Research Guides: Spirit of the Founders: Books & Media

What We're Reading

River of Fire : My Spiritual Journey by Helen Prejean
Call Number: BX4705.P691673 A3 2019
ISBN: 9781400067305
Publication Date: 2019-08-13
Sister Helen's story leading up to her acclaimed book Dead Man Walking. One of the country's leaders in efforts to abolish the death penalty, Sister Helen shares the story of her growth as a spiritual leader, speaks out about the challenges of the Catholic Church, and shows that joy and religion are not mutually exclusive. (Kirkus Reviews)

Books highlighting the Spirit of the Founders

Read about the CSJs in France, the United States, and Los Angeles, plus a fascinating profile of a family of Sisters at MSMU.

All Things New by Sister Mary Williams, CSJ
Call Number: BX4489.6.C3 .W55 2014 (CSJ Institute)
Publication Date: 2014
Former MSMU professor and provost Sister Mary Williams has written an engaging and fascinating history of the CSJs in the western United States, from their perilous trek across the Arizona desert to founding the Mount to their current ministries in Los Angeles. An must-read for faculty, staff and students.
Journeys of the Heart : Three Sisters, Three Nuns by MaryAnn Bonino
Call Number: BX4489.6.C3 B66 (CSJ Institute)
Publication Date: 2016
Three girls born into great wealth, their family equally at home in Switzerland, Italy and Mexico. And yet all three give up everything to serve God and the "Dear Neighbor" as Sisters of St. Joseph of of Carondelet. Two of the three were language professors at MSMU, while the third, a nurse, served as CEO of the CSJs' Daniel Freeman Hospital well into her 80s. The author is professor emerita MaryAnn Bonino.
Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet by Sister Dolorita Marie Dougherty, CSJ
Call Number: BX4489.6.C3 S5 (multiple copies)
Publication Date: 1966
A dense but comprehensive history of the Carondelets in the United States, from their arrival in St. Louis from France in the 1830s to the beginnings of profound change in the mid-1960s following Vatican II. A vital resource for anyone needing a full picture of the CSJs in America.
Spirited Lives by Carol K. Coburn; Martha Smith
Call Number: BX4220.U6 C63 1999 (Chalon)
ISBN: 9780807824733
Publication Date: 1999-04-26
This is one of the first recent books to give serious scholarly attention to American nuns. Experiencing discrimination based on gender as well as religion, this book anchors sisters firmly in American history and reveals their often overlooked contributions to education, healthcare and scholarship. While this book treats many different orders of sisters, the primary focus is the CSJs. The authors are professors at Avila University, one of MSMU's sister schools in the Carondelet family. Available in the libraries in both print and as an ebook.
Nuns Without Cloister by Marguerite Vacher; United States Federation Staff (Translator); Patricia Byrne (Translator)
Call Number: BX4488 .V3313 2010 (Chalon)
ISBN: 9780761843429
Publication Date: 2010-04-12
This scholarly work probes the first two centuries of the Sisters of St. Joseph in France, comparing their innovative written rule of religious life (their "primitive" constitutions) with the way members actually lived and worked among the poor. An understanding of this epoch -- and how truly radical the CSJ model was -- is a prerequisite to interpreting their later work in 19th and 20th Century America, as well as developments after Vatican II when the CSJs once again defied church and culture to return to their roots.

More books

The CSJ Institute in the Doheny Mansion has a library of more than 200 books by and about the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, including histories, their work in education and nursing, and many master's theses and doctoral dissertations that in some way touch on their charism.

TIP Search our library catalog under SUBJECT: "CSJ Collection -- Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet" to see our holdings.

Two historic collections related to MSMU and the CSJs are located in the McCarthy Library.

The Sister Rebecca Doan, CSJ, Collection in the History of Nursing Education contains books -- many owned by Sister Rebecca herself -- related to the creation of the Bachelor of Science in Nursing Degree in 1949, the first in California's first..
The Sister Callista Roy, CSJ, Roy Adaptation Model Research Collection has many of the books Sister Callista used in researching and building the model in the 1960s and 1970s.

