Sylwia and Emily Moving to Novitiate!

Tuesday,
February 2, 2010
3:00pm to 7:00pm

Pauline Books & Media
9804 Watson Road
St. Louis, MO, 63126

Please keep us in your prayers as we begin our new journey with the Lord in Boston.

P.S. See you next Tuesday??

Meet Laura

Monday,

January 25, 2010

What is your name? Laura Ellyn Nolin

Where are you from? Newport, Vermont (a small town way up on the Canadian border)

How old are you? Just turned 30yrs old

When did you enter the Daughters of St. Paul? I arrived on Monday January 18th, 2010 and officially began postulancy on Wednesday January 20th, 2010.

Where did you go to school? I attended the University of Vermont in Burlington, Vermont. I graduated in 2002 with a Bachelor's degree in Nursing. I am a Registered Nurse and have worked at 3 different hospitals in Vermont and Massachusetts on medical-surgical floors. I particularly enjoy the surgical post-operative patients (helping patients recover from their surgeries)!

What do you like to do for fun? I REALLY enjoy music (singing, playing, listening, etc), playing games, doing puzzles, and watching sports (especially college basketball!). But most of all I love playing and spending time with my nieces and nephews!!

How did you meet the Daughters of St. Paul? As I was discerning my vocation, I chose and visited 5 communities all with different missions. The second one I visited was the Daughters of St. Paul. I attended a Come and See retreat in Chicago and felt so at home there. I loved their spirituality, joy, and strong sense of community. As I continued to visit the other communities, I found myself comparing them all to my experience with the Daughters. So I went on several other retreats with the Daughters and got to know them better and now I'm here as a postulant!

What is your favorite scripture passage?

I have 2 favorites. First is Matthew 14:17 "...do not be afraid."

The second one is Matthew 11:28 "Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest."

New Postulant!

Wednesday,
January 20:
Today, our community has been blessed with a new member - Laura Nolin from Vermont! We are so happy to welcome her among us as she begins her postulancy. This morning we had a special entrance ceremony for Laura during our community Morning Prayer. It was such a blessing to have her mom and friend with us. Look out for more info about Laura...coming soon! Meanwhile, please keep her and our growing postulant community in your prayers - thanks! We are praying for you!
P.S. O Jesus Eternal Shepherd of our souls, we give you thanks and ask you to continue to send good laborers into your harvest!

Last Sunday with Formator!

Sunday,
January 17:
This Sunday was our last Sunday to spend with Sr. Rebecca before she goes to Boston for a week of meetings. So Jackie, Sylwia, Emily, and Sr. Rebecca all went into downtown St. Louis for some sightseeing and fun. We started with Mass at St. Francis Xavier (the St. Louis University church). Next, we went to Union Station. This used to be the big train station in St. Louis, but now it is a mall. We walked around, visited a gift shop, a fudgery (where we saw a fudge-making demonstration!), and a small museum of old railroad items. Before out last stop, we went to a hotel downtown to help Sr. Emi pack up the exhibit at the Marian Conference. The hotel has a restaurant on top, so we rode the elevator up to the 28th floor and saw a great view of St. Louis -- and an excellent view of the Arch! Finally, we went to the Arch, and rode the tram all the way to the top. From 630 feet in the air, we could see everywhere in St. Louis, and across the Mississippi River into Illinois. And Jesus gave us beautiful clear weather so we could enjoy the view. After we came down, we went to Starbucks for some coffee and snacks. We all enjoyed very much our last Sunday together.

Bible Story Hour for Children

Saturday,
January 16:
We have a new event in our bookcenter this year: a Bible Story Hour for children. Our friend Ellen had the idea for this event back in the summer, and she and Sr. Emi organized everything. We held the first story hour on Saturday. Ellen read the children the story of Noah and the Ark, and then she asked them questions to help them understand the story better. Then they each made their own "ark" out of an egg carton (very creative!). Next Emily sang a song with them, and at the end they had a very appropriate snack of animal crackers. :) The children and the moms really enjoyed the event, and are already looking forward to next month's story hour. One more illustration of how our mission reaches all people of all ages!

Marian Conference

Friday,
January 15:

This weekend our community shared the Word of God with the participants of the 11th Annual St. Louis Marian Conference
(http://www.stlmarianconference.com/). When Sr. Emi and Jackie got to the hotel, they experienced God's Providence "first hand" when they got an excellent parking spot right outside the hotel entrance (Great for loading and off-loading media!) In addition, our booth was located in a very convenient spot where many conference attendees had a chance to look at the books, DVDs, and CDs we brought. Being among many conference exhibitors and participants was a remarkable experience because we got a sense of: what are people looking for? What are the "hot" issues in the Catholic faith? What media are being used to reach the people of God? Through these encounters in our apostolate the Holy Spirit enlightens us further on how to bring Jesus Way, Truth, and Life to our world. We truly do not know the impact of our mission. We will probably only meet those whose lives were changed by our mission...in heaven! It is beautiful to be God's "little" instruments as He fulfills His master plan of saving us!

