The Body of Christ

By: Sr. Shingai Chigwedere

As we celebrate the life and legacy of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr this week, I have been reflecting on ways that God is inviting me to be an instrument of working to end oppression, being peace and advocating for justice and love in the world. As I pray for the preparations for the July National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis, Indiana (my former Archdiocese), the Body of Christ keeps coming forth in my prayer and thoughts.

“This is my body that is for you…” (1 Cor 11:23)

My main ministry this year is at Cook County Jail in Chicago, IL, through an Archdiocese of Chicago program called Kolbe House Jail Ministry. First, let me offer a few things I learned about jail. 95% of those inside Cook County Jail are awaiting trial. They are detained pending trial, thus they are known as detainees or Individuals in Custody (IIC). They are not inmates because they have not been convicted and sentenced. Prison is where one serves time for the crime for which they were convicted and sentenced. As an aside but worth mentioning, the Chicago Tribune newspaper did a 4-part investigative series in April 2023 regarding the concerning court delays of murder cases in Cook County. “Advocates nationally aim for murder cases to take no more than a year. Cook County’s goal is a little more than two years. But it’s now taking more than four to complete most of the county’s murder cases, with some lasting up to a decade or more… Separating the guilty from the innocent takes longer than courthouses in any city for which comparable data was available, including New York and Los Angeles.” Reading articles such as the one I quoted above have helped me understand the legal complexities and more importantly reminded me about our collective responsibility to advocate for a just and fair due process.

Sr. Shingai and fellow Kolbe House volunteers

For I was hungry and you gave me food…a stranger and you welcomed me… (Mt 25:35) 

Our trainer at Kolbe House made sure to remind us that, “Their (IIC) innocence or guilt is not our concern, that is the domain of the corrections system. Our domain is spiritual accompaniment regardless of verdict.” Each week, I co-facilitate a faith sharing group in the men’s division. I serve with two faith filled female volunteers who I am in awe of every session. We check-in with each man, how are they, how was their week? Then we ask for one of the men to lead us in opening prayer. We watch an episode of the TV series, The Chosen, which is about the life of Jesus and his apostles. Next, we discuss the episode, what intrigued us, concerned us, how did God speak to us. Then we have about five minutes of silent meditation, with the prompt “picture God lovingly gazing at us.” Lastly, one of us Kolbe volunteers closes in prayer and invites everyone to offer aloud prayer intentions including praying for mercy, compassion and justice for any upcoming court dates. Each session is 1.5 hrs to 2 hrs. 

There is no stranger among us, we share in this sacred sharing of truth, healing, mercy and acceptance. These men have taught me so much about, remaining with Christ in God’s Word, trusting through the most difficult of times, recognizing their mistakes and yet remembering they are not who they once were. Their desire to know Christ, to share Christ and to be Christ to others is heartwarming and inspiring. They tell us how nourished they are by this weekly session and how it reminds them of their dignity as a beloved child of God.

 

Sr. Shingai and Sr. Terri heading off to mass at Cook County Jail

For I was…in prison and you visited me. (Mt 25:36)

My fellow novice, Sr. Terri and I also help out with mass in the women’s division once a month. My first time was both a jarring and moving experience. About a dozen women joined us in a small room where we gathered around the makeshift altar. As part of his homily, Father asked the women to think about how they can practice Christ’s command to love their neighbors, even while in jail. I noticed that Father did not minimize their reality, yet invited them to think about how they can live the gospel message of love, in the midst of such difficult and challenging circumstances. The responses were heartwarming: giving a woman a tissue to wipe her tears, being respectful of each other, being nice to each other, sharing your extra bread when others are hungry in between meals.

During the Eucharistic prayer and epiclesis when Father said, “for this is my body”, I was all of a sudden filled with an overwhelming sense of community. I glanced around the room and in my heart heard, “yes, this is the Body of Christ, we are the Body of Christ”. Although we will go back to different realities, all of us in that room, in our brokenness, messy lives, in need of healing, we are beloved children of God. As Sr. Terri and I sang Open my eyes Lord, I was grateful for the beauty of this liturgy. I thanked God for the hour of freedom the women had experienced at mass with us and prayed it fed their souls until the next liturgy.

