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 ...

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...

Novice Sr. Allison shares what her first visit to a convent was like....

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...

Consecrated life leads us deeper into communion with our brothers and sisters than we could ever imagine. A Lectio Divina on the disciples meeting Jesus on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-35), which was the Gospel chosen as the icon for the Youth Synod document.

A delightful interview with Orianne Dyck, a postulant in the Daughters of Saint Paul, in which she offers an inside glimpse of her discernment journey.

On May 18, 2019, in Nyeri, Kenya, Sr. Jackie Jean-Marie made her perpetual profession of vows as a Daughter of St. Paul! Sr. Jackie is originally from Kenya, but entered the Daughters of St. Paul in the United States. At her perpetual profession, she received her mandate from Sr Donna, our provincial superior, to serve in our community in New Orleans, Louisiana!Perpetual profession is the commitment to live the vows of chastity, poverty, and obedience as a Daughter of St. Paul forever. It is the...

St. Paul Summer Program 2019!We invite young women entering, currently in, or just finishing high school who want to learn more about the vocation to the religious life to consider our St. Paul Summer Program! This year’s summer program will take place Thursday, July 25-Tuesday, July 30, 2019 at our Novitiate House in Boston. The program includes daily Mass and Adoration, Morning and Evening Prayer with the community, an experience of our mission in our publishing house, writing and art tr...

(Blog post adapted from my discernment blog, CoAuthorYourLifewithGod.com.) “No one else can tell me what to do: I value my freedom too much.” Obedience is not popular today, although everyone is called to practice this virtue in some form. In terms of religious life, it's probably the hardest vow to understand in our individualistic culture when resistance to or rebellion against authority is so often seen as a virtue. Mistrust of institutions and of authority, due...

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...

(Blogpost is adapted from my blog on discernment, CoAuthorYourLifewithGod.com) “Celibacy is too hard.”I think this is one of the comments I hear the most when someone is considering religious life. And celibacy is hard. I don’t deny it. Every human being is created for the intimacy of spousal love, and celibacy is giving up that physical expression of spousal love. Renouncing all that is entailed in a spousal relationship for the sake of Christ and his kingdom is a re...

"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...

(This blog post is adapted from my blog on discernment, CoAuthorYourLifewithGod.com.)  “I couldn't do without my...car, own place, movie collection, ____________.” In a recent poll I ran asking people the main reason they don’t consider religious life, this statement was checked off by a large percentage of those polled. I guess it’s not surprising in our materialistic culture.  When I entered the convent, I didn’t yet own a car, and I w...

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...

For Daughters of St. Paul around the world, February is affectionately known as “Mother Thecla Month.” Our co-foundress, Venerable Mother Thecla Merlo was born on February 20, 1894, and died on February 5, 1964. This year marks the 55th anniversary of her death.Born in northern Italy, the young Teresa Merlo was already an active leader in her parish, despite frail health that had prevented her from joining the Cottolengo Sisters. At the age of 21, she met a young priest, Father James...

The Daughters of St. Paul Holy Week Discernment Retreat!We invite single young women ages 18-33 who are discerning a vocation to the religious life are invited to consider our Holy Week Discernment Retreat 2019! The retreat will take place Wednesday, April 17-Monday, April 22, 2019 at our Novitiate House in Boston. It includes Mass, community prayer, Eucharistic Adoration, a silent retreat day on Good Friday, conferences, an experience of our mission, the celebrations of the Sacred Triduum and E...

We’ve come to the last “moment” of waiting for our guest! Having renewed our sight in order to see well the signs of the times, having reinforced the foundation on which we base our life, and having reflected on how we can give time to others…one a quick glance at ourselves for the last little touches and we’re there! With our most welcoming smile, let us open the door: our guest has arrived!The Gospel of the fourth week of Advent (Luke 1:39-45)Mary set outand trav...