Our Future is Bright...Thanks be to God!

Greetings! It's been about 2 weeks and we are settling into our life at the Mother house which has been anything but dull! One of our sisters, Sr. Margaret Joseph, did a great job at writing about our time here and experience in postulancy. Just in case you are curious about our reflections, check them out on our Pauline Faithways blog...

Peace,

Jackie.

Give to the World Jesus Christ, Way, Truth and Life...

We are finally in Boston for our summer experience! It's been a great time to see and visit with our sisters from the US and around the world! Summer is a time when many of our sisters are "passing through" our Motherhouse as they make their annual retreats, attend meetings and take their vacations. So, the house is full - in capacity and with joy!

Part of our settling in has involved taking a tour of our Publishing house and visiting the various departments. We are getting ample opportunities to learn more about the creative work of our sisters and the many prayers that go into the production of all the books and media. As we were making our rounds, I couldn't help but notice a quote from our Founder, Blessed James Alberione: "The wise and holy apostle gives what is more useful for eternity".

What better gift can we share with our world than Jesus Christ? As Paulines, this is precisely what we are called to do. Thanks be to God for our brothers and sisters who are doing just that! Here are the words for the video...

God bless you,
Jackie.

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.

************************************************************************************
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.

************************************************************************************

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