Sr. Paula and Sr. Shingai - Christmas Day Mass at Motherhouse

For I was…ill and you cared for me… (Mt 25:36)

During Christmas I spent the holiday at our Motherhouse in Columbus, Ohio. We have about 65 sisters who live there and about 40 in Mohun, our health care center that is attached to the Motherhouse and has a memory care unit. I had never spent a night in our Columbus Motherhouse so being there for Christmas and New Year’s was such a gift for me. In addition to some reading, we also had an individual project to complete that was designed to help us understand how to research our archives, learn more about our congregational history and encourage deeper conversations with our sisters. So while it was a break from our regular novitiate schedule, it was a busy and spirit filled time of prayer, study, and community.

For breakfast, lunch, and dinner I enjoyed sitting with different sisters and sharing stories. They were excited to hear about my novitiate experience and in turn I was excited to hear more about their vocation stories and their hopes and dreams for us. The most difficult and touching visits were with our sisters in Mohun. The sisters have a variety of healthcare needs including memory concerns. In addition to helping out at Bingo, the Christmas Party, proclaiming God's Word at Mass or celebrating birthdays we had the privilege of one on one visits with sisters as they were available. Those were special moments of grace. The sisters were so excited to meet us novices and mentioned many times that we are signs of hope for them. Hope that this Dominican heritage will continue on and affirmation that God is still calling women to this vocation to religious life. All of them pray for us daily and for them to meet some of us for the first time in person brought them tremendous joy. It was also sobering to see the aging process and the struggles with memory.

My stay at our Motherhouse was a blessing! I was impressed by the level of curiosity and earnestness of our sisters’ questions. I loved the gentle ways they weaved in pearls of wisdom that have helped deepen or affirm my vocational discernment. It was as if God was surrounding with me a cloud of witnesses on this sacred journey. I will be forever grateful that I was able to thank the sisters for their yes to this call which paved the way for me (us) to be here. I appreciate how God allowed this mutual sharing to provide us with hope and trust in what the future holds. It was a beautiful way to experience Our story and the Body of Christ.

 

Merry Christmas from the Collaborative Novitiate.

 The Feast Day for Our Lady of Guadalupe was a special day at the novitiate house this month.

The Novices, directors and some new friends at Saint Pius V for a very early morning mass.

The women of the novitiate all decorated our chapel for Our Lady of Guadalupe’s Feast Day, We all learned and sang a song, in Spanish, in honor of the day.

On Thursday, December 14, the directors surprised us with tickets to the Brookfield Zoo Holiday Magic light display.  The traffic in Chicago was moving slow.  I was feeling like it was taking forever to get to the zoo.  Someone in our car reminded me that…Advent is a time of waiting. We did eventually arrive and were rewarded by the vision of hundreds of Christmas trees, decorations and lights.   

                All of the Women at the Novitiate wish you a very Merry Christmas.

O Come, O Come Emmanuel

At the CDN, as we observe the Advent season and prepare for visits to our home congregations, we seem to be busier than ever. 

Here are a few things we've done since our last blog update:

A local parish held a winter coat drive for the many migrants and refugees who have recently arrived in Chicago. We were happy to be able to participate, both together and individually in various ways. Here we are, along with parish volunteers, helping to sort donations. Some of us were able to contribute in other ways as well, removing stains, repairing rips, and washing and drying quality donations that needed a little TLC. The final event was a great success and many persons and families in need were provided with new and gently-used Chicago winter essentials.

In our house, we had a wonderful Thanksgiving celebration. We explored new ways of practicing flexibility when our plans had to change at the last minute due to illness. Fortunately, some of our guests were still able to join us.

The illness of one member didn't dampen our enthusiasm for cooking, and we ended up with a truly remarkable quantity of food -- including four pies!

At the end of November, we were blessed to be able to attend an evening at Dominican University on the life and legacy of Albert Nolan OP. Not all of us were familiar with his work, but the introduction to Nolan and his context certainly gave us food for thought. Panelists at the event were Dr Fannie Rushing, Don Goergen OP, Fr Thulani Magwaza, and Timothy Radcliffe OP. The panel was ably moderated by our sister Barbara Reid OP. We were delighted to find that all panelists would be appearing in person rather than via Zoom, and couldn't resist a group picture. 

