WELCOME

SISTERS OF ST. JOSEPH

of Northwestern Pennsylvania

Come to the Waters, is a history of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Northwestern Pennsylvania written by Leonie Shanley, SSJ, and Mary Francis Becker, SSJ, on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the Sisters of St. Joseph in the Diocese of Erie in 2010. Click here to explore the book.

News

we remember . . . Mary Kay McNelis, SSJ

| December 21, 2020

Sister Mary Kay McNelis, SSJ, (formerly Sr. Carmelita), 91, of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Northwestern Pennsylvania, died on December 20, 2020. She was born in Altoona, PA, on September 9, 1929, the daughter of the late Atty. Gerald A. and Katharine (Judermanns) McNelis. She entered the Sisters of St. Joseph from St. Andrew…

we remember … Joyce Lowrey, SSJ

| December 8, 2020

Sister Joyce Lowrey, SSJ, 81, formerly Sister Virginia, of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Northwestern Pennsylvania died on December 7, 2020. Sister Joyce was born on February 18, 1939, in Meadville, Pennsylvania, the daughter of the late John and Virginia Anderhalt Lowrey. She graduated from Penn Hills Jr./Sr. High School, Pittsburgh, PA, in 1956,…

Recycling Made Simple – Virtual Event

| November 2, 2020

The Sisters of St. Joseph of Northwestern Pennsylvania are sponsoring a virtual recycling education event to help the community learn more about recycling in the Erie County area. A great deal of confusion exists about recycling, and residents are often left wondering: What is recyclable? What isn’t? Do I have to clean items first? Do…

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 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

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

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

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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