Celebrating Good Old Times :-)

Hello everyone!

I know it may seem like I've been MIA since I haven't posted on the blog lately, sorry about that! But have no fear, I've been keeping myself busy. These days, I've been busy packing boxes for my move to Boston where I'll be entering the novitiate, the next step in the formation process. My parting from St. Louis will definitely be bittersweet. I'm very excited to begin the next step in this journey that I feel God is calling me to. I'm curious about what it'll be like to live at our Motherhouse, to see what the classes will be like, and I'm happy to be closer to home where my family and friends are. However there's a lot I'm going to miss about St. Louis. It's such a great city, I really do love it here. The people are so friendly! It's wonderful having the seminary so close and there are so many wonderful priests here in the Archdiocese (http://www.archstl.org/). I've had so many great experiences and have learned a lot during my time here. Thank you all so much, both St. Louisans and our blog readers, for all your prayers and support. It is truly appreciated. Please continue to remember me in your prayers as I take this next step and know that you'll remain in my prayers as well :)

God Bless you :)
Laura.

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Greetings y'all!

Words aren't enough to express the gratitude that fills my heart for the grande time that I've had with you all while in St Louis. Of course, you have been a BIG part of it, and I want to say - thank you! From the sisters in our community to the people we serve here in St. Louis, I have received blessing upon blessing and graces galore to grow, stretch and leap in my vocation and call to follow Jesus more closely in the Pauline way. Thank you for your love, prayers, encouragement and support in my journey here. As I move forward to the novitiate, I carry you all in my heart and prayers. I believe we will meet again (obviously, because its such a small world these days!). Please pray for me too and who knows, we may make "guest appearances" on the blog in the future :-)

God bless you!
Love and prayers,
Jackie.

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Farewell Drop-in for Laura and Jackie

With goodbyes comes a time to give thanks for the friendships we have built and blessings we have received during our time here in St. Louis. This Thursday, June 23, between 4pm and 8pm, we will be having a little "farewell drop-in" for all who have been part of our journey. For those in the St. Louis area, hope you can make it on Thursday!

For y'all out there, thank you for who you are and all you have been to us!

God bless you,
Laura and Jackie.

PS. We will be posting our more elaborate thank you notes soon...so stay tuned :-)

Time for Goodbyes...

Summer is a time of transition for many people and the Daughters of St. Paul are no exception.

Our Postulancy program in St. Louis is a time for the women in formation to discern even more if God is calling them, to be a consecrated religious as a Daughter of St. Paul. Laura, Jackie, Erin, Theresa and Cheryl have lived this time of Postulancy in deep discernment with our community through prayer, classes, living in community and by experiencing our mission of evangelization.

After being with us this past year, Erin has come to the decision to withdraw from our postulancy program. Erin said that she still feels God calling her to give her entire life to Him, but in a different way that she is still discovering. The day before Erin departed was the Feast of Pentecost. We had a fun day together going on a picnic after Mass and later that afternoon we made an Hour of Adoration together with all the Sisters. In the evening we prayed with and for Erin, celebrating her life and the many ways that she has enriched us and blessed us. And we shed a few tears in the process. This past year we created bonds of friendship and these bonds will continue. Erin said that she has received so much this year and is so grateful to have been here. Please keep Erin in your prayers as she continues following God’s call in her life.

We also have great news to share from Jackie and Laura. Both of them have been admitted to Novitiate. That is really great news!—but it means more goodbyes. In our great joy and excitement, Theresa, Cheryl and I will also miss them very much as they move to our Mother House and Novitiate in Boston this summer.

Now I’ll have Laura and Jackie have a few words...

God bless you,
Sr. Rebecca

Back from vacation

It's been a week since I got back from vacation. And the first thing I did the next day was to sort through my pictures while waiting for the other postulants to arrive. So here they are. :)

It was wonderful to visit with family and friends and our Sisters from Chicago and Toronto. I would not have managed to see everyone I was able to visit without God's providence. I also felt your prayers for me and for all of us. Even the weather cooperated so well. The rain held up at all times when it would have been impossible and miserable for my family to travel where we planned to be. Needless to say, there were some very rainy days but those days were when the plants needed them more. ;-)

What was really special about this vacation is the awareness that Jesus has been giving me of His presence in each person. This has been recurring in the past 8+ months that I have lived in the convent and I can only hope that my eyes and my heart remain open to this truth...

"... I am with you ..."

These words are in every chapel of the Daughters of St. Paul around the world, and if I'm not mistaken, in every community of the Pauline family.

Now that I'm "slowly" getting back into the swing of things in the convent, I truly feel renewed and also challenged in a deeper way. This morning, we had our weekly shared meditation where we meditate on today's Gospel and share out loud the word or phrase that struck us and a bit of our reflection. What a blessing to be enriched by each others' reflection!

Love your enemies. It is what I find the hardest to follow out of Jesus' teachings as many Christians do. But it is also one of the things that define us as Christians. And so I pray for the grace of the Holy Spirit to be poured upon us and upon you (our readers), to grow in Christ's love, to see through the eyes of our heavenly Father, so that we may truly be children of God and that we may be perfect as He is perfect.

Peace,

Cheryl

We're back...and check this out!

Hello there!! We're back from vacation and rolling into our "regular" routine for a time (we'll be heading out to our Mother house in Boston for our summer experience at the end of the month!). Meanwhile, check this fabulous video on why we wear the habit. One of our sisters, Sr. Margaret blogged about "The Habit for Sharing the Gospel" on our mission development blog: http://www.paulinefaithways.blogspot.com/. Many people have all sorts of reactions when they see sisters in the habit (as you will see from the video). The most impressive though for me is the tremendous witness it gives to people. It reminds them of God and perhaps steers them slightly to think of Him or return to Him if they have been far away...how cool is that!!



God bless you,
Jackie.