WELCOME

SISTERS OF ST. JOSEPH

of Northwestern Pennsylvania

SLIDE-02

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.

Comments Box SVG iconsUsed for the like, share, comment, and reaction icons

News

Prayer Service 100th Anniversary for Suffragettes

The Sisters of St. Joseph are hosting a prayer service for the Erie community as part of the year-long celebration commemorating the 100th anniversary of the passing of the 19th Amendment and voting rights for women. Thursday, November 21, 2019      6:00 p.m.SSJ Community Living Center Chapel 5031 West Ridge RoadErie, PA Click here…

Read More...

Climate Strike—There is no “Planet B”!

Greta Thunberg, the Swedish teen whose solitary weekly climate strike has sparked a worldwide movement, shares a clear message about our climate. “I don’t want your hope. I don’t want you to be hopeful. I want you to panic…and act as if the house was on fire.” On September 20, people all over the world…

Read More...

meet SSJ Associate Dolores Miller

A native of Chicago, Dolores and her husband, Ron, settled in Erie in 1986. Dolores worked as a registered nurse at the SSJ infirmary and as a certified childbirth educator at Saint Vincent Health Center. Dolores volunteered her time teaching childbirth classes through Catholic Social Services. She taught religious education at St. Luke’s parish, served…

Read More...

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

maxim-MODERN-26

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-MODERN-54

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-MODERN-81

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