The Nun Run

+JMJ+

Our Lady of the Angels, Pray for us!

Ave Maria! What a gorgeous day in Chicago after a wet, wet, wet Saturday. Here at the Mission of Our Lady of the Angels, we shared the experience of many Chicagoland residents after the torrential rainfalls on Friday evening. Our Rectory and Church basements were flooded! Praise God the Rectory was not too bad…and God sent some angels to help us out!

A crew of Alumni from Marquette University had scheduled a volunteer day at the Mission a while back, and were able to help us with our swapping and mopping of well over 100 gallons of water. And, on a fun note, 2 were training for a marathon and one for an ultramarathon! So in the midst of the puddles we swapped training and nutrition stories and tips.

On to exciting news…today was a 12 mile training day, and my mile averaged out to 9:30! I am hoping to get down to a comfortable 9 min. mile before 10-10-10 (Chicago MARATHON)! Next weekend (August 1) is the Rock n’ Roll Chicago Half Marathon.

In other exciting news, the official debt total is:

$23,475.47

With the help of Patrick (www.RunForNuns.com) I was able to get 300 T-shirts printed to sell to help raise more money. The Shirts are brown and say “Run for Nuns”. They are selling at 1 for $15 or 2 for $25. My resources are limited as far as shipping goes, but if you can order 4 or more shirts, I will ship outside of the Chicago area. Email me at nunrunnow@gmail.com if you are interested.

Finally…check back here soon for some very exciting news! We are solidifying details for a new event to help finish paying off my student loan debt. With Novitiate set to begin October 4, I have 69 days to finish paying off my debt! Please, keep up the prayers, God is answering them every day.

Know that you remain in my daily prayers, and if you know anyone who can help, please encourage them to make a financial gift by clicking here. God bless!

+JMJ+

Ave Maria! It’s been a month since I’ve posted…and a busy month indeed! I continue to train for the Chicago Marathon (Oct. 10) and the 1/2 Marathon (August 1), and training is going well!

Through the generosity of family and friends I was able to travel to the East Coast to visit my parents and extended family over the 4th of July weekend. From there I headed out to Colorado to visit some very good friends of mine. I spent a few days in the beautiful Rocky Mountains. I’d never been before, and I was absolutely stunned by the beauty. I woke up by 5:30 each morning so that I could pray and watch the beautiful sun rise upon the mountains. What a gift!

And…the mystery of my foot/ankle injuries is solved! One of the muscles in my right leg is weak, so it had caused me to alter my form which set everything else out of whack. After a visit to Tom, a local Chiropractor in a town near where I stayed in CO and a new pair of sandals courtesy of my friend Jane, I’m on the road to recovery! Praise God!

Sunday was a 10 mile day–brutal in the heat, but wouldn’t miss that training run! With less than $29,000 to pay off, I have a lot of motivation! Our community is set to begin Novitiate this fall, but if I don’t have my debt paid off, I will have to continue to work and wait to begin Novitiate.

God has been so incredibly generous, and so many of you have been very kind collaborators in God’s generosity. I trust in His goodness!

We have a new Nun Run event in the works which I’ll announce soon, but in the meantime please spread the word about the Nun Run and keep me in your prayers. You are remembered in my daily prayers and sacrifices! God bless!

+JMJ+

St. Anthony, pray for us!

Ave Maria! Joyful feast of St. Anthony of Padua–a great Franciscan saint!

I was able to run in the 13.1 Series today, and it was a fantastic road race! I set a new PR–2:10:30–running just under 10 minute miles. The field was under 5000, but still was a good showing of racers. Fans were sparse, but those who came out were very kind. Thanks to all the race volunteers–especially the Mt. Carmel HS students!

Thanks for your on-going prayers and support! I am $29,000 away from paying off my student loan debt! Please let me know if you can help me get one step closer to religious life. God bless you, and know of my prayers for you!

Jesus, I trust in You!

+JMJ+

Ave Maria! It has been over a month since I posted…I apologize. It has been an incredibly blessed (and busy) month, for sure!

