Sisters of St. Joseph: Moving Forward In Hope

Our Latest issue of Soundings Update is available at:
http://www.csjboston.org/su-Apr-10-2013.pdf

Be sure to read about
 Moving Forward in Hope as Sisters of St. Joseph

• full text of this article is also available on our US CSSJ Federation Website at: 
  
  http://www.sistersofsaintjosephfederation.org/node/188

and ...

Our 6th Annual Good Friday Peace Vigil

Join the Sisters of St. Joseph at the Paschal Triduum - and more

There's so much to share from just this past week. Our latest edition of Soundings Update is available at: http://www.csjboston.org/su-Mar-27-13.pdf

Join us for our Triduum Liturgies this Thursday, Friday, and Saturday

the Paschal Triduum

      March 28– 5:30pm:

           Holy Thursday – Evening Mass of the Lord's Supper

      March 29      Good Friday

       12:00-3:00pm Silent Peace Vigil —

           outside the Sisters of St. Joseph Motherhouse

           637 Cambridge Street, Brighton, MA 02135

          All welcome to come and stay for a while. Bring friends!  

                                  5:30pm – Celebration of the Lord's Passion

 

March 30 – 7:00pm:  Easter Vigil

Early this morning, I came across this 4 minute YouTube Video interview with one of our Sisters of St. Joseph from Concordia, KS. The title is:

Sr Julie Christensen, CSJ - an "Allstar" Sister

http://www.youtube.com/user/vocationculture

It's worth watching. 

Searching for more in life?

Are you searching for something more in your life?

Do you have a desire to serve the Church?

Have you thought about becoming a Sister, Brother or Religious Priest?

Would you like to learn more about religious life?

If so, you are cordially invited to attend

An Evening of Prayer and Conversation on Religious Life on October 18th

In response to the questions above there is a great opportunity coming up at our Motherhouse on October 18. It is hosted by the Archdiocesan Delegate for Religious who is a Sister of St. Joseph.

Here are the details:

An Evening of Prayer and Conversation

For Men and Women Interested in Religious Life

October 18, 2011

6:00 – 9:30 p.m.

Sisters of St. Joseph Motherhouse

637 Cambridge St.

Brighton, MA 02135

Sponsored by

Archdiocese of Boston Delegate for Religious

Phone: 617-746-5637

Sr_Marian_Batho@rcab.org

Web site: www.bostoncatholic.org

Program will begin with Registration at 6:00 p.m. and include:

• Welcome
• Supper
• Opening Prayer and Introductions
• Witness Talks – “How I Heard God Calling My Name”
• Conversation
• Prayer
• Concluding Prayer
• Departure at 9:30 p.m.

Also, our October 12, 2011, issue of Soundings Update is available at http://www.csjboston.org/SOUNDINGS.htm . In this issue read about

• Our October 2 celebration of our CSJ Boston Founders' Day
• a wonderful collaborative effort on the part of our Advancement Office with several of our ministries, the Allston and Brighton Boards of Trade

Sisters of Saint Joseph: Collaboration Locally and Globally

This week's issue of The Pilot has a special section on Vocations. If you have access to a hard copy of this edition, there is an article about the Sisters of St. Joseph of Boston on pages 5-6. the title is Sisters of Saint Joseph: Collaboration Locally and Globally.

Unfortunately The Pilot does not post their special sections on their website. So our webweaver has posted the article on our website at http://www.csjboston.org/pr-vim2011.htm

The article tells a little about Taize prayer that is offered each month at our Motherhouse and about our Volunteer in Mission program which will happen at the end of June.

Sisters of St. Joseph - Soundings Update 3-2-11



"We hold this treasure in earthen vessels"

 The March 2, 2011, issue of Soundings Update is available at http://www.csjboston.org/su-March-2-2011.pdf
Read about

• St. Michael's College students who stayed at our Hospitality House during a service immersion program.
• An evening of prayer and conversation for Women and Men interested in Religious Life
• Many Dates to Remember...mark you calendars and know you are welcome at many of the events listed.

