The first week of the month is special in the prayer life of a Daughter of St. Paul. Why? Each day in the first week of the month is dedicated to a different Pauline devotion. These devotions are a regular part of our lives and of our prayer life, but as each month starts we remind ourselves of this by praying special prayers. I want to share some of them with you, so that maybe you can create your own devotions for the first week of the month! Monday: Monday is dedicated to St. Paul. He is...

From the many writings that Blessed James Alberione left to the Daughters of St. Paul, here are the three things that he encouraged us to think about during Lent. As you enter into your Lenten journey, may these thoughts help you to draw closer to Jesus and to receive his love—which is what Lent is all about! “Let us draw encouragement from three things. First: Jesus crucified. Let us picture the sufferings Jesus endured during his passion: the scourgings, the spits of the soldi...

February is "Mother Thecla Month" for the Daughters of St. Paul—the month when we remember the birthday (February 20) and the anniversary of death (February 5) of our co-foundress, Venerable Mother Thecla Merlo. Mother Thecla has much to teach us about drawing close to God, about listening to him and following his will for our lives, and about living in love. In her own words…. Trust: By myself I can do nothing, but with you everything is possible. You are my All. I h...

This Saturday, we will celebrate the Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul. This feast calls us to live like St. Paul---in utter honesty and transparency with God, in untiring gift of self toward others, and with our eyes always on Jesus who has both emptied us and filled us. St. Paul calls us to live like Jesus! Here is a meditation by Sr. Emily Beata on St. Paul's Letter to the Philippians. St. Paul the Apostle, pray for us! Have among yourselves the same attitude that is also yours in ...

Today (January 16), the Daughters of St. Paul begin the novena in preparation for the Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul (January 25). This novena prepares us to celebrate the Conversion of our spiritual father, St. Paul, with hearts that are ready to be converted just as his was. This is the hymn that we will be praying every day. It is part biography of St. Paul, part prayer that we can follow his example of proclaiming the Gospel with his life and remaining attached to Jesus in his heart. We...

May Jesus Master bring you all His light, peace, and joy this Christmas and always!Daughters of St. Paul

Reflecting with the “O Antiphons” From www.usccb.org: The Roman Church has been singing the "O" Antiphons since at least the eighth century. They are the antiphons that accompany the Magnificat canticle of Evening Prayer from December 17-23. They are a magnificent theology that uses ancient biblical imagery drawn from the messianic hopes of the Old Testament to proclaim the coming Christ as the fulfillment not only of Old Testament hopes, but present ones as well. Thei...

Our Sisters are often called upon to appear on podcasts, radio, and TV, or to be interviewed by various news outlets and social media personalities. We’re always happy about this for a few reasons. First, it gives us an opportunity to share the good news of God’s love in our life and in our community. We love getting the Good News out there!Second, it also gives us an opportunity to personally meet, interact with, and pray for those who work in the media. This is a key part of o...

Recently, I received a reminder that my spiritual life is--surprise, surprise!--NOT about me! I was talking with a Sister, and she shared this insight with me: the spiritual life is not so much about looking at ourselves as it is about looking at God. If we start by looking at Him and listening to Him, then we can be sure that we are on the right path. Likewise for discernment--we are not at the center of our discernment, God is! The Holy Spirit is! So, the discernment tip of the day is--lo...

Welcome to the month of October—the month of the rosary! The rosary is one of the most powerful prayers that we have. Through the rosary, we can intercede for others, ask Mary’s intercession for us, and draw closer to Mary and to Jesus. The rosary is also a powerful prayer for vocational discernment. The reason for this is simple: the mysteries of the rosary lead us through the life of Christ, from the annunciation of his birth, to the crowning of his mother in heaven. And it is...

