Media Nuns go to the National Catholic Youth Conference!

Hello, again everyone.

We have been busy over the past couple of months, and thought we'd share a little of what we've been up to. 

A major event that took up quite a bit of our time was preparing to attend the National Catholic Youth Conference (NCYC) in Indianapolis. Two of us (Julie and Danielle), along with Sr. Rebecca and Sr. Laura got to attend as vocational witnesses. We were so excited for this opportunity, that we made a video so that people would know that we were coming!

We had a ton of fun making it, as you can probably tell. We took those "Special" stickers with us, along with some other goodies, and got involved in the NCYC tradition of "trading" items.

Another fun project we did in preparation for the convention was to create some amazingly awesome cardboard cutouts. Danielle and Putri got Sr. Laura and Sr. Rebecca (and a statue of St. Paul) to pose for some photos. After a few hours of editing, some confusion at the print shop, and a case of X-Acto knife blades, we finally had our finished product:

Putri and Julie try out the new cutouts.

Everyone wants to hang out with St. Paul!

Julie peers over the cardboard
in the back seat of the van.

Then, it was time to head out. Of course, we didn't quite realize how much of the car these things would take up, so conversation in the backseat was a little...strained. 

It didn't take too long, though, and we were there!

It was a blast, hanging out with 23,000 excited teenagers, 13 bishops, over 300 priests, and who-knows-how-many seminarians, nuns and religious brothers.


Sr. Rebecca and Sr. Laura got to spend time with young people discussing discernment and religious life, and Julie and Danielle got to spend time passing out Special stickers, checking out the booths, and even answering questions on a Q&A panel for young girls open to religious life.

Danielle, Sr. Laura, Julie, Sr. Rose, and Sr. Rebecca
Srs Laura and Rebecca are wearing the Vocations Team shirts.

We ran into Sr. Rose, who was there to give a couple of workshops on Jesus on the Silver Screen. Several kids came to find us afterward and told us how awesome her presentation was. Yay, Sr. Rose!










When we weren't assigned a place to be, we took our cardboard cut outs to a busy place in the hall, and let people go nuts. It was so much fun to see people's reactions. Some of our favorite responses were from parents: as one girl posed in the tall stand-up with the tech symbols and Media Nuns hashtag on it, her mom exclaimed, "Oh, look! My girl's a Media Nun! I'm so proud!" Ha!

While we were there, some of our peeps back home were doing long-distance support work:

And we may have spent some time with a VIP.

In all, it was a blessed, fun, awesome, and exhausting experience! Have you ever been to NCYC or a similar convention? What was your favorite part?

Second-year-ness...

3…2…1… It’s official. 

Carly and I are officially second-year postulants.

Well, yeah, maybe I have been in a little bit of denial seeing as how we’ve been living as second year postulants for….let’s see….oh, a month and a half or so, but according to my brain we are now official “second years”. (Yes, being referred to as a “second year” makes me think about Hogwarts too…)

Okay, I have two reasons. So here’s why:

First reason: Yesterday, Carly and I celebrated our one-year anniversary of being official postulants. One year ago, September 21^st 2011 we were officially entered the postulancy program of the Daughters of St. Paul. 

Carly, me and Sandy right after we entered Postulancy (9-21-11)

My second and most exciting reason is that our second year postulants entered the Novitiate yesterday!!! YAY! So now we have Sr. Theresa, Sr. Cheryl, Sr. Julia and Sr. Sandy! (Pray for them!)

Novitiate Group!
(L to R: Sr. Carmen Christi [She's the Novice Formator],
Sr. Jackie, Sr. Cheryl, Sr. Theresa, {Mary Queen of Apostles}
Sr. Sandy, Sr. Julia, and Sr. Laura!) 

Second-Year Postulants 2012-13
(Carly, Sr. Rebecca, and Me) 

So, now, officially, I feel totally solidified in my second-year-ness.

Pray for us!

~Chelsea 

Hello and Goodbye

It’s been a while since we posted an update to our blog. We’ve spent an incredibly busy and amazing six weeks here in Boston during our summer experience at the provincial house.

What exactly have we been doing here? 

In addition to living and praying with our larger Boston community, the five of us (Cheryl, Theresa, Carly, Chelsea, and I) have been working in various departments of our apostolate: video, marketing, editorial, and digital.  In June we welcomed young adults who are discerning with our community and more than twenty high school girls who participated in our St. Paul Summer Program.   On July 7th, we had the joy of witnessing Boston native Sr. Marlyn Evangelina’s perpetual profession.   In addition, both Carly and Chelsea celebrated their birthdays here in Boston.   Sr. Margaret Joseph recently interviewed Carly and me for her Pauline Faithways blog and very graciously recapped our Los Angeles experience.    To top it off, we’ve crossed paths just about daily with many of our sisters from our smaller local communities who are visiting here or passing through Boston for their annual retreats.  As you can see, there’s never a dull moment around here!

Cheryl, Sandy, and Theresa

Julia

This summer also has been a time of transition for our postulant community. A few weeks ago, Theresa, Cheryl, and I learned we’ve been admitted to the novitiate which will begin for us here in September. Joining us will be Julia, a postulant from our Mexican province, who will also complete her novitiate in Boston. The two year novitiate is a more intense time of prayer, study, community life, and mission. 



