On Sunday, February 13, during Mass in Dominican Chapel/ Marywood, Sisters surrounded a wooden cross placed in front of the altar at the last Eucharist the community would celebrate in this sacred space. This cross has been with us in each of our motherhouses – in Traverse City where we were founded in 1877; to St. John’s Home in Grand Rapids in 1889; to the current Marywood motherhouse in 1922; and now, one hundred years later, it moves with us into our fourth motherhouse, the new Marywood. As Eucharist concluded, the Sisters sang the Dominican Blessing and then were commissioned with the words of St. Dominic, “Go in confidence. God will give you the gift of preaching. You will lack for nothing.” They then processed behind the cross from Dominican Chapel/Marywood to Chapel of the Word at the new Marywood.
To follow the cross is to look behind to what has and who have gone before us; it is to be aware of the present moment and those who accompany us; it is to look ahead to the future in faith and hope, knowing the way is not always easy but is always possible because of the Spirit of Jesus who leads us. To follow the cross is to believe that the mission of God continues in and through the People of God, disciples of Jesus Christ. We follow the cross, enflamed with contemplative love, as we die and are reborn, as we walk together preaching justice.
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