Formation Classes

Wednesday, May 26, 2010:

Today Jackie and Laura had their last official formation class for the semester. In addition to the class we took on Liturgy and the Sacraments through the Paul VI Pontifical Institute (www.archstl.org/paul6), we were also having classes here in the convent twice a week with Sr. Rebecca. We read various articles and excerpts from books on topics such as prayer and God's mercy. But most importantly, we read from the writings of the founder of the Daughters of St. Paul and the whole Pauline family, Blessed James Alberione (http://www.pauline.org/). We have been learning the Pauline practices of piety which include our morning meditation, the Mass and the Eucharist, our daily Visit (hour of Adoration), and the examen of consciousness. These various practices are all helpful for spiritual growth and growth in holiness. Studying these areas have also helped us grow in our prayer life. We are looking forward to finding out what our classes in the fall will be!

What have you been doing to learn more about your faith?

Pentecost Sunday!

Sunday,May 23, 2010:

Our Pentecost Sunday was both grace-filled and relaxing! We participated in a beautiful liturgy at St. Angela Merici in Florissant (http://www.stangelam.org/). We were reminded of how powerfully the Holy Spirit is at work not only in charismatic ways but also in subtle ways in our lives. Thereafter, we spent a relaxing day at Grant’s Farm (http://www.grantsfarm.com/). It was good to be in the woods and see so much greenery. Grant’s Farm is operated by Anheuser-Busch, one of the leading producers of beer in the world. The first stop when we arrived at the farm was to see the Clydesdales, the famous horses that were used to transport beer to different locations. The horses are strong, very well trained, and simply beautiful. We then took a trolley through the farm and saw several wild animals: zebra, elephants, kangaroos, camels, goats, owls, parrots, among many others. Thanks be to God for all His creation! We truly had a blessed Pentecost...we hope you did too :-)

How have you experienced the work of the Holy Spirit in your life?

Papal Honor of Knight Commander with Star...

Have you heard of the Knight Commander with Star of the Pontifical Equestrian Order of St. Gregory the Great (www.chivalricorders.org/vatican/gregory.htm)? Well, about a month ago, we were invited to celebrate a great Papal honor bestowed on Dave Mueckl, a friend of our community. On April 25, 2010, Dave (now Sir David Mueckl) was installed as a Knight Commander with Star of the Pontifical Equestrian Order of Saint Gregory the Great. The installation into the order took place at St. Raymond’s Maronite Cathedral (www.straymonds.net). The mass was celebrated by Archbishop Carlson of St. Louis. Several bishops and clergy were present. Thereafter, all who came to the ceremony were invited to enjoy a wonderful dinner at The Cedars (www.cedarsstl.net). Dave has served in the Vatican for several years. Through this honor, it was truly beautiful to see how God calls each one of us to be the ‘very best we can be’ in our love and service of the Lord in Holy Mother Church – what a calling!

P.S. How has God called you to defend the Catholic Faith?

St. Paul in Our Day...

Ever wondered what it would be like to be St. Paul today? A couple of weeks ago, one of our sisters from the Daughters of St. Paul in the Korean Province (http://www.fsp.or.kr/ and http://www.pauline.or.kr/) arrived in the US for a great mission. Sr. Gemma and another sister will be visiting the Korean Catholics in various parishes in the US, Canada and some countries in South America. We spent a wonderful evening with Sr. Gemma during her 5-day visit with us. She gave us a beautiful presentation that showed the 3 to 4 year detailed ministry and planned visits to the Korean Catholic Communities. It was truly fascinating to see the map of the 100+ visits they will make over the years! Just like St. Paul, they will be visiting the communities to give retreats, talks and share various media to strengthen the faith of our Korean brothers and sisters. Please keep their great mission in your prayers. St. Paul, our father and apostle of Jesus Christ, pray for us!

P.S. What kinds of things are you doing to support the spread of the Gospel?

Take me out to the ball game!!

Tuesday, May 18, 2010:

Sr. Rebecca, Sr. Noel, Jackie and Laura all went to a St. Louis Cardinals baseball game tonight!! We had so much fun! It was Jackie's first Major League Baseball game, the Cardinals versus the Washington Nationals. And it was the first time for all of us to be in their new stadium, Busch Stadium. We had wonderful seats, right behind the Nationals dugout on the third base side of the field. Sr. Rebecca brought her glove in case any stray foul balls came our way, Laura was hoping to catch one, but none came unfortunately! We saw 3 homeruns (2 hit by the Cardinals and 1 hit by the Nationals). The Cardinals won 3-2 which was great, we went home happy fans. A friend of our community was very generous is giving us these tickets. So, a big thank you goes out to him for his thoughtfulness and generosity.

For what have you been thankful or appreciative of today?

Welcome to Our St. Paul Summer Program!

Who: The Daughters of St. Paul are inviting young women ages 14-18yrs old

What: St. Paul Summer Program

When: June 24th-30th, 2010

Where: Daughters of St. Paul Motherhouse in Boston, MA

Interested in learning more about become a religious Sister, growing in your relationship with Jesus, and serving others? Come to our Motherhouse for a week to learn more about the Daughters of St. Paul-missionary sisters who share Jesus with the world through the media!