My own (Julie's) notes from the event are largely about the idea of contextual theology, this blend of the experiential and the scholarly. Albert Nolan bore witness to the suffering he personally saw and knew, and was able to use his intellect to reflect theologically on that suffering. 

Sometimes theology can (quite fairly) be criticized for a certain detachment from reality, a preference for abstract ideas seemingly divorced from any human context. As Dominicans, we are called to seek truth, not as an abstraction but in the person of Christ, and in the persons who surround us. 

It's important that our theology be grounded in the human reality of our experience of God and our neighbor. As persons born into various kinds of privilege, we must be careful to avoid ivory-tower thinking. We are called to stand in solidarity with persons on the margins.

As we grow in our knowledge and understanding, we begin to see more and more problems in the world. None of these problems come with easy solutions. As Don Goergen said, "What a prophet does at this time, is not lose hope!"
So we continue together, placing our hope in God. 

As part of our concern for social justice, we participated in a vigil to remember the many victims of homicide in the Chicago area over the last month. We continue to hope and pray for an end to violence in our neighborhoods and throughout the world.

This Advent, we await Christ in our hearts and communities.
We join together in prayer with all who pray for us, both near and far. 
Blessings to you and your loved ones,
as we prepare together to welcome Emmanuel,
God-with-us,
in each person we encounter.

Thanksgiving - Immersed in the Season of Gratitude & Wonderings

 

The past three weeks have been full. We are thankful for the opportunity to visit three Dominican Congregations in Racine, Grand Rapids, and Adrian. We celebrated Paula's birthday in between our trips.

Happy Birthday, Paula!

Click on photo to zoom

IN-TO-ME-SEE (Intimacy)

"Celibacy is a vow for relatedness." - Diarmuid O'Murchu

Click on photo to zoom

After our workshop on Family of Origin that Shingai shared in the last post, we came back to Racine the following week for a 4-day intense study on Human Sexuality and Celibacy with Sr. Lynn M. Levo, CSJ, Ph. D. I was grateful to learn about the "energy" that inclines me into relationships with others, and to be more aware of how destructive it can be to adopt a conditional identity (ie. I need to have "this" or "that" in order to accept myself). We were challenged by different controversial situations revolving around gender identity and sexual orientation, and how the call to diversity, inclusion, and belonging remains crucial at the heart of every organization. We also had in-depth discussions on healthy integrated sexuality, which included how to meet our human needs, and how to address attractions, boundaries, and intimacy. We were left with a critical discernment question, "Is celibate life in community the best way for me to love and be loved, to give my gifts in service to others, and to be in relationship with God?"

"We preach the invisible presence of God and the visible absence of God."

Us with Sr. Megan McElroy, OP

We spent this past weekend visiting our Sisters in Grand Rapids and Adrian.

At Grand Rapids, we had a session on Preaching as Befriending with Sr. Megan McElroy, OP. We encountered the spirituality of a preacher, anchored in our friendship with God, and woven within the call to search for Truth and share it. I was amazed to learn that, depending on the community, there was an element of preaching, not against the Word, but against the text. If, as preachers, we are called to share the Good News, what news is considered good news? We were left with another question to ponder, "Is hard news good news?"

History => Her Story => Our Story => My Story

We were blessed with wonderful opportunities to learn the History of Grand Rapids and Adrian Dominicans when we visited our sisters. It was fascinating for me to grasp our history in a bigger context, realizing that we are more alike than we are unalike in our roots.

Click on photo to zoom

Us with our Adrian Dominican Sisters

Thank you for your prayers as we continue to sit with the questions that keep emerging during this privileged time of our Novitiate.

