Photo of the Week

Adrian Dominicans Blessing of banner affirms immigration stance On Oct. 1, the Adrian Dominican Sisters blessed a banner that proclaims the congregation’s stance in favor of comprehensive immigration reform. The brief blessing took place on the steps of Madden Hall on the motherhouse campus in Adrian, Michigan. Read more Above: Sister Attracta Kelly, OP (right), prioress of the Adrian Dominican Sisters, blesses the banner.

UN Briefing
Lampedusa shipwreck spotlights perils of migration

“Migration: The Movement of Peoples” is one of the justice priorities of the Dominican Family worldwide. The poignancy of this global phenomenon is hard to ignore, in light of the tragedy off the coast of the Italian island of Lampedusa last week, when a boat carrying African migrants sank, killing more than 230 men, women and children… The tragedy off the coast of Lampedusa provided a poignant backdrop to the UN’s High Level Dialogue on Migration and Development held last week in New York. Read article by Margaret Mayce, OP

Peace Dominicans
Master of the Order celebrates Mass with sisters in Ohio

Fr. Bruno Cadoré, Master of the Order of Preachers, celebrated Eucharist with the Dominican Sisters of Peace, their associates, and members of other Dominican congregations in the Columbus, Ohio, area on Sept. 28. More than 150 members of the Dominican Family gathered in the Martin de Porres Center for the liturgical celebration, united by webcast with sisters from the other five motherhouses of the Dominican Sisters of Peace and local communities in 37 states. Read more

Aquinas Institute of Theology
Online Global Dominican Conversation on Daily Preaching

Preachers in the Dominican Family are invited to participate Nov. 3–23 in an online project of the Advanced Preaching Class at Aquinas Institute of Theology. The three-week session (two hours online per week) is facilitated by Gregory Heille, OP, with Deacon Luke Barder, OP; Brother Wesley Dessonville, OP; Deacon Peter Damian Harris, OP; Deacon Jude McPeak, OP; Brother James Dominic Rooney, OP; Brother Cristóbal Torres, OP; Mary Margaret Pazdan, OP; and Donald Goergen, OP. Presentations will be posted on Nov. 3, 10 and 17, and you will have all week to view them at any time and then to enter into the dialogue. Click here for more information and to register.

Springfield Dominicans
Literacy center celebrates 20 years of service to immigrants

The Dominican Literacy Center in Aurora, Illinois, was recently featured in the Chicago Sun-Times Beacon News publication (“Dominican nuns bring mobile food pantry to Aurora”). Founded by the Springfield Dominicans, the Dominican Literacy Center celebrated its 20th anniversary by partnering with a local interfaith food pantry to reach out to those in need. The literacy center has helped an estimated 2,500 women learn to read and write English. Sisters Kathleen Ryan, Ann Clennon and Jane Ann Beckman provide on-on-one tutoring to students whose native languages include Spanish, Chinese, Ukrainian, Russian and Polish. Read article

Hope Dominicans
Associate Neil Burke featured in Catholic New York story

Twenty-four-year-old Neil Burke, an associate of the Dominican Sisters of Hope in Ossining, New York, was interviewed for a story, “Young man with disabilities shares his gifts, hope with others” in the Catholic New York. Neil has cerebral palsy and is legally blind. He feels a strong need to be of service to others, and volunteers three times a week with the sisters. Read story in Catholic New York

Racine Dominicans
Events set for grand opening of new retreat center

Grand opening events for the new Siena Retreat Center in Racine, Wisconsin, will kick off with “Compassion and Personal Transformation: An Evening with Joyce Rupp” on Saturday, Oct. 19. An official ribbon cutting (invitation only) and open house (open to the public) will be held April 25, 2014. Schedule of events

Caldwell Dominicans
Congregation welcomes six new associates

On Friday, Sept. 27, six women pronounced the words of their commitment and became the latest associates to join the Caldwell Dominican Family. Sister Arlene Antczak, OP, prioress, received their commitment and extended words of congratulations and appreciation for their willingness to join in the living out of the Dominican charism. Read more

Sinsinawa Dominicans
New book tells story of sisters’ 1960s education ministry

A recent article in the National Catholic Reporter (“Small school with great expectations: Catholic sisters at work”) focuses on the inspiration and influence of two Sinsinawa Dominican sisters (Patricia Caraher, OP, and Marilyn Aiello, OP) who taught at a small, segregated Catholic high school for blacks in Mobile, Alabama, in the mid-1960s. A new book, “From the Back of the Pews to the Head of the Class,” features interviews of graduates and faculty from this school. Read NCR article

Maryknoll Sisters
International Bazaar set for Oct. 26 in Ossining, New York

Maryknoll Sisters will hold their annual International Bazaar on Saturday, Oct. 26, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Maryknoll Sisters Center, 100 Ryder Road, Ossining, New York. Featuring handicrafts from Maryknoll mission sites, including Asia, Africa, Central and South America, the bazaar serves as a fundraiser supporting the sisters and their humanitarian efforts around the world. Read more

Faith and Film
Enough Said, Gravity

“Enough Said” is a romantic comedy/drama starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus and James Gandolfini. Most of us know Gandolfini’s work as Tony, the mob boss, from the HBO series “The Sopranos.” His performance here as the shy Albert, who doesn’t always know how to express himself, makes this film worth watching. “Gravity” tells the story of two astronauts (Dr. Ryan Stone, played by Sandra Bullock, and Matt Kowalsky, played by George Clooney) working on a space mission in which something goes terribly wrong. Reviews by Tom Condon, OP

Previous updates:

The next Dominican Life | USA update will be published on Wednesday, October 23, 2013. Deadline for submission of articles/photos is Friday, October 18.