From time to time I have documented some whacky orders of nuns and sometimes that included some Dominicans.
These are Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist in Ann Arbor, Michigan which in 1997 started with four sisters and currently has 47 sisters and 24 Novices.
No not one of those infinitely recursive pictures but a groups of novitiates going through formation. This community formed around the Eucharist, prayer, and study is busting at the seams and is currently constructing a new Motherhouse to help house the growing numbers. They could have avoided these problems by doing what so many modern orders do. Just start practicing a creation spirituality, adopt a radical feminist agenda, and build a labyrinth or two and in no time they not only would have to worry about a crowded community, but could start to rent out rooms.
25 comments
I love this order of nuns! Mother Assumpta Long, is a wonderful woman. I wish I could sit down with her and have a cup of coffee and talk to her sometime. I caught EWTN Live last night and she was on with two of the younger sisters. Very beautiful! Also, it’s amazing that the orders of sisters who wear habits are the ones who get the vocations these days isn’t it?? They are truly a visible witness of Christ in our world and we really need that today.
What I wish someone with courage would ask the wackier groups of Dominicans (not that wackiness is reserved to the Dom’s by any stretch), is how THEY feel about the new vibrant beautiful holy orders springing up. What is their opinion on why they can’t attract vocations and these convents are bulging at the seams?
I was taught by one of the nuttiest groups of OP’s and they’re fading into obscurity. I’m not sorry when I see this new group (I saw them on EWTN too and aren’t they radiant?)
I LOVE THESE SISTERS!!! THESE ARE MY SISTERS!!! I am right now in the application process and will God willing be entering the order in in August. They are truly amazing sisters!!!!
I think I saw one of their sisters on The Journey Home the other night. She was positively glowing. It almost made me want to become a nun.
Praise God ! Real nuns!!! It just delights me to see these nuns and the fact that they embrace the true aspects of the Catholic faith makes them all the more beautiful.
Happy, beautiful and faithful sisters.
You see it, I see it, we ALL see it… except for the bitter, hostile to Church teaching, secular-looking nuns. I actually sat in a room with about five orders of nuns from my area speaking on communication pieces for vocations to the relgious. The unhabited ones were grouchy just to have these gentle, humble habited nuns in the same room. It was like watching a cold and warm front meeting. I thought there’d be a hurricane in the middle of the room! When I verbalized that our communication piece(s) had to express the JOY of being a bride of Christ or there’d be no attraction… the secular-ish ones didn’t know what to do with that. It was a foreign language to them. Sad really.
They look like they have their priorities straight. Sometimes I get so angry/depressed and feel so isolated, being with all these flighty wackos all the time. I’d like to just be NEAR them and just catch some of their light. Second-hand sanity’s better than none at all 🙂 I’m just so weary with being lost in the sea of liturgical and ecclesiastical lunitics and clowns. I can’t seem to find a sane parish/community/whatever.
Good! More faithful nuns! We need more of these communities so my daughter has a choice when she grows up 🙂
A great order of sisters! They are a blessing to the great state of Michigan.
I watched both The Journey Home and EWTN Live last week which featured the sisters from Mary, Mother of the Eucharist. I can’t recall seeing people so happy, peaceful, and content. What a powerful witness to their faith. They started with 4 sisters in 1997 and have grown to 47 sisters with an aditional 20 postulants (if my memory hasn’t failed me).
A couple of questions:
1. I listen to Relevant Radio in the car and watch EWTN during prime time TV – what’s wrong with me?
2. Is it offensive to use the term “nun”?
re: question 2
I believe that technically “nun” refers to vowed women religious who are cloistered and contemplative. “Sister” is used to describe the vowed women religious whose apostolate is active (though any good community will include a great deal of contemplation.) and are not cloistered.
I love the Sisters of Mary. I have been on a couple of overnight retreats at their schools with close to 100 other young women. I don’t see any “progressive” orders even getting 1/10th of that kind of attendance.
JohnH: Thank you for being open to a possible religious vocation for your daughter!! that is a beautiful thing!! keep fostering that in your family!!
Susan: did you go to the retreat this past may (2005)? at that retreat there was a record 123 young women discerning their prospective vocations. 5 girls walked away from that retreat with their application papers.
Mark: you are correct. there will be 19 or 20 young women entering as postulants on August 28th. God willing i will be one of them. I ask you all to please keep myself and the other 19 young women preparing to enter!!
God Bless you all!!
This is fantastic! Thank you for posting them and thank God and St Dominic for the gift of such sisters in the Church!
Hi am. I went on the retreats in 2000 and 2001. It looks like each retreat attracts more and more young women! Pretty soon they’re going to have to rent out a stadium or something. (God willing!)
I’m so glad that this got posted! I was accepted to the community on April 4 and am entering the Sisters of Mary this August 28. They are an amazing group of women on fire with love and joy for Jesus and Mary! It is so beautiful, and I have been so blessed to receive such a call! Please keep the 19 of us possibly-future-Sisters in your prayers, especially this summer, as it is not always easy to do God’s will in this world! God bless!!
Oh, and PS – in addition to Mother Assumpta, Sr. Amata Veritas, and Sr. Mary David being on EWTN Live last Wednesday, our very own Sr. Teresa Benedicta was on Journey Home with Marcus Grodi earlier in the week, as his scheduled guest didn’t show, I guess. I haven’t seen the show yet, but I was told by one of the Sisters that that show brought at least one man back to the Faith! Praise God!
Congratulations, Carly. May God bless you in your service to Him.
It is refreshing to see nuns dressed as nuns
should be! God bless them!
I LOVE these Sisters as well. I caught the EWTN LIve program and Mother and the 2 Sisters were positively glowing and so peaceful. Carly, I am praying for you and the 19 other postulants. Perhaps I will join y’all in 2 yrs time. Pray for me as well!
Please advise phone number for further information
Thanksgiving and praise to Jesus in the Eucharist.
In Jesu et Maria,
Eleanor
Correction: The SMME aren’t Dominican Nuns. The Dominican Order has a branch of cloistered contemplative nuns, in fact, the oldest branch of the Order because they were founded 10 years earlier than the friars.
There are about 250 monasteries in the world,15 monasteries in the states, a new foundation in Canada and a new foundation beginning in Vietnam and India.
The Dominican Nuns are celebrating their 800th anniversary in 2006. The vocation of prayer, intercession and adoration is crucially at the heart of the Dominican mission to preach the Truth. You won’t see them all over the place like you see these sisters because theirs is a hidden life, which many do not understand or accept. They need to made better known by young women discerning a vocation.
I was fortunate to meet the Sisters and work among them on their fundraising for a new Motherhouse. The time was very special to me and will be with me always. The women are bright, articulate, well educated and filled with love and joy. What better people to teach our young children.
I love these nuns, although I dont watch their show ( I dont have TV, what a blessing) I am always a=on their website. I was wondering if someone could tell me how long the novitiate and postulence periods are. Also if they do any retreats outside the MI area
God Blees
Lily,
The postulancy is 1 year and the noviate is 2 years. They don’t do any retreats outside of the Ann Arbor MI area because that is the location of the Motherhouse.
Megan
Kevin:
They started a new community so that girls who were discerning could have more options for traditional communities. They also emphasize knowing all of their Sisters personally, which is why they are going to limit their numbers.
Caitlin
Kevin:
They started a new community so that girls who were discerning could have more options for traditional communities. They also emphasize knowing all of their Sisters personally, which is why they are going to limit their numbers.
Caitlin