SSJ Spiritual Resources

Our personal spiritual growth is nourished and enhanced by daily, or frequent, spiritual readings, prayers, and periods of quiet contemplation and reflection.  Here we offer you a variety of resources from within the larger SSJ community to assist you on your journey.

Maxims of the Little Institute and the Maxims of Perfection

The Maxims of the Little Institute are extracted in various ways from a spiritual book composed by Father MédaiIle at a date unknown to us and eventu­ally published at Clermont-Ferrand in 1657 under the rather lengthy title: Maxims of Perfection for Souls Aspiring to the Great Virtue.

Maxims — A Modern Take

More than 360 years ago, Father Jean Pierre Médaille, SJ, composed the Maxims of the Little Institute, 100 short sayings to help the first Sisters of St. Joseph grow in virtue. We share them here, along with contemporary translations developed by Susan Wilcox, CSJ, Brentwood, and a group of her students.

maxim-MODERN-12

MAXIM 12

ORIGINAL

Choose to bear all the evils of time rather than the least of eternity, all the evils of nature rather than the least deprivation of grace, since all kinds of reasons illumined by faith teach you to live according to this truth.

Original Maxim 12
as written by Fr. Médaille

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MAXIM 26

ORIGINAL

Seek in everything God's contentment and not anything else, and the better to practice this, remember in the entire living out of your life, in desolation, in sick¬ness, etc., to desire God's greater contentment without giving a thought to your own interests.

Original Maxim 26
as written by Fr. Médaille

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MAXIM 54

ORIGINAL

Empty yourself of all human respect and of the least blameworthy concession, and declare, with a generous heart, never to yield in anything that would be against God's will.

Original Maxim 6
as written by Fr. Médaille

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MAXIM 81

ORIGINAL

Whatever the virtue you recognize in yourself, never turn away from a true fear of God, conscious that his judgments are unfathomable and that his appraisals are quite different from ours.

Original Maxim 81
as written by Fr. Médaille

Read all Maxims

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Simply said, our mission is to unite all people with one another and God by responding to the world's ever-changing needs and serving the neighbor without distinction.

Ash Wednesday: the beginning of lent

By Sisters of St. Joseph of Northwestern PA | March 1, 2017

You are dust and to dust you shall return.  Repent and believe in the gospel.   With these words ashes are imposed on the foreheads of the faithful at mass on Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent.  Lent, from the Teutonic word lente, meaning springtime, is the traditional forty-day period of preparation for the resurrection…

Prayer

By Sisters of St. Joseph of Northwestern PA | December 15, 2016

There is no one way to pray; there are as many ways as there are pray-ers. Teresa of Avila says, “Prayer is nothing but friendly intercourse, and frequent solitary converse, with Him Who we know loves us.” Prayer is my personal relationship with my God, Who speaks to me every day in His Word, in…

Enhancing Life with Spiritual Growth

By Sisters of St. Joseph of Northwestern PA | December 15, 2016

Spirituality is key to becoming a whole and complete person. It is the catalyst for a relationship with God, with others and with our world. Henri Nouwen, a Jesuit Priest, captured it well: To pray does not mean to think about God in contrast to thinking about other things, or to spend time with God…