Vocation Office E-Newsletter for May 2017

Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia * Nashville, TN * www.nashvilledominican.org

Mary,

Mother of Hope

May 2017 In this issue: Devotion to Mary, Easter at St. Cecilia Motherhouse, a nd more!

Devotion to Mary

"...let us entrust ourselves to Mary, Mother of hope, who invites us to turn our gaze towards salvation, towards a new world and a new humanity."

Pope Francis, Feb. 22, 2017 General Audience

With these words, Pope Francis characterizes the centenary of the apparitions at Fatima as a reason for hope. At Fatima, one hundred years ago, Our Lady showed her care and forethought for us. Asking us to pray the rosary and make reparation, especially on the first Saturdays of the month, she promised that in the end her "Immaculate Heart will triumph."

Our Lady said to the children at Fatima that ". . . God wishes to establish in the world devotion to my Immaculate Heart." As the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith states in the theological commentary included with its publication of the Fatima message, "To be 'devoted' to the Immaculate Heart of Mary means therefore to embrace this attitude of heart, which makes the fiat—“your will be done”—the defining centre of one's whole life" (CDF, The Message of Fatima, June 26, 2000). As shone at the Annunciation, when the angel made a life-changing request of her, Mary was ready and willing to do God's will, no matter the cost.

Devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary means having a heart that seeks and is always ready to do the will of God as manifested through his Body, the Church, and through the unavoidable circumstances of life.

She said "yes," to a journey by donkey, nine months pregnant, because of the imperial demand for a universal census, and then to giving birth to God the Son in a dirty, drafty place for animals. She said "yes" to a hidden, simple life with the Son of God for thirty years. She said "yes" to his supreme humiliation and sacrifice on the cross, and "yes" to her role as Mother of his Mystical Body, the Church.

Another aspect of Mary's heart, is her spirit of prayer. The Gospel tells us that she kept Christ's words and the events and mysteries of His life "and pondered them in her heart" (Lk 2:19). We will be devoted to her Immaculate Heart when we also have a heart of prayer: daily pondering the Scriptures; daily pondering the life of Christ with the aid of the rosary. At Fatima, Mary especially asked that we pray the rosary in order to bring about the conversion of sinners and peace in the world.

The Scriptures also show that Mary's heart flowed easily from contemplation to praise and gratitude to God, as seen in her Magnificat (cf. Lk 1:46-55). We will be devoted to her Immaculate Heart, when we imitate her heart of gratitude, recognizing and thanking God each day for wonderful things he is doing in us and in others.

In our schools, we seek to teach our students proper devotion to the Mother of God, who was given to us by Christ on the cross to be our spiritual Mother (cf. John 19:26-27). We teach them a life of prayer through the recitation of the rosary and frequent adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. During the month of May, each of our schools holds a May Crowning ceremony, a tangible way to show our love and devotion to our Blessed Mother.

May Our Lady help each of us to have a prayerful heart like hers, always ready to do God's will. As she taught the children of Fatima: prayer has the power to change the world.

“Following the example of St. John Paul 11, a great devotee of Our Lady of Fatima, let us listen attentively to the Mother of God and ask for peace for the world . . .” ~Pope Francis, May 11, 2016, General Audience

“Looking at Mary, how can we, her children, fail to let the aspiration to beauty, goodness and purity of heart be aroused in us? Her heavenly candour draws us to God, helping us to overcome the temptation to live a mediocre life composed of compromises with evil, and directs us decisively towards the authentic good that is the source of joy.” ~ Pope Benedict XVI – Angelus, December 8, 2005

The Blessed Virgin Mary is venerated by many followers of Jesus Christ as an important part of their practice of the faith. Believing that she is the Mother of God because her Son is the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, who for our salvation took on human nature, Christians of both East and West honor Mary in various ways. They strive to imitate her as a great model of Christian discipleship.

Available through Ignatius Press (www.ignatius.com)

Recommended Reading

Easter Vigil ~ the Paschal fire is lit and all process into the dark chapel: the Risen Christ is a light in our darkness.

Easter 2017

The Risen Lord is Here!

The black mantles we wore during Lent as a penitential sign are taken off during a truly glorious singing of the "Glory to God."

Easter Sunday: sharing in the joy of the Risen Lord.

Vocation Office Travels Louisiana State University  Catholic Center

Louisiana March 22 - 27

John Paul the Great Academy Silent Retreat

Abbey Youth Fest

University of Louisiana, Lafayette

The sisters spoke about the universal call to holiness and the call of a particular vocation at Fort Hays State University's Catholic Center

March 28 Benedictine College Vocation Fair

Kansas

through April 2

Benedictine College Symposium on Advancing the New Evangelization

Sister Thomas More gave a presentation on the Catholic Imagination.

The Most Reverend James D. Conley, Bishop of Lincoln, NE, with the five Dominicans present at the Symposium

Sister Peter Marie and Sister Mary Esther spoke to the Aspiring Theologians Group at the University of Dallas about vocations as total self-gift and about vocational discernment.

UD: A Social with the Sisters

Dallas

April 19-25

The sisters spent a couple of days with the students of the Catholic Center at Southern Methodist University The Shepherd's Cafe': a young adult event in Dallas

An Evening for Women hosted by our sisters at our new convent in Dallas

Have a Blessed Pentecost June 4, 2017

May the Holy Spirit be a daily light and comfort.