The Dominican Sisters of Wanganui

2011 - An "Eventful Trip"

2011-12-09T13:12:00.000-08:00

This has been a memorable year at St Dominic's Convent and College. To close the school year - Sr Madeleine gave an overview of the happenings at our end-of-year prizegiving.

"As they say, traveling is the most important form of education for it broadens and matures a man. One of my assignments whilst studying for my Graduate Diploma in Secondary teaching was to choose a metaphor for teaching. With this saying in mind I chose a flight overseas for my metaphor and I feel that this year was one eventful trip. Mother often reminds me of how I used to complain about being bored as a postulant and I can promise you that there was never a dull or boring moment at St Dominic’s this year. Let us board Dominican Airlines and embark on the journey of 2011 at St Dominic’s Girls’ College.

I have gone from an air hostess, which represents the teacher to a co-pilot which for me is like the Head of School. Our principal, Fr Cranshaw, is the pilot who directs and flies the plane –
our school. The passengers represent the students. They are not alone on the journey, there are many others heading in the same direction but with different reasons for taking this particular flight and perhaps with different destinations in mind. No matter what, each will experience the same services but each one at the end of the flight will have been affected differently. You will have to ask each student what their experience has been this year. I am sure that each teacher will have their own flight stories to tell too.

Along the way the plane may meet with bad weather and turbulence. Yes, we at St Dominic’s Girls’ College did experience that this year but this is typical for a girls’ school with all of its emotional dramas. I think there would be a problem if there were was no turbulence. It makes for a more exciting trip!!! As I said previously the pilot is the principal and he appears from time to time when the need arises. He calms the passengers and the co-pilot when problems are experienced. Fortunately our pilot came to the rescue during our turbulence.
Thank you, Fr Cranshaw!!!

The air hostesses are the teachers. They equip the passengers with everything they need for the flight and ensure that everything is to their liking. What has been our equipment this year? We applied for and received 4 grants for the school. The first one was to transform the tennis club into a home economics room for the girls. We were able to purchase a new oven, a new and bigger work bench and a new working unit with four cupboards and 4 sets of drawers. We are thankful to Mr and Mrs Smith for designing and purchasing the equipment and to both Mr Doug and Mr Brendan Piper for their help with the electrics down at the home economics room. We are now able to have sewing and cooking running at the same time in the same building. We were able to timetable sewing classes for the Form 7 girls this year and next year both Forms 6 and 7 will have sewing classes. The girls have made some lovely projects and it was always interesting to watch the flock of vultures descend on a Tuesday afternoon when the cooking class returned with their unconsumed goodies – not always to share!!

We also received a grant for new desks for the junior girls, a grant for microscopes and lab equipment for the Science department and in the last month we received money for new netball
uniforms for next year. Speaking of netball, we also won some money for new equipment thanks to Farmlands. We congratulate the intermediate team on winning their division and the
senior team for coming third.

We were very impressed with the overall sportsmanship of our girls because there was definitely some biased umpiring sometimes and our girls continued to play well. We extend a special thank you to their coach Mr Foster for his time and dedication to the teams. I would just like to say
at this point that it is unfortunate that more parents do not come to support their girls. Other teams have people all around the courts. Our girls are fortunate to have a few Sisters, their coach and the odd parent. This may be an area that could be improved on in future. We sent a parcel of netball equipment to India for the orphanage as one of our ex pupils was over there trying
to teach the orphans how to play netball properly. She seemed to have interested the boys more
than the girls! Thank you to all who donated to the cause.

Each passenger brings with them their own talents and personalities with which the hostess works. This year we have had quite some interesting characters. There are different classes of passenger but each gets the attention they require. The trip will of course suit some passengers more than others. Some will experience jet lag, others will recline their seat and sleep most of the way, some will suffer from travel sickness and others will take advantage of the in-flight entertainment. I think I can safely say that we have some from every class – wouldn’t I
be right girls?

Entries for the Art Competition - the theme was "The Four Seasons"

Of what did our inflight entertainment consist this year? Well during the first couple of weeks we of course had our three student teachers and their Sr cook absent for studies in Tauranga. The girls dealt well with the constant change of teachers as these 4 had to spend 6 weeks away from school at different intervals. There was also the 5 week practicum at Collegiate for Srs Lucia and Jacinta. The girls are to be commended for their patience in this regard. The students also had the changeover of teachers when new postulants arrived in the middle of the year.
In March we received the news that our Form 7 student, Nicola, was in the top 5% for Cambridge IGCSE Latin. Nicola, Mr Hays and Nicola’s parents had a nice trip to Auckland for the ceremony. It was the fourth year in a row that our school has received a Top School or Top Centre Award. The certificates take pride of place in the staff room.

Choral Speaking

Students participating in the music competition

As in previous years we had our interhouse competitions. This year we had our usual music, drama, art, netball, poetry and tabloid sports competitions. We introduced choral speaking this year and the girls performed very well. There is real talent among them. The judge was very impressed considering that it was the first time that the girls had done it. It is such a joy to see the girls working together as a team and building good relationships with each other. Even at lunchtimes the prefects have done a great job organising games and it is lovely to see them all playing and laughing together. Chester Burrows and the quintet from the NZ Symphony Orchestra also remarked how lovely it was to see the joyful expressions on the students from all three schools.

We also introduced points for the best book work and neatest diaries. It is amazing what a bit of competition can do. The girls work has vastly improved since the beginning of the year and
we hope it will continue. Well done girls! Then of course there was the unforgettable roll-a-thon. The girls spent time and energy going out door knocking and finding many sponsors.
There was a lot of competition among the classes and their form teachers with forms for sponsorship being sent far and wide in order to be the class to raise the most money as we all wanted to win that class trip. It was very close. The girls raised the most for all three schools. Meagan Foster raised the most over all and Form 7 had the highest average, thus winning the class trip.