National Vocations Awareness Week

Sunday, January 9, marked the beginning of National Vocations Awareness Week. Are you asking yourself, "What is God calling me to at this time in life?" Do you know others asking this question? The Catholic Religious Vocation Network has great online resources. As the website explains:

With so many options, it's not easy to discern the best path to live out your Christian calling. Vocation Match was designed to narrow your search. You'll be asked a series of questions that will help you gain insight into your vocation and match you with compatible religious organizations. You may go through the Match, receive your results, and remain in complete control of who, if anyone, is sent your profile.

Vision Magazine's digital edition of the 2011 Vocation Guide is also available at:

http://www.digitalvocationguide.org/vision/2011guide#pg1

The Sisters of St. Joseph information begins on page 164 with a brief explanation of the U.S. Federation of the Sisters of St. Joseph. It continues with contact information for most of the 16 congregations of Sisters of St. Joseph in the United States. We also have an ad on page 16. You are invited to explore these resources and share them with others.

Sisters of St. Joseph Summer Snippets

I've been out and about taking pictures during the past couple of weeks. I thought I'd post a few. The ones of our Retreat Center in Cohasset and Weston Priory are a meditation in themselves.  

A view of the porch and ocean at St. Joseph Retreat Center in Cohasset

The the ocean throuhg the majestic pillars on the Reteat Center porch.

It's a beautiful place to pray on a summer day.

The ocean beckons

One more picture from our Retreat Center porch.

I spent several days at Weston Priory and celebrated the Feast of St. Benedict with the brothers at the priory.

Then there's the bird house by the pond at Weston Priory.
I've photgraphed this in every season.

A close up of the apple tree where the bird house "lives."

Weston Priory's pond. It's the motif #1 of the Priory.

Some evenings there's even a rainbow over the mountain.

Last Friday I was asked to video tape a conversation between Sister Anita and Sister Pat. Anita is a novice from New York. Pat is the sister who translated Nuns Without Cloister that I wrote about in an earlier post. Pat has extensive knowledge about our sisters lives during the late 17th and early 18th centuries. Anita had some wonderful questions about the connections between community life then and our life today. It was an exciting conversation.

Enough of summer so far...I'm headed for retreat on Sunday. I'm looking forward to the week.

Volunteers in Mission: Experience a Different World View

- ARE YOU searching for an opportunity to share your life and be of service to others?

- ARE YOU interested in an experience of community living?

- DO YOU desire to share in communal prayer?

IF THE ANSWER IS YES…The Sisters of St. Joseph of Boston invite you to experience A different view of the world.

...is a program for women, college age and older, who desire an experience of ministry, community living, and prayer for one week this summer.

You will work at a local Catholic agency that welcomes poor and homeless guests. You will be part of a community that assists in providing services and support to those in need.

You will live in community with other volunteers and with Sisters of St. Joseph, pray together and build relationships with those whom you serve.

There will also be opportunities for social and cultural experiences in and around the Boston area.

If this invitation interests you, download a brochure at http://www.csjboston.org/vim-brochure-2010.pdf or contact us BEFORE APRIL 5, 2010

at volunteersinmission@csjboston.org or 617.746.2045

About the Sisters of St. Joseph of Boston:

We are a community of women religious whose mission is to realize the prayer of Christ that all may be one.
We are ordinary women from all walks of life. Our special focus, our mission, is to work within our Church and society for unity and reconciliation.

Will you join us for a week

to live and pray

in the spirit

of this Gospel call?

Maxim Monday: Keep an ever free heart

Maxim Monday – Maxims 53 and 54

“Keep an ever free heart…”

…declare with a generous heart, never to yield in anything that would be against God’s will.

