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

(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...

(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...

(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...

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 ...

What is Advent like in the convent? …is not a question that anyone has ever asked me, now that I think about it. But some of you might be curious! So let me share a few of the hallmarks of Advent in a Daughters of St. Paul convent.

Advent is a privileged time for growing closer to Jesus, and for placing your discernment in his hands. Beginning today, and for each of the four weeks of Advent, we invite you to join us for a weekly “appointment” online. Each Sunday you will find a reflection on the Sunday Gospel, inviting you to consider these three points: What will you take away that you do not need? What will you prepare? And what will you say to Jesus, the awaited Guest?

How much praying does a sister do, and why is prayer such an important part of a sister's life?

Postulant Allison shares her journey from technologically incompetent high school student to becoming an aspiring #MediaNun (or a postulant of the Daughters of St. Paul)

Sister Maria Grace Dateno gives us the "inside scoop" on living in a religious community, sharing why she finds community life a treasure...even when it's difficult.

We are blessed to have Postulant Allison share what life is like as a postulant.

Practical tips to begin discerning if you have a Pauline vocation.

Every Daughter of Saint Paul would describer her Pauline vocation a bit differently. Here are a few "takes" that try to grasp the heart of what it means to be a Pauline sister.

How did St. Paul--a first century follower of Christ--become the patron of a community of women religious who work within the digital culture of communications two thousand years later?

It's different for every person, because God works in a unique way with each of us.

Each religious congregation has a unique identity, a unique charism. The Pauline Sisters' charism is to live and become Jesus Christ for the world, and to communicate him to every person through all the means of communication.

When we pray for vocations to the priesthood and religious life, we frequently hear or use these words of Jesus: “Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few …’ ” (Matthew 9:35–38). The third article in our Lectio Divina series on discerning one's vocation.