Happy New Year!
Sisters offer prayer, reflections for the new year

On Jan. 1, World Day of Peace, Sinsinawa Dominican Sister Toni Harris, promoter of peace and justice for Dominican Sisters International, shared a 10-minute reflection on the New Year’s Day Gospel on Vatican Radio. The Dominican Sisters of Oakford offer A Prayer for the New Year on their web site. Also, Racine Dominican Sister Brenda Walsh reflects on “A New Year: a call to envision and create a future of peace, justice and hope.”

Maryknoll Sisters of St. Dominic
Congregation celebrates 100th anniversary in 2012

Maryknoll Sisters, the first U.S.-based Catholic congregation of women religious dedicated to foreign missions, celebrated its 100th anniversary with a special Mass at its world headquarters in Ossining, New York, on Jan. 8. The liturgy was celebrated by Archbishop Timothy Dolan of the Archdiocese of New York. This photo shows Archbishop Dolan with a young descendant of Mother Mary Joseph “Mollie” Rogers, founder of Maryknoll Sisters. More than 30 descendants of the Rogers family were present for the Mass. Read more

Human Trafficking Awareness Day
Link to information, resources

Jan. 11 is Human Trafficking Awareness Day. The Dominican Sisters of Grand Rapids, Michigan, are among the congregations of women religious across the country who are working to raise awareness of the issue in conjunction with the Feb. 5 Super Bowl in Indianapolis, Ind. For more information, and to download a prayer service, visit the Intercommunity Peace and Justice Center web site.

Sister in the News
Caldwell Dominican Sister finds joy as principal

Sister Donna Marie O’Brien, OP, principal for 31 years and counting at St. John the Apostle School in Clark, New Jersey, was featured in a recent article in the New Jersey Star-Ledger. Read story

Are you being called to religious life?
Jan. 9–15 is Vocation Awareness Week

Many congregations of Dominican men and women religious are offering Come and See events and discernment retreats for those who are feeling called to explore the possibility of consecrated life. We have compiled a listing of links to upcoming events and online resources. Read more

Adrian Dominicans
Sisters win commitment from Hasbro for PVC-free toys

Children will soon find safer toys and games under the Christmas tree, thanks to an agreement that the Adrian Dominican Sisters and other concerned congregations of Catholic sisters reached with Hasbro. The producer of such toys and games as Let’s Rock Elmo, Monopoly, and Play-Doh, Hasbro announced in December that it would eliminate the use of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) in its new core toy and game packaging, beginning in 2013. “We are delighted to see Hasbro make this commitment and hope that other toy manufacturers will soon follow suit,” said Sister Attracta Kelly, OP, prioress of the Adrian Dominican Sisters. Read more

Dominican Province of St. Joseph
Two friars appointed to Pontifical Academy

In December 2011, two Dominican friars of the Province of St. Joseph were appointed to the Pontifical Academy of St. Thomas Aquinas, an academic society whose mission is “to carry out research into, to defend, and to disseminate the doctrine of the Angelic Doctor…” Fr. Thomas Joseph White, OP, was named an Ordinary Academician, and Fr. Nicholas Lombardo, OP, was named a Corresponding Academician. From Dominican Daily. Read more

UN Briefing
Advocating for global common good is moral imperative

In many values-based circles, climate change and its consequences are being addressed as both an ethical issue, and an issue of faith. Honduran Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga said that for the Catholic Church, climate change is not only a matter of “thermometers or scientific analysis, we are talking about human beings, and the sufferings of human beings…” At the end of the day, it comes down to the very basic truth that we live in an increasingly interdependent world, in which the actions of some of us affect the quality of life for all of us—and the integrity of Earth and her resources, as well. Read article by Sister Margaret Mayce, OP

Sister in the News
Sister Maria Riley serves three decades at Center of Concern

A recent article in the National Catholic Reporter focused on the work of the Center of Concern, a “tiny, independent, faith-based [program], rooted in Catholic social tradition,” which “has been exposing and challenging the national and global systems behind economic and social injustice for 40 years.” Adrian Dominican Sister Maria Riley has ministered there for 32 years, and continues to serve as the senior advisor for the center’s Global Women’s Project. Read story

Dominican Sisters International
Proofreaders, translators needed

DSI is seeking volunteers for two significant areas of need related to its communications: good interpretations and translations into English from Spanish, French and Italian, and good proofreading of English documents. Read message from Sister Toni Harris, OP.

Faith and Film
War Horse, Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol

In its best scenes amidst the trenches and barbed wire, War Horse is a powerful witness to friendship and a testament to the horror of war. I was intrigued when I heard about the fourth installment of the Mission: Impossible movie series because it is the first live action feature directed by Brad Bird, the great director of animated movies (The Incredibles, Ratatouille). This latest film is more in tune with the TV series. Reviews by Tom Condon, OP.

Previous updates:

The next Dominican Life | USA update will be published on Wednesday,January 25. Deadline for submission of articles/photos is Friday, January 20.