The Power Of Faith

     It was the most unique room of its day, the "furniture" being two printing presses, a folder and a cutting machine. All the type-setting was done by hand. Somehow sheets of paper were turned into bound books. The process was slow and the finished product meager. How would they ever be able to supply the whole world with their message? Father Alberione had been thinking much about that. He spent extra time in prayer, searching for the answer that he knew would come if he had faith enough and patience enough to wait. Sometimes he meditated on the map of the world and seemed to see the anxious faces of men looking to him and saying: "Bring us Christ. Bring us Jesus as St. Paul did to the early Church."

     Mother Thecla watched with awe as the Founder seemed to reach new heights of union with God. She coined a phrase of her own. "I put faith in his faith," she would tell Jesus in the tabernacle. "Do not look at my weakness, but see only the faith of Father Alberione. He thinks of new ideas for the apostolate that I cannot imagine and yet they come true. Have patience with me, and help me to cooperate totally."

     "Our Pauline Congregation is like a river," explained Father Alberione. "A river becomes larger as it flows on because of the rain, the melting of the ice and the streams that flow into it. The waters thus gathered are then divided and channeled to irrigate the fertile plains. They will soon flow to various nations to benefit many. And then, some day the channels of water will reunite to empty into the sea of a happy eternity in God." To the sisters who listened in the tiny chapel the words were prophetic. But one phrase haunted Mother Thecla. Over and over she heard that sure voice of the Founder uttering words that made her faith shiver: "The waters will soon flow to various nations. . ." What could it mean?

     The young Congregation had already begun to grow. January 19, 1926 saw the opening of a small convent in Rome. Much prayer, much hidden sacrifices earned this big step for the first Daughters of St. Paul. Once they had hardly thought of leaving Alba, at least not for a long time, but now they would go to one Italian city after another: Cagliari, Verona, Bari, Napoli, Salermo, Treviso, Palermo, Genoa, Reggio Emilia, Eldine - and all in a span of three short years.

     God was with them. The fact became more and more obvious. But Mother Thecla guarded closely the humility of her sisters. "Sometimes we rejoice," she once said. "We say this has been done; that has been accomplished. But who did it? Our Lord did it. If there is something good, it is from God. Someone might say: You Paulines are beginning to do many things. What do we do? In the Gospel Christ said: `When you have done everything that was commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants.'

     "We must grind this basic truth into our hearts, Sisters. What are we capable of doing by ourselves? Nothing. By ourselves we can do nothing, but with God we can do everything."

     The sisters were young; youthful enthusiasm ran high. There was an eagerness to support every project and a willingness to believe the words of Father Alberione and Mother Thecla. They worked with an energy far beyond their years.

     There were so many ways to spur oneself on to new fervor. In the press room one sister called out the mysteries of the rosary and said "Hail Mary, full of grace...," while the other sisters answered, "Holy Mary, Mother of God..." Then, throughout the day, invocations rang back and forth. "Jesus, meek and humble of heart..." called one. "Make my heart like unto Thine," came the answer in chorus. But the favorite was: "O St. Paul the Apostle our patron, pray for us and for the apostolate of the editions."

     Dedication, enthusiasm - these furnish the spirit that no amount of money can buy. An army of one hundred thousand, without these ingredients, can be crushed; but a team of twenty or so, united in the love of God, can conquer the world.

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    Yes is Forever, by the Daughters of St. Paul, Copyright © 1981, Daughters of St. Paul.
Used by permission of Paulines Books & Media, 50 St. Paul's Avenue, Boston, MA 02130. All rights reserved.