Last weekend, Cardinal George came to bless the nearly-fully renovated convent here at the Mission of Our Lady of the Angels. Visit www.MissionOLA.com for some beautiful pictures of the convent. You’ll also see pictures of Our Lady of the Angels Church–which we are JUST beginning to rebuild. It will take a miracle, but with God, all things are possible!

And…the running update: I am still running (of course)! I ran 9-10 miles yesterday along the Lakefront, which was beautiful. Be assured, each mile was offered up for various intentions, including yours. This coming Sunday, June 13, is not only the feast of St. Anthony (a great Franciscan saint), but also “13.1 Chicago”. I’ll be running this half marathon, and am VERY excited! The route is very similar to September’s half here in the Windy City, but it begins a bit further south along Lake Shore Drive.

On the fund-raising front: the estimated student loan debt left to be paid is roughly $30K. This is give or take a few thousand, depending on the exact donation total from the Run for Nuns Campaign. Patrick and the Pittsburgh seminarians, priests and deacon have been incredibly generous, and I am still humbled by their kindness! Please keep them in your prayers!

If you know anyone who can assist me in paying off the rest of my student loan debt, please let me know! Our hope is to begin Novitiate this fall, and I won’t be able to move forward until my debt is paid off! I trust in God’s Divine Providence!

Please keep me in your prayers, and know of mine for you. If you can make a gift to assist me, please visit Donate Today to do so! God bless you!

+JMJ+

Ave Maria! What a blessed weekend in Pittsburgh. Thanks to the generosity of my dad, I was able to fly out to the City of Bridges where Joyce met me at the airport. Thankfully we made it to St. Paul Seminary just in time for a beautiful Mass and Evening Prayer with all the Run for Nuns people! It was such a joy to meet Patrick and the other seminarians, priests and deacons who have given so sacrificially of their time, talent and prayer for myself and the other future sisters. I also got to meet many of the TOR Franciscan Sisters from Ohio, as well as some other wonderful young women. The spirit of Christian love and joy abounded!

Thanks to Thom and Candie who so generously opened their home to Joyce and I. We got up on Sunday before dawn to head into the city for a 7:30 start time…and Thom and Candie were downstairs at 6 AM to send us off!

The race itself was…awesome!  I did have some mild ankle issues leading up to the race that truncated training, but by the grace of God it went really well! My finishing time for the Half Marathon (and new PR) was 2:21:04!

I was able to meet up with some of the Run for Nuns team after the race, and everyone was in great spirits. Please keep William, one of the seminarians, in your prayers, as he has  foot injury from the race.

Not only did they and do they continue to pray and sacrifice for us, but the Run for Nuns team has also broken their initial goal of raising $15,000!!! Sometimes God moves mountains…other times, He detonates them!

Thank you for your love and prayers, and please keep the Run for Nuns team, the seminarians, priests, deacon and future sisters in your prayers! Don’t forget to visit www.RunForNuns.com to donate! Know of my daily prayers and sacrifices for you! We’ll get a photo up soon!

+JMJ+

Ave Maria! Great news…the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has run a fantastic story on Run for Nuns!! I got a phone call a few minutes ago from Patrick, one of the Seminarians who is so generously organizing Run for Nuns and running this coming Sunday, letting me know the good news!

Check out the story here.

Keep us all in your prayers, that all the runners are safe this weekend, and pray that God moves many hearts to help support this effort so that myself and the other ladies can be free to enter religious life! God bless you!!

+JMJ+

Ave Maria! What a beautiful day. Thanks to your prayers and support, I just paid off another chunk of my student loans! The grand total due is down to $46,937.89 from over $94,000 less than a year ago! This is truly miraculous, and a manifestation of God’ s Divine Providence.

I ask for your prayers for the Run for Nuns team–these selfless seminarians, priests and a deacon from the Diocese of Pittsburgh are incredibly generous, and next weekend, May 2nd, will participate in the Pittsburgh Marathon for myself and a couple of other young women who are just waiting and working to pay off our debts so we can be free to enter religious life! Check out www.RunForNuns.com. I’m excited to be traveling with Joyce from Chicago to Pittsburgh next weekend to run the 1/2 Marathon in support of the Run for Nuns team. I am so excited to meet them and have been humbled by their efforts.

