December 2015 e newsletter

Dominican Sisters of Saint Cecilia To Praise, to Bless, to Preach

Celebrating 800 Years of the

Order of Preachers

ABOUT THE JUBILEE

page 2 A DOMINICAN VOCATION A Homily by Fr. Colm Mannion, O.P.

pages 3-5 OUR SISTERS IN ROME CELEBRATE THE OPENING OF THE JUBILEE

page 6 ART AND PHOTOS

pages 7-9

Dear Friends, As we celebrate the Approval of the Order this December 22, we continue to thank God for bringing the Order of Preachers to this Jubilee Year. May the graces surrounding this celebration enrich our prayer, and inspire us to a more zealous celebration of the Lord’s birth!

The Dominican Sisters

About the Jubilee 800 years after the foundation of the Order, the Dominican way of life still offers the individual, and the world, a unique path to holiness. With the celebration of the 800th Jubilee, we recall the approval of the Dominican Order by Pope Honorius III in 1216. Giving thanks to God for the mercy shown to our Order, and for the sublime call to preach to others the Gospel of Mercy, we seek to renew our commitment to preaching for the salvation of souls.

The Jubilee Year opened on November 7, 2015, the Feast of All Dominican Saints, and will close on January 21, 2017. In addition to the commemoration of the December 22, 1216 approbation of the Order, various events will be hosted around the world throughout the year.

The Jubilee Year will be celebrated in various ways around the world. The Order has invited friends and supporters to sign up to receive news and updates about the Jubilee Year celebrations. Click here to sign up.

To learn more about the indulgences Pope Francis has extended to the faithful during this time, click here.

Click the logo on the right to watch the Jubilee Message from the Master of the Order, Father Bruno CadorĂŠ

A Dominican Vocation

A HOMILY GIVEN BY FATHER COLM MANNION, O.P., OF THE IRISH PROVINCE ~ ST. CECILIA MOTHERHOUSE, OCTOBER 4, 2015

Before joining the Dominican Friars in Ireland I was involved for some time with a Catholic lay movement. Through that work, I came in contact with a man named Tommy. Tommy grew up in Dublin’s north inner city and had become addicted to heroin before dropping out of school. He was soon trapped in a life of crime that led him from one disaster into another. One night, in prison for armed robbery, Tommy had a remarkable experience in which he felt the Lord was calling him to change his ways. To cut a long and amazing story short, Tommy broke away from the gang he had initially founded and began working for the Church as a lay apostle. Almost everyone who meets Tommy comes away inspired by his story. The sincerity of his faith has brought many back to the sacraments, including some of Ireland’s most hardened criminals. I met Tommy one Saturday afternoon when he was spending time with his son, Tommy Junior. The boy was about six years of age at the time and so I spoke as any adult would talk to a young child. He struck me as a very ordinary and happy child, but when I asked him what he wanted to be when he grew up I got a reply I did not expect. The boy told me he was “discerning”. Considering the child had not yet reached the canonical age of reason I can’t help but feel that perhaps it was the boy’s father who was doing the discerning!

The call to follow Jesus comes to different people in different ways. It’s always possible for someone, like Tommy, to live many years away from the Church and have an instant conversion. There are some, on the other hand, who genuinely know from an early age that they desire nothing else in life but to serve the Lord. I guess most of us fall somewhere in-between these two positions. We may know for some time that the Lord has a special plan for us, and yet we hesitate to respond. When we hear those words “come, follow me” sooner or later we must echo those words of St. Peter, “Lord, to whom else can we go?”. Because a vocation is a personal calling, we must each make our own journey. No two vocation stories are ever the same. Nevertheless, there is one thing we all share in common — when we have experienced a true encounter with Jesus, nothing can ever be the same again.

Following Christ begins something like a children’s fairytale, but with a very different ending. Almost every story for children begins with some unfortunate character, trapped in an unhappy situation. Then after some ‘soul searching’ and a series of random events, the central character eventually comes in contact with the person who can set them free…. “and they all live happily ever after”. Christ indeed heals our brokenness and frees us from the slavery of sin, but when we meet our Prince of Peace the story doesn’t end. In fact, the story just begins to get exciting. “And

they all lived happily ever after” is one of those lines common to all fairytales. On the surface the sentence sounds attractive, but when examined closely it proves to be the dullest line in any story.

It’s an empty phrase, effectively designed to stop children from asking further questions. As Dominicans, however, we always enjoy asking questions. Our life of study is the ongoing search, searching ever deeper into Truth, and discovering Truth is never dull or boring. G.K. Chesterton once said that there are only two things we can never get tired of, stories and people. Stories are always delightful, but God never intended our lives to tell a story with a dull, uneventful “happy ever after” ending. We were created for “eternal joy ever after” and we discover eternal joy in a person, Jesus Christ.

