Below is a picture of the motherhouse chapel in which the sisters professed their vows. Neither the chapel nor the motherhouse exist today because of a fire in 1990, but  the sisters who professed their vows on that day, know that their vows and God’s faithfulness still stand.

The old motherhouse chapel of the Dominican Sisters in San Rafael

Mary and Joseph brought Jesus to the temple to be prersented to God. Let us pray:

Christ, be our light.

Jesus, light of the world, you revealed the love of God to us
- let our lives lead other to the truth of God’s mercy.

Jesus, longed for savior, you are presented with the gifts of the poor;
- help us to dedicate our lives to those in need.

Jesus, child of mystery, your mother’s heart was pierced by prophecy;
- strengthen all women whos dedication to you brings pain and sorrow.

Jesus, child of promise,Simeon had waited and prayed for your coming;
- give us patience and hope as we pray for the fulfillment of your gospel.

Jesus, joy of all who seek God, Anna had given you lifelong service;
- bless the elderly and teach us how to give them joy and encouragement.

Bountiful God, you are father and mother to us. You receive the dedication of the infant Son, Jesus, with two turtle doves. You inspire aged Simeon and Anna to bless and announce his mission. O gentle, strong God, we rejoice in your care for us. Help us to draw those who turn away from yo in fear. Let the saving light of Jesus bring truth and peace to our world. This we ask in his name. Amen.

- from People’s Companion to the Breviary, Carmelite Monastery, Indianapolis, IN

This is a door of a Dominican Sisters' convent in Pisa, Italy.

In today’s Gospel (Mark 3:20-21) we read:

Jesus came with his disciples into the house. Again the crowd gathered, making it impossible for them even to eat. When his relatives heard of this they set out to seize him, for they said, “He is out of his mind.”

Some people wonder why a young, happy, and intelligent woman would want to be a sister. They might even think it’s a crazy idea.

What might God be calling you to do? How might God be calling you to live? Do you worry about what people might think or say? “What-people-think” never stopped Jesus – don’t let it stop you. Come and meet the Dominican Sisters of San Rafael on February 4th. We don’t know what others would say, but we don’t think it’s a crazy idea.

Like a deer that longs for springs of water,
so my soul longs for you, O God.
My soul thirst for God, the living God:
when shall I come and stand before the face of God?

One of our San Rafael deer

We, the Dominican Sisters of San Rafael, are hosting a Come and See Day on February 4th. We’re not  asking for a commitment either, we are simply inviting single Catholic women, between the ages of 20 and 45 to come . . . to investigate . . . to observe . . . to ask questions . . . and to find out for themselves just what being a sister might be like.

Why don’t you come? Why don’t you encourage someone?

Come and You Will See

This Della Robbia of the Virgin Mary adorns the exterior of St. Margaret Convent in San Rafael.

On today’s Feast of the Immaculate Conception, we celebrate Mary our Model of Openness to God

Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.
May it be done to me according to your word.”
Then the angel departed from her.

- Luke 1:37-38

• Jesus commented, not on the faith of the paralytic, but on those carrying him,
• presumably they brought him to be healed, not forgiven,
• the paralytic was forgiven, not healed, because of the faith of his friends, and
• no one said they were sorry, nor asked for forgiveness.

We say we trust in a forgiving, loving, and merciful God. Yet it seems that we operate out of a belief that one has to be sorry for one’s sins and ask for forgiveness before the “sinner” can receive forgiveness. This story in Mark’s Gospel refutes this notion.

The title, “The Son of Man,” is said to refer to Jesus’ humanity. Could it be that Jesus is calling all of his disciples to forgive the sins of others? Could it be that our faith could result in mercy and forgiveness, not only for ourselves, but for the broken world we live in?

Clearly, in a lawful society there must consequences and restitution for actions such as those we have witnessed in Tucson.  Naturally we pray for the victims of this unimaginable and horribly violent act. Can we also desire, like Jesus, for Jared Loughner’s healing? Can our faith bring him forgiveness, whether he’s asked for it or not.

And perhaps more to the point, can my prayers and faith bring healing and forgiveness to those who have hurt or betrayed me personally.

Imagine how different the world might be if we disciples of Jesus could truly be ministers of Christ’s healing, mercy, and forgiveness.  We don’t need a lot of faith to do this, I understand it only needs to be the size of a mustard seed.

Today students came from two diocesan schools to the motherhouse of the Dominican Sisters of San Jose. Three of us sisters, Sister Liz Schille, RGS (a Good Shepherd Sister), Sister

Sister Beth talking to the 5th graders

Beth Quire, OP (a Dominican Sister of Mission San Jose), and I (a Dominican Sister of San Rafael), taught them a little bit about what it’s like to be a sister, and the importance of answering God’s call in their life. It was a fun day, and the girls and their parents really enjoyed themselves.

