Pray for the Living and the Dead
Prayer is a vital part of each Sister’s ministry. Every year when all members of the Congregation gather to affirm their ministry commitments, each Sister also affirms her prayer ministry. These typically reflect something close to her heart and can change annually or remain the same for years.
“I pray for parents and children seeking legal status in the USA,” Ada Dominguez, OP, a recently retired principal in Albuquerque, said. “I spent 21 years in the public school here and often witnessed the struggle firsthand as my students and their parents sought to unite their families here. I was drawn to welcome every immigrant, accept them, help them to get educated and have their physical needs met.”
Sister Ada shares that she believes in prayer and that God listens to us if we open our hearts. But, she cautions that we can’t stop with prayer. We must take steps to help those prayers become a reality. “After school many evenings I would call my contacts seeking resources for my students and their families,” Sister Ada shared. “That is where I started. Acting and praying. Praying and acting.”
During this Year of Mercy, Sister Ada notes the poignancy of her ministry focused on praying for those who are immigrants and struggling. While she has prayed for this same intention for many years it seems that the idea of mercy toward those entering our country has taken on new meaning. “Build bridges and not walls. That is what Pope Francis has said from the beginning. Build bridges so that there can be an equality among people.”
She cautions that no one person can take on the challenge of praying and acting effectively on every intention. Rather, she invites everyone to take one specific prayer ministry, much as the Dominican Sisters do. “You don’t have to take them all on! I think that we can get overburdened with the problems in the world,” Sister Ada said. “I need to pay attention to only one thing right now. Even with all the problems that we have in the world, this is the one thing that I can focus on and pray on and act on.”