While we follow the way to “eternal joy ever after” we can expect some ups and downs. We are likely to experience spiritual highs along with some dark lows. There will be bright days when we feel intimately close to the Lord and nights possibly so dark that we struggle to keep our faith burning. One of my former Priors would often remind the community that “the spiritual life is not a fifty-meter sprint but a cross-country marathon”. In other words, we can’t make a ‘quick dash’ for holiness. It’s about persevering on that long road. All the crosses, toils, and disappointments we experience in this life are somehow part of God’s plan. They are necessary in some mysterious way for our salvation. We are being constantly molded and only God knows when and where we need a few lumps knocked off. It can be painful at the time, but God wants to shape us into something truly beautiful. If we allow him to work on us (on his terms, not ours) he will transform us into Saints.

So what’s the secret? How do we persevere when we are guaranteed that the road ahead will hit us a few hard knocks? Ultimately, we need God’s grace to persevere. Yet, there are some steps we can take to help us stay on the right path. Learning how to live a faithful Christian life need not be complicated. In fact, it can be surprisingly simple. Our Holy Father St. Dominic could sum it all up in one single word: Veritas. This word (the Latin for “Truth”) is the motto by which every Dominican lives. As the Order of Preachers we naturally associate Veritas with “Preaching the Truth”. That, undeniably, is at the heart of our vocation. However, before we can preach Truth we must live by Truth. Only if we practice an honest faith can this radical call to follow Jesus make any sense.

If we know how to be honest with ourselves and remain honest in prayer, I think we stand a pretty good chance of enduring whatever trials may come. Even if we experience doubt, if we experience fear, if we experience total darkness, we are never weak so long as we can come before the Lord in sincerity and truth. The more honest we are in our relationship with Jesus, the stronger we stand. A vocation cannot be judged by the strength of a person’s faith in Christ; a vocation is only discovered by the sincerity of a person’s love for Christ. St. Peter made more mistakes than any of the other disciples, and yet he was chosen as the leader. Why? Because he, more than the others, proved the honesty of

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his love. Remember, both Judas and Peter denied Christ. One despaired and rejected everything, even life itself; the other persevered and embraced a tortuous death. What was the difference? Judas was a liar; Peter had honesty.

When we think we know all the answers, we forget to ask the questions, and it is only by asking questions that we can come to know the truth about ourselves and something of the mysteries of God. “Ask and you shall receive, seek and you will find, knock and the door will be opened to you”: Our Lord promises that if you ask honest questions, you will find truthful answers. I often think of St. John the Baptist. No greater man had ever lived, according to Jesus. The Baptist recognized his Savior before he was even born, and thereafter devoted his entire life to preparing the way. Yet, even John the Baptist experienced a kind of faith crisis before the end. Locked in prison, aware his life could end at any moment, he questioned if all his work had been a waste of time: “Are you really the Messiah we have been waiting for, or are we to expect another?” It’s sobering to think that even John the Baptist could experience such a vocation crisis. Yet, he held an honest faith. The Baptist asked an honest question and he received an honest answer. Following that, he was ready to die defending the Truth for which he had lived. He asked and he received. He sought truth and found it. He knocked and, although he was locked in prison, the door was opened. St. John the Baptist is now living “eternal joy ever after”.

Theabove most important Click to order

question asked in the entire Bible, if not the greatest question man has ever asked, came from Pontius Pilate, “What is Saint John thetoGreat: Truth?”.

It’sPaul amazing think that the most powerful question came from His with Fivethe Loves the man power to release or to condemn Jesus. Pilate, however, didn’t ask the question with much honesty. Nor did he seem to expect an “Jason Evert has synthesized honest answer. He tried to convince himself that it was an empty questhe life and teaching of Pope tion, and cynically asked it to avoid the answer standing right in front of Johnhim.

PaulWe, II around the motives of course, know the answer to that question but we never get that tired markofa asking saint’s it. life:Why? whatBecause there are two things we can never get greattired loves himis to be athe of,moved and Truth both person and a story. Truth is the person who witness to the Gospel, the aposclaimed to be, “the Way, the Truth, and the Life”, and Truth is the story tle toofthe world, a myshis modern life, death, and resurrection.

God becoming man was His story entic who was philosopher tering ouralso history.

We dedicate our lives to contemplating this Truth and and passing pastor?on Reading this the fruits of book, that contemplation in our preaching.

those who knew him will find vocation to the Order of Preachers ultimately comes down to just two things: knowing the themselvesAsmiling and nodding; person of Jesus Christ, and giving witness as to how his story has changed your story. We each folthose who never met him will low the Lord with our own experiences. Because of who you are and what you have experienced, come to know him.” there is a story that only you can tell. You do not have to make any new discoveries to become a preacher; simply proclaim the Truth as you know it and nine times out of ten you will express the (Cardinal Francis George, OMI) Good News of the Gospel in a way that nobody has ever heard before. Note, however, there is an important distinction between proclaiming the truth as you know it and merely giving your opinions. That’s why study becomes such a necessary part of our vocation, so that we can ‘understand opinions’ and ‘preach the Truth’. May Our Blessed Mother guide and protect us as we come to know the Truth about her Son and as we proclaim to the world the greatest love story ever told.