The event itself was one we will never forget – 3 casualties within 5 mins. Firstly, accident prone Cerese on her bike ran into the back of Sr Lucia on rollerblades and sent her airborne and left a tyre mark on the back of Sr’s habit. Both ended up in emergency and under observation. Soon afterwards as Sr Raymond was coming round for her 16th lap on rollerblades she fell and ended up in hospital for a few days due to a broken arm from which she is still recovering. Four
days in hospital and an operation followed by constant physiotherapy – all for 80 cents per lap in order to raise money for the school. The St Anthony Parish roll-a-thon was the main topic discussed in the hospital for the following week. Fortunately along the way there are stopovers for refueling and technical checks - mid term breaks and holidays to rest from the normal school routine.

Everyone gets off for a change of scene and to refresh themselves. Ultimately the journey must come to an end. As the plane begins its descent there are cards to fill in for customs likened to the tests that one takes at the end of the year. At this point I should mention the excellent results received by the Form 6 girls on their French examinations which they sat at the Alliance Francaise in Wellington last month. Each of them passed their diploma in French language studies. Congratulations girls!

Once the plane comes to a halt, everyone gets up, collects their luggage, like students collecting all of the knowledge they now possess and as they exit the hostess is there at the door to
farewell her passengers and wish them the best in the next stage of their journey like the teacher at the graduation ceremony. Tonight we farewell a lovely group of girls – Nicola, Samantha, Kelly-Marie, Meagan and Madeleine. It has been a great joy to have these girls who have been excellent role models to the younger students. They tried their very best to obey all rules
and to help the teachers as best as they could and we will dearly miss them. They had a very positive outlook and we wish them all the best in their future endeavours. They have now cleared customs and the metal detectors namely, the Cambridge Examinations and are now safe to meet their connecting flights. We also farewell Alex who has been a ray of sunshine around the school over the past few years. We must also farewell Mother, the foundress of the school, Sister Catherine, our Cambridge examinations officer and Sister Raymond – our administrator.
They will all be dearly missed. And we must not forget our dear postulants.
We also farewell Mr Griffiths who taught AS Mathematics to the girls this year.
To these teachers, to Father Cranshaw, our Pilot, and to all of our crew who remain next year I extend a heartfelt thanks for their support and encouragement over this past year.

We must remember that it is God Who directs our flight and it is only on the reliance of prayer that each one of us will reach the goal which God wills and destines for us. We assure each and everyone of our students, past and present of our continued prayers.
Prayer can be likened to the wings of the plane because even when difficulties are encountered the wings continue to support and carry the plane and all on board in order to reach the destination which has been scheduled. May we all reach that destination!!
This year was a trip that will never be forgotten or regretted and will be relished for life. May 2012 be just as bright and eventful. Thank you."

The girls at the end-of-year prizegiving

St Augustine boys at prizegiving

Even though the school year has finished, the sisters are nontheless still keeping busy. The growing gardens on the grounds, as well as the miniature orchard are all thriving with the Spring rains, and are keeping the gardening sisters busy!

Please keep the sisters in your prayers during this holy season of Advent. In addition to preparing for Christmas and for our annual retreat leading up to Epiphany, there are also preparations concerning the furnishing of the future convent in Australia, needing to be completed - as the Novitiate is moving there in January. Yes, this is a very busy - but very happy time of year. We are all looking forward to the grand feast of Epiphany, when there will be the triple blessing of a sister making perpetual profession, several sisters making their first vows, and several postulants receiving the holy habit. St Dominic, ora pro nobis!

September 2011

2011-10-04T12:56:00.000-07:00

The month of September passed quickly with many important events taking place. At the beginning of the month, there was a quick visit to Australia for Mother and two professed sisters. The goal: To have a look at St Thomas Aquinas School in Tynong and a piece of land called "the green wedge," where our future Motherhouse is hoped to be established. All in all, it seemed to be a very happy and positive trip. Father Delsorte, the local prior, was in high spirits as he showed the sisters all the facilities the school had to offer and the newly decorated church. The only drawback to the trip was that there were no encounters with a kangaroo or two!

Meeting with Fr Delsorte, Australia

Outside the Church, Tynong, Australia

Next year will mark an important step in the history of our congregation as Mother heads a brigade over to Australia to begin work on the establishment of a Motherhouse, hoping to have the patronage of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary; leaving a community of sisters to continue running our first foundation, aptly named after our Holy Father, Saint Dominic. Please pray that our community may continue to grow under the loving mantle of the Blessed Virgin Mary, so that we may bear much fruit for Holy Mother the Church.

After a netball game with our senior students

Sister Mary Margaret, OP and postulant, Miss Juliana Maddeford

Netball in Action

At the end of the month, we celebrated the Feast of St Michael the Archangel, which was also the feast day of our Mother Prioress. The sisters rallied around to prepare a celebration worthy of mention. It began with sisters smoking out the kitchen, trying to make pancakes for 17 people before the start of school. Mother was overjoyed to find that 'some delightful person' had ordered the book she had secretly desired for her feast day, along with a few other goodies. In the evening we prepared a bit of, what one might call, an amateur musical recital. We were very fortunate to have the presence of a visiting flautist from the USA, who was able to play sweetly amidst the reverberations of two booming cellists, a one-handed organist (Sister had broken her arm in a recent roll-a-thon fundraiser), a few conductors equipped with wooden glockenspiels, two confident recorder players, and a group of choral singers. There was much delight when all managed to end in harmony at the last bar and the audience, with Mother at the head, gave out a thunderous applause to the voice of an overly confident recorder player, who insisted that we could take requests.

