneath and are sent away empty.