Sister Nancy Brousseau, OP
Jubilarian 2026 – 60 Years a Sister
Prayer Ministry
Pray for spiritual directors.
60th Jubilee Reflection
“When I give up choosing for myself, God can choose for me.” ~ Meister Eckhart
From my earliest memory of growing up in Alpena on the Thunder Bay River and the shores of Lake Huron, I am so aware of a Giving and Growing God-Presence within and all around me. Loving parents who taught me and my two siblings the art of adventure: fishing, swimming, hiking in the woods, traveling, and exploring all the country roads and so much more. The wonder and awe of creation filled our days and years. There is, as well, the wonder of my spiritual formation and educational life with Dominican Sisters of Grand Rapids at St. Anne Elementary and Catholic Central High School.
Spiritual formation and my educational life continued to develop and become a fire in my soul once I joined the Dominican family in 1965. Teaching and school administration were part of those early years. An M.A. from Aquinas, M.Div. at St. John’s Seminary, and D.Min. in spiritual direction were gifts that led me to ministry with adults. It was in Des Moines, Iowa that spiritual formation, and spiritual direction ministry became my focus. Before Iowa, there were several years of directed retreats, a thirty-day retreat, and completion of an internship in the Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius and directed retreats with the Detroit Jesuits. As Director of St. Joseph Educational Center, West Des Moines in 1993, Spirit began to integrate my experiences by inspiring the creation of a year-long spiritual formation program focused on the mystics and saints of our tradition. Foundations of Christian Spirituality emerged with a practicum for becoming a spiritual director.
The Spiritual Formation Program continues to thrive at Dominican Center where I ministered for eleven years and since have offered the program in sixteen other sites. A surprise extension of this Formation Program came in1997. I began offering International Pilgrimages to the places where these Giants of the Faith lived out their call: the UK, Europe, the Middle East, etc., – 32 adventures so far. In 2009, Spirit had another surprise. I was hired as the Advisor to the Lutheran Bishop for Spiritual Formation in the ELCA Synod. It is a great joy and spiritual delight to help another awaken to the deep mystery already within them – the Indwelling Presence.
My gifts are at the service of God’s purpose for my life. God is my Center and Source. I believe that everything that has come before is woven into this present moment of Dominican life and this Jubilee Celebration. I give thanks and praise to God in deep gratitude for all who are and have been on this journey with me. All is Gift.
50th Jubilee Reflection
Reflecting on these many years as a Dominican, my heart is filled with gratitude for God’s gracious call to live with passion and grace this most amazing Mystery. And what a gift, to do so with all who have been and are my contemplative companions in the Holy Preaching – Laus Deo!
Nancy Marie Brousseau, OP born in Alpena to Kenneth and Dorothy Brousseau, was baptized at St. Anne’s Parish and attended St. Anne School and Catholic Central. She was the middle child between a sister and brother. She had aunts and cousins in religious life, so an early interest was always there. As a tenth grade student, she was invited to visit Marywood for the profession of the sister of a classmate. That visit awakened with clarity the call to Dominican life. After high school Nancy entered the community in 1965. She earned an MA in Religious Education at Aquinas, an M.Div. from St. John’s (now Sacred Heart) Seminary in Detroit and a D.Min. in Spiritual Direction.
She taught elementary school for 17 years and loved the 7th and 8th grade students in particular, and also served six years in school administration. Interest in spirituality led her to an internship in the Spiritual Exercises with Jesuits in Detroit and Retreat/Spiritual Direction ministry beginning in 1981. Nancy had a passion for awakening adults to the fire of the Holy Spirit in their daily lives. This ministry led her to Des Moines, Iowa as Director of St. Joseph Educational Center and then to Dominican Center at Marywood for eleven years offering spiritual formation opportunities at both of these centers and elsewhere. Her experience of doing group spiritual direction with the street people of the Heartside Neighborhood in Grand Rapids is published in “Group Spiritual Direction: The Lived Experience” by Paulist Press.
In 2009, she was invited by the Lutheran Synod, ELCA to become Facilitator of Living Fire Ministries offering retreats, spiritual direction, workshops and programs in prayer, spirituality and spiritual formation for the Synod and for other churches and organizations. She was truly enlivened by this ecumenical work. The group of Christian, Muslim and Jewish members offered many dialogue/dinner events for the community.
In 1997, Nancy began designing and leading annual international pilgrimages to Europe and the Middle East as part of the spiritual formation programming. She delighted in opening this way of the contemplative study of saints and mystics.