After the September holidays, it was 'all hand on deck' as the seniors underwent a week of mock exams and are now preparing for the upcoming Cambridge examinations. As part of our ongoing professional development as teachers, Sister Mary Catherine, OP gave a lecture to the staff on student motivation, high expectations, and the link they have to academic success. It was certainly an inspiring talk and encouraging to review our school statistics. Although only a small school, St Dominic's College has been awarded four Top Centre Awards since 2007. To gain the award, the students must come in the top few percent in NZ and/or in the world. Sister Mary Catherine pointed out that although our students may not be like the great St Thomas Aquinas, yet with high expectations and hard work, all have the ability to achieve.

Senior girls out on a glass-festival expedition

Sister Mary Catherine motivating the sisters to give their best
in our annual 'Teachers vs. Students' netball game

The month of the Holy Rosary commenced with a Sunday of contemplation to prepare the sisters for the upcoming Feast of the Holy Rosary. On this day (1st Class for Dominicans) our Cappas are hung up until the Feast of our Holy Mother Saint Catherine of Siena, and one of our most powerful weapons unveiled - the rosary - which we always wear by our side. With a true Dominican spirit, we expect to redouble our prayers for the Rosary Crusade, for more postulants, for our new foundation, for our school children, for the salvation of souls, and...... for more gigantic carrots like this one. Deo Gratias.

Postulant, Miss Klingers, with giant carrot

Postulants Move In... Sisters Move Out...

2011-07-29T15:00:00.000-07:00

In the month of May a new sight was seen on the front lawns of our Dominican Convent and College. One fine afternoon, trucks came rolling in with two little cabins - all set to become something that no one had ever before envisaged: "hermitages" for religious sisters. When in the month of June, two more came rolling up the hill amidst a shower of rain - all knew what this meant - more postulants on the way!

For truly, these little "hermitages" are a sign of joyous growth within our little community. The postulants began arriving during Lent, and by the time we reached Easter, we knew we had a "cell problem." That is, there were no longer enough cells to house all the sisters and the newly arriving postulants. What to do? We contemplated renting a house close-by, but were finally convinced that it would be wiser to keep all the sisters together. Though the brave, pioneering sisters would be now more subject to the unpredictable changes in nature (from pouring rain to noisy thunderstorms; to howling, almost record-breaking winds; to 5.2 earthquakes) still, they would be only "next-door" to the convent house, the chapel, and the school.

While the cabins do not have any running water for the sisters, they are - thankfully - connected to electricity. The sisters have been adapting well to their new surroundings - and are happy to see the congregation growing. The postulants have been settling in well and surely appreciate the sacrifices which their older sisters in religion are making on their behalf. We all look forward to the day when we shall see either the current convent house extended or a new novitiate house founded - so that all the sisters may once again reside together inside our dormitories. Our Holy Father Saint Dominic, pray for us!

The House That St Dominic Built

2011-05-24T00:15:00.001-07:00

We have entered into Term 2 of the 2011 school year and our students have had several chances already to demonstrate their skills in our various house competitions. We have three houses: Prouille, Bologna, and Calaroga, all of which will be recognized as places associated to the life of St Dominic. The girls are divided amongst the houses and take part in various competitions throughout the year to earn points. In Term 1 we enjoyed their creativity in coming up with war cries and banners and at Easter they competed with words in a poetry competition. Let us share with you a few of the poem entries.

A Song of Easter
Form Two

Everyone listen
To what the birds say
It's a song about Easter
"Christ has risen today"

Everyone listen
To what the lambs say
It's a song about Easter
"Let's rejoice today"

Everyone listen
To what the doves say
It's a song about Easter
"Peace be with you today"

Crucifige Eum!
Form Seven

O God, Who great Creation made,
And finds delight 'mong men,
Of hatred found Thyself th' object
As bowed beneath our sin.

Human-kind with mottled mem'ry
Breathes forth vows and then forgets them.
Fear and greed and pride and envy
Still cry, 'Crucifige eum!'

Can I see my Saviour suff'ring
And continue in my sinning?
How ungrateful, cold, unfeeling
To despise the perfect Being!

He loved us first, and therefore we
Should love Him most exceedingly.

Our most recent competition was drama. In past years our students have proven to us that there are some fine actresses among them; this year was no exception. They entertained us with skits on Dominican saints and Prouille won the competition. Prouille leads the scoreboard with 1920 points, followed by Bologna at 1395 and Calaroga close behind at 1195.

Last Friday we had a visit from a quintet from the NZ Symphony Orchestra. They performed for all three schools and gave a wonderful presentation, interacting with the children and even getting two to come up and play (one note) with them on the viola. It was a highly enjoyable afternoon!

Report on the Term: Easter 2011

2011-04-24T19:33:00.000-07:00

Here it is, Holy Saturday night and the Sisters are busy preparing the Convent for the celebration of Easter Sunday. They are doing flowers for the Chapel and greenery and lights for the refectory, where we will celebrate our “Gaudeamus”, or party after the Vigil and Midnight Mass. There have also been singing practices and much cleaning. We are nearly ready.

After Easter we have two weeks’ holiday. Because of the lateness of Easter this year our May holidays have been joined to our Easter Break. Easter Monday is also Anzac Day, so we are getting all our holidays rolled into one.

It has been a good term at St Dominic’s College and Convent. Sister Mary Madeleine has been Head of the School and she has helped the girls, already very good, to shape up their efforts even more. The emphasis this term has been on wearing their uniform and hair properly and on playing together at lunch-time and leaving no-one out. They can sit in groups while they eat their lunches but then it’s everybody on her feet with bat and ball. It’s good for them.

The girls’ work is going well. One of our Seventh Formers, Nicola Bjerga, got a top place in the Latin IGCSE Examination last year and went to Auckland earlier this year to collect her award. The school also got a “Top Centre” award which we’ve been able to add to the ones from previous years on the staff-room wall.

