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...

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...

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...

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.

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...

"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...

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...

Postulant Orianne shares some of her initial impressions about the Pauline devotion to Mary as Queen of Apostles.

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...

It’s the third week of Advent! The cleaning continues, even though by now the big jobs are done and finally, along with the clean smell of windows and floors scrubbed until they shine, we can begin to smell something delicious in their air. And we begin to feel a desire to share and to communicate…without our even knowing it, a smile appears on our faces: our guest is near!Gospel of the Third Week of AdventLuke 3:10-18The crowds asked John the Baptist,“What should we do?&rdquo...

It’s the second week of Advent! We’ve cleaned the “windows,” that is, we’ve cleared a way for our eyes to see what is truly necessary for our life; now it’s time to clean the “floors,” which are the base, the foundation of our life, that support our whole house.Gospel of the Second Sunday of AdventIn the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar,when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea,and Herod was tetrarch of Galilee,and his brother Philip ...