Sisters in the New Evangelization (Meet the Sisters of Mary)

Sisters of Mary ^ | June 2005 | Ellen Rice

[NYer]

In 1996 Pope John Paul II’s summons for the ‘new evangelization’ inspired four Dominican women religious to undertake a new initiative.  On February 9, 1997, John Cardinal O’Connor recognized their wish to develop a new institute of consecrated life and established them as a Public Association of Christ’s Faithful in the Archdiocese of New York.  To signal the new community’s devotional emphasis, the four sisters’ Community is named , “The Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist.”

The founding members of this new community in the Church include Mother Assumpta Long, Sister Joseph Andrew Bogdanowicz, Sister Mary Samuel Handwerker, and Sister John Dominic Rasmussen.  Since the Association’s establishment, its membership has grown to forty-three.  Mother Assumpta Long has wondered for some time whether small bands of devoted sisters sent out for apostolic service to regions where a particular religious charism was not represented might not serve to renew religious life in the United States. 

Now Mother Assumpta explains the ideal that the Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist want to embody: “We are consecrated women first, and so our foremost model is Mary, the Mother of God.  Inspired by the charism of St. Dominic, our prayer life comes first so that our apostolate overflows from a contemplation nourished before the Eucharist.” 

Shortly after their canonical establishment, the Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist accepted an invitation from Bishop Carl F. Mengeling to teach in the Diocese of Lansing.style="mso-spacerun: yes">  Mr. Tom Monaghan, a well-known Catholic entrepreneur, generously welcomed the Sisters, and asked them to administer and staff Spiritus Sanctus Academy, a new adventure in Catholic education sponsored by the Domino Foundation.   Once fully developed, this system of smaller, multi-age grouping schools will provide a challenging elementary-school curriculum infused with a strong Catholic identity. 

Spiritus Sanctus Academies are committed to achieving the highest excellence in human and intellectual formation as well as to supplying an unequivocal witness to Catholic truth and practice.  

So plans call for a chapel to stand at the center of each school house unit.   Daily Mass, Eucharistic Adoration on First Fridays, and emphasis on the Family Rosary make these schools ideal places for the Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist to fulfill their vision of the new evangelization. Besides Spiritus Sanctus Academies, the Sisters of Mary are interested in assisting the home schooling endeavors in some manner.   They also support the Catholic Evidence Guild, an outreach effort to students enrolled at the University of Michigan.   In keeping with one of the main themes of the new evangelization, the Sisters give individual and corporate witness to the Gospel of Life.   In summary, Mother Assumpta says, “we will work in whatever forms of evangelization that the Church needs our presence.”

On August 22^nd, 1997 Feast of the Queenship of Mary, the first new candidates were received into the community.  Currently the community has 40 young women in formation. These young women come from all over the United States. The postulants and novices study theology, philosophy, scripture, sacred music, Dominican spirituality, and Church history. The young professed sisters attend nearby universities and colleges to obtain their teaching certification. Of course during their studies, the sisters participate in the full prayer life established at the convent.  Their joy and enthusiasm supports the sacrifices that consecrated life lived in community requires.  But their life is not all seriousness.  Community recreation is as indispensable to their life as community prayer.  One should not be surprised to see the postulants, novices, and the other members of the community playing a vigorous game of softball or volleyball or, at other times, joining the children at Spiritus Sanctus Academy in some recess fun.

When asked what should be done to renew religious life in the Church today, Mother Assumpta Long reflected the commitment cherished by the entire Community: “The renewal of religious life will only take place if each religious renews his or her consecration to Christ as the heart and soul of one’s very life.  Renewal can only begin with personal conversion.”

[biblewonk]

Then why don't you believe what the BIBLE says in Luke about Mary?

I believe everything the bible says about Mary and no more. That is where we differ, greatly.

[NYer]

Meanwhile we have Mary's words which verify that Joseph is the Father of God.

Which words are you referring to?

[biblewonk]

Luke 2:48 as previously posted.

[NYer]

Which words are you referring to? Luke 2:48 as previously posted.

Luke 2:48 So when they saw Him, they were amazed; and His mother said to Him, "Son, why have You done this to us? Look, Your father and I have sought You anxiously."

So you believe that Joseph produced the sperm that met up with Mary's egg and produced Jesus Christ?