While we “pre-novices” are excited to be moving on to this new stage in formation, it has also meant saying goodbye to our friends in St. Louis and to the postulant community.   Chelsea and Carly are beginning their second year in formation as postulants and returned to St. Louis earlier this week.   Sr. Rebecca, our postulant formator, will join them after directing a retreat for some of our sisters.

As I reflected on the past year, it occurred to me that many of our bonding moments as a postulant community have occurred in the kitchen (e.g., Postulant Surprise). So, it’s not a shock that one of our last recreation nights together resembled a bake-a-thon. We divided into two teams to make lemon bars (one of my favorites) and coconut-lime banana bread, which was a huge hit thanks to the recipe provided by our good friend, Erin.

Coconut-lime banana bread!

We've joked over the past year about the personality differences in our group and how these affect many aspects of our lives, including our culinary efforts.  Some of us measure ingredients with extreme precision (yes, that would be me).  Others throw in “a little of this, a little of that.”  At the end of the day, despite our contrasting approaches, we’ve made some magnificent, though unusual, dishes together, if I do say so myself: Birthday Supreme, the aforementioned Postulant Surprise, and our Lemon Trifecta (chicken piccata and lemon pasta with lemon bars for dessert), to name a few. 

"The A Team" preparing to make lemon bars

Our cooking adventures mirror the journey we’ve made as a postulant community.   We’ve challenged each other over the past year—both in and out of the kitchen—and helped each other grow in ways none of us expected.  While we’ll miss each other, we know this goodbye is not forever.  We look forward to rejoining each other next summer as the new novices enter.  Until then, we'll swap recipes on Pinterest and continue to grow in ways both culinary and spiritual!

-Sandy

Carly, Sandy, and Chelsea

In that country they call Texas...

The Texan Postulant Community

Last week, Carly, Sandy and I became honorary Texans! (Sister Rebecca is already a native Texan, so she just got to reclaim her identity...)

Two weeks ago The first-year postulants and Sister Rebecca pulled out of our driveway at 4am to begin our 16-hour journey to Texas! Thankfully Sister Rebecca, our fearless leader, graciously took the first driving shift. (Because Lord knows that if I had the 4am shift, we might have ended up in Canada instead of Texas!) Thus began our 10-day apostolic trip at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas.

Welcome to Aggie Land!

Why in the world were we in Texas???

At Texas A&M we met up with all 8 of our regional vocation directors from US and English-speaking Canada, for updating and collaboration.

What did we do?

We spent most of our days in meetings, but when we had pockets of free time we got to hang out with the college students at St. Mary’s Student Center on campus. It was such a blessing to meet so many young people on fire with their faith and in love with the Lord.

Even though we were in meetings most of the day, our evenings were choc-full of activities! Almost every evening one of the sisters was giving a talk on campus. On Tuesday evening, the postulants even gave a talk… (I know, scary, right!?) We were able to share some of our vocational journey with the students and gave them time to ask questions. It was such a beautiful and grace-filled evening.

Playing black-light minigolf!

Speaking of evening activities, we even played laser tag with the students one evening! (And yes, believe it or not, this WAS the NUNS’ IDEA!). During the game, two of the postulants, (who shall remain anonymous) received the titles of “most accurate player” and “highest scoring player”. I think some students were taken by surprise. Those who didn’t participate in the laser tag extravaganza, played black-light minigolf. It was a super fun night filled with a lot of joy and laughter!

Just hanging out with the "Pope"
 at the Student Center

At the end of our trip, we had the opportunity to bring our materials to three local parishes to provide book and media exhibits for the parishioners. After every Mass, I was told countless times that they would be praying for all of the postulants (AND the sisters!) especially this Lent. I was just so impressed by how genuinely warm and friendly these people are…never have I been hugged by so many strangers! It was such a beautiful example of faith filled community and it was so encouraging to be able to visit with these people.

This time we spent in Texas was so wonderful. It was such a fantastic experience, filled with a lot of joy and “Howdy’s”. 

We hope that we’ll make it back to Texas soon!

God Bless! 

-Chelsea 

Gig 'em!

I'm definitely not on the Eastcoast anymore...

"Chelsea...you need to get up... there's a tornado siren."

Groggily, I rolled over to see Carly's face peeking through my doorframe. I glanced at my clock as I sat up, now acutely aware of the shrill cry of the siren and the hail pelting against my window pane.

My clock glowed brightly: 2:45 AM

I looked back at Carly. "Sooo...what do we do?"
Also being a native of the East Coast, neither of us had ever experienced a tornado before. She looked back at me with a blank stare. "Umm.....I don't really know..."

So I rolled out of bed, threw on a sweatshirt and moccasins, and grabbed my phone as Carly went to go make sure everyone else was awake.

All the postulants congregated in the hallway, everyone half-asleep and slightly freaked out. Quickly we decided that the best plan of action was to head down to the basement. With the wind howling at the corners of the convent and the hail beating the side of the building, we made a quick descent down the back stairwell. Halfway down the stairs, the sirens stopped.
We all froze.
Someone broke the tense silence,"Is it over?"

