Dominican Sisters of Saint Cecilia LAUDARE, BENEDICERE, PRAEDICARE “TO PRAISE, TO BLESS, TO PREACH” Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia 801 Dominican Drive Nashville, TN 37228 www.nashvilledominican.org vocation@op-tn.org
“It thus becomes clear that consecrated persons in schools, in communion with the Bishops, carry out an ecclesial mission that is vitally important inasmuch as while they educate they are also evangelizing. This mission requires a commitment of holiness, generosity and skilled educational professionalism so that the truth about the person as revealed by Jesus may enlighten the growth of the young generations and of the entire community.” from “Consecrated Persons and Their Mission in Schools: Reflections and Guidelines” Congregation for Catholic Education, 2002
January 2014
Dear Friends, Because each of us as baptized persons has received the precious gift of faith and experienced the joy of salvation, we long for others to receive the same. The mission of Catholic schools flows from and fosters this evangelical zeal. Catholic Schools Week, which we are celebrating January 27-31, provides a special opportunity to celebrate the Catholic educators who hand on the faith and form a new generation of disciples. May all who share this calling thank God for the privilege of being his instruments. Happy Catholic Schools Week! In Christ, The Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia
Holiness Highlights PATRONS of CATHOLIC SCHOOLS Click pictures below for more information on each saint.
Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton (1774-1821)
Novice Reflection “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life. …Look at the birds in the sky; they do not sow or reap, they gather nothing into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are not you more important than they? Can any of you by worrying add a single moment to your life?” Matthew 6:25-27 In the Gospel of Matthew, Our Lord tells his followers not to worry because his Heavenly Father cares for them. However, that was not the message I received growing up in our culture. From what I experienced, the goal of education seemed to be getting good grades and doing lots of extracurricular activities in order to go to a good college in order to get a good job in order to have a good future. My classmates and I became increasingly anxious because it seemed as if the value of our entire future were in our own hands instead of the Lord’s. When I graduated from high school, I carried this stress and worry with me everywhere.
Feast Day: January 4
Saint John Neumann, CSSR (1811-1860) Feast Day: January 5
After I had been out of college for several years, though, I realized that this was not what God intended for my life. I discovered the meaning of the Lord’s words in Matthew, Chapter 6. He wanted me to love Him freely with a love that did not include worrying about everything. I practiced trusting in Him and his providential care, and the worry and fear subsided. Later, when I began teaching in a Catholic school, I experienced a vision of education and its goals vastly different from the one proposed by our achievement-driven culture. The Catholic school supported its students in striving to be good Christians and citizens, and so the development of their character and person was always kept in mind. The students went to Mass twice a week, and prayed several times a day as a school community as well as in each individual classroom. The students were learning to pray, they were learning that God is real, they were learning that He always loves them…and that this love was not conditional on grades, college plans, or job status.
The students were learning to pray, they were learning that God is real, they were learning that He always loves them…
Saint Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) Feast Day: January 28
Saint John Bosco (1815-1888) Feast Day: January 31
Rather than wasted time, these moments of prayer taught students the greatest lesson of all: they were able to see that the Lord cared for them and that their future was in his loving hands. There was no need for anxious worrying; instead they focused on learning for its own sake, growing in virtue, and discovering who God made them to be. They were learning to be saints! They were learning to “seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given you besides” (Matt 6:33).
Recommended Reading
Catholic Education 5 ESSENTIAL MARKS OF CATHOLIC SCHOOLS by Archbishop Michael J. Miller, OSB 1. Inspired by a Supernatural Vision: The Church sees education as a process that, in light of man's transcendent destiny, forms the whole child and seeks to fix his or her eyes on heaven.
2. Founded on a Christian Anthropology: Emphasis on the supernatural destiny of students brings with it a profound appreciation of the need to perfect children in all their dimensions as images of God (cf. Gen. 1:26-27). Catholic theology teaches that grace builds on nature.
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3. Animated by Communion and Community:
Behold the Heritage: Foundations of Education in the Dominican Tradition
A third mark of catholicity is the emphasis on the school as a community – a community of persons and, even more to the point, "a genuine community of faith."
Edited by Sister Matthew Marie Cummings, O.P. and Sister Elizabeth Anne Allen, O.P. Behold the Heritage is a delightful collection of writings on the history and essence of Dominican education for all who delight in truth and relish the honor of than sharing it with others as a teacher. An invaluable source of information, inspiration, and intellectual and spiritual joy, this marvelous anthology of works on evangelization and education from notable Dominicans, and from modern popes as well, shares the wisdom and glory of Thomism, of Dominican spirituality, and of those fundamental Gospel truths that all Catholics hold. from angelicopress.com
4. Imbued with a Catholic Worldview throughout its Curriculum: Catholic education is "intentionally directed to the growth of the whole person." An integral education aims to develop gradually every capability of every student: his or her intellectual, physical, psychological, moral, and religious capacities.
5. Sustained by Gospel Witness: A final indicator of a school's authentic catholicity is the vital witness of its teachers and administrators. … Theirs is a supernatural calling and not simply the exercise of a profession. "The nobility of the task to which teachers are called demands that, in imitation of Christ, the only Teacher, they reveal the Christian message not only by word but also by every gesture of their behavior."
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Click here to order The Holy See’s Teaching on Catholic Schools
Fall Vocation Travels
Day of Recollection
Chicago
Day of Recollection
Vancouver
St. Anthony
Day of Recollection
School
Providence
Wyoming Catholic
High School Visits
Day of Recollection
Denver
Flagler College
Vocation Travels in February Feb. 4-5 Benedictine College Feb. 7-8 University of Dallas
Feb. 9 University of North Texas Feb. 14 – 16 Christendom College
Vocation Travels this Spring March 20 – 27 Louisiana March 27 – 31 Minnesota
April 1 – 2 Missouri April 2 – 3 Kentucky
May 1 – 8 New York New Jersey
University of Florida
MIT
January Events Vocation Retreat In January, Fr. John Thomas Mellein, OP, led the 5-day Vocation Retreat for 37 young women who came to the Motherhouse from across the country, Canada and Australia. The retreatants entered into our prayer schedule, learned about Dominican life and spirituality, visited with our retired sisters, toured the schools, and recreated with the Novitiate.
Snow on Snow
The unusual number of snowfalls in Nashville this winter has provided the Sisters opportunities to go sledding, to have snowball fights, and to enjoy the beautiful scenery.
Kentucky DownUnder
During the Christmas break, Novitiate Sisters visited a Kentucky zoo featuring a variety of Australian animals such as kangaroos, emus, lorikeets, and the kookaburra bird.
A Taste of Australia Australia Day
On Australia Day, January 26, the ten Novitiate Sisters from Australia baked meat pies and made kiwimango pavlovas for the community. Other celebrations included a game of Net Ball and a slide show of the natural beauties of Australia.
March for Life
Many of our sisters and their students traveled to Washington, D.C. for the annual March for Life.
The Dominican friars of the Province of St. Joseph invited us for Compline at the Dominican House of Studies.
Click here to view Aquinas College’s March for Life