[CLC]

Great to see this article! I am joining this community in August. Please pray for us, as there are currently 19 or 20 of us hoping to enter on August 28.

[NYer]

Welcome to Free Republic!

I am joining this community in August. Please pray for us, as there are currently 19 or 20 of us hoping to enter on August 28 .

Congratulations! Many prayers and blessings to you and the other young women as you begin this next phase of your faith journey. One of our freepers, 'sockmonkey', has a daughter in this order. I am pinging (calling) all of the other catholic freepers to add their prayers for you.

May God bless you! May our Blessed Mother shelter and protect you with her mantle! If possible, please stay in touch and let us know how all of you are doing.

Catholic Ping
Please freepmail me if you want on/off this list

[american colleen]

I love your tag line, but can I say 'Those are OUR sisters!' :-)

Thank God for Mother Assumpta and all the wonderful sisters who are lights not hidden under a bushel.

My prayers will be with you and may I say thank you so much!

[Siobhan]

WONDERFUL!!!! I will pray for you and all who are entering. What a glorious life and calling.

[RKBA Democrat]

Prayers being sent up right away.

Welcome to Free Republic and God Bless!

[Jaded]

No because unlike many protestant seminarians and just protestants, we belive that Jesus was conceived of the Holy Spirit.

Slice and dice.

[Jaded]

I believe everything the bible says about Mary and no more. That is where we differ, greatly.

That's funny.

[Jaded]

Congratulations! May the Lord bless you greatly in your service to Him.

[Campion]

Then Joseph is the Father of God for all the same reasons.

He's absolutely the foster father of God.

And one of the Eastern Orthodox liturgies refers to SS. Joachim and Anna, Blessed Mary's parents according to tradition, as "the holy and righteous ancestors of God".

You don't like this because you don't like or believe in the Incarnation. Your Christology is closer to Docetism than to Nestorianism, unfortunately ... I say, "unfortunately," because Nestorianism is closer to orthodoxy.

Nestorianism was the heresy of Nestorius, who as Patriarch of Constantinople gave a sermon on Christmas Day (I think it was Christmas, AD 429) saying that it was wrong to call Blessed Mary Theotokos ("God-bearer"), all though the Church had done that for years, but that she might rightly be called Christotokos ("Christ-bearer"). Some of his other writings seem to indicate that he thought Jesus was two persons, one human, and one divine, and that Mary was the mother of the human person.

However, you deny that Mary was truly the mother of Jesus in the real sense. That means you apparently deny that he is biologically descended from Adam and Eve, which means that he does not have a human nature, at least not a real one. That's closer to Docetism, and miles away from the Christianity taught in the Bible.

[amdgmary]

"I am joining this community in August. Please pray for us."

Congratulations! We'll be praying for you and the others who are joining this community.

[bourbon]

Congrats, CLC! One of my friends just decided to join the Daughters of St. Paul.

I can't say that I know much about that order, but I'm glad that she's decided to join.

[biblewonk]

Then Mary is the Foster Mother, because she is less of a Mother of His essence than a normal Mother is. I didn't exist before my mom conceived me. Since Jesus already existed as God and as Spirit, the Majority of Jesus was not mothered by Mary.

[biblewonk]

Um, I can't imagine why not. OK, I'll back way up. Mary is not the mother of God.

[Credo_in_unum_deum]

Then Mary is the Foster Mother, because she is less of a Mother of His essence than a normal Mother is. I didn't exist before my mom conceived me. Since Jesus already existed as God and as Spirit, the Majority of Jesus was not mothered by Mary.

You have some misconceptions regarding the nature of motherhood and fatherhood. You speak of the "majority" of Jesus, by which you refer to His existance as God and Spirit. But the "majority" of you (obviously spirit only, not God) did not come from either your mother or your father, but from God, who created your spirit and infused it in your newly conceived form. That He did this at a particular point in time is due to your nature both a creature, that needed to be created, and a human, who is by nature both soul and body.

You say that Mary did not "mother" the majority of Jesus. No woman has ever "mothered" the majority of anyone, since motherhood has to due with conceiving and carrying the body, and has nothing to do with the soul, which is always provided by God alone.

There is not one thing which your mother did for your spirit which Mary did not do for Christ.