The personnel of our convent at this stage of 2011 consists of five finally professed Sisters, three junior professed Sisters, four novices and one postulant. Late last year we received a Sister from India and we also received a Postulant this March. We have had to take the door off the chapel so that we can fit in. The door took up too much wall-space!

The trouble is, if you can call it trouble, that we have other postulants due to arrive during the year and only one more free cell. Our temporary solution to this “problem” will be to rent a little house directly over the road from the Church and Convent. It’s resourceful owner says he can make it sleep four people, which I suppose could mean sleeping in the kitchen or breakfast nook! However, this is only a short-term solution. Sister Rose is collecting money, and she is a great fundraiser, for an extension to our Convent along the York Street frontage. There are two problems with this, though. One is that we have not yet got even half the money we need to start work and the other is that other rooms will need to be enlarged too, particularly the refectory which is also pretty full.

In view of all the above, and on the advice of Bishop Fellay, I have decided that we ought to accept Father Delsorte’s invitation to make a foundation in Tynong, near Melbourne, Australia. I think it would be nice to send a group of professed Sisters there but alas that’s not to be at the moment. Because the numbers lie, and will lie, in the Novitiate, that is what will have to move. We also will take, as the plans stand this early, two professed Sisters who will do some study to complete their degrees and to do their teacher-training. The other Sisters will need to stay in Wanganui for the time being to run the school.

Of course, all this may be changed by the hand of God, but this is how it looks at the moment. Please pray for us that we do the right thing. And all the young ladies who said they would join us if we come to Australia – your time has come.

Epiphany and Religious Profession

2011-02-07T14:56:00.000-08:00

The great solemnity of Epiphany is a most appropriate feast for the ceremony of religious profession. The different portions of the Liturgy are highly symbolic; especially alluding to the gifts and virtues the future brides of Christ must possess, and also in representation of perseverance in their vocations. Guided onwards by the divine light, the novices had persevered bravely in their search for the Lord; despite the momentary eclipses of the star.

In St Matthew's Gospel, it is related that the star guided the three Magi, "Until it came and stood over where the Child was." 'Is it to be wondered that a divine Star ministers to the Rising Sun of Justice? It halts above the head of the Child as if saying: This is He: as though being unable to proclaim Him in words it proclaims Him by standing above Him." St Leo adds that "It was fitting for the Baby Jesus, a speechless child, to be announced by a silent star, whereas once grown He would be announced by apostles. This way, all creation could take its turn at proclaiming Him: the heavens, by sending a star; the sea, by becoming solid under His feet, the earth and rocks, by trembling and breaking when He was silent once more in death..."

The novices, as the Magi, must have great faith in their search of the Divine King. At Bethlehem, the Magi's faith was put to the test by the sight of God under the form of Man; and now, our faith is exercised at the sight of God under the form of Bread.

Do you wish to make profession and to observe the Constitutions
of the Dominican Sisters of Wanganui?

This was the great test which the Magi had to face: the humiliations of the Infant God at Bethlehem. Quite naturally they expected to find all the splendors of heaven and earth surrounding the cradle of the newborn Babe, the Messiah. At Jerusalem they had heard the prophecy of Isaias concerning His glory.

But what a surprise! What a scandal for faith less strong than theirs! Guided by the star they came to the stable, and what did they see? A poor Child with His young Mother. The Child was laid on the straw like the poorest of the poor, nay more, like a little lamb just born; He slept in the midst of animals; He had only wretched swaddling clothes to protect Him against the bitter cold...

What would the Magi do? See them on their knees, their heads bowed to the ground, adoring with the most profound humility this little Child. They weep for joy as they contemplate Him. They are delighted with His poverty to the point of rapture. Et procidentes adoraverunt Eum! "And falling down they adored Him!"

Great God! What a puzzling mystery! Never do kings lower themselves in this way, even before other sovereigns! What is it they saw in the stable, in the Crib, in the Child? What did they see? Love! An unspeakable love; the true love of God for man; God impelled by His love to become poor; God becoming weak so as to comfort the weak and the forsaken; God suffering so as to prove His love. That is what the Magi saw. That was the reward of their faith...

The sacramental humiliation of Jesus Christ is also a test of Christian faith. Jesus in His Sacrament receives for the most part nothing but indifference, and very often unbelief and contempt. Understand well this sad truth; it is easy to learn: Mundus eum non cognovit. "The world knew Him not."

But to a real Christian, this is not a scandal or a test of faith - his lively faith pierces through the poverty and weakness of Jesus and goes straight to the soul of Jesus to study His awe-inspiring thoughts and feelings. And finding our Lord's divinity united to His Sacred Body and hidden beneath the Sacred Species, the Christian, like the Magi, falls down, contemplates, and adores; he is transported with the most enrapturing love; he has found Jesus Christ! Et procidentes adoraverunt Eum!

The novices also this day imitate the Magi in their adoration. As the Magi from their treasures offered to the Lord mystic kinds of gifts, so they too brought forth from their hearts gifts that were worthy of Him: offering Him the gold of a pure heart, the incense of a life devoted to prayer, and the myrrh of the sacrifice of all things and of themselves.

The three vows of religion, as well, are like unto the three gifts of the Magi. The sisters lay before their King - the gold of Poverty, the incense of Chastity, and the myrrh of Obedience. By the vow of poverty, the religious give up all their earthly wealth for the sake of their Infant King. The Magi gave frankincense to acknowledge Christ's Divinity and the sisters doe the same through the vow of chastity - by tempering and mortifying their senses so that, burned by the fire of charity, they may rise to Him like a pure, sweet perfume. Finally, as the Magi gave myrrh to symbolize that Jesus would die for our sake, through the vow of obedience, religious die to their own wills for His sake.