Since yesterday was Valentine’s Day, it seems appropriate to reflect on these two excerpts from Maxims 53 and 54. In calling us to “keep an ever free heart” it seems as if Fr. Médaille is inviting us to keep our hearts open to God’s desire for us. When things don’t seem to be going your way, let God sort it out.

In the very next Maxim Médaille uses the term “with a generous heart.”  He then goes on to encourage us "never to yield to anything that would go against God's will." Today we might say, “Don’t sweat the small stuff.” We all know that sometimes this is easier said than done. But we need to keep reminding ourselves that this is what we're called to do and be; and encouraging one another in living this Maxim.

During this past week, Sisters of St. Joseph from congregations across the country who do vocation outreach and those who minister with newer members have been meeting together. By newer members I mean women in the various stages of becoming a sister: pre-candidates, candidates, novices, and initially professed. The heart pictured here was one of the symbols used during our gathering.

In my personal prayer each morning I had been reflecting on these maxims. So when we were together, I couldn’t help but notice how these sisters live the message of these maxims. It’s been a real gift to be among these women and witness their zeal for work which they are about.

Being and Becoming Sisters of the Neighborhood of Boston and Beyond

This week our archdiocesan newspaper, The Pilot, has a special section titled "Women Religious/Vocations." We have an ad and an article in this section. If you have access to a hard copy of the issue, our ad is on page 6 and the article on page 7. However The Pilot does not seem to include their special sections on their website. So I've posted the ad, the article, and the accompanying pictures here.

Since 1873, the Sisters of St. Joseph of Boston have listened to the call and remained true to the dream of our foundresses “to undertake all the spiritual and corporal works of mercy of which women are capable.” In 1650, Father Jean Pierre Médaille advised six women who became the first Sisters of St. Joseph to “divide the city.” They were to go out into the various districts, discern the needs of the people who lived there, and respond to those needs. Today, the Sisters of St. Joseph of Boston, share this mission with more than 13,000 Sisters of St. Joseph and 5,000 Associates in over 50 countries throughout the world.

As “sisters of the neighborhood,” we have served the people of greater Boston in countless ways for over 135 years. With excellence tempered by gentleness we make every effort to be faithful to our roots and meet the needs of people and seek to do whatever is possible for women to do. An ever-deepening fidelity to our founding spirit and mission calls us to be among the people of God in many and varied ministries. We serve as educators, lawyers, nurses, family therapists, social workers, health professionals, patient advocates, spiritual directors, parish ministers, hospital chaplains, campus ministers, theologians, psychologists, physical therapists, technology specialists, companions for those in need, advocates for the poor and marginalized, administrators, secretaries, artists, authors, musicians, poets and a multitude of other professions.

We are ordinary women doing ordinary things with an extraordinary vision rooted in the profound love of God and all God’s people. We desire to reach out to the “Dear Neighbor” without distinction enabling her/him to be embraced by God’s active, inclusive love. Our mission and the needs of the people have also brought us to places outside the Boston area including New Mexico and Peru. As a community of vowed apostolic women with a contemplative stance toward life, we seek to serve with “a generous heart.” We go wherever there is a need.

Recently we took a corporate stance decrying modern day slavery, the trafficking of women and children. Compelled by the gospel of Jesus, we are working to raise consciousness about this evil and to move people to action that will eradicate this sin against humanity. This past year, we also initiated “The Women’s Table.” Just as our earliest Sisters and Associates gathered around the hearth in Le Puy, France, so “The Women’s Table” strives to be a hub that promotes hospitality and connections among women, through circles of prayer, support groups, advocacy, networking, workshops, educational enrichment, and skill development. – all with an emphasis on empowerment of women from all walks of life.

Today, the tradition of loving service that began in 17th century France and continued in Boston in 1873 sustains us as we live into the twenty-first century. In community and prayerful contemplation we listen to this Spirit and move always toward profound love of God and love of neighbor without distinction.