Posted by Angela

Truth will spring from the earth

By Sr. Shingai Chigwedere

Love and truth will meet; justice and peace will kiss. Truth will spring from the earth; justice will look down from heaven.  (Ps 85:11-12) 

One of the reasons the Dominican charism appeals to me is the journey of seeking Truth, Veritas, through the four pillars of prayer, study, community, and ministry. I love to learn and am used to be an avid reader (less free time right now 😊). Study is not simply academic it is more so being aware of what is happening in the world and how God is calling us to respond. As the saying goes, Dominicans walk with the Bible in one hand and the newspaper in the other. In other words, as one Sister explained to me, “To be preachers of good news and calling one another to our best selves for the life of the world!” Here are a few ways, I have been graced so far with living the pillar of study.

Uncomfortable Truth

I love living in Hyde Park, a historically significant and diverse part of metropolitan Chicago. It has been a good cultural reconnection for me and a change from the homogenous suburban neighborhoods where I primarily lived in the past. I am in a place with lots of Black people and while not the majority, I don’t have to flex all the time to fit into a world of whiteness.

One way I have enjoyed getting to know my neighbors and surrounding neighborhoods is by riding public transportation. I take the bus to ministry to Cook County Jail where I co-facilitate a men’s faith sharing class using the TV series The Chosen, about the life of Jesus and his disciples. I am reminded each time I ride the bus, of the privilege I have to opt to drive a novice car to ministry during inclement weather. The privilege of not lugging my groceries and shopping supplies on multiple buses to get home. The privilege of not worrying about the balance on my  bus pass as it automatically gets reloaded when it reaches a certain amount. Riding the bus also keeps me connected to what neighbors are experiencing and thinking. Recently, I overheard the following conversation between two African Americans who were complaining that government officials “are trying to force Chicagoans to welcome migrants and refugees. They even want to shelter these migrants in Black communities” and frustratedly stated, “they don’t even care about us, yet they want us to house these people in our neighborhoods?” I was saddened to hear this from a group whose ancestors were enslaved and unwelcome in the US. Yet at the same time, I understood their frustration of not being seen and respected enough to receive adequate funding to address violent crime, provide affordable housing, and address food insecurity in Black neighborhoods. This is an uncomfortable truth I am confronted with daily as Chicago continues to grapple with how to welcome and provide shelter and safety for our new neighbors.

Painful Truth

I am taking a class at Catholic Theological Union (CTU)  called Reconciling Narratives: Racialization and the Theology of Robert J. Schreiter, C.PP.S. In simple terms, racialization means how people are defined by their race. In this class, we explore the theological anthropology of the social construct “race” and the interconnectedness to colonization, chattel slavery, white supremacy, and Christianity. We discuss truth, healing, and accountability in reconciling narratives, and ways of developing resources for a spirituality of reconciliation and restorative justice towards eradicating racism. It’s a fascinating class taught by a student and mentee of Schreiter. In addition to Schreiter’s books, we read books and articles by Willie James Jennings, Brian Bantum, James Cone, Kelly Brown Douglas, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, Fr. Virgilio Elizondo, M. Shawn Copeland, Eleazar Fernandez, and others. We have been graced on two separate occasions with guest speakers Maka Black Elk, Executive Director for Truth and Healing at Red Cloud Indian School in Pine Ridge, South Dakota and Dr. Marvin Wickware, a former student of Willie James Jennings. This is heavy and important content in the long history of the Catholic Church and of the United States. The class is challenging my prejudices, teaching me new vocabulary, and requires me to be merciful as we dig through this messy and enormously complex painful truth of a racialized world.

(Sr. Julie, Dr. Shannen Dee Williams, Sr. Shingai, and Sr. Terri) 

Difficult Truth

CTU’s center for the Study of Consecrated Life hosted a talk by Dr. Shannen Dee Williams entitled “Reckoning with Dangerous Memories in the History of US Catholic Women’s Religious Life.” Dr. Williams shared the mostly unreconciled histories of slavery and segregation in U.S. women’s religious life as well as some notable attempts to make reparation for the enduring sin of anti-Black racism and exclusion within Catholic boundaries. It brough to life for me the history of women religious congregations who owned slaves and denied entry to Black women because of race. It was interesting to hear how many congregations opened up their archives to Dr. Williams for her research that led to her book Subversive Habits: Black Catholic Nuns in the Long African American Freedom Struggle. On the other hand, to hear that some have refused and the various reasons for this reluctance. It was good to hear about the various apologies, healing ceremonies, and ongoing dialogue some of the congregations have engaged in to work through this difficult truth.