After lingering a few more moments to listen, half of us decided it would be best to continue to the basement, and half of us decided to head back to bed, but keep an ear out for the weather.
I was part of the group that continued down to the basement.

Once we got to the study in the basement, we flipped on the tv and watched the images of swirling clouds flash on the screen accompanied by a man's calm voice. It seemed like such a contradiction; the whirling, chaotic, screaming winds overlaid by an meteorologist's annoyingly calm voice announcing a play-by-play of the tornado's actions.

I sat with the two other postulants who also trekked down the basement and watched and listened.
As I sat, I knew we weren't going to die because of this tornado...but I realized that if I was going to die somewhere, I was happy with where I was. Our life might not be glamorous or glitzy, but it is beautiful and full of so many graces. Everyday, I thank God for having called me here. That's not to say that this life doesn't have it's challenges and trials, but it's through those trying times that we learn to grow and trust so much more. I am happy where He has placed me and there's no where else I'd rather be...

It's amazing what a tornado at obscene hours of the morning can show you! :)

However, I would prefer to reflect on my life a little later in the day and without the blaring of tornado sirens... ;)


Have a blessed day!
-Chelsea

Introducing Chelsea!

Hello friends! As a brand-new postulant, I was asked to introduce myself to you. Sooooo here we go:

My name is Chelsea Moxley-Davis. I officially entered the Postulancy of the Daughters of St Paul on September 21, 2011.

As a native “Maryland-er”, I’ve lived in Mount Airy, Maryland my whole life. (Which is about an hour North of Washington DC.)

I just turned 20 in July… and I’m the oldest of 6 kids. Which is ironic, because I’ve been the “Big Sister” my ENTIRE life, and now I’m very much the “Little Sister” here at the convent. (Talk about role reversal!) My siblings range from 7 to 18, and we often get asked if we’re the Brady Bunch because we’re three girls and three boys! :)

I was Homeschooled from pre-K to 10^th grade. Then I went to Sacred Heart Tutorials for a year, where I combined 11^th and 12^th grade. I graduated high school in 2008.  I then studied at Frederick Community College for 2 and a half years.  

I guess you could say my “professional job” before I entered was “full-time college student”. Besides that, I was also a part-time nanny for two families and a piano teacher with 9 students.

In my free time, I like to listen to music, or read, or play around with electronic equipment…. :) If you can’t find me, you’ll usually be able to find me with my guitar or at the piano, OR just stop and listen, and you’ll be able to locate me by my humming of whatever song is stuck in my head that day. I also REALLY enjoy photography! Directly before I entered Postulancy, I was in the process of transferring to Shepherd University to major in Photography and Computer Imagery. My co-postulants and the other sisters are quickly finding out that it is a rare occurrence for me to leave the house without a camera or two… :)

People always ask how I met the Daughters of Saint Paul….

I was in 8^th grade when I took a class through my homeschool group called Men in Black and Beyond. This class brought in priests, brothers and sisters to talk about vocations. I really hadn’t seen very many religious before, so I was surprised and intrigued by these “holy people” who were very real. I remember the first sister to come and visit our class was a Little Sister of the Poor; she was so open and authentic with us. I was amazed that this woman who prayed (ALOT), wore a habit and worked with old people all day… could tell us that her favorite food was French Fries, and that she was madly in love with Jesus! It was super inspiring for me. At the end of the 6-week class, I was handed a small booklet by one of the moms who ran the class. It was “50 active woman’s religious orders in the United States”… out of the whole class, she only handed one to me. So I did what any other 13 year old would do…. I made a quick exit, and shoved the booklet as far into the bottom of my bag as I could. However, as soon as I got home, I ran up to my room to look at the booklet. As I flipped through the pages, I saw images of nuns, praying, laughing, teaching, praying, walking, and… praying. ;) Then, a nun, dressed in blue, manning a video camera, caught my eye. “How cool is THAT???” I thought to myself. So I sat down, wrote a letter, and addressed the envelope: “Sr. Margaret Michael FSP, Vocation Directress, Daughters of St. Paul, 50 St. Paul’s Ave…”

The rest is history. :)

I visited the Motherhouse in Boston for the first time, when I was 14. Even as a freshman in high school, I was struck by the importance of using media to spread the Gospel. I knew that my generation placed such a high priority on media, especially the Internet. I loved that the founder, Bl. James Alberione, “got it”. He understood and lived the call to meet people where they are. If most people are on the Internet, we should be too.  I loved that the Sisters used as many modes of communication as possible. I also was so impressed that despite their extremely busy and demanding apostolate, they remained firmly rooted in prayer and in the Eucharist.

As I have begun this journey, I am seeing more and more, the importance of prayer and contemplation. Blessed James Alberione, the founder of the Pauline Family said something to the effect of: “The more you have to do, the more you should spend time in prayer.” He really made prayer a part of everything he did and encouraged us to do the same, “…just as we constantly take food and constantly breathe, all of us, everyday of our lives, must really pray.” –Bl. James Alberione