Truly, with God all things are possible. Know of my daily prayers for you and your intentions–please, if you have ideas or can assist me in paying off the remainder of my student loan debt, let me know! In the meantime, I continue to work, pray and of course…RUN! More soon as we gear up for the Pittsburgh Marathon and Run for Nuns in just 7 days!!

+JMJ+

Jesus died for our sins...may we live for Him!

Ave Maria! Dearest friends, peace to you as we enter into the holiest week of the year! I am sorry to not post more regularly, but I think I’ll have a little more time now that Lent is winding down.

Thank you for your prayers and support–the Shamrock Shuffle was great! I finished the 8K in 48:11, which was awesome. It was cold when we began, and somehow I ended up one of the last to cross the starting line…but that only meant I basically ran the entire race passing thousands of others–in fact, I finished around 11,000 out of 25,000, so that was a good boost for my running confidence.

I have great news! Joyce and I are going to travel to Pittsburgh for the Half Marathon on May 2! I was just on the phone with Patrick, one of the very generous seminarians who will be running either the relay or full Pittsburgh Marathon to help raise funds for myself and two other future sisters! Have you visited www.RunForNuns.com yet? Please check it out!

I am working with Patrick to put together a PR plan to get some good media exposure for Run for Nuns. If you have connections, please let me know–this is such a beautiful story. Priests, seminarians and a deacon running and offering up prayers and sacrifice so that we can be free to enter religious life! It is so counter cultural, and so beautiful!

Please pray for all of us as we are training for this race. Emily, one of the future sisters, is actually running the full marathon! Right now Joyce and I have mild injuries (I have a double ankle sprain), so please pray for a good recovery. In the mean time, it is just another gift to offer up for the Glory of God!

Know that you are all in my prayers, and I am so humbled by your generosity and love. Please spread the word about Run for Nuns and the Nun Run! We need your support–both spiritual and financial–so that we can be free to give ourselves completely to Jesus!

Summertime View of the City from the Lake Front Trail

+JMJ+

Ave Maria! Blessed Sunday…just a quick update. As flurries begin to fall out the window, prep for the Shamrock Shuffle on March 21 is going well! I’ve been blessed with some great cold weather gear, and my lake front trail runs–while chilly–have been fantastic.

Please continue to pray for the repose of the soul of Thomas Ongige, a Seminarian for the Archdiocese of Chicago, who passed away unexpectedly on Thursday February 18. May he rest in peace!

Look out for more activity @NunRun…God bless and know of my constant prayers for you–with a little under $54K to raise before I can be free to say “Fiat” to Jesus, please keep me in prayer and spread the word to all who are willing to support me spiritually and financially! Don’t forget to check out www.RunForNuns.com! God bless you on this Second Sunday of Lent!

+JMJ+

Ave Maria! What joy I have to share–this is really God’s generosity at full-throttle!

In January I received an email from a seminarian for the Pittsburgh Diocese named Patrick. He and his classmates, along with a Deacon and two Priests, are planning to run the Full or Relay Pittsburgh Marathon…for future nuns!! These men of God are sacrificing time, prayers and much effort to train for and fund-raise to assist myself and three other young women in paying off our debts so that we can answer Jesus’ invitation to Religious Life!

Please join me in praying for Michael A., Patrick, Deacon Tom, R.J., Michale R., Carl, William, Fr. Dennis and Fr. Mike. The Pittsburgh Marathon is on May 2! You can learn more about these generous seminarians, deacon and priests online at www.RunForNuns.com, and follow the team on Twitter @RunForNuns. If you are in the Pittsburgh area, please plan to be in the crowd to encourage them on race day. Also, please support their efforts to raise funds!! May God bless them for their generosity and great charity! Bear in mind, I have never met Patrick or his classmates–he stumbled upon the NunRun online, and offered to help. What a gift!