Recommended Beginning the Jubilee…in Rome Reading Our Sisters studying and serving in Rome were blessed to join Father Bruno Cadoré, the Master General of the Order of Preachers, as well as members of the clergy, Dominican Friars, Nuns, Sisters, Laity, and the faithful in celebrating the Opening of the Jubilee at the Basilica of Santa Sabina on the Aventine Hill.

Pilgrims gather in Santa Sabina Click above to order with candles, lit to signify the which Dominic contemSaintGospel John Paul tothe Great: plated and extended others.

At right, Father Bruno Cadoré Hisextending Five Loves is shown light to one of the apostolic sisters of the Order.synthesized “Jason Evert has

the life and teaching of Pope John Paul II around the motives that mark a saint’s life: what great loves moved him to be the witness to the Gospel, the apostle to the modern world, a mystic who was also philosopher and pastor? Reading this book, those who knew him will find themselves smiling The andendnodding; of the procession of those who never met him will relics and images come to know him.” significant to the Order

(Cardinal Francis George, OMI) At right, Sister Agnes Marie (top right corner) is shown in choir behind the concelebrating priests. Sister was seated with international representatives of the Dominican Nuns, Sisters and Laity. Together they were close to the site where Saint Dominic spent his night vigils.

The Basilica, given by Pope Honorius III to Saint Dominic in 1219 for his growing Order, has been home to Saint Dominic himself, to Saint Hyacinth, Saint Thomas Aquinas, and Pope Saint Pius V. Today it stands as a site particularly beloved by the sons and daughters of Saint Dominic, and serves as the Order’s international headquarters.

Recommended Saint Dominic in Art Reading

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Saint John Paul the Great: AboveHis from left: Window from the St. Cecilia Motherhouse Chapel depicting St. Dominic receiving the approval of Pope Honorius III for Five Loves the foundation of the Order of Preachers; Statue and reliquary displayed during the Opening of the Jubilee at Santa Sabaina; Window St. Cecilia Motherhouse Chapel depicts the patronage of Our Lady over the entire Order of Preachers.

“Jason Evert from hasthe synthesized the life and teaching of Pope John Paul II around the motives that mark a saint’s life: what great loves moved him to be the witness to the Gospel, the apostle to the modern world, a mystic who was also philosopher and pastor? Reading this book, those who knew him will find themselves smiling and nodding; those who never met him will Above: This bust, kept in our come to know him.”

Novitiate, is a copy of the original,

which can be seen in the basilica at Bologna (Cardinal Francis George, OMI)

where Saint Dominic is buried. The bust is based on the description given by Blessed Cecilia, who received the habit from Saint Dominic, and is considered to be the most accurate likeness of our founder.

Right: This image, carved by one of our Sisters, adorns the reader’s stand in the refectory of St. Cecilia Motherhouse.

It bears dates significant to the Order, and is a daily reminder of our Dominican heritage.

Recommended Imitators of Reading Saint Dominic… as he was an

Loving the Church

imitator of Christ

Sharing t the Gosp he joy of el In the Click Holy above Father’stoAngelus order Address the day after the Jubilee Opening, the Order’s anniversary received special mention. Sister Catherine Joseph was among the excited Dominicans present.

Saint John Paul the Great: His Five Loves

“Jason Evert has synthesized the life and teaching of Pope John Paul II around the motives that mark a saint’s life: what great loves moved him to be the witness to the Gospel, the apostle to the modern world, a mystic who was also philosopher and pastor? Reading this book, those who knew him will find themselves smiling and nodding; those who never met him will come to know him.”

Living in the Truth

(Cardinal Francis George, OMI) The pioneer members of the “AquinasAbroad” program from our Nashville-based college hosted Father Wojciech Giertych, O.P., papal theologian, for a lecture on the Theology of History. At right. Sisters and students gather in Saint Peter’s Square.

Our Sisters in Sc their Youth otland accompanied Group on annual “C their secon ookies and d Caroling” visits to the homeb ound.

Recommended & s l e v a r T Reading

Visits

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Saint John Paul the Great: His Five Loves “Jason Evert has synthesized the life and teaching of Pope John Paul II around the motives that mark a saint’s life: what great loves moved him to be the witness to the Gospel, the apostle to the modern world, a mystic who was also philosopher and pastor? Reading this book, those who knew him will find themselves smiling and nodding; those who never met him will come to know him.”

(Cardinal Francis George, OMI)

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