"... I promise obedience to God and to Blessed Mary, and to Blessed Dominic and to you Mother..."

"How fortunate to be able to share, through the Eucharist, the happiness of Mary, and of the Magi who offered gifts to Jesus Christ! In the Eucharist we still have the poverty of Bethlehem to relieve. Oh! Yes! all the good things of grace and of glory come to us through the divine Eucharist. Their fountainhead is at Bethlehem, which became a heaven of love..."

"Posuit signum in faciem meam ut nullum, praeter eum, amatorem admittam"

"He has placed a sign on my brow that I accept no lover but Him"

As the new religious kneel before the Tabernacle, they might well hear the exhortation of St Bernard:

"Whence is this to thee, O Human Soul, whence to thee? Whence to thee this immeasurable glory, that you should merit to become the spouse of Him on Whom the angels desire to look? Whence is it to thee that He is thy Bridegroom Whose beauty the sun and the moon reflect with wonder, at whose nod all things are moved? What wilt thou render to the Lord for all that He has rendered to thee, (Ps. cxv. 12) who art the companion of His table, the sharer of His Kingdom, the consort of His bridal chamber, and at the end the King will bring you into His House?"

"Be ye therefore followers of God, as most dear children; and walk in love,
as Christ also hath loved us, and hath delivered Himself for us,
an oblation and a sacrifice to God for an odor of sweetness." (Eph 5)

"Behold how much already you perceive of the Lord, how much you have already tasted of Him; see with what eagerness of love bestowed must He be embraced and loved in return, Who has deemed thee worthy of so much, nay, Who for thee has done so much? From His side He refashioned thee, when for thee He slept upon the Cross, and for thee accepted the sleep of death. For thee He went forth from His Father, departed from the Synagogue His mother, that cleaving to thee, you might become one with Him in spirit.

"And hearken thou, O Daughter, and see, and reflect, (Ps. xliv.11) and consider how great is the condescension of thy God to thee, and forget thy people and thy father's house. Depart from the loves of the flesh, unlearn the ways of the world, withhold thee from thy former sins, and forget thy evil habits. And why you may wonder? Does not an angel of God stand by thee, who shall cut thee in two (Dan. xiii, 59), should you, which God forbid, accept another lover?"

"As He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy
and unspotted in His sight in charity..." (Eph 1)

The Magi are our models, the first adorers. Let us pray that these new religious be worthy of their royal faith in Jesus Christ; that they may be heirs to the love of the Magi, and so one day will be heirs to their glory.

{Excerpts taken from the Fathers of the Church and the writings of the Saints}

Vocations Discernment Retreat and Visit from Fr Albert, O.P.

2010-12-28T17:45:00.000-08:00

The time of the vocations discernment retreat finally arrived after months of preparation! Sixteen young ladies came from various parts of New Zealand, Australia, and Tasmania. Parishioners had been generous in their loans of bedding, and even a house across the road was lent for the purpose of housing some retreatants (and a Sister to watch over them, of course!). All 16 girls were settled into the convent, a classroom made into a dormitory, or the house.

Fr Albert, O.P. had come from the snow in Minnesota, U.S.A., to the warmth of Wanganui to give this retreat on vocations to the religious life. Father's conferences brought before the retreatants' minds various topics including Divine grace in the soul, mental prayer, and the state of perfection. The young ladies got a taste of the teaching of St Thomas Aquinas from his Summa Theologicae and other great saints, in particular St Maximilian Kolbe.

It had been arranged to use the parish church for Mass and the Divine Office, our chapel being too small to accommodate the number of girls and Sisters. Each day began with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, according to the Dominican rite, and ended with our biggest Salve procession yet! The history of the Salve procession is a beautiful one. Mother Francis Raphael, O.S.D. relates in her book The Spirit of the Dominican Order that "[f]rom the very beginning of the Order the Salve was recite after Compline, as we find from that vision in St. Dominic's life in which we are told that our Lady made herself known to him by saying: "I am she whom you invoke every evening; and when you say, Eia ergo, advocata nostra, I prostrate before my Son for the preservation of this Order." But it was not sung processionally, as it is now, until the time of Blessed Jordan, the successor of St. Dominic, when the dreadful sufferings endured by the Brethren from diabolical apparitions induced him to order it in the Chapter of Paris, A.D. 1226. Its effect was the immediate disappearance of these troublesome visitants; and in their stead Mary took possession of the Dominican choirs, as we would fondly hope, never to yield her place to another.

"Salve, Regina..."

It became, if we may say so, the fashionable devotion to go to the church of the Friar-Preachers after Compline to assist at the Salve, and many therefore were the witnesses of the heavenly apparitions which our chronicles describe.

"Eia ergo, advocata nostra..."

The Queen of Heaven was seen to descend into the choir, as the Friars came out in procession, and to place herself in the midst of them, and, as they sang the last words, O dulcis Virgo Maria, inclining at her sweet name, she blessed them and disappeared. . . . A devout woman of Lombardy...saw the Divine Mother assisting at the Office, and when the Friars said Spes nostra, salve, our Lady graciously returned the salutation, and at the words Eia ergo she interceded for them with her Son; and at those other words, Jesum benedictum, etc., she held out the Child Jesus to the Brethren, giving Him to each one of them to kiss; and then, blessing them, disappeared." Our Blessed Mother surely must have smiled lovingly upon her children as they bade her goodnight.

"O dulcis Virgo Maria..."

Once the retreat was finished, Father Albert, a true son of St Dominic, preached a three-day Rosary mission for the parish. Each night he gave an instruction, led the praying of the Rosary with a meditation before each mystery, and preached a sermon.

