"BE YOU"...... the beginning of our new journey
Collaborative Dominican Novitiate
2021-2022
We are
five women who come from different cultures, congregations, ages, and
backgrounds, yet we are able to live peacefully together during this intense
canonical year at the CDN. A year filled with Faith, Hope, Joy, and Love! Well,
at least we've done it for twenty seven days! YAY... we've survived so far! There
is hope for peace in this world. Surprisingly, all three of our
last names begin with "BU"! As our journey began to unfold, we embraced "BE YOU" as our theme for this special year. Please pray for us as we immerse ourselves in Dominican life during this sacred year.
MEET OUR NOVICES
Sister Tram Bui
Dominican Sisters of Peace
Greetings
and blessings to each of you as you are reading our first blog. My name is Tram
Bui and I am a novice from the Dominican Sisters of Peace. I was born and
raised in Viet Nam. I am the second oldest child of nine siblings. I have one older sister, four younger brothers, and three younger
sisters.
In
March 1997, my whole family moved to the US to unite with my grandparents and Dad’s
side of the family in Daytona Beach, FL. My family then moved to Houston, Texas
in 2005 and from there I finished my doctoral degree in Physical Therapy from
Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in Lubbock. I love being
with nature and gardening. I also find pleasure in cooking, singing,
having simple conversations with companions, exercising, taking a walk, playing
indoor games or outdoor activities. I will study the Vowed Life class and
the Trinity and Mission class at CTU for the coming Fall semester.
Being
with the Dominican family, I feel very much at home and I look forward to
continuing to practice, study, and deepen my understanding in the Dominican
tradition. I am also excited about living and building our new community
with our many diverse cultures and different backgrounds. It is a blessing
and a gift from God that I’m able to be here at the CDN. I am so thankful
to God, to my community, friends, and my family. With God’s grace, I am
delighted and eager to be here to start the journey together with my companions
Cathy Buchanan and Siobhan Burroughs for this coming year and to deepen my
relationship with God. I will continue discerning the call under the guidance
of the Holy Spirit and our directors, Sisters Cathy Arnold and Lorraine Reaume.
Thank you so much for your support and prayers. Peace and blessings to each of
you.
Sister Siobhan Burroughs
Dominican Sisters of Sinsinawa
Trinidad
and Tobago is the land of my birth. My life has been significantly shaped by
this multi-ethnic, multi-religious twin-island in the Caribbean. I have always
believed that all human beings have equal worth and are deserving of respect.
Sweet T&T, as we fondly call my country, has also inspired my love for
celebrating life, people, the arts, nature and a variety of foods. I have a
Masters in Clinical psychology and a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology as well as
Management Studies. I have worked with children, adolescents as well as adults.
I am the first of two girls for my parents and have two brothers and an
eight-year-old niece.
The
call to religious life was awakened during World Youth Day in Poland in July
2016. I was captivated by the variety of religious orders, representing regions
from all over the world. In a grace-filled moment, I told God “Yes”. I later
attended a vocations retreat with Sisters from different religious
congregations. The Dominican mission to “preach and teach the gospel” resonated
deep within me and I discerned that the Dominican Sisters of Sinsinawa was the
best fit for me.
I was
welcomed as a candidate on August 7th 2019. My candidate year was spent in Milwaukee and Trinidad and
Tobago. On August 9th 2020, I was received as a novice and
began my apostolic novitiate in Trinidad and Tobago. Along this journey, I have
studied and served in various ministries (including Sisters Program South;
Franciscan Institute; and the Archdiocesan Family Life Commission). After
receiving a blessing on August 7th 2021, I entered the
Collaborative Dominican Novitiate in Chicago and began my canonical novitiate.
I am looking forward to this sacred time where I will learn more about being
Dominican and have the opportunity to enter more deeply into prayer, community
life, study and ministry.
Many
blessings,
Siobhan.
