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
Creator of all things, true source of light and wisdom, origin of all being, graciously let a ray of your light penetrate the darkness of my understanding. Take from me the double darkness in which I have been born, an obscurity of sin and ignorance. Give me a keen understanding, a retentive memory, and the ability to grasp things correctly and fundamentally. Grant me the talent of being exact in my explanations and the ability to express myself with thoroughness and charm. Point out the beginning, direct the progress, and help in the completion. I ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Prayer before Study St. Thomas Aquinas
January 2015 Dear Friends, As we conclude this Catholic Schools Week, we are filled with gratitude for the gift of Catholic schools and renewed in our efforts to provide young people with an education permeated by the Gospel and centered on the Person of Jesus Christ. May St. Thomas Aquinas, Dominican friar and patron of Catholic schools, guide us in all of our studies and teaching to seek God and to share Him with others. In Christ, The Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia
Holiness Highlight
A Professed Sister’s Reflection “To contemplate and to give to others the fruits of contemplation.” St. Thomas Aquinas
BLESSED JORDAN OF SAXONY Born: 1190, Germany Died: in 1237, on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land Feast Day: February 13 Known for: succeeding St. Dominic as Master General of the Order of Preachers; writing the early history of the Order; persuasively preaching the Gospel; attracting many Dominican vocations; supporting and corresponding with Dominican nun Blessed Diana d'Andalò How to imitate the saint: read the lives of the saints and write down traits that inspire you; discuss ways to find and follow God’s will with your friends and family members; write letters of encouragement to those who are struggling
“To the sons of grace and co-heirs of glory, all the brethren, Brother Jordan, their unprofitable servant, sends greetings and prays that they may attain joy in their holy Profession. Many of the brethren have requested an account of the beginnings and institutions of this Order of Preachers, through which God's plan has provided against the perils of these latter days, as well as a description of the first brethren of our Order, as to how they grew in number and became strengthened through grace. … Therefore, having put all the facts into right order, it has seemed to me fitting to put them down in writing.” --from Libellus of Jordan of Saxony, #1-3
Why do Dominicans study? The idea of study that St. Dominic imparted to his Order was this: study ordered to the salvation of souls. Study for the good of souls first means the good of the soul of the one who studies. The preacher’s study is part of his own sanctification, for it encourages him to mediate attentively on the saving truths of the faith, and thus to allow these truths to penetrate more deeply into his soul. Second, of course, the one who studies is preparing himself to be of use to the souls of others—the children in our classrooms, the youth at the parish, and the parents whom we serve. It is through the good communicated to his own soul that the Dominican is able to be of use to those to whom he preaches, and conversely it is also through his service to others that his own soul is sanctified. This goal – the salvation of souls – gives more than a general inspiration to Dominican study. It makes precise and exacting demands, while at the same time it sets up guards against various temptations present in study. Knowledge is a good in itself, but not all knowledge is equal. The things the preacher studies ought to be ones that could benefit the souls to whom he preaches. This guards him against curiositas, the vice of seeking knowledge that merely excites the imagination or of seeking it in a haphazard and piecemeal way. If knowledge is good, wisdom is very good, and more worthy of pursuit than all the world’s wealth, as Solomon realized. But precisely because it is such a high and noble aim, the possession of wisdom seems more likely than anything else to lead to pride. When wisdom is pursued for the sake of others, however, the wise man becomes the servant of all. Whatever he receives he receives in trust in order to pass on to others. This was the purpose of St. Thomas Aquinas in writing the Summa Theologiae, which he intended to be an “instruction of beginners” that would present “whatever belongs to the Christian religion” in a clear and orderly way and avoid causing students unnecessary “weariness and confusion” (from the prologue). This shows not only a great mind, but also a great heart. It was for the good of his students, and those to come in the future, that he strove so mightily to express all the truths of the faith in almost unbelievable brevity and precision. It would be something like Albert Einstein spending several years at the height of his scientific career writing a series of high school science textbooks. Study was for St. Thomas inextricably bound to charity. Study was undertaken for the love of God, the principle object of this study, and for the love of neighbor, for whose sake St. Thomas spared no pains to make the fruits accessible. May we, too, approach all of our studies as a path to union with God and service to our neighbor.
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To Heaven with Diana! A Study of Jordan of Saxony and Diana d'Andalò with a Translation of the Letters of Jordan by Father Gerald Vann, OP “This study of the letters of Jordan of Saxony to Diana d'Andalò, which were written between 1222 and 1237, is not meant to be either an exercise in paleography or an historical monograph on the period. Its purpose is simple: to reveal through them first the personalities of the two people concerned; secondly, the quality of their friendship; thirdly, the substance of Jordan’s teaching as a wise director of souls.” --from the Foreword by Father Gerald Vann, O.P.
