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Sister Emily TeKolste

Content written by Sister Emily

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Volunteer spotlight – Peggy Balensuela

If you’ve been considering volunteering with the Sisters of Providence, hesitate no longer! When the Sisters say “All Are Welcome,” they mean it. I am one of the many non-Catholics who passionately support their mission and the charism of St. Mother Theodore.

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Holy Week reflections with Saint Mother Theodore

We hope your time walking through Lent with Saint Mother Theodore Guerin has been beneficial. The week’s reflections below conclude this Lenten journey. May your Holy Week be blessed!

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Week 6: Walking through Lent with Saint Mother Theodore

We invite you to continue to walk through Lent with Saint Mother Theodore Guerin and with us with these short daily reflections for the coming week.
Sunday, April 2
“O my people! I will put my spirit in you that you may live, and I will settle you upon your land.” – Ezekiel 37:14

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Week 5: Daily reflections with Saint Mother Theodore Guerin

“I turned to my God and felt my confidence reanimated. If He takes away our last support, is it not because He wishes to be the sole support of His Daughters of the Woods?” – Saint Mother Theodore Guerin
• When has God remained faithful to me, even when all seemed hopeless?

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Week 4: Daily Lenten reflections with Saint Mother Theodore

“Continue to be faithful yourself, my dear child.” – Saint Mother Theodore Guerin
Week four daily Lenten reflections with Saint Mother Theodore

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Volunteer Spotlight – Karen Hoffman

It (volunteering) is such a rewarding experience – your payment is the smile on the lonely person’s face. The smallest effort can help ease someone’s burden when they are being crushed by the pains of life.

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Week 3: Walking through Lent with Saint Mother Theodore

Join us for week 3 of walking through Lent with Saint Mother Theodore Guerin with these short daily reflections.
“Do your utmost to be recollected at the time of prayer. There you will obtain all the graces you need … You will also obtain humility to see your faults without being vexed and discouraged. With a little good will you will become perfect at last.” – Saint Mother Theodore Guerin

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Week 2: daily Lenten reflections with Saint Mother Theodore

Join us this second week of Lent in daily spiritual reflections with Saint Mother Theodore Guerin. Check the blog each Sunday during Lent for short reflections created by Postulant Emily TeKolste for each day of the coming week.

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Walking through Lent with Saint Mother Theodore Guerin

We invite you to spend a few minutes each day reflecting on the scripture verses and the words of Saint Mother Theodore Guerin with these daily Lenten reflections. May your Lent be a time of deepening your spirituality and growing closer to God. And may your walk be a little more meaningful by sharing it with Saint Mother Theodore Guerin.

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Healing difficult relationships through writing

“I’ve used writing to work through difficult situations since I was a child, but had gotten away from this in recent years,” Frost said. “I needed a way to express all of the conflicting thoughts and emotions that go along with caring for someone you love, but who views you as the cause of her unhappiness. I read the description of Liza and Norbert’s workshop and immediately knew it was what I needed.”

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Seeking inner peace to create a more peaceful world: a young sister reflects

In seeking greater unity, we started on our own doorsteps. We were all women religious who wear common clothing similar to those around us. But women religious come in all clothing types. There has been a historical division between those who chose to remain in their habits and those who chose to shed their habits following the Second Vatican Council. Similarly, approaches to authority and the vow of obedience differ greatly, and often line up with differences in dress. Conversation throughout the weekend focused on bridging those historical divisions and developing strategy that allows for true collaboration.

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Inclusion means joining the conversation

The only way we can bridge that which divides us is through encounter. We must seek ways of listening to understand rather than listening to respond. That is why I chose to stand up publicly for a culture of civility and inclusion at our own Gathering in Solidarity at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods last Saturday. That is why I refused to let one point of disagreement with March organizers exclude me from participating in standing up for the very foundation of society: civil, respectful discourse. Similarly, that is why I participated in calling to task the organizers for excluding others based on one point of disagreement.

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Sister Emily TeKolste is in formation with the Sisters of Providence. She is a native of Indianapolis and has a degree in sociology from Xavier University in Cincinnati. Emily is passionate about justice with special interest in environmentalism and sustainability. You can follow her blog at solongstatusquoblog.wordpress.com. She currently ministers with the NETWORK lobby for Catholic social justice.

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To learn more about Sister Emily, view her sister profile page.