How do you pray? Could there be a more personal question? Or one more challenging to answer? Yet, 55 Religious of the Sacred Heart–Roman Catholic sisters—took on the question with their characteristic humility, openness, courage and humor. Their answers are as different as they are. Together, the essays in this book reveal not just the individuality of these women, but the beauty of their relationships with the “one whom they love.” For each of us, prayer is all about a personal, individual relationship with God. Those of us who have not taken religious vows may think Catholic sisters have some secret formula for prayer, or that they have a more direct line of communication to God. What you’ll find in these essays is that we all struggle with the same distractions, the same questions, the same desire for intimacy with our God. Prayer, it would seem, is not so much a skill as it is a journey. This book may not teach you how to pray. But in reading these honest, straight-forward accounts from some veteran pray-ers, you might find the encouragement and reassurance to recognize that you, too, are already on the right path. After all, the desire to be in communion with God is itself a perfect prayer.

Seeking the One Whom We Love: How RSCJs Pray

Religion & Spirituality

Hughes RSCJ, Kathleen

Meyerhoff, Therese Fink

Worship & Devotion

Society of the Sacred Heart

Two hundred years ago, Rose Philippine Duchesne set out across the Atlantic to establish the Society of the Sacred Heart and educate the children in the new world. Opening the first Catholic school west of the Mississippi, Mother Duchesne, known as “the woman who prays always,” crossed frontiers to bring faith, love, and education to the world. From a convent in France to the frontier of the New World….a child and then a nun in a convent boarding school dreamt of bringing the Gospel to the native peoples. She persevered through Revolution, uncertainty, and long years of waiting, finally to follow her dream on the Missouri frontier, only to find it not at all what she had imagined. The life and relationships of Rose Philippine Duchesne reveal the heart and soul of a pioneer woman of faith on fire with love of God, in the context of the rapidly-expanding settlement of the Midwest in the first half of the nineteenth century, and its catastrophic effects on the native peoples in its wake.

Saint Rose Philippine Duchesne: A Heart on Fire across Frontiers

Osiek, RSCJ Carolyn

Christian Books & Bibles

Philippine Duchesne is remembered today as a saint, a woman of prayer, and a figure of courage. Her memory has inspired women and men for generations to witness to the love of God in the world around them, even in stark circumstances. This collection, published on the occasion of the bicentennial of Saint Philippine’s arrival in North America, gathers reflections on Philippine from across these generations. Through them, Philippine teaches us about prayer, friendship, courage, integrity, and persistence.

A Life Given in Love: Reflections on Philippine Duchesne

Mousseau, RSCJ Juliet

Volume 1: 1769-1828. In 1818, Mother Rose Philippine Duchesne, of the newly-founded Society of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, left France to participate in the missionary expansion of the Catholic Church in the New World, at the request of Bishop Louis William Dubourg, named bishop of “Louisiana.” This vast area, acquired by the United States from France in 1803, extended over a territory of 530,000,000 acres (828,000 square miles), from New Orleans to Canada, including all the lands drained by the vast river system of the Mississippi and the Missouri, the future Midwest of the United States. Navigation was often difficult and the postal system disrupted.
The writings of Saint Philippine—656 letters, five journals and a few shorter documents, all in French (except for one letter in English)—constitute a rich source of information about her missionary call and the sacrifices involved, the primitive life of the first years on the Missouri frontier, and the development of the Catholic Church and the Society of the Sacred Heart in North America during thirty-four years. They depict her heroic life, widely recognized by historians of pioneer American Catholic life, and reveal her holiness, proclaimed by the Catholic Church in 1988. All of her writings have not been available to readers and researchers until now. This annotated edition brings them all together.

Philippine Duchesne, Pioneer on the American Frontier (1769-1852) Volume 1: Complete Works

Carreel, RSCJ Marie-France

Gimber, RSCJ Frances

Volume 2: 1829-1852. In 1818, Mother Rose Philippine Duchesne, of the newly-founded Society of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, left France to participate in the missionary expansion of the Catholic Church in the New World, at the request of Bishop Louis William Dubourg, named bishop of “Louisiana.” This vast area, acquired by the United States from France in 1803, extended over a territory of 530,000,000 acres (828,000 square miles), from New Orleans to Canada, including all the lands drained by the vast river system of the Mississippi and the Missouri, the future Midwest of the United States. Navigation was often difficult and the postal system disrupted.The writings of Saint Philippine—656 letters, five journals and a few shorter documents, all in French (except for one letter in English)—constitute a rich source of information about her missionary call and the sacrifices involved, the primitive life of the first years on the Missouri frontier, and the development of the Catholic Church and the Society of the Sacred Heart in North America during thirty-four years. They depict her heroic life, widely recognized by historians of pioneer American Catholic life, and reveal her holiness, proclaimed by the Catholic Church in 1988. All of her writings have not been available to readers and researchers until now. This annotated edition brings them all together.

Philippine Duchesne, Pioneer on the American Frontier (1769-1852) Volume 2: Complete Works

Saint Rose Philippine Duchesne ? 1769-1852A native of Grenoble and child of the French Revolution, Philippine was attracted to a life of prayer, but also filled with longing to bring God's love to the New World. With great-hearted courage, she became a woman of the American frontier in 1818, opening schools and orphanages while struggling with how best to serve every person she met, including Native American and enslaved people. Because of her missionary zeal, the Society of the Sacred Heart has spread to more than 40 countries across the world. Let her spirit speak to you of the frontiers that call to your heart and God's grace that supports your response.

Philippine Duchesne: A Global View

Meet Saint Madeleine Sophie Barat, a courageous woman who founded the Society of the Sacred Heart. From a young child born in Joigny, France, to becoming a nun in Paris, she devoted her life to God, educating young girls and helping the poor. This inspirational children's story is beautifully illustrated.Saint Madeleine Sophie Barat was born in Joigny, France. She came from a simple family that taught her to work hard and be a good person. Her brother, Louis, helped shape who she became and helped her realize that God had a great mission for her. Together with other religious, Sophie founded a congregation consecrated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. That congregation, the Society of the Sacred Heart, had as its objective the formation of young girls so that they might one day be good mothers to their families and be good Christians in order to better Society. This path was not an easy one but with tenacity and love, her labours paid off and her objectives were met.

Saint Madeleine Sophie: Foundress of the Society of the Sacred Heart

Children's Books

Gabriel Y Galán, Marian

Religions

For thirty years, Sister Shirley Miller has seen and heard God in every person she met on her journey through life. Wherever she has encountered them-in the mountains, by oceans and rivers, at the countryside, and in classrooms-she has been enriched by what people have revealed to her. "Each day we are given opportunities to see beauty all around us," says Sister Shirley. "All we have to do is pay attention." This book is an invitation to do just that. You don't need a camera, just an attentive heart.

Do Not Forget What Your Eyes Have Seen

Miller, Shirley

Lucile Mathevon, RSCJ (1793-1876): Friend of the Potawatomi

Biographies & Memoirs

Osiek, Carolyn

Rosenthal, Helen

Leaders & Notable People

Transformed: One Congregation's Response to the Second Vatican Council and the Calls of the World

See the best price to sell, buy or rent books by the Society of the Sacred Heart publisher. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Society of the Sacred Heart