“It was the greatness of your desire which impelled you to write the letter you sent me: let me then tell you a little about the cause of that heavenly desire. Dearest sister, the longing of the patriarchs of old invited Christ, your Bridegroom, God’s Son, to suffering: and he came. How then should he not come when your longing invites him to joy? Therefore let all your longing be fixed on heaven.” from To Heaven with Diana Dominican Nuns of the Perpetual Rosary, 2006, p. 51
DOMINIC STUDIES THE SACRED SCIENCES “To these sacred studies he [Dominic] devoted four years, during which he learned, with such continual eagerness, to drink from the streams of Sacred Scripture that, in his untiring desire to learn, he spent his nights with almost no sleep at all and the truth which he heard made its way into the deep recesses of his mind, where it was held fast by his memory. Indeed, the things which he easily understood were watered by the pious bent of his mind and blossomed into salutary works. … Because he embraced the Lord's commandments with such burning love and listened to the Spouse's voice with the very pious approval of his good will, the God of the sciences increased his grace, so that he became able, not only to receive the milk of doctrine, but also to make a deep penetration of difficult questions through the humble understanding of his heart…” --from Libellus of Jordan of Saxony # 7
At the Motherhouse, sisters participated in 40 hours of Eucharistic adoration over three days. On the final day, clergy from the diocese of Nashville joined the sisters for solemn Vespers and the closing procession.
On New Year’s Day, the sisters were blessed to have bishops and clergy from around the country present to celebrate the Mass for the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God in the Motherhouse chapel. Pictured here (from left to right) are Msgr. Timothy Thorburn, Msgr. Thomas Fucinaro, Father Gerald Baker, Bishop James Wall, Archbishop Samuel Aquila, Bishop James Conley, Archbishop Paul Coakley, Bishop John Folda, Father Bob Matya, Father Steve Beseau, Msgr. David Hintz and young men from the Diocese of Nashville who served at the Mass. Also present were Bishop David Choby and Dominican friars from the various provinces of the United States, many of whom were in Nashville for SEEK 2015—a national conference presented by FOCUS (Fellowship of Catholic University Students).
Prior to the opening of the SEEK 2015 Conference on January 1, the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia hosted “Dominican Day” at their Motherhouse for Dominican friars and students from schools with Dominican chaplaincies. The friars and students joined the sisters for Mass, which was followed by lunch, a tour of the Motherhouse, testimonies from Dominican friars and sisters, and Adoration and Vespers.
The evening of January 4, the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia hosted “FOCUS at the Motherhouse� for priests and students who were in Nashville for SEEK 2015. The guests joined the sisters for a tour of the Motherhouse, Vespers, dinner and songs from the Novitiate sisters.
In January, Fr. Thomas Petri, OP, led the 5day Vocation Retreat for 31 young women who came to the Motherhouse from across the United States, Australia, Germany, and England. 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.
Above: Pilgrims from the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux receive a tour of the Heritage Room before joining the community for Compline. Right: Students from John Paul the Great Academy in Lafayette, LA, pray in the chapel on their visit to the Motherhouse. Below: Sisters greet teachers from St. Benedict at Auburndale High School in Cordova, TN, who stopped at the Motherhouse on their way to the March for Life.
Over 350 pilgrims from the Diocese of Lake Charles and from Lafayette, LA, gathered in the Oratory at the Motherhouse to celebrate Mass before proceeding on their pilgrimage to Washington, DC.
Below: The postulants carried the Congregation banner and marched with the Dominican Friars of the Eastern Province.
Below: Sisters attended nightly prayer vigils, visited Arlington Cemetery, and marched with the Diocese of Baton Rouge pilgrimage group.
Below: Sisters joined students and staff from John Paul the Great Academy in Lafayette, LA, on their pilgrimage to the March for Life.
AQUINAS COLLEGE, Nashville, TN
MARCH FOR LIFE SCHOOL PILGRIMAGE GROUPS KNOXVILLE CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL Knoxville, TN
BISHOP MACHEBEUF HIGH SCHOOL Denver, CO
ST. BENEDICT AT AUBURNDALE HIGH SCHOOL, Cordova, TN
ST. THOMAS AQUINAS REGIONAL CATHOLIC SCHOOL Woodbridge, VA
The sisters accompanied groups of college, high school, and elementary students from schools in which they teach to the 42nd March for Life. ST. CECILIA ACADEMY, Nashville, TN
Photos courtesy of school facebook pages.