Sister Donald-Maria Lynch, provincial superior of the Daugheters of St Paul, Boston, welcomes the new cooperators, Lyn Ziadie and Terry Salaga. (Photo courtesy of Stephen Ziadie)
By Stephen Ziadie
Special to the Herald
Two Oahu laywomen professed their solemn promises as Pauline Cooperators, members of the Pauline Family that include the Society of St. Paul and the Daughters of St Paul, during the noon Pentecost Sunday Mass, June 5, at the Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of Peace in downtown Honolulu.
They are Lyn Ziadie of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish in Waikane, and Terry Salaga of Sts. Peter and Paul Parish near Ala Moana. They made their promises a few weeks before the Daughters of St. Paul closed their Pauline Books and Media Center on Bishop Street and permanently left the islands.
As lay members of the Pauline Family, the cooperators participate in its work of evangelization through prayer, eucharistic adoration, works, and the offerings of their entire lives. Following the Pauline charism, cooperators strive to do the following:
Attain holiness by following Jesus, under the gaze of Mary, Queen of Apostles
Read, meditate and live the Gospel so as to imitate Christ
Draw life from the Eucharist and demonstrate profound love for the church
Bring the Word of Life and truth of the Gospel to everyone they encounter, using the instruments of language and all modes of written, aural, oral, visual and electronic communications
Like St. Paul, live in intimate union with Christ and confront life’s problems and sacrifices of the Pauline mission with courage and hope
In making her promise, Ziadie asked God to witness her desire to follow the spirit of St. Paul and the Pauline Family. She committed her mind, will, heart and strength toward the announcement of the Gospel through means of communications, for the greater holiness of herself as well as for her brothers and sisters in Christ.
Salaga professed to follow Christ under the guidance of St. Paul and Mary, Queen of the Apostles. She thanked God for the many blessings bestowed upon her and affirmed to use the Pauline charism to evangelize through social media, and to witness, through love and devotion, the act of bringing Christ to the world.
Ziadie explained what attracted her to the Pauline Cooperators mission: “the charism of living in Jesus Christ, and the importance of spending time with the Blessed Sacrament.”
“In addition,” she said, “I’m inspired by St. Paul’s zeal in sharing Jesus with others. I pray that I can also live out my own mission according to God’s will so that in the end, I will have cooperated fully in God’s plan for me.”
Salaga, in her Pauline statement, said, “It was the Mother Mary and St. Paul who led me to endless encounters with Christ through so many people who I’ve had the privilege to meet and have come to love so much.”
“From the Pauline sisters, the Pauline cooperators, the many aunties and uncles who are servant leaders in different parishes in our Catholic community and especially to my friends in our young adult group at Sts. Peter and Paul, I just want to say that you are all my answered prayers,” she said.
After both women made their promises, Sister Donald-Maria Lynch, the provincial superior of the Daughters of St. Paul in Boston, presented each with a New Testament and the Pauline symbols of the order.
The Pauline Family “is proud of both Lyn and Terry and wish them great success and happiness as well as God’s blessings as they continue the mission of evangelization under the guidance of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Mary Queen of Apostles, and St. Paul.”
The Paulines were founded by Blessed Father James Alberione to realize his vision of a new evangelization using modern tools of social communication.
For information about becoming a Pauline Cooperator, contact the Daughters of St. Paul at connect.pauline.org.
