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

SSJs receive Human Rights Award

| September 3, 2019

The SSJ JPIC (Justice, Peace, Integrity of Creation) Team was awarded the Human Rights Award by the Church Women United for leadership; service as mentors and social activists; and for advocating for peace and justice. Thank you to our community partners shown in the photo: the Crime Victim Center of Erie and the Lutheran Women…

doing or being?

| September 3, 2019

Do you ever question whether you are doing enough for others, or feeling as if you are not doing as much as others might be doing? Do you compare your actions or good works with those of others? Does it sometimes seem that you fill your calendar with “good works” and then go through the…

meet SSJ Associate Joan Fels

| September 3, 2019

With Sr. Joyce Lowrey as her mentor, Joan became an associate in 2017. She is a member of Holy Cross parish in Fairview. She attends daily mass at the CLC and has come to know many of the sisters. She has been a member of a faith-sharing group for more than 10 years. Joan has…

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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