Please see the flyer or contact Sr. Margaret Michael (617-435-1879) for more information.

How are you going to grow closer to God during the summer?

Class on Liturgy and Sacraments

Thursday, April 29, 2010:


Jackie and Laura took a class this semester on Liturgy and the Sacraments at the Rigali Center (http://www.archstl.org/) here in St. Louis. The class was given through the Paul VI Institute (www.archstl.org/paul6). Fr. Tom Keller, pastor of St. Angela Merici Parish in Florissant, MO (http://www.stangelam.org/) was our teacher. He was a great teacher and was so knowledgeable on the subjects of Liturgy and the Sacraments. We had class once a week, on Thursday night, for about 12 weeks. We learned so much about the history of the church, the Jewish people, and the foundations for each of the Sacraments. There were about 20-25 people in the class from all different backgrounds - some are teachers at Catholic schools, some are PSR teachers, some were there to learn more about the Sacraments and Liturgy, and there were also some other Religious Sisters. We had a great semester and are anxious to find out what classes we'll be taking in the fall. And we just got our grades in the mail yesterday and found out we both passed with flying colors!!

What have you been doing lately to learn more about your faith?

Parish Exhibits in Jerseyville, IL!

Saturday, May 1 - Sunday, May 2, 2010:

On Saturday, we had several volunteers from St. Francis and Holy Ghost Churches assist us with the book fairs since we could not make it up there that day. We got to meet the parishioners at the two Churches on Sunday during the book exhibits. Sr. Emi and Laura went to the Holy Ghost parish. Sr. Emi had an opportunity to introduce our sisters to the congregation after Communion and share our media with them. There were several parishioners who stopped by our exhibit set up after mass which was great! Sr. Rebecca and Jackie were stationed in the St. Francis Church. During mass, Sr. Rebecca also talked briefly and shared some media titles with the parishioners. Several people stopped by our exhibit set up outside the Church. We also had some people who were driving by the Church stop by the exhibit! In the afternoon, we attended the St. Francis Church mother-daughter banquet along with some of the parishioners. We were happy to have yet another opportunity to meet many people in the town. They too enjoyed looking through our media which we had set up in the school gym! We all had a lot of fun. Overall, the parish priests and people were very welcoming, generous, and very much open to having us back! What a blessed weekend :-)

P.S. St. Paul, pray for us and all who we met in Jerseyville this weekend!

J-Club Book Fair and Vocation Talks in Jerseyville, IL!

Friday, April 30, 2010:

This weekend was busy with our apostolic trip to Jerseyville, IL. On Friday morning, we woke up early to set up J-club book fairs (www.jclubcatholic.com) at St. Francis/Holy Ghost Catholic School campuses (http://www.sfhg.org/). Sr. Emi and Laura did the book fair at Holy Ghost campus while Sr. Rebecca and Jackie went to the St. Francis campus. Holy Ghost school has grades K-4. Sr. Emi went to each of the grades and gave a vocation talk, explained who the Daughters of St.Paul are, and told them about our mission. She taught the students a song from one of our children's CD's called "God, Butterflies, & Miracles" (www.pauline.org). They had a great time learning the hand motions and singing along! Laura helped with the book fair, explaining to the kids how the book fair works and showing them some of the special books we have to help them learn more about God and their Faith. Sr. Rebecca and Jackie gave a vocation talk and book fair to the 5th through 8th graders at St. Francis School. They began with a vocation talk in St. Francis Church after the morning mass using a media presentation on God’s love. They also shared their vocation stories and answered questions on religious life. Thereafter, the students stopped by the book fair located in a building adjacent to the Church. Sr. Rebecca and Jackie particularly enjoyed having lunch with the kids and spending time with them in recess! Overall, the students TOTALLY enjoyed having nuns in their school, learning about sisters as well as looking at all of the books (they quickly found some books they'd like to have as their own!). All the teachers and students were so friendly and helpful. We met so many nice people!

P.S. Have you had nuns visit your school lately??

Vocation Talk at Our Convent!

Thursday April 29, 2010:

Today was a special day at our convent. We had 16 seventh grade young women visiting us from St. Mark's Catholic School (http://www.stmarkstl.com/). We began our day together at about 9:00am with a presentation on vocations and the call to religious life by Sr. Emi Magnificat along with some input from Sr. Rebecca. Sr. Emi showed the young women the movie trailer for our Founder, Blessed James Alberione (http://www.alberionefilm.com/) along with other media. The girls were happy to ask lots of questions about our life. Laura and Jackie also got a chance to share their vocation stories with the seventh graders. After some refreshments, we gave a tour of our convent which included our refectory, postulant study area and book center. The girls were particularly enthused by our trip to the different floors using the elevator! At about 11:00am, the pastor of St. Mark's, Fr. Pastorius, celebrated Mass in our convent chapel with the group. We concluded our visit with the girls by giving each a package of our vocational flyers and bookmarks. We were grateful for the time spent with them. The girls were certainly happy to get an "inside look" into our life!

P.S. You are all in our prayers and do come again!