Dominican Sisters Recommend Prayer with Your Ballot

The Dominican Sisters Conference invites you to spend a few moments with God before you go into the voting booth.

We are making available a reflection tool called Take it to Prayer: A Spiritual Reflection for Voters. The brief guide is meant to help busy people prepare themselves spiritually before they vote. It was developed by the Dominican Sisters of Springfield, Ill.

“Voting is one of our primary responsibilities as U.S. citizens,” explained Sister Marcelline Koch, OP, who is the justice coordinator for the Springfield Dominican Sisters as well as the North American Co-Promoter for Justice and Peace. “‘Why does my ballot matter?’ you might think. Because we are citizens of the most powerful nation on earth, the tiny pebble that is my ballot can make big waves around the universe, especially when we consider that the health of Creation, our common home, may depend on it.”

Take it to Prayer was inspired by the Catholic tradition of examination of conscience. Often used by Catholics as a prayer at the end of the day or before going to confession, and examination of conscience is a way to discern where and how a person has acted in accord with God’s grace, or not, in the course of a day.

Copies of Take it to Prayer are available free here and at dominicansistersconference.org

March 22, 2016

Composer Dan Schutte to Give Concert and Retreat at Sinsinawa Mound

SINSINAWA, Wis.—Composer, artist and author Dan Schutte will be at Sinsinawa Mound for a concert Friday, April 22, and a retreat Saturday, April 23. Both are open to the public, with a freewill offering being accepted. Schutte has been composing worship music for more than 40 years. Many of his most celebrated pieces, including “Here I Am, Lord”; “City of God”; and “Sing a New Song,” come from his years of collaboration with the St. Louis Jesuits. The concert is at 7 p.m. Friday.
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March 22, 2016

Faith and Film: Zootopia

Movie Review by Fr. Tom Condon, O.P.

Zootopia is another example of the originality and creativity in contemporary animated films (e.g. Inside Out, The LEGGO Movie). I admit that it took me a few minutes to get into this story of a young rabbit named Judy Hopps (voiced by Ginnifer Goodwin), who wants to leave her family farm and become a police officer in the large neighboring city, Zootopia. A word play on Thomas More’s Utopia, the city of Zootopia is a place where anthropomorphic animals of all kinds live and work together in harmony.
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March 22, 2016

‘St. Mary’s Dominican High School Observes National Catholic Sisters Week’

At the display are, (from left), students Kris Plunkett (New Orleans), Sara Britsch (River Ridge), Sr. Pat Harvat, O.P. (Vice President of Dominican Catholic Identity at DHS), art teacher Jennifer Frosh, and student Olivia Finger (LaPlace).

Among the observances during National Catholic Sisters Week (NCSW), March 8-14, St. Mary’s Dominican High School’s art teacher Jennifer Frosch invited students to contribute to a commemorative bulletin board outside the Campus Ministry office, highlighting various religious orders with photos and brief profiles. Featured orders included the Order of Preachers, Society of Sacred Heart, Daughters of Charity, Sisters of the Holy Family, Daughters of St. Paul, Sisters of Life, and Sisters of Mount Carmel.
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March 22, 2016

March Youth Preaching Weekend

Submitted by Gina Fleming, OP

This past weekend seven students from St. Agnes Academic HS came to St. John the Baptist HS to begin a weekend of prayer, study, and the forming of community. These students were the latest group who attended 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.

One of the highlights is when the students visit the Motherhouse on Saturday and join the retired sisters for an ice cream social. This is a fun event for all who participate. This years ice cream social was special indeed as it was part of the National celebration of Catholic Sisters Week.
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