Truly, all of us are called . . . from the time we are baptized, or even from the time we are born. God calls us to, as the apostle Luke wrote: “. . . to preach good news to the poor. . . to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” (Luke 4:18-19) God calls us to do this whether we marry or not, whether we become a nun or a sister or not.

Today we talked about our way, as sisters, of living out this call. I always like talking about that, because I love being a sister!

Take today for example. Today’s reading was from Mark 7:24-30, and it’s about the Greek (Syrophoenician) woman who came to Jesus looking for healing for her daughter. Jesus was rather gruff with her. Since she was not Hebrew, and Jesus saw his mission as being to his people, the Hebrews, he said to her, “Let the children be fed first. For it is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs.” Sounds a little off-putting, doesn’t it?

Because this Syrophoenician woman persisted and said, “Lord, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s scraps,” Jesus healed her daughter, and told the woman that when she went home she would find that her daughter would be just fine, and that the demon that tormented her would be gone.

Talk about good news for that family!

I wonder if over these 2000 plus years that Christians have been reading this passage, we’ve tried to sanitize it, by saying that Jesus was only trying to test her faith, and prove a point about faith to his disciples. Otherwise, how could Jesus possibly have acted so abruptly? Some might even suggest that he sounded rude. To top it off, the version of the Gospel that was read from the missal this morning said that Jesus dismissed her with the words, “Be off!”

Sister Cathryn’s brief reflection and prayer grasped all of the incongruity of the situation. Noting that Jesus sometimes got frustrated with his disciples and their obtuseness, she wondered whether or not he might be having an off day. Yet, in the midst of his frustration, and in spite of his sharp words to a woman desperate for her daughter’s well-being, Jesus mission of release to the captives and healing to the broken-hearted still was fulfilled. The demons were cast out of the woman’s daughter.

That can give all of us hope, can’t it? Even when we’re not having the best day . . . . even if we don’t choose the best words . . . . even when someone is standing on our last nerve . . . . God’s liberating and healing power can work through us. It never has been and never will be about us. It’s about GOD working through us, just the way we are.

Now that’s Good News!

Before I entered the convent, I was in banking. But I guess commercial lending was a different kind of banking than what we are seeing on Wall Street these days, since my bonuses were always based on performance. They had to do with the amount of revenue we were generating for the bank. No revenue – no bonus, and eventually no job. My brother Tom has always worked in sales. His bonuses, too, are based on performance – based on the amount of sales. No sales – no bonus, and eventually no job.

Today’s Gospel reading tells us ‘For there is nothing hidden except to be made visible; nothing is secret except to come to light. Anyone who has ears to hear ought to hear.’He also told them, ‘Take care what you hear. The measure with which you measure will be measured out to you, and still more will be given to you. To the one  who has, more will be given; from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.’” (Mark 4:22-25)

Everyday there are more layoffs. Everyday more families come to St. Dominic’s parish, here in San Francisco, and in churches throughout the country looking for assistance. Everyday there are more family tragedies due to people’s inability to cope with the financial disaster that faces them.

I don’t know why we aren’t more outraged! I don’t know why we don’t demand the kind of transparency from our financial institutions that the Gospel speaks of. I don’t know how we can let our elected officials in California or in our country bicker over bipartisan issues, instead of doing their jobs, and work on behalf of the people who elected them.

Today it reads: One woman was heard saying to another,
“I can’t commit to anything except tattoos.”

We live in a society where the “C” word is frightening to many.  We live in a culture where there are so many choices . . . and sometimes making a choice shuts out other ones, and that’s . . .that’s  . . . that’s . . . a commitment. It feels safer to keep one’s options open.

Strangely enough, I live in a culture – the convent – where we have uttered the “C” word, and have made vows that will hold us, and that we will hold, for the rest of our lives. That final commitment – perpetual or solemn vows – keeps us from making other choices. But it also frees us to give ourselves in ways we couldn’t otherwise. It also means I have sisters that I share this commitment with. I’m not going it alone!

The gift of this life is that one can try it for a time and see if it fits. Sometimes it’s not clear how God is calling us. And our answers are often found in our living of our lives. So before sisters, brothers, and priests say the “C” word, we get to try the life on for size – for five to nine years.

Most of the nuns I know are okay with the concept of commitment of their lives. But they are a bit squeamish about the commitment of a tattoo! (except for the really brave ones, of course!)