One Body Many Parts. Paula's Blog

 One Body, Many Parts.  

1 Corinthians 12:18 "But as it is, God placed the parts, each one of them, in the body as God intended."  God has a sense of humor.

Five women of different ages, nationalities, and histories living in an unfamiliar house in an unfamiliar city for the intentional purpose of learning about a countercultural, alternative way of living: a way of living together that is meant to be an example for the life of the world.

The Philosophy in our Collaborative Dominican Novitiate handbook talks about things like, openness and inclusion, respect, personal flexibility, mutually respectful dialogue, willingness to collaborate with others, and joy.

The women of the Collaborative Dominican Novitiate had a chance to reflect, review and articulate what it means to be a Dominican Sister when we traveled to Columbus Ohio from February 17-21, to present to the Board of Directors of the Collaborative Dominican Novitiate just what the first half year of our novitiate meant to us.

In our presentation we decided to just sit down and have conversations with each other using the framework of the four pillars.  The board of directors were just kind of observers to what we discussed about our experiences over the past few months.  That was the serious part of our presentation.  To warm up the listeners, we chanted a psalm parody that we wrote, complete with an antiphon, set to one of the complex psalm tones from the Dominican Praise book. We sang about some of our experiences at the Collaborative Novitiate.  We chanted about “pork chops, intuitive feelers cooking for dinner guests, CDN directors who maybe should come with subtitles, among other things.  This was so well received that the directors asked us for a repeat performance.  We also chanted the Psalm at lunch for the Dominican Sisters of Peace who hosted us in Columbus.  

Now lest you think that writing psalms and traveling to board of director’s meetings were all we have done in the last month…

We attended a Superbowl Party with the Augustinians.

Invited Don Goergen, O.P.  and Brian Bricker, O.P. over for dinner.  The food was delicious.

We attended mass at the Vietnamese Parish “Holy Child of Jesus", to celebrate TET or Lunar New Year.   

Angela looking stunning in her Vietnamese Dress “ao dai”.

Of course, we could not celebrate the opening of the Year of The Dragon…without Dragons. (I was so excited to have Dragons in church on TET.)

A way of living together that is meant to be an example for the life of the world…. and joy.  

So many amazing things are happening here in Chicago at the Collaborative Dominican Novitiate.

Donald Goergen…and Dragons, in the same month.  Who wouldn’t be joyful?  

Many Parts, One Body.  

Thank you for reading and please have a blessed and fruitful Lent.

Boundary-Crossing

  By Sr. Angela Thanh Trần

“We possess the prophetic word that is unwavering. Pay careful attention to this word, as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns, and the morning star rises in your hearts” (2 Peter 1:19).

Dominican Preaching: Encounter the Gospel-Actualized Community
with Fr. Greg Heille, OP

Scriptures at the Heart of Preaching
with Sr. Mila Díaz Solano, OP

We had powerful and in-depth sessions on Preaching with Fr. Greg Heille, OP, and Sr. Mila Díaz Solano, OP. They both connected us to the core of our Dominican charism. We all preach in and for the community. The invitation to expand our idea of who is included in "common" has lingered, specifically in the call to situate ourselves in solidarity with the marginalized. The challenging question is, how can we locate ourselves with the marginalized if we are so privileged in many ways?

We had our volunteer orientation at
Greyhound Bus Station with the Maryknolls,
Norbetines, and Franciscans.

With the increasing number of new arrivals in Chicago these days, some of us have committed to help at the Greyhound Bus station on certain Friday mornings (5:45-7:45 am). We collaborate with the ICDI (Illinois Community for Displaced Immigrants) to offer migrants food, water, clothes, directions to their next location, etc. One Friday, one of us came home and called for a house meeting after Morning Prayer, she said, “I encountered a family that I think was homeless. A young couple with a child. They speak Spanish. Only the wife knows a little English. They slept on the street the night before and couldn't afford the ticket to get to where they wanted to go. I would like to take them into our home and provide them food and a place to rest, while we help them get their tickets. Is it okay for you?”

I initially thought this was a crazy idea. None of us knew the family. Is it safe for them to come to our house? Is it safe for us to let them in? How are we doing with space? What about our schedule? It was not like we had “a day off.” Is it even possible to alter anything? The unexpected proposal disrupted the convenience of the day, and it opened up the door to a way of living consecrated poverty that we, as a community, did not experience before. It reminded me that we hold in common not only our resources, but also the time we choose to offer. This life involves a constant choice of saying Yes to one thing while saying No to the other, so I can fully be present in my Yes. We are not separated from reality. Consequentially, it became challenging when there was a choice that interfered with my privilege – my time. As we affirmed each other’s freedom by not looking for a right or wrong answer, we were also aware, the question was asked because one of us recognized our capacity to respond.

Holding together the ongoing unmet needs around us, we listened, asked questions, named our concerns, asked for help to address them, and finally said Yes.

It was on that same day that we had our class on the vow of Consecrated Celibacy
and a Zoom session with our three panelists -- Srs. Corinne Sanders, OP, 
Diane Capuano, OP, & Beth Quire, OP.

Consecrated Obedience I with Srs. Anna Oven,
OP, Kelly Moline, OP, & Katherine Frazier, OP
(Click on photo to zoom)

Consecrated Poverty with Srs. Jeanne Moore, OP, Cecilia Canales, OP, & Xiomara Mendez-Hernandez, OP

Consecrated Obedience II with Srs. Gloria Marie Jones, OP,
Teresa Hougnon, OP, & Sharon Casey, OP

Elyse, Teresa, Shingai, and I drove two cars to the station to pick up the family and all their luggage. In the meantime, Paula organized the space for them and installed the safety gate we borrowed from our neighbor (for the child), while Julie and Terri started baking and cooking. The family came, showered, ate, and rested in our house that day. We took them back to the bus station to catch the bus at night. When we said goodbye, one of us lifted her hands and asked if we could bless them with our Dominican Blessing. The husband, not knowing English, seeing her gesture, thought she wanted a high-five. He approached her, gently put his hands on her hands, and then gave her a big hug.

Two different languages. Two different cultures. Two different life forms. Two different worlds. The minute that line named difference was crossed, I heard the Good News. The whole Body of Christ was completely present in that embrace. I learned about preaching in the most real and tangible way I could ever grasp. It was in each person-to-person transforming encounter. It was about expanding and making space available for others. It was about struggling with the reality that we were unable to help everyone, and at the same time, knowing our capacity to bridge and collaborate in matters present right in front of us.

February 8 each year is a special day for my home Congregation – the Dominican Sisters of Mission San Jose, as we celebrate our Founder's Day. We give thanks to God for our Foundress, M. Maria Pia Backes, a pioneer preacher, who dared to cross the country in 1876. We remember all the Dominican women who have gone before us. The Word of God was spoken throughout their lives, in their generous “Yes” to the unmet needs, their courage to think in a bigger frame of mind, and their fidelity to a way of life that keeps on evolving.

We celebrated Terri's un-birthday this past weekend
with a Murder Mystery game (her actual birthday is in the summer).
We each dressed up as a character in that Murder Mystery and had a fabulous time!