The title, Anything of Which a Woman is Capable, comes from Father Jean Pierre Médaille, the Jesuit who brought together the first Sisters of St. Joseph in the mid-seventeenth century. Since 1650, congregations of St. Joseph have grown in Europe, the Americas, India and the Orient, all attracting women who are called to do anything of which they are capable to serve their dear neighbor. This volume tells stories of the foundations of congregations in France and then, beginning in 1836, in the United States. It introduces the reader to intrepid women whose willingness to serve knew no boundaries and whose strong personalities provided an ample match for Church leaders who either encouraged or tried to control their zeal. The copious footnotes make this a valuable addition to the history of Catholic women religious in the United States as well as to the history of Catholicism.
An engaging picture book for children ages 4 to 7 about the miraculous staircase built for the Sisters of Loretto in Santa Fe, New Mexico, through the intercession of Saint Joseph.
This is the incredible story about the role of a particular group of religious women who came to Florida and Georgia immediately following the Civil War. This book relates the story of the Sisters of St. Joseph of St. Augustine, FL. These French Sisters came in 1866 to educate the liberated slaves. Floridas first Bishop, Augustin Verot invited them from the City of Le Puy in south central France where the Congregation had been founded in 1650. The central piece of the story is about the first eight Sisters and those who followed them in establishing free schools, academies, the founding of orphanages, nursing during yellow fever epidemics (1877, 1888), teaching in Public Schools, Americanization of the Congregation, dynamics in dealing with Bishops in America, separation and excommunication, teaching the Apache Indians, their arrest in 1916 for teaching Black students. There are many letters written by the French Sisters to their comrades and family members in France in the late 1800s giving the real story and the local color of the experiences.
Nuns Without Cloister explores one of the first and most innovative among the non-cloistered women's congregations established after the Council of Trent. Under the aegis of a Jesuit missionary, the first Sisters of St. Joseph envisioned a direct role for religious women in the secular society of mid-seventeenth century France and quietly broke the ecclesiastical and cultural barriers that opposed it. This book opens perspectives on the sisters' success through a politics of discretion and the introduction of creative variety in their lives in country parishes or in the urban orphanages, hospitals, and reformatories for fallen women of the ancien rZgime. Vacher's methodology, comparing the congregation's theoretical, prescriptive documents with evidence about the actual life of these communities in southern France, leads to the question of whether and to what degree succeeding generations grasped the original inspiration.
“River of Fire is Sister Helen’s story leading up to her acclaimed book Dead Man Walking—it is thought-provoking, informative, and inspiring. Read it and it will set your heart ablaze!”—Mark Shriver, author of Pilgrimage: My Search for the Real Pope Francis The nation’s foremost leader in efforts to abolish the death penalty shares the story of her growth as a spiritual leader, speaks out about the challenges of the Catholic Church, and shows that joy and religion are not mutually exclusive. Sister Helen Prejean’s work as an activist nun, campaigning to educate Americans about the inhumanity of the death penalty, is known to millions worldwide. Less widely known is the evolution of her spiritual journey from praying for God to solve the world’s problems to engaging full-tilt in working to transform societal injustices. Sister Helen grew up in a well-off Baton Rouge family that still employed black servants. She joined the Sisters of St. Joseph at the age of eighteen and was in her forties when she had an awakening that her life’s work was to immerse herself in the struggle of poor people forced to live on the margins of society. Sister Helen writes about the relationships with friends, fellow nuns, and mentors who have shaped her over the years. In this honest and fiercely open account, she writes about her close friendship with a priest, intent on marrying her, that challenged her vocation in the “new territory of the heart.” The final page of River of Fire ends with the opening page of Dead Man Walking, when she was first invited to correspond with a man on Louisiana’s death row. River of Fire is a book for anyone interested in journeys of faith and spirituality, doubt and belief, and “catching on fire” to purpose and passion. It is a book, written in accessible, luminous prose, about how to live a spiritual life that is wide awake to the sufferings and creative opportunities of our world. “Prejean chronicles the compelling, sometimes-difficult journey to the heart of her soul and faith with wit, honesty, and intelligence. A refreshingly intimate memoir of a life in faith.”—Kirkus Reviews
That All May Be One is an introduction to the spirit and charism of the Sisters of St. Joseph. With the vision of "that all may be one, (John 17:21)", the Sisters of St. Joseph always moving toward the love of neighbor, love of God, without distinction. Readers will gain a deeper understanding and appreciation of the contemporary history of the Sisters of St. Joseph from the founding in Le Puy, France, the arrival in St. Louis, Missouri and later spreading across the United States to engage in ministries. Be inspired by the unique prayers rooted in the charism that reflects their commitment to embodying a "profound love of God and neighbor without distinction". The Sisters of St. Joseph's spiritual practices of Sharing the State of the Heart and the Maxims of the Little Institute are also introduced.That All May Be One is published by the Association of Colleges of Sisters of St. Joseph (ACSSJ). ACSSJ draws together nine colleges and universities founded by the Sisters of St. Joseph to articulate and further the contemporary expression of the educational mission and legacy of the Sisters of St. Joseph.
Chosen by God for the incomparable vocation of spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary and foster father of Our Lord Jesus Christ; St. Joseph received magnificent divine graces and favors not granted even to the Old Testament Patriarchs. Known as the most humble of men; St. Joseph received from Almighty God the authority to command both Our Lady and the Son of God Himself; and in Heaven he continues to have great intercessory power with God. The Divine Favors Granted to St. Joseph shows how this greatest of the Patriarchs is the patron of all Christians and how wonderfully he answers prayers; plus; it gives many of the ways of honoring him and many prayers to request his intercession. One of the finest books on St. Joseph; it will surely inspire the reader with a profound devotion to this great "Patron of the Universal Church."
Nuns Without Cloister explores one of the first and most innovative among the non-cloistered women's congregations established after the Council of Trent. Under the aegis of a Jesuit missionary, the first Sisters of St. Joseph envisioned a direct role for religious women in the secular society of mid-seventeenth century France and quietly broke the ecclesiastical and cultural barriers that opposed it. This book opens perspectives on the sisters' success through a politics of discretion and the introduction of creative variety in their lives in country parishes or in the urban orphanages, hospitals, and reformatories for fallen women of the ancien r gime. Vacher's methodology, comparing the congregation's theoretical, prescriptive documents with evidence about the actual life of these communities in southern France, leads to the question of whether and to what degree succeeding generations grasped the original inspiration. Sisters of St. Joseph preceding the French Revolution established a paradigm for the active, apostolic women's congregations of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries that supplied the workforce behind Catholic schools, colleges, hospitals, and orphanages in the United States, Canada, and elsewhere. In researching them, Nuns Without Cloister addresses a little understood but central dimension in the early modern foundations of contemporary Catholicism.
Saint Joseph lived his life hidden in the Divine Light of the Sacred Mysteries. He was a living prayer of faith, trust, and dedication. Understand more clearly the great humility of dear Saint Joseph, who was constantly aware of the goodness of God and the nothingness of himself, in this beautiful account of his life, as revealed by Jesus to Sister Maria Cecilia Baij in 1736.
