Ave Maria! What a blessed weekend. Yesterday marked a new milestone–18 miles! It was such a joy to push through this training run–we offered it up especially for all who’ve been praying and offering financial gifts so that I can enter religious life.

With less then 4 days until the special Mike Mangione and the Union Benefit Concert, we are getting really excited! Blue Star Wine Bar is donating appetizers for guests to enjoy that evening, so we hope everyone registers so we have enough food. We have to let the restaurant know by Wednesday, so register now! Please keep spreading the word, this will be a wonderful evening to share with friends and family. Many thanks again to Mike and his band, as well as Rob and Spirit Juice Studios for helping make this happen.

Blue Star Wine Bar is also offering a coupon–if a guest purchases dinner and a beverage with the coupon (click here), $4 will be donated to the Mission of Our Lady of the Angels. If you are in Illinois, make sure to take advantage of this great offer! Blue Star has incredible Mediterranean food and a fantastic selection of fine wines and craft beers.

Alright…you are in my prayers! Thanks for all your prayers and support…I hope to see you and all your family and friends on Thursday night!

Ave Maria! What a gift to be a guest on the Drew Mariani show a few moments ago. Thanks so much for listening, and for your prayers and support to help me be debt-free so I can enter religious life!

Know of my daily prayers for you and your intentions. If you can help me with a gift to finish paying off my debt, please

Click Here

God bless you!

Ave Maria! Here are some quick updates:

- Training presses on–last week mileage racked up to 32 miles (including a 16 mile weekend run)!

- The debt total is down to $15,766.63! Praise the LORD!

- The Mike Mangione & the Union Benefit Concert is coming together so well. Rob/Spirit Juice Studios are on board to produce the show, posters are up in Wicker Park and Bucktown…and more promo is in the works! If you can help do street promotion or bring posters to businesses in Chicago or the suburbs, please email me ASAP, alicia.v.torres@gmail.com

That is all for now…your prayers, sacrifices and support are such a gift! Please keep praying and spread the word about the Benefit Concert on September 9! Be assured of my prayers for you and your intentions!

Ave Maria! On Saturday evening, we ran 15 miles, not only as part of official 10/10/2010 Chicago Marathon training, but also in honor of the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary. It was a beautiful run, 10 miles of which were along the Lake Front Trail. Stephanie, who was an NCAA track and cross country runner, has become my training partner, which is such a gift. She moved to the Mission about 2 weeks ago, and is so excited to take the first steps toward religious life as a Franciscan Sister. It is awesome to have Stephanie’s running company, especially as the miles tally up.

The first week of August was such a joy here at the Mission–we had two young men from Montana visiting, as well as Patrick, the seminarian from Pittsburgh who founded Run for Nuns. Patrick was such a joyful presence, and joined me on all my training runs–even the 7 miler at 4:30 a.m., during his stay. We were able to visit Marytown, the national shrine of St. Maximilian Kolbe, while he was hear, and fit in a 10 mile training run along the Lake Front Trail which accidentally became nearly 12 miles! The epic run ended as fireworks exploded at Navy Pier. Keep Patrick and all the seminarians around the country in your prayers, as they are beginning their studies once again. May God bless them for their generous hearts!

I have some exciting news! My debt is officially down to:

$21,520

Praise God! There is even better news…Mike Mangione and the Union have agreed to play a benefit concert to help raise funds for the Mission and for vocations…so this will directly assist me. What a gift! If you are in the Chicagoland area, please come out for a fantastic concert:

Details:
Mike Mangione and the Union Benefit Concert
Thursday Sept. 9, 2010
Concert Time: 8:00 p.m. (doors open at 7 p.m.)
Venue: St. Stanislaus School Gym, 1255 N. Noble St., Chicago, IL
Cost: $20/ticket

Please click on the button that says “OLA Benefit Concert” for more details and to order your tickets. Mike is a Catholic artist from the Midwest who’s mainstream music is imbued with themes of love, mercy and redemption. It is such an honor to receive his help. Please pray for the success of this benefit concert, and spread the word near and far!

Please know that you are daily in my prayers and lifted up on our runs. It is an honor to have your prayers and support…we are so close. May the Virgin Mary intercede for you and all your loved ones. God bless!

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!

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!

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!

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!

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!!