Through our mission, ministry, and the witness of our lives we work to bring harmony to a dissonant world and unity where there is alienation. “We believe in both the possibility and the power of reconciliation and seek to let God bring about unity in our lives and in the lives of our sisters and brothers.”

Together with our Associates we embrace:
Gracious hospitality
Love and service of the Dear Neighbor without distinction
Peaceful resolution of conflict and
Care for all God’s creation.

A Sister of St. Joseph Professes Final Vows and Soundings Update

Last Saturday one of our sisters professed Final Vows. Last Thursday, two days before her vow liturgy, Sister Pat led a midday prayer service at our health care center in Framingham. You can click on this link: http://www.csjboston.org/su-Sept-30-2009.pdf to read an article about this prayer service in the latest issue of Soundings Update
I selected the picture at the left for this blog post because when Pat professed First Vows three years ago the image of seeds growing and spreading where they will was central to that celebration. The dandelion puff is actually from our side yard this past spring.

As I reflect on Pat's journey, I've prayed with these passages from The Constitution of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Boston:

• Membership in our Congregation is the relationship which results from each woman's response to the Lord and the decision of the Congregation and the Church to accept the religious profession which she makes as a Sister of Saint Joseph of Boston.

• Membership requires a dynamic fideltiy to the purpose for which the Spirit brought our Congregation into existence in the Church and to the charism with which we are gifted.


• ...we, the Congregation, open ourselves to her influence and to the Spirit speaking in her, just as she undertakes continuing conversion into membership. Together we enter into a process of change that carries our past into the promise of the future.

As I ponder these words, I realize that not only has Pat become more fully the woman God calls her to be but we, in turn, have indeed been influenced for the better by her presence among us.

Autumn: A busy time for Sisters of St. Jospeh

The latest issue of Soundings Update is available on our website at: http://www.csjboston.org/su-Sept-16-2009.pdf . This issue doesn't have any articles. There is so much going on during the next six weeks that I needed to devote the issue to listing those dates. If you are in the Boston area, know that you are most welcome at Taize Prayer and our evening liturgies. We welcome our Dear Neighbors to join us in prayer during these times. The issue also advertises a weekend coming up called: Come to the Sea: A Women's Weekend. All the dates for Taize Prayer and more on the Women's Weekend can be found on our website. http://www.csjboston.org/NEWS_Upcoming_Events.htm

Perhaps the most important happening in the near future is the Profession of Final Vows of one of our sisters. It's been a real privilege to journey with Sister Pat as she prepares for this day. Last October, she and I participated in a pilgrimage/retreat to Mexico. It was an immersion experience in the spirituality, life, and culture of the Mexican people. I've written about this before and you can learn about it at: http://www.westonpriory.org/mexico/index.html. I'll certainly be writing about her profession of vows in the near future. Many of the women who were part of our Mexico pilgrimage retreat are coming to her Final Vow Liturgy. It will be great to see them again.

A few weeks ago a sister-friend of mine sent me the link to a new blog. I linked it to my blog but want highlight it in this post.

• St.Joseph's Worker New Orleans is a new venture of the Congregation of St. Joseph. The St. Joseph Worker Program is a one year volunteer experience for women who are passionate about social change. St. Joseph Workers (SJWs) commit to the values of justice, leadership, spirituality, and living simply in intentional community. The SJWs are sponsored by the Congregation of St.Joseph. With the opening of the new SJW house in New Orleans, the program now boasts a nationwide presence!

Just for the record -- the sunflowers at in this post are all from our Motherhouse garden. The sister who cultivates this piece of the garden told me that she didn't even plant sunflower seeds this year. They just wanted to come. Isn't it amazing what the earth knows about where and how to grow?