August is traditionally known as the “month of heaven,” because during August we celebrate the feast of the Assumption of Mary into heaven (August 15), and the feast of the coronation of Mary as Queen of heaven and earth (August 22). Bl. James Alberione and Mother Thecla Merlo always encouraged us to look to heaven and think of paradise, especially when things are tough. Here are two prayers written by Bl. Alberione and Mother Thecla to help you do just that!Mary our Queen, Mother, a...

May is the month traditionally dedicated to the Blessed Mother.This May, I’m really looking forward to journeying more intentionally with Mary and asking her to bring me closer to Jesus. But my relationship with Mary hasn’t always been so intentional. For a long time, I had trouble relating to Mary. I prayed to her, and I always felt a connection to her total surrender to God at the Annunciation, but I never really related to her as a mother, or as a woman.Looking back on my life, I ...

Happy Easter Season from the Daughters of St. Paul! We wanted to share with you an Easter letter from our Founder, Bl. James Alberione. He not only speaks of the joy of Easter, but also of what this joy moves us toward--becoming "great saints in Christ"! This Easter season, ask our risen Jesus to guide you to the path of holiness that He has in mind for you!The whole Church is feasting, as it celebrates the Spouse who conquered the battle against hell, death and his adversaries. The Ch...

Living Holy Week in the convent is a special experience of intimacy with Jesus. This Holy Week, we ask you to pray for the five young women who have joined us for our Holy Week Discernment Retreat. We will be praying for you throughout the Triduum, and we hope you enjoy this brief Holy Week reflection from our Founder, Blessed James Alberione.Be compassionate towards others; this is the second commandment: love one another. In these days the Church invites us to consider the Crucified Jesus. Thi...

April 4 is the anniversary of the birth of Bl. James Alberione, Founder of the Daughters of St. Paul. What would he say to the Daughters of St. Paul today? Here are his words that both encourage and challenge us---we hope they do the same for you! (Maybe YOU are one of the "new apostles" he speaks about!)"The Church is on the move.With the progress brought by the passing of timehas also come an increasein the dangers and the means that do harm to souls.But at the same time, the Lo...

"Salvation" is a big word...but in reality, it is a very daily concept. Salvation takes place precisely in our day-to-day lives. Sr. Christina Miriam wrote about this for the Boston College newspaper:"As you spend these days of Lent, consider the ways you have experienced the salvation of the Lord in your life. Where do you see the providence of the Lord? Where has the mercy of God touch you? ...As we journey toward Easter, are there aspects of your life and heart that are crying ...

“Behold, now is a very acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation,” St. Paul tells us in his second letter to the Corinthians, in a reading that we hear on Ash Wednesday. Lent is indeed an acceptable time for drawing closer to God and for growing in our spiritual life. Lent is also an “acceptable time” for taking your vocational discernment a little bit deeper. Whether you are actively discerning, or whether you are just starting to feel pulled toward discernmen...

Venerable Mother Thecla Merlo is the co-foundress of the Daughters of St. Paul, and this week we celebrated her 125th birthday! As a way of saying Happy Birthday, we wanted to a week's worth of "Mother Thecla Motivation." Celebrate with us and with her and ask her to pray for you this week! God bless you!1. "Sometimes we have little faith, little spirit of faith. We reason in a human way, 'from the rooftop down.' Instead, we must become more supernatural. We need a gre...

Our congregation has an unusual name. Recently, I overheard a parishioner at a parish we were visiting say to one of the sisters, “I didn’t know Saint Paul had daughters!” Of course, Saint Paul wasn’t married and didn’t have a family of his own. But he has had many spiritual sons and daughters over the past 2000 years. When I first visited the Daughters of Saint Paul to discern my vocation, I did so despite their name. I loved my first visit at their ...

“I am the servant of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38). These familiar words of the Blessed Mother are on the lips of millions of young people this week as World Youth Day is celebrated in Panama, January 22 to January 27. This theme is reflected in the official theme song for World Youth Day, Hágase en Mí Según Tu Palabra (Let Your Will Be Done in Me):He aquí la sierva del SeñorHágase en mí segú...