P.S. How beautiful are the feet of those who bring Good News (Rom 10:15)!

Lecture by Dr. Mathews, APC

Wednesday,
January 13:
Our monthly lecture series continued this evening with Dr. Jeff Mathews, Pauline Cooperator, speaking on Pauline Spirituality. Dr. Mathews is a very dear friend of our community and a wonderfully dedicated Cooperator. He made his official promises as a Pauline Cooperator in October 2009, but he has been an evangelizing Pauline ever since he first met our community! Dr. Mathews, his mother, and two of his children joined us for supper before the talk. In his lecture, he gave a beautiful and passionate explanation of Pauline Spirituality -- we could tell that he truly lives and loves what he was speaking about. He told many stories about the beginnings of the Pauline Family, about our Founders -- and about our St. Louis community! The people appreciated both his humor and his passion. We are so blessed to know Dr. Mathews and to have people like him in the Pauline Family!
Dr. Mathews has a blog that he updates daily with pictures, information, reflections, video, and more! Check it out at http://loveofstpaul.blogspot.com/. Also, for more information on the Pauline Cooperators, visit our Cooperator website/blog at: http://paulinelaity.blogspot.com/. And you can find the Association of Pauline Cooperators on Facebook!

Children's Holy Hour in Bemus Point

Tuesday,
January 12:
Back to Bemus Point! This Tuesday evening, I (Emily) guided an Hour of Adoration for some children at my parish, St. Mary of Lourdes. These children are members of a homeschool group (the same group that I belonged to when I was in school), and they have a special time of Eucharistic Adoration once a month. We started at 5:00 p.m. with a pizza supper. Then we went to the church, and Father exposed Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. We read a Gospel story, sang a few songs, and prayed for the people in our lives who need prayers. The children seemed to enjoy it, and for me it was a very beautiful experience to be bringing them to Jesus in such a direct way. It reminded me of when Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me." To them belongs the Kingdom of Heaven!

P.S. See you back in St. Louis!

Nun Run

Saturday,
January 9:

This Saturday was an exciting time at our convent! We hosted about 20 young women from the Cape Girardeau area who were visiting different convents in St. Louis this weekend. Sisters from two other religious communities were also part of the "nun-run" program. We began a little after 10:00am with presentations from each of the sisters about their communities. The talks were geared towards enlightening the young women about various aspects of religious life: spirituality, mission, community life, vows, etc. The sisters also shared their vocation stories. There were lots of opportunities for questions and social time especially during our lunch break. We concluded our visit at about 1:00pm and thereafter our guests were off to the next convent...The "nun-run" was such a wonderful witness of the many young women listening and remaining open to Christ's "tug" on their hearts - praise God!

P.S. So, when will you be stopping by? Feel free to email or call us at: stlouis@paulinemedia.com or 314-965-6935. See you soon and know that you are in our prayers!

"No Reservations" Film Night in Bemus Point

Friday,
January 8:
I (Emily) am on vacation with my family in Bemus Point, NY, for one week. While I am here, I am helping with a couple events at my parish. On Friday, while Sylwia, Jackie, and Sr. Rebecca organized the St. Paul Movie Night in St. Louis, I and my brothers and sisters organized a Faith and Film Night here in Bemus Point. We showed the movie "No Reservations," and after we had a nice discussion and prayer (and pizza!). The young people who came especially enjoyed it. On Tuesday, I will help with another event, so keep watching the blog for pictures!

St Paul Movie Night

Friday,

January 8:

We had a great crowd for our "Paul the Apostle" movie this Friday. The movie was very captivating. We received excellent reflections and thoughts from our participants. For instance, we identified the importance of Tradition in the early Church and learned about the issues they faced in remaining faithful followers of Christ. The Acts of the Apostles basically came alive as we watched! We marveled at St. Paul's unquenchable thirst and determination to spread the Good News amidst all odds. Our concluding prayer, through the intercession of this great Apostle, was that we too may become faithful witnesses to the Gospel in our own "little" world (Prayer to St. Paul the Apostle):

St. Paul, you traveled the world, never quite knowing where the Spirit would lead you next. You journeyed in faith and accepted beatings, imprisonment, shipwreck, and ultimately execution because of your faith in Jesus Christ. Help me to accept the great adventure of leading a life faithful to the words of Jesus my Master, the Way, the Truth and the Life. May I ask myself, 'Where does God want me to go today?' On the journey, may I love in the way you taught the Corinthians (1 Cor 13), and be willing to endure all things for the sake of the Gospel. Pray with me, that I may heed the voice of the One who called you on the road to Damascus, and set you on the path that leads to life. Amen. ~ St. Paul, pray for us!