A Sister of St. Joseph's Summer musings

When a few of my friends reminded me that I haven’t posted on this blog for a while, I realized that I seem to have taken an unscheduled “blog-cation.” The past couple of weeks have been spent at my annual week-long directed retreat, going to funerals and weddings, and a variety of “this and that.” [this is a title that a sister who works with me often gives when she sends an email that contains a variety of topics. ]

Retreat, as usual, was wonderful. I was a bit nervous when anticipating retreat because it is the first time I’ve gone to the Genesis Spiritual Life Center in Westfield, MA. For over 20 years I’ve made retreat at Mercy Center in Madison, CT but they are renovating the main building and can only offer accommodations to a small number of overnight retreatants. I’ve included a few pictures of Westfield throughout this post.

About “this and that:”

Our Associate Director is designing a new booklet for the Associate mentoring process. Our Assistant Director of Communication is doing the design work on the booklet and I’m helping with the content and proofreading. The Associates with the Sisters of St. Joseph are women and men called to share their faith journeys with one another and with the Sisters of St. Joseph. We have over 100 Associates in Boston and New Mexico. You can learn more at on our website.

There are a number of other projects percolating in our office. Summer seems to be a good time to turn attention to these ventures. Both our Assistant Director of Communication and I have been out and about photographing various summer happenings and interviewing sisters and associates for upcoming publications.

I’m a member of our Initial Formation Team. One of our sisters is professing Final Vows in a few weeks. Today she stopped by the office with a few questions about her plans for the vow celebration. Our Boston CSJ vocation page gives some information about the process that leads up to professing Final Vows.

I’ve been helping a couple of people figure out how to work an online program called “doodle easy scheduler” that helps groups plan meetings. I'm not trying to advertise "Doodle" but, if you've ever spent days with emails going back and forth to schedule a meeting or a conference call, it's worth checking out.

I’m also trying to become more skilled with Facebook. This is something I said I'd NEVER do. But on two occasions this past summer, I became aware of it’s potential to make connections with friends and relatives. The first was a July 4th party with a group of people from a parish I was part of for over 20 years. The archdiocese closed the parish and I’ve lost touch with a lot of the people there. The second was a memorial service for my aunt and uncle where I realized that many of my 30-something cousins are sharing pictures of their kids on Facebook and I’m missing the action. These cousins live all over the country and some in Europe so it’s a good way to keep in touch.

For many years Fr. Austin Fleming was part of the parish I mentioned above. He found me through Facebook, linked my blog to his and asked me to link his blog to mine...which I've just done. My hope is that this one good use of technology as a means of spreading the word about the Church and religious life today.

Sisters of St. Joseph -- Vocations

Our webweaver has just posted a newly revised Vocation webpage. Among other things the page links to the two YouTube videos listed at the right and back to this blog. It also has some good questions and contact information for anyone who is curious about religious life.
Please visit our newly revised Vocation Webpage at http://www.csjboston.org/VOCATIONS.htm

A Perfect Saturday Day of Prayer

Yesterday was pure gift. A group of sisters gathered at one of our houses by the ocean in Cohasset for a day of reflection. The group included newer members, the sisters who live with them, sisters from our hospitality house, and members of our Initial Formation Team.

Dorothea, one of our sisters, facilitated our prayer during the day. This picture is of the centerpiece in the room where we gathered. It includes a bible, a statue of Mother St. John Fontbonne, a candle that was brought from a visit toTaize, France, during our 2008 CSSJ Heritage, and scarf that was given to all who participated in the 200th anniversary of MSJF regathering sisters after the French Revolution and beginning the expansion of the Sisters of St. Joseph throughout the world.

The statue has MSJF with one foot forward always ready for the next good thing. I've included a picture that focuses on that part of the statue. The original is a full size statue designed by Mary Southard, CSJ from Illinois and is in the center of the Heritage Center in Lyon France.

More about the day: The day of prayer was really a refreshing opportunity for all who gathered. There was ample time for personal prayer and time to share the state of our heart. We all come from such full ministries. During her introduction, Dorothea invited us to slow down "the frieight train of our restless minds and hearts." This really touched my soul. I realized how full the previous week had been and her words really allowed me to slow down.