Media : The CSJ Oral History Project

Hear the sisters explain their charism in their own words. You may have seen snippets already but there is a treasure trove of interviews with more than 50 sisters available on the Mount's YouTube channel, titled "The CSJ Oral History Project." Start with this introductory video and use the page navigation to find the others. There are currently about 15 with more coming in the future.

Media: Other perspectives on the lives of women religious

These documentaries about women in different orders, including some who left, shed light on how they lived a religious life. (Resources in Kanopy are for Mount students, faculty, and staff only. Please note that viewing for 30 seconds or longer triggers a cost to MSMU, so please view judiciously.)

Sisters in Ministry: The Gospel in Action
If you've never met a nun, this 5-minute YouTube video by the Global Sisters Report explains who Catholic sisters are and how they live, work and serve others.
View in Kanopy | Band of Sisters (2012)
In the tumultuous 1960s, Catholic sisters embrace the call of Vatican II, venture forth from their convents, and become leaders in the feminist, civil rights, antiwar and environmental movements. Fifty years later, U.S. nuns continue to champion those who are voiceless in society - winning over opponents with a bewildering combination of spirituality and nonviolent activism.
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Weaving sweeping history with an intimate look into the lives of contemporary American nuns, the film keeps returning to two sisters, whose compassion for immigrant detainees drives them to confront and change a cruel system of detention and deportation. From organic farmers to directors of inner-city holistic health centers, theologians to lobbyists, peace activists to podcasters - these sisters are living out their calling in ways their orders' founders could never have imagined.
View in Kanopy | Breaking Silence: The Sisters at de Sales Heights (1996)
This compelling documentary reveals life behind the cloistered walls of a 150-year-old monastery, as it follows the twelve elderly nuns preparing to face the outside world for the first time in their adult lives.
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Breaking Silence: The Story of the Sisters at De Sales Heights examines the effects on the members of this unusual community as they respond to pressures from the world around them. A rare and intimate insight into a way of life that may soon be gone forever, the film raises important questions about the changing role of women in society and what happens to those whose roles are no longer valued.
View in Kanopy | Out of Order (1983)
In Out of Order six former Catholic nuns tell why they entered and why they left religious life. The women (filmmaker Diane Christian is one of them) describe their years in the convent and their return to the secular world.
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The former nuns talk about single life and marriage (three are married, one to a former priest), about the changed place of religion in their lives, about sex roles, about institutional supports and burdens, about work. Three of the women teach - one at a state university, one in an inner city grammar school, one at a suburban high school. One woman is an artist, one an insurance agent, one a private investor. The film shows them at work and at home in New York, Massachusetts, Texas and Maryland.

Out of Order offers unique insight into female socialization and identity in modern America by probing ideals and realities of womanhood, sex, work and service from an unknown and unusual perspective. Primary funding for Out of Order was provided by a production grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. The film has been digitally restored.

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Kanopy
LA Theatre Works

Kanopy This link opens in a new window
Kanopy is a streaming video resource with a broad collection of over 30,000 films on a multitude of subjects from leading producers/distributors, such as Criterion Collection, Kino Lorber, A24 and many more.

Effective July 1, 2021, MSMU Libraries will transition to a Smart DDA model, which means that users will still have immediate access to over 10,000 films - including our currently licensed 230 films. Some Kanopy titles will be requestable through a form so please allow 24-48 hours to make these films available.

Kanopy at MSMU

What is it?

Kanopy is an on-demand film streaming service that has a broad collection of over 30,000 full-length films on a multitude of subjects from leading producers/distributors, such as Criterion Collection, The Great Courses, New Day Films, Samuel Goldwyn, PBS, and more.

How to Access Kanopy

Films can be streamed from any computer, television, mobile device, or platform by visiting msmu.kanopy.com or downloading the Kanopy app.

How to Log in

Use your MSMU credentials to create an account, or simply start streaming.
If you are on campus, you do not need to login to start streaming.

Please help us keep costs down by exiting out of a film quickly if you don't plan to watch it. After 30 seconds of viewing, the license triggers.

If you create a Kanopy account with your MSMU credentials, you will be able to:

create clips and playlists
embed films in course websites
have access to other tools as well

Kanopy has many titles of unique educational, social, and cultural value. Enjoy!

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