Sisters of St. Joseph: Maxims of the Little Institute

Making [and breaking] New Year's resolutions seems never to go out of style. When I realized that I'm beginning the second year of this blog, I decided it was time for a New Year's resolution for the blog. So I'm going to try to initiate "Maxim Mondays." My biggest fear is that I won't faithfully post something every single Monday. But I'm certainly going to try. You, blog readers, can help by posting comments on the blog. Many have written to me directly. But if we can get something going in terms of on-line reflection about the Maxims, it could be a source of inspiration for others.

At least at the beginning, I plan to focus on the Maxims of the Little Institute rather than the Maxims of Perfection. I'm doing this for a number of reasons:

1. The Maxims of the Little Institute [MLI] is a different document than the Maxims of Perfection [MP] which are also written by Médaille. It’s believed that he wrote the Maxims of Perfection as a personal retreat journal and then published them for a wider audience. The Maxims of the Little Institute were written specifically for our first sisters.

2. When I participated in the Bearers of the Tradition Institute [BOT] in Concordia, KS, Sisters Marcia Allen and Bette Mosslander offered a wealth of resources on the Maxims of the Little Institute. One of these resources is a book by Marcia, Love's Design: An Invitation to Reflect on the Maxims of the Little Institute. The other resources are unpublished papers prepared for BOT. Another person who has developed resources is Mary Theresa O'Reilly, CSJ, our Vocation Coordinator. Mary Theresa also particiapted in BOT. She put together a presentation for our associates a few years ago that really helped me understand more about the Maxims of the Little Institute. I've been in contact with all three of these sisters for permission to share their work in these posts.

3. Some Sisters of St. Joseph at the Upper Room House of Prayer offer an excellent online course available on the Maxims of Perfection. Just follow the links if you want an in-depth course on the Maxims of Perfection.

4. I'm sure there are others who have posted reflections about the Maxims of the Little Institute. If they are online, you're invited to share the link here.

So tune in tomorrow, Monday, for the first installment of Maxim Mondays!