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Jena Thralls

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Retired sisters share Saint Mother Theodore and her home

“When I think of the challenges facing our Congregation today … it may seem like all appearances are against a vibrant future. I am called to remember what the six founding sisters faced, and that deepens my faith and trust in Providence.”

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Struggles of a saint: Saint Mother Theodore Guerin

Do you know the story of Saint Mother Theodore’s painful relationship with the Bishop Cèlestine de la Hailandière of Vincennes, Indiana? At one point Bishop de la Hailandière went so far as to lock Saint Mother Theodore in the room and excommunicate her from the Congregation.

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From troubled teen to sister in medicine: Sister Barbara Battista

Who would think that a wild teenager, kicked out of her Catholic school her sophomore year, would end up a Sister of Providence? But that is part of Sister Barbara Battista’s story. From wild child to pharmacist to Physician Assistant, Sister Barbara’s story has some unexpected turns.

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A Litany of Women for the Church

A Litany of Women for the Church Dear God, creator of women in your own image, born of a woman in the midst of a world half women, carried by women to mission fields around the globe, made known by women to all the children of the earth, give to the women of our time…

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4.5 things you wanted to know

You asked … so we dug deeper for knowledge of Mother Theodore.

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How will you live out her words?

We live in constant fear of the future because it is the one thing that we feel like we don’t have complete control over. That’s just it. We don’t have complete control over the future and we should accept that fact. This year, I’m going to try very hard to do these things that I think will help me better live through the words of Mother Theodore:

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Letter: Jan 18. 1856

“When we are cold is not the time to keep away from the fire.” It’s a fitting statement for the weather here lately, but what does it really mean?

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Letter: Jan. 13, 1853

“Be careful not to give way to your temper, which makes you unsupportable. You would be a thousand times happier in resisting it,” wrote Mother Theodore on Jan. 13, 1853.

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ONE of several, but Indiana’s first

Mother Theodore is one of several U.S. saints, but Indiana’s very first!

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Mother Theodore feast day: prayers to our faithful

After an emotional Mass in celebration of the feast of Saint Mother Theodore Guerin on Friday, Oct. 3, the Woods community is still buzzing with excitement.
During Mass yesterday, Sister Lisa Stallings, Sisters of Providence Vicar, shared the prayer below, written by Sister Donna Butler.

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Letter: Jan. 13 1849

Saint Mother Theodore Guerin is considered a saint today, but during her time on Earth, she was a down-to-earth mother of many daughters. She expresses her love for one of her daughters in this letter.

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Letter: January 1, 1854

It is yet another one of our favorite Saint Mother Theodore quotes! Who would have thought that a religious woman in the 1800s could give us millennials such great advice?

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Jena graduated from Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College in 2012 with a degree in journalism. She worked for the Sisters of Providence as a Marketing Manager.