The sisters who gathered were so grateful for the time to connect with God and one another in this way. It was a perfect follow-up to Gathering the Daughters. There we were with 65 newer members of the Sisters of St. Joseph from all over the US and Canada as well as those who are part of Formation Teams. At this day of prayer we were with our newer members and some who are on the journey with them in our local Boston Congregation. The balance of the two gatherings was wonderful.

On another note: When I wrote the explanation of the statue of MSJF with one foot forward, it reminded me to mention the article about Sister Anna Mary Kelly that is in today's Boston Globe. She was a woman who, like Mother St. John Fontbonne, always had one foot forward ready for the next new thing. Sister Anna Mary passed away a few weeks ago at the age of 97. This is a link to the article in today's Globe and a couple of other recent articles about her.

From the Boston Globe:

Sister Anna Mary Kelly, at 97; served as dean at Regis College

From The Pilot -- the archdoicesan Catholic newspaper:

Sister Anna Mary Kelly, CSJ, former president of Boston’s Sisters of St. Joseph

From our Boston CSJ website:

We Remember Her As a Gracious, Loving, Wisdom Figure

CSSJ Federation: Gathering the Daughters

This week I'm in Skaneateles, NY at the Stella Maris Retreat and Conference Center for a meeting called "Gathering the Daughters." The picture above is a view of Lake Skaneateles from the porch of the retreat center. Jean-Pierre Medaille, who wrote down our earliest documents back in the mid 17th century, referred to our first sisters as "Daughters of Joseph." I guess that's the background behind the name of this meeting. What this is is a meeting of newer members of the Sisters of St. Joseph mostly from around the United States and Canada as well as more "seasoned" members who are part of vocation and formation teams from the US Federation and the Canadian Federation. There are about 100 of us here. About 60 of our newer members were able to come and the rest who are here are "seasoned" members. We came up with these terms out of a reluctance to label ourselves "younger" or "older" -- very clever.

The energy in the group is wonderful. There is such hope for the future among this group. I said we are mostly from the U.S. and Canada because there are also a few of our sisters from other countries as well -- Mexico, India, Japan, and Vietnam to name a few. There were supposed to be two sisters from Peru but they were denied visas...with no explanation. This was very disappointing for everyone.

We haven't had one keynote speaker presenting input. The input is coming from the experience of the group and that is good. This morning three sisters shared stories about their experience of living our charism [spirit]. The panel is pictured here. The sisters who shared were from India, Mexico, and the U.S. Someone from California presented a powerpoint from the sisters in Peru who were denied visas. They put this together and sent it when they realized they would not be able to travel here. The "input" from all of this was profound. In turn, each participant was invited to share her own story of living our charism in a smaller group at the table.

At the end this we "gathered the graces" of what was in our hearts. Paula, the sister who is facilitating the meeting, keeps reminding us that this is a "gathering of the daughters for the life of the world." Although we are mainly from the U.S. and Canada, this way of framing our time together creates such a spaciousness and a sense of the global reality of who we are as Sisters of St. Joseph throughout the world.

We still have another entire day tomorrow. I realize I'm only scratching the surface of the experience of being here but there is so much to reflect on. My introvert side needs sit with it all in prayerful reflection for a while. More later...

March 25 and the Sisters of St. Joseph

March 25 turns out to be significant for a number of reasons. I led staff prayer this week and tried to incorporate a variety of themes that converge on this day. March in general is Women’s History Month. Today is the day the Catholic Church celebrates the Feast of the Annunciation of the angel Gabriel to Mary. It’s also the date when our sisters arrived in St. Louis, MO in 1836. It was from St. Louis that our congregation spread all over the United States and Canada. I am always in awe of the stories of these women who took amazing risks to spread the Gospel message across this country, Canada, and beyond. My mind is boggled when I try to picture how they did it without sophisticated methods of transportation and, miracle of miracles, without the internet or cell phones! We can’t even find each other in an airport today without a cell phone.

