Dominican Sisters of Peace

When I heard that "Nuns On the Bus" was coming back to Ohio, I questioned if another trip was necessary. The first experience created much interest and enthusiasm to challenge a budget termed by the United States bishops as "failing the moral test." As I thought more about it and viewed two political debates it became clear that another trip was necessary. No candidate in the presidential or vice presidential debate talked about the poor and the impact of the proposed Ryan budget on their lives. So, a second tour to keep the impact of budgets on the poor seemed reasonable.

How important are the following programs:   

Pell Grants
Thousands of students are able to attend college because of Pell grants. With ever increasing tuition and room and board costs many would be left behind.

Sometimes young people ask me about our new congregation. What made you join with seven other congregations and form a new group?

In a word, I would say our Dominican MISSION! In our globalized culture, whether we realize it or not, we need each other if we are going to preach the Good News about Jesus Christ to the people of our times. Some groups of Sisters join together with others to undertake this monumental task, believing anything one congregation can do in isolation can be done much better together: the sharing of ideas, personnel, and resources only amplifies the possibilities for our common mission and prevents duplication and diminishment of resources.

The women came first - the first fruits of Dominic's preaching in Fanjeaux. This first monastery at Prouilhe, small distance north of Fanjeaux, was essentially a work of mercy on the part of Dominic. It was a practical response to an urgent pastoral need. He had converted a small group of Cathar women of Fanjeaux. These women had been given over to the Cathar as girls because their families were impoverished. The Cathar freely educated them and took care of them. Dominic founded what we today would call a safe house and these young women eventually formed a monastic congregation, with the help of donations of land and goods and willing lay helpers. In providing for these women, Dominic had no idea that he was playing into God's hands. God seems to enjoy working from small beginnings in mysterious ways!

Six of our Associates and 25 of our Sisters gathered in Wheeling, IL, with an estimated 600 Dominican Sisters and Associates representing 21 Dominican congregations from the USA as well as Canada, Rome, and Australia, for the first Dominican Sisters Conference Convocation (October 4-7) engaging the theme "Edgewalkers: Unfolding the Fertile Unknown."