Healing Truth

As part of the inter-community novitiate (ICN), we spent three days of intense study on family of origin. We created genograms, discussed our family structures, birth order, the stories we’ve heard and legacies we want to continue. One of the most enlightening exercises we completed was to create a timeline of significant events in our family (moves, deaths, births, divorces, wars, the great depression, pandemic, etc.). When I overlayed these dates with the genogram I had a new perspective on why my siblings and I experienced or seem to remember events differently. It was a fascinating and very helpful exercise to visually help make connections and see familial patterns. During the session we discussed ways to work on forgiveness and reconciliation (if needed) with our families, who did the best they could with what they knew. Having taken the time to understand significant events gave us a new perspective on our childhood experiences. It allowed us to understand our current situation better and how that informs the selves we bring to our religious communities - the gifts and the growing edges.

All of this learning so far is encouraging me to move through uncomfortable truths, painful truths, difficult truths, to transforming them into healing truths. I am grateful for this consecrated and concentrated Canonical year of prayer, study, and reflection.

I will end with this quote from Robert J. Schreiter, “Reconciliation is not about going back. It is about addressing the past adequately so that we can go forward.” (Schreiter, The Ministry of Reconciliation: Spirituality and Strategies, 18). 

Thank you for surrounding us with your ongoing prayers!

Paula Eats Worms

  By Sr. Paula Danforth

Amazing things are happening here at the collaborative novitiate. Five women are on a journey into religious life with our director and one other perpetually professed sister. We have been here for two months now. We have ministries, common prayer times, community building outings, and classes. We attend formal classes at Catholic Theological Union. We attend lectures and Dominican Life Seminars. We have informal classes that take place around our shared dinner table and in spontaneous conversations that often happen on community building outings. 

We accepted an invitation to spend some time at a house owned by the Springfield Dominican Sisters in Braidwood, Illinois this weekend. I was especially happy to travel to such a beautiful property outside of the City of Chicago. I looked forward to processing in my head and heart the things I had learned at a lecture I attended on Friday at the Intercommunity Novitiate gathering. 

The title of the talk was “Collaborative Leadership,” but so much more information was covered in Brother Loughlan Sofield’s lecture. Collaboration also includes communication, anger, forgiveness, transition, stress, and our emotions. We spent a great deal of time covering the topic of loss that occurs from transitions. 

In Braidwood, I was able to take part in a conversation about all we had learned in Brother Sofield’s lecture. I needed time to process one specific challenging truth I had to accept. I chose to transition into the novitiate in Chicago. Chicago is a long way from Vermont. My family back in Vermont, transitioned into a life where I was not just a short car ride away from them. I had to process the idea that my choice had an impact on not just me. This is a loss for me, but also for my family. I chose this option with the attached loss. My family has to deal with a loss due to this choice of mine. They support me in this move, but the loss they feel is mostly on me and my decision. Whenever we collaborate, when we are part of a community, when we make any decision, everyone’s life is impacted in some way. This was heavy information for me to process. Thanks to the Dominican Sisters of Springfield who loaned us their lake property, I had a nice place to do the processing and integration of Brother Sofield’s teaching on collaborating and all it entails. 

My first two months here have also been fun. In addition to the picture of the lake, I have attached a light moment of laughter. Our house is studying the possibility of incorporating a composting worm bin into our environment. I think you may be hearing more about this in future blogs from the novitiate. We visited a neighboring community to see their worms in action. I assure you that no worm was harmed in the composition of the attached photo of Angela and I. Despite what I told my family, I did not actually eat a worm as a part of the novitiate.

Blessings and Peace from Chicago.

A little update...

 

Some of us visited the Chicago Botanical Gardens. As you can see, we had a great time!

Angela, Shingai, Terri and Paula attended an ordination for the SVDs, held at Our Lady of Africa parish. It was a lovely ceremony in a beautiful parish.

Teresa and Angela buying diapers for a community outreach project of Our Lady of Africa parish.

A small selection of pictures from our Open House.