Sister Bernice Garcia, OP

70th Jubilee Reflection

“Let the peace of Christ rule your hearts…” ~ Colossians 3:15

As I look back over these seventy grace‑filled years, my heart overflows with gratitude. God has blessed me beyond measure, allowing me to walk with so many of His people in so many beautiful ways. Each person, each ministry, each moment has been a reminder of God’s faithful and joyful love. My greatest blessing of all has been my place within our Dominican Family. My Dominican Sisters have made my life rich with purpose, companionship, and deep fulfillment. For them — and for all God has done — I give thanks.

My journey began at St. Francis Xavier Parish in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where loving parents, five brothers, and one dear sister nurtured my earliest sense of God’s call. Those formative years planted within me the desire to become a Dominican Sister- a path I knew I wanted in the fourth grade- and, eventually, a teacher as well. My years in education throughout New Mexico and Michigan were filled with challenges, laughter, and grace. Whether I served alongside nine Sisters or only two, whether I taught a single class or four grades at once on Beaver Island — with sixteen lesson preparations a day! — God’s presence was my steady companion. My ministry in Peñasco, Santa Cruz, and Albuquerque will forever remain among the treasured chapters of my life.

Because of both personal interest and pastoral need, the Lord led me to serve in Religious Education throughout the Albuquerque area. From directing parish programs to ministering with homeless women and their children, forming a Ladies Group for widows, supporting Birthright, offering grief counseling, serving as a Eucharistic minister, and joining various boards, I found Christ waiting in every face and every story. Each ministry was a sacred privilege.

For twenty wonderful years, I made my home on Adams Street — a place of hospitality where we welcomed guests, held gatherings, and shared the unique spirit of the Land of Enchantment. Later, the path brought me to Marywood and then to Aquinata, where my Sisters continue to surround me with love.

In recent years, communication has become more difficult for me. Yet God, in His kindness, has given me other ways to speak. My smile has become my prayer — a small but sincere expression of the joy, love, and gratitude I hold for Sisters, our Associates, and the dedicated caregivers who accompany me. Even when I struggle to express my faith, hope, and love in words, those around me tell me they can feel them. For this too, I give thanks.

After seventy years of vowed Dominican life, I can only say: God has been so good to me. May my life — in its service, its joys, its struggles, and even now, in its quiet witness — give praise to the One who called me, sustained me, and continues to guide my every day.