P.S. How are you proclaiming the Good News in your own "little" world?

Pogadajmy na Skypie:)

Czesc! Masz ochote porozmawiac na "zywo" i dowiedziec sie co tu u nas/u mnie slychac - zadzwon! (jestesmy 7 godzin za wami)
wyszukaj: sylwia_skonieczna
P.S. piccola_gemma - masz Skypa? Zadzwon:)

Join us for St. Paul Movie Night!

Friday,
January 8:

Who? The Daughters of St. Paul invite you…

What? To watch a drama of the life of Paul the Apostle

When? On Friday, January 8, at 6:00 p.m.

Where? At Pauline Books and Media, 9804 Watson Road, St. Louis, MO 63126

Questions? Call 314-965-3512

P.S. Pizza and popcorn provided!

Vocation Talk at St. Simon

Monday,

January 4:

We began our week with sharing the "two-minute" versions of our vocation stories with some young people who attended religion class at St. Simon's. Sr. Rebecca began with a talk on religious life and then Sylwia, Jackie and another priest gave brief descriptions of their vocational journey. The students were then separated into two groups. The young men met with the priest to discuss the vocation to the priesthood. The young women joined us in another session where we shared information about our Pauline life and mission. We used a clip on our sisters in concert (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TAIwev3Qnk4) and vocation video to introduce the young women to different aspects of our life and experiences of the sisters. We also shared pictures on our blog and other vocational materials. The young women asked questions about our day-to-day life, habit, and community experiences. It was so beautiful to see how God calls us from all walks of life to love and serve Him!

P.S. What's the "two-minute" version of your vocation story?

Monthly Retreat

Sunday,

January 3:

Our retreat Sunday this month was also the Epiphany of our Lord. We attended mass at St. Pius V Catholic church (www.stpiusv.org). The church has a vibrant Immigrant and Refugee ministry supported by the diocese. This Sunday, the liturgy was colored with the participation of different cultures in the liturgy: mass readings, prayers of the faithful and liturgical music in different languages as well as procession for the cultural offertory gifts. The liturgical celebration certainly helped us reflect on how the Magi traveled from afar to bring their gifts to the new born King! Renewed at the mass, we entered into a time of silent retreat and meditation for the rest of the day. In the evening, we concluded our retreat with adoration of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. It was nice to take some time to plan the new year with Jesus...and listen to His plans for us!

P.S. You are in our prayers...please keep us in yours :-)

Pauline Vocation Day

Saturday,

January 2:

Our first vocation day this year was a blast! We had three young women visiting us - one of them was just shopping at our book center and decided that she wanted to stay! Our topic this month was "Community life: What does community life mean? What is it like to live in community" And we had lots to share! We began with lunch in our refectory where we got to learn more about each other. Our young women helped us clean up afterwards. Next we went to our postulant study room for a talk and sharing on community life facilitated by Sr. Rebecca, our formator. We had a stimulating discussion on the meaning of community life from our Pauline constitutions and Religious Life in general. Our discussion led us to explore some deeper discernment questions which was nice. After a brief break, we concluded our day with Eucharistic adoration in our convent chapel. What a grace-filled day!

P.S. When will you be coming to visit us? We are looking forward to sharing our life with you...

New Year's Eve/Sylwester Party

Thursday,
December 31:
On the last day of 2009, we were filled with much joy and thanksgiving! After our evening prayer together, we jumped right into dinner and dancing. Our refectory was filled with much laughter and fun: we put on some Mardi Gras beads, did the electric slide, danced to some Kenyan beats, and even learned how to do the "Cotton Eye Joe" (at least the simplest version!). Basically, we moved every joint we could :-) God has been good to us this year and we were happy to share in His Love for us together.
P.S. How did you celebrate your last day of 2009?

Happy New Year!

Friday,
January 1:
Happy New Year 2010! We brought in the New Year in a very special way. The whole community went to Fr. Dempsey's Home in St. Louis (a place that offers rooms to homeless men, run by a friend of our community). On New Year's Day, they prepare a hot meal for the residents and for many other homeless people. We went to Mass there and then helped to prepare the meal. It was really impressive to be with the people, to see how much they are going through, and to be able to serve them in some small way. It was a beautiful way to begin the new year. We are praying that your New Year is blessed!