Photos of the Week

Mount Saint Mary College Spirit of the Mount Week celebrates Dominican heritage Sister Diane Kennedy, OP (Sinsinawa) was an integral part of the recent Spirit of the Mount Week, which celebrates the Dominican sisters who began the Mount Saint Mary College community. Sister Diane spoke on the college’s Dominican heritage, and presented the college’s Aquinas and Ralph Scholars with their honor cords, to be worn at graduation. Sister Diane is vice president for mission and ministry at Dominican University, River Forest, Illinois.

Youth Preaching Workshop High school students participate in weekend event Nov. 16–17, eight students from St. Agnes Academic High School came to St. John the Baptist High School for a weekend of prayer, study, and the forming of community. These students were the latest group to attend one of our youth preaching workshops. They learned how to bring to life their baptismal call to “preach the Good News” by using the gifts and talents that have been given to them by our loving God. Read article by Sister Gina Fleming, OP

Blauvelt Dominicans Morning of reflection, discussion for women Forty-two women, including several sisters and associates, participated in the Nov. 9 morning of reflection and discussion for women. Associate Pat Hannon and Sisters Dottie Maxwell and Ceil Lavan led the event, which provided presentations and discussions on the question, “What Is Pope Francis Saying to the Church?” The Blauvelt Preaching Team of sisters and associates sponsors two reflection mornings for women each year in addition to several other preaching events. For more information about the Dominican Sisters of Blauvelt, visit www.opblauvelt.org.

Dominican Sisters International
Solidarity with the Philippines

DSI is deeply moved by the suffering of the people of the Philippines caused by the recent passage of the typhoon, and in solidarity, commends the efforts of the Dominican Family working together there to bring relief to many who have experienced great loss. We carry the nation in our prayers, specially the survivors who mourn the loss of loved ones that they may experience solidarity in their efforts to comfort one another and to rebuild after the storm. From the DSI web site. Read more

UN Briefing
Superstorm Haiyan: ‘A climate nightmare’ in the Philippines

“I am deeply concerned that the scale of our actions is still insufficient to limit global temperature rise to 2 degrees Celsius from pre-industrial levels. People now face and fear the wrath of a warming planet.” There was reason for alarm in Secretary General Ban Ki-moon’s words to the UN Climate Conference in Warsaw, Poland. The conference began just two days after the strongest typhoon ever to make landfall hit the Philippines, leaving a trail of devastation. Rather than presume to tell you about Typhoon Haiyan and its terrible toll, I would like to excerpt from the address made by the Philippines lead negotiator at the Warsaw Conference, Yeb Sano. His words are an eloquent testimony to the resiliency of the human spirit, and a clear challenge to each and every one of us to rouse ourselves from any complacency we may have regarding this profound crisis of our moment in history. Read article by Sister Margaret Mayce, OP

What is Earth asking of the Order?
Making choices that build the Kindom of God

What I think Earth is asking us is two-fold: to recognize that she is a source of wisdom, and to see our diminishment (as religious congregations and religious institutions of Western culture) in the context of Earth’s global ecological crisis. Put another way, what Earth is asking us is to realize that we are part of each other, to draw from Earth’s experience, and then do something to make a difference. Read article by Sister Linda Gibler, OP (Houston)

Peace Dominicans
Building a community of sisters in Nigeria

Sisters Margaret Ormond and Roberta Miller traveled recently to Africa to visit with “daughter congregation” the Dominican Sisters of St. Catherine of Siena, founded from an initial mission from the Great Bend Dominicans in 1956. The purpose of the visit was three-fold: to visit with Dominican Sister of Peace missionary Sister Rita Schwarzenberger, to witness the transfer of elected leadership in their community, and to oversee the final evaluation of a three-year grant. Read more

Lay Dominicans
Article focuses on pillars of Dominican life

“The season of autumn has manifested itself in the northern hemisphere with obvious changes in weather and the harvest for many crops. This time also leads us to the realization that the Year of Faith will soon come to a close at the end of November. This year has been a ‘summons to an authentic and renewed conversion to the Lord, the One Savior of the world’ (Porta Fidei 6). It has been a time of pilgrimage for us as Catholics and as a Family of Saint Dominic to reflect on what our Faith means to us and how we live it through the sacramental life of the Church and the four pillars of ministry, community, study, and prayer.” Read article by Gerard Elizondo, OP

Sinsinawa Dominicans
‘Nativities of the World’ on display Dec. 3–Jan. 1

The Sinsinawa Art Gallery presents “Nativities of the World” Dec. 3, 2013–Jan. 1, 2014. This exhibit features handcrafted nativities from lands near and far including the United States, Indonesia, Germany, Tanzania, India, Rwanda, Columbia, Ecuador, Jerusalem, Peru, Russia, Ireland, Kenya, and many more countries. Sinsinawa Mound, the motherhouse for the Sinsinawa Dominican Sisters, is located in southwest Wisconsin. For more information, visit www.sinsinawa.org.

Faith and Film
12 Years a Slave

No doubt many have already heard of this powerful film. Everything you’ve heard is true. It is intense, brutal, and at times extremely hard to watch… The violence of the beatings may be hard to bear, but they must be acknowledged as part of our nation’s history. The film is the incredible, true story of Solomon Northrup (Chiwetel Ejifor), a free man of color, living in Saratoga, New York, in the 1840s. Read review by Tom Condon, OP

Previous updates:

The next Dominican Life | USA update will be published on Wednesday, January 8, 2014. Deadline for submission of articles/photos is Friday, January 3.