Another somewhat obscure fact that I just learned from our archivist is that March 25, 1880, is the date The Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Boston was officially incorporated by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. We arrived here on October 2, 1873 so it took over six years for this process to happen.

On a more personal note, today would be the birthday of my cousin who passed away a few years ago at the age of 97. I think she would be 102 today. When I think if Mary, and her “Yes” to being the mother of Jesus, I think of my cousin as one who lived this “yes.” This cousin was also a Sister of St. Joseph. She was more like an aunt than a cousin and all during the time I was growing up, we visited her regularly. She was a grace filled woman. I suspect that she had a big influence on my becoming a sister even though I didn’t realize it at the time.

The picture at the top of this post was taken in the little chapel at the top of Rocher St. Michel in Le Puy, France. The picture on the masthead of this blog is a panoramic view of Le Puy and you can see the chapel at the top of the pinnacle [or puy in French] near the middle of the picture. There’s over 250 stairs that lead to this chapel. It’s quite a hike but the views are spectacular. I’ve done it four times on different visits to Le Puy. I tried to find a picture that spoke to me of the Annunciation. Maybe it’s because the chapel dates from the 10th century, the age alone of the place is inspiring. At the base of the pinnacle is an even smaller St. Gabriel chapel with lovely bronze art on the walls which depict the Annunciation.

Here's one picture I took on one of my hikes to the top of Rocher St. Michel. I must have hundreds on file. I like this one because it gives a sense of the old city of Le Puy. You can see the statue of Notre Dame du France and the Cathedral of Le Puy. It also looks out onto the part of town where the convent is located where the Sisters of St. Joseph first came together in Le Puy in 1650. Inside this convent you can still visit the ancient kitchen where they first gathered.

An unexpected thank you

A few posts ago I wrote about a 7th grade girl who contacted our Communications Office and did a report on the Sisters of St. Joseph of Boston. I just thought I’d share a delightful sequel to that story. Last week the girls sent me pictures of their completed project and thanked me. So today it was completely unexpected when a big box appeared in my office. In it was a lovely thank you note from both girls who were part of this project and what is called a “Mardi Gras King Cake.” I sent out a note to all the employees in our Motherhouse administrative offices and people came by to sample the cake. The cake was delicious and the gesture of gratitude was so thoughtful.

I’ve really enjoyed connecting with these girls and helping with their project. It turns out that they have connections with the Sisters of St. Joseph who live in Baton Rouge. Who knows, one day someone who viewed their project may consider becoming a Sister of St. Joseph!

Introducing A Sister of St. Joseph's Blog

My name is Joanne Gallagher, CSJ. I am a Sister of St. Joseph [CSJ]. We are a Roman Catholic religious community of women. I am based in the Boston area and am a member of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Boston. But there are over 12,000 Sisters of St. Joseph and about 5,000 Associates all over the world. We are ordinary women from all walks of life. We are women of the church rooted in the Gospel. Our special focus, our mission, is to work for unity and reconciliation where there is brokenness, to help people become whole and holy, individually and together. Together with our Associates we are impelled by the active, inclusive love of God to deepen our relationship with God and neighbor without distinction.

I work as Director of Communication for the Sisters of St. Joseph of Boston. I love being a sister and have always looked for ways to share our spirituality and rich heritage with others. In publishing newsletters and working with the press, I realize there is so much about the way in which sisters and associates live their day-to-day lives that does not make it into the news. A Sister of St. Joseph’s Blog is intended to be about our life as Sisters of St. Joseph in those ordinary moments you don’t usually hear about in the news.
You can learn about us at:

• http://www.csjboston.org/


• http://www.sistersofsaintjosephfederation.org/

We also have two YouTube posts at

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHxKwbSFTpo


• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRdru_RX2bA