And just like that it was time for Father to return to his duties in the U.S.A. We would like to thank him for all his hard work during his visit and pray that someday he may return!

Finally, we ask that you keep us in your prayers as we begin our annual retreat, which will be a preparation for two of our novices who will make their first temporary vows on January 6th. We wish you all a most blessed and happy Christmas!

An Unforgettable Adventure

2010-12-28T17:41:00.001-08:00

Soon after school ended for the year, two of our Sisters rushed off to run a camp for the girls of the school and parish. As a treat to our readers, we are happy to present this next instalment written by one of the campers. Enjoy!

Earlier on in the year Sister Madeleine had announced to us that we would be having a girls’ camp and boy did that get everyone excited. To make this dream camp a reality we had to do a lot of fundraising. We did sausage sizzles at a local store and for some reason the public were extremely generous (I think it was because we had the Sisters with us but I guess it will forever remain a mystery). As the months passed we baked goodies to be sold at the stall after the Sung Mass on Sundays and we hosted a Fairy light dinner and auction for the parish.

All the hard work was rewarded on December 6th, when after two hours of having my mum remind me not to forget the essentials, we were dropped at school and all our things were loaded into our assigned van a.k.a. “the big red bus”. After a prayer for a safe journey (the prayer was mostly needed for the big red bus because one never knew if it would last the trip but I guess that was another thing that made the camp fun). We all piled into the vans (there were 3) and we loaded Father’s car with the excess baggage and set off for “Camp” – the Highland Christian Home. Forty five minutes later we stopped off at a nearby lookout. Fr L. dashed up a nearby hill to get a better look and slowly but surely a group of us were able to reach the top but, unfortunately, by that time it was time to go down. We returned to the vans and after a few dusty roads and a “tuneful” rendition of “100 bottles of beer on the wall” the camp grounds came into sight. We quickly unloaded the vans, set up the altar and got our cabins organised.

We then had an assembly and Sister told us the schedule for the day. After lunch we drove 18kms to go caving. To kill time we started singing “the Peanut song” and “the Song that never ends’ which unfortunately ended when we reached the caves. Those who were claustrophobic were advised not to go through the loop at the end of the cave which was very narrow. Five minutes after a whole lot of arguing over who should carry the torches, we discovered that the cave became very small. Most of us had previously gone through the cave and we remembered it to be much bigger, so either the cave had shrunk or we had grown. We came up with the logical conclusion that the cave had shrunk due to the earth’s movements. Somehow, we all managed to squeeze, pull or drag ourselves through the loop and before we knew it we had conquered caving. The next item on our itinerary was a swim at a nearby river, which was really cold. Everyone went into the river either for or against their wills and an hour later we had to return to camp for dinner. To our surprise after our spiritual talk from Father, we received a visit from St Nicholas and Black Pete and we were rewarded for our good deeds.

Due to two courses of Lasagna and Apple crumble most of us went to bed immediately, a few stayed up till 3 a.m. but they paid the price when the fire alarm accidentally went off at 5:25 the next morning (now that was funny). Ding! Dong! The bell rang waking everyone up at 6.20 am. We “quickly” got ready for morning prayers and Mass. Thirty minutes later we entered the chapel and Fr L. celebrated Mass. At the end of Mass group1 left to set up for breakfast while the rest of us still half asleep wandered to the dining room. A toast and a cup of hot chocolate later, we rushed to the field to hear what was on today’s agenda. OH NO!!!!!! it was “THE HIKE”. Due to previous experiences with Fr C. and his estimations of the length of camp hikes we all dreaded this activity and to make matters worse it was cold and rainy when we left.

A near “death experience” and approximately five U turns later (due to Sister Rose) we arrived at the farm. Our guide then led us to the beginning of the hike and after an hour of ups and downs we reached the climax of the hike “the river” (well that’s what we thought at the time). We started off very enthusiastic whether we ended that way I guess you’ll have to ask the Sisters. While others were busy pushing forward with the guide, some of us were bust trying to avoid the eels. Unfortunately for Nadia an eel tried to get her and according to one of the girls, she broke the 100m record escaping its’ jaws. A few more hours down the river and we were finally told that we had reached the end – some of us having walked chest deep in water. We “quickly” rushed up the hill to the vans and before you could say “supercalifragilisticexpialidocious”, we were changed and were on the road heading back for a dinner of chicken drumsticks and wedges followed by pudding.

Day three was not any different. In the morning we each had a go at shooting and undertaking a team building obstacle course. In the afternoon we had played mini golf to relieve our muscles from the previous day. Mini golf was thirty five minutes away in Palmerston North so as usual we got into the vans and were off. Fortunately after running out of every possible animal Old McDonald could have on his farm we arrived in Palmerston. Our first stop was at Rose Park which has a playground for little children and one for older children, so like mature girls a group of us rushed for the little kid’s playground. We went down slides, up slides, back and forth on swings and we even played noughts and crosses. The fun ended and we were called back to the vans and were off to minigolf.

Everyone collected their golf ball and putter and were showed the mini golf course. All of us were divided into groups of five. The course looked relatively easy, I mean all one had to do was get the ball in the hole, and the worst one could get was eight (this had to be a piece of cake!). By the time hole three came around I realized two important things, my assumptions of mini golf were completely wrong and patience is a virtue much needed in these situations. The best score of the day was Sister Rose with 71 (we all thought that she had help from a higher power, but the theory is still debatable).