Sister Cathy Buchanan
Dominican Sisters of Peace
Hello
Sisters, I am very happy to be here at the CDN in Chicago! I want to introduce
myself and let you know a little bit about me. I’m from northern New Jersey and
until last year, lived there my whole life. As it is with life, I have
experienced many joys, along some challenges as well. My greatest joys
are my 2 nieces, 4 nephews, 2 great-nieces and 7 God-children. I was and am
known as a chatty Cathy (a challenge J). I am outgoing and social
with a great sense of humor. I’ve loved helping people through my ministry as a
volunteer Emergency Medical Technician for the past 32 years. I’ve had
wonderful opportunities to serve the people of New Jersey as a Law Enforcement
officer for 27 years and before entering the Dominican Sister of Peace, I was
blessed to minister in a Catholic parish in Essex County, New Jersey for 5
years as the Coordinator of Liturgy and Adult Formation. One of my passions is
as an ESL volunteer tutor and mentor for new immigrants to the U.S. I find so
much joy in helping people learn English and walking with them as they study to
become citizens. I have been very blessed to be surrounded by people in my life
who have accepted me for who I am and for who God created me to be.
I
studied and received my degrees from Caldwell University, Seton Hall University
and the Immaculate Conception Seminary and School of Theology at Seton Hall. I
am a lifelong learner and I thank God that I’ve had many opportunities to put
the gift of my education to use in many ministries. I spent my candidacy year
at the House of Welcome in New Haven, Connecticut ministering at Albertus
Magnus College as the Coordinator of their Health Clinic. I had an amazingly
supportive community in New Haven who helped me to navigate living into
community and religious life. I pray this year at the CDN will be a time of
God’s grace and blessings as I move forward into the vocation that God had
planned for me. Peace & Prayers to all of you!
MEET OUR DIRECTORS
Lorraine Reaume, OP
Dominican Sisters of Adrian
I am a
Dominican Sister of Adrian, originally from Toronto, Canada. I am happy to be
starting my fourth year with the CDN and to be able to minister on behalf of
the many Dominican Congregations that make up the Collaborative Dominican
Novitiate. My own CDN experience in 1998-1999 grounded me in the Dominican
Family and gave me a solid identity as a Dominican. I am grateful to be able to
walk with women on that same journey.
My
undergraduate degrees are a BA in English and Psychology (University of
Waterloo) and a B.Ed. (Lakehead University). I also have an MDiv and an MA in
Theology from Catholic Theological Union. I have a certificate in Spiritual
Direction, have completed the Collaborative Leadership Development Program, and
have also done the ForMission program offered by the Religious Formation
Conference.
Before
religious life, I was a teacher and then a Lay Missionary in Bolivia. I also
co-coordinated the Lay Mission Program for Scarboro Missions for four years. In
religious life, I have served as a Campus Minister at Siena Heights University,
as a Pastoral Associate with a focus on Hispanic Ministry in both Anchorage,
AK, and Detroit, MI, and as Formation Director. I love to walk with others as
they discern and discover how God is calling them to life and particularly
appreciate the opportunity to share life with people of many places and
cultures.
Favorite
quote, "All shall be well…for there is a force of love moving through the
universe that holds us fast and will never let us go." Julian of Norwich
Sister Cathy Arnold, OP
Dominican Sisters of Peace
As we
begin another year at the CDN, I feel grateful to live in a community with
women from different cultures, diverse backgrounds, and many gifts. I am
also hopeful that with proper precautions to prevent getting or spreading the
corona virus, the novices have opportunities to experience more in-person
meetings with members of our Dominican family and in our religious life
circles. I participated in the CDN as a novice from 2000 to 2001 and have
many wonderful and, yes, some challenging memories, which helped me to grow
more deeply into Dominican life, especially in relationship building and
working on social justice issues.
My
educational background includes a BS in chemistry from Marietta College, an MA
in theological studies from the University of Dayton, and completion of the
Religious Formation Conference ForMission program. My final project ForMission
involved developing and leading an Intercultural Living mini-workshop with our
Sisters and Associates. Since then I have also completed the Collaborative
Leadership Development Program sponsored by LCWR. In the past, I
participated in a Peace Ambassador Training program and helped coordinate a
Leadership for Peace program for college age students. I have ministered
in special education, high school education, and from 2007 to 2018, I served as
a vocation minister and then as Coordinator of Formation for the Dominican
Sisters of Peace. Walking with women in formation is a gift, a privilege, and a
sacred task as they and we discern how the Spirit is working in the discernment
of becoming Dominican. For fun, I enjoy baking bread (learning how to make it
gluten free now!), walking, reading, biking, gardening, and sharing time with
Dominican Sisters, friends and family.
