Fall 2015 e newsletter

Dominican Sisters of Saint Cecilia “To Praise, To Bless, To Preach”

801 Dominican Drive Nashville, TN 37228 www.nashvilledominican.org vocation@op-tn.org

The first of the “signs” worked by Jesus – the changing of water into wine at the marriage in Cana – clearly presents Mary in the guise of a teacher, as she urges the servants to do what Jesus commands. ...

Contemplating the scenes of the Rosary in union with Mary is a means of learning from her to “read” Christ, to discover his secrets and to understand his message.

ST. JOHN PAUL II,

Rosarium Virginis Mariae 14

Dear Friends, Remembering the October days in which we celebrated Our Lady’s Rosary, we pray that she will continue to draw each of us into greater love for her Son. The Dominican Sisters

Recommended Reading

A Sister’s Reflection There is much to be said for the month of October. The school year is comfortably under way, the weather—even in the mild climate of Nashville—begins to carry the crisp feel of fall. And while it is true that “May is Mary’s month,” there is also something about October, the month of the rosary, that seems to draw us to Our Lady.

This is the time of year when our smaller students head off to the pumpkin patch, and older students, trying on their coats, find that they have indeed grown.

It’s a time of year where mothers like to keep their cameras close, catching such images as pumpkin carving, Halloween costumes, and rough-and-tumble games amidst the leaves. All of these are scenes to be relished, not simply as “photo opportunities,” but as moments when these children are simply her children – playing, growing, being. One can imagine Our Lady looking on all of this from her own Mother’s perspective, enjoying, understanding, and praying that her earthly children will let her be their Mother.

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Saint John Paul the Great: His Five Loves “Jason Evert has synthesized the life and teaching of Pope John Paul II around the motives that mark a saint’s life: what great loves moved him to be the witness to the Gospel, the apostle to the modern world, a mystic who was also philosopher and pastor? Reading this book, those who knew him will find themselves smiling and nodding; those who never met him will come to know him.”

(Cardinal Francis George, OMI)

Jason Evert recounts in his book, Saint John Paul the Great: His Five Loves that the young Karol Wojytla gave his heart into Mary’s keeping, having lost both of his parents: “You must be my Mother now.” In letting Mary be his Mother, Saint John Paul chose to place his life under her influence and protection. Even now, his October 22 feast day falls within her month. Saint John Paul’s devotion to Our Lady and her rosary is a reminder that each of us is called to let the Lord’s words, “Behold, your Mother,” ring true in our lives. Saint John Paul’s maturity as a man, a Christian, and a priest was not achieved without a Mother’s help. Her presence in his life did not depend on “worst case needs” or occasional feelings of fervor. Instead, their relationship was that of Mother and son, sustained by prayer; a relationship through which, together, they contemplated the Eternal Son. This contemplation can be ours too.

In praying the rosary, in pondering the moments of Christ’s life, in allowing His Mother to be our own, we become more truly His. As the month of October concludes, may each of us be found more securely within the watchful gaze of the Mother into whose keeping Jesus has entrusted us.

Queen of the Most Holy Rosary, pray for us.

Saint John Paul the Great, pray for us.

Once again the YMCA staff welcomed the Novitiate sisters to Camp Widjiwagan during Labor Day Weekend. Thanks to the generosity of the staff and the beauty of the camp, the sisters enjoyed many opportunities for activity and community.

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Once college classmates, now Dominican and Franciscan sisters

Father Colm Mannion, O.P., led the October Jesu Caritas Retreat , which took the theme “Perfect Love Casts Out Fear.� Over 70 young women from across the country and Canada attended the retreat and enjoyed the conference talks on the Fatherhood of God, prayer, and the call to love.

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Volunteering and sharing the joy of consecrated life at the booth of the Council of Major Superiors of Women Religious

Praying before the relics of Saint Maria Goretti

her with ot eeting s s a M M ing Attend to the World s pilgrim

At the Festival of Families, our Australian-born sisters gather with Archbishop Anthony Fisher, O.P., of Sydney, Australia