Due to it being the feast of the Immaculate Conception we had a night of fun planned with skits, marshmallows, camp songs and a game of “blow up the bridge” (metaphorically not literally). After dinner the teams assembled their props and the skits began. Group1 performed three jokes which were funny. Group 2 performed a skit about two Maoris abducting people for a hangi, it was a bit gruesome but it was quite funny. Group 3 performed a skit about an unusual judo class and the judo moves were hilarious. The last group showed how easily we can give into the devil and fall in to the seven deadly sins. There were some extremely funny performances which I can’t help but mention. Unfortunately for Natalie when she jumped onto her bed it fell apart, Kelly and Grace performed an original haka that would put any All Black to shame, Olivia and Nadia showed what Judo moves should not look like and Melanie showed the helpers that no matter how loud one rings a bell some people just don’t wake up.

With gusto and joy everyone then burst into camp songs such as “Clementine” and “the Wheels on the Bus”. We then raced to the caves to see the glow worms which lit the path like stars. “Gooey on the inside and golden on the outside” was the description Maria gave us of the perfect marshmallow. However most of our marshmallows ended up burnt or in the fire. After the energy boost we all suited up and headed for the nearby bridge. The party poppers were handed out and within the first ten minutes someone had blown up the bridge. An hour later, it was time for bed so we headed back.

December 9th was the date everyone had dreamt of, it was the day we would go on a HELICOPTER. Unfortunately, due to the fire alarm going off again at 5:25 the day didn’t get off to a great start. At 1:30 the helicopter was greeted by a group of over excited campers. We were split into groups and briefed on what not to do (whether anyone listened to what was being said is questionable). There were ups, downs, twirls and turns and before we knew it, it had all ended. At night after the usual spiritual talk from Father and the night prayers, the helpers decided to play a game called “nightline”. We were all blindfolded and led to a nearby track. We were then split into pairs and set off through the track following the string. If someone had been passing by the track all they would hear would be screams and threats being made by the campers begging the helpers not to scare them. After that ordeal, we played a few games and went to bed.

Sadly, the last day had arrived. We started cleaning our cabins and packing our bags. The certificates were handed out and we then departed for jet boating. At the riverbank one by one each group put on their life jackets, got into the boat, screamed and when the ride had ended everyone had the most ridiculous smiles on their faces.

As an end of camp treat, we were driven to Woodville, to get some cheesecakes from “Yummy Mummy Cheesecake”. The last crumb was eaten and we were back on the road. With the church in view, we drove up the hill, unloaded the vans and gave them a good needed clean. Everyone said their goodbyes and thank yous and departed for home, for a much needed rest.

When everyone was asked by their parents whether or not they enjoyed camp I personally think that every girl replied that they had a great time and that this camp was one not to be forgotten.

2010-10-10T18:00:00.000-07:00

THE HAIL MARY

THE ANGELIC SALUTATION

This salutation has three parts. The Angel gave one part, namely: "Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed art thou among women."[1] The other part was given by Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist, namely: "Blessed is the fruit of thy womb."[2] The Church adds the third part, that is, "Mary," because the Angel did not say, "Hail, Mary," but "Hail, full of grace." But, as we shall see, this name, "Mary," according to its meaning agrees with the words of the Angels.[3]

"HAIL MARY"

We must now consider concerning the first part of this prayer that in ancient times it was no small event when Angels appeared to men; and that man should show them reverence was especially praiseworthy. Thus, it is written to the praise of Abraham that he received the Angels with all courtesy and showed them reverence. But that an Angel should show reverence to a man was never heard of until the Angel reverently greeted the Blessed Virgin saying: "Hail."

THE ANGEL'S DIGNITY

In olden time an Angel would not show reverence to a man, but a man would deeply revere an Angel. This is because Angels are greater than men, and indeed in three ways.

First, they are greater than men in dignity. This is because the Angel is of a spiritual nature: "Who makest Thy angels spirits."[4] But, on the other hand, man is of a corruptible nature, for Abraham said: "I will speak to my Lord, whereas I am dust and ashes."[5] It was not fitting, therefore, that a spiritual and incorruptible creature should show reverence to one that is corruptible as is a man.

Secondly, an Angel is closer to God. The Angel, indeed, is of the family of God, and as it were stands ever by Him: "Thousands of thousands ministered to Him, and ten thousand times a hundred thousand stood before Him."[6] Man, on the other hand, is rather a stranger and afar off from God because of sin: "I have gone afar off."[7] Therefore, it is fitting that man should reverence an Angel who is an intimate and one of the household of the King.

Then, thirdly, the Angels far exceed men in the fullness of the splendour of divine grace. For Angels participate in the highest degree in the divine light: "Is there any numbering of His soldiers? And upon whom shall not His light arise?"[8] Hence, the Angels always appear among men clothed in light, but men on the contrary, although they partake somewhat of the light of grace, nevertheless do so in a much slighter degree and with a certain obscurity.

It was, therefore, not fitting that an Angel should show reverence to a man until it should come to pass that one would be found in human nature who exceeded the Angels in these three points in which we have seen that they excel over men--and this was the Blessed Virgin. To show that she excelled the Angels in these, the Angel desired to show her reverence, and so he said: "Ave (Hail)."

"FULL OF GRACE"

The Blessed Virgin was superior to any of the Angels in the fullness of grace, and as an indication of this the Angel showed reverence to her by saying: "Full of grace." This is as if he said: "I show thee reverence because thou dost excel me in the fullness of grace."

The Blessed Virgin is said to be full of grace in three ways. First, as regards her soul she was full of grace. The grace of God is given for two chief purposes, namely, to do good and to avoid evil. The Blessed Virgin, then, received grace in the most perfect degree, because she had avoided every sin more than any other Saint after Christ. Thus it is said: "Thou art fair, My beloved, and there is not a spot in thee."[9] St. Augustine says: "If we could bring together all the Saints and ask them if they were entirely without sin, all of them, with the exception of the Blessed Virgin, would say with one voice: 'If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.'[10] I except, however, this holy Virgin of whom, because of the honour of God, I wish to omit all mention of sin."[11] For we know that to her was granted grace to overcome every kind of sin by Him whom she merited to conceive and bring forth, and He certainly was wholly without sin.

VIRTUES OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN

She exercised the works of ALL the virtues, whereas the Saints are conspicuous for the exercise of certain special virtues. Thus, one excelled in humility, another in chastity, another in mercy, to the extent that they are the special exemplars of these virtues--as, for example, St. Nicholas is an exemplar of the virtue of mercy. The Blessed Virgin is the exemplar of all the virtues.

In her is the fullness of the virtue of humility: "Behold the handmaid of the Lord."[13] And again: "He hath regarded the humility of his handmaid."[14] So she is also exemplar of the virtue of chastity: "Because I know not man."[15] And thus it is with all the virtues, as is evident. Mary was full of grace not only in the performance of all good, but also in the avoidance of all evil.

Again, the Blessed Virgin was full of grace in the overflowing effect of this grace upon her flesh or body. For while it is a great thing in the Saints that the abundance of grace sanctified their souls, yet, moreover, the soul of the holy Virgin was so filled with grace that from her soul grace poured into her flesh from which was conceived the Son of God. Hugh of St. Victor says of this: "Because the love of the Holy Spirit so inflamed her soul, He worked a wonder in her flesh, in that from it was born God made Man." "And therefore also the Holy which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God."[16]

MARY, HELP OF CHRISTIANS

The plenitude of grace in Mary was such that its effects overflow upon all men. It is a great thing in a Saint when he has grace to bring about the salvation of many, but it is exceedingly wonderful when grace is of such abundance as to be sufficient for the salvation of all men in the world, and this is true of Christ and of the Blessed Virgin. Thus, "a thousand bucklers," that is, remedies against dangers, "hang there from."[17] Likewise, in every work of virtue one can have her as one's helper. Of her it was spoken: "In me is all grace of the way and of the truth, in me is all hope of life and of virtue."[18] Therefore, Mary is full of grace, exceeding the Angels in this fullness and very fittingly is she called "Mary" which means "in herself enlightened": "The Lord will fill thy soul with brightness."[19] And she will illumine others throughout the world for which reason she is compared to the sun and to the moon.[20]

"THE LORD IS WITH THEE"

The Blessed Virgin excels the Angels in her closeness to God. The Angel Gabriel indicated this when he said: "The Lord is with thee"--as if to say: "I reverence thee because thou art nearer to God than I, because the Lord is with thee." By the Lord; he means the Father with the Son and the Holy Spirit, who in like manner are not with any Angel or any other spirit: "The Holy which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God."[21] God the Son was in her womb: "Rejoice and praise, O thou habitation of Sion; for great is He that is in the midst of thee, the Holy One of Israel."[22]

The Lord is not with the Angel in the same manner as with the Blessed Virgin; for with her He is as a Son, and with the Angel He is the Lord. The Lord, the Holy Ghost, is in her as in a temple, so that it is said: "The temple of the Lord, the sanctuary of the Holy Spirit,"[23] because she conceived by the Holy Ghost. "The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee."[24] The Blessed Virgin is closer to God than is an Angel, because with her are the Lord the Father, the Lord the Son, and the Lord the Holy Ghost--in a word, the Holy Trinity. Indeed of her we sing: "Noble resting place of the Triune God."[25] "The Lord is with thee" are the most praise laden words that the Angel could have uttered; and, hence, he so profoundly reverenced the Blessed Virgin because she is the Mother of the Lord and Our Lady. Accordingly she is very well named "Mary," which in the Syrian tongue means "Lady."

"BLESSED ART THOU AMONG WOMEN"

The Blessed Virgin exceeds the Angels in purity. She is not only pure, but she obtains purity for others. She is purity itself, wholly lacking in every guilt of sin, for she never incurred either mortal or venial sin. So, too, she was free from the penalties of sin. Sinful man, on the contrary, incurs a threefold curse on account of sin. The first fell upon woman who conceives in corruption, bears her child with difficulty, and brings it forth in pain. The Blessed Virgin was wholly free from this, since she conceived without corruption, bore her Child in comfort, and brought Him forth in joy: "It shall bud forth and blossom, and shall rejoice with joy and praise."[26]

The second penalty was inflicted upon man in that he shall earn his bread by the sweat of his brow. The Blessed Virgin was also immune from this because, as the Apostle says, virgins are free from the cares of this world and are occupied wholly with the things of the Lord.[27]

The third curse is common both to man and woman in that both shall one day return to dust. The Blessed Virgin was spared this penalty, for her body was raised up into heaven, and so we believe that after her death she was revived and transported into heaven: "Arise, O Lord, into Thy resting place, Thou and the ark which Thou hast sanctified."[28] Because the Blessed Virgin was immune from these punishments, she is "blessed among women."

Moreover, she alone escaped the curse of sin, brought forth the Source of blessing, and opened the gate of heaven. It is surely fitting that her name is "Mary," which is akin to the Star of the Sea ("Maria--maris stella"), for just as sailors are directed to port by the star of the sea, so also Christians are by Mary guided to glory.

"BLESSED IS THE FRUIT OF THY WOMB"

The sinner often seeks for something which he does not find; but to the just man it is given to find what he seeks: "The substance of the sinner is kept for the just."[29] Thus, Eve sought the fruit of the tree (of good and evil), but she did not find in it that which she sought. Everything Eve desired, however, was given to the Blessed Virgin.[30] Eve sought that which the devil falsely promised her, namely, that she and Adam would be as gods, knowing good and evil. "You shall be," says this liar, "as gods."[31] But he lied, because "he is a liar and the father of lies."[32] Eve was not made like God after having eaten of the fruit, but rather she was unlike God in that by her sin she withdrew from God and was driven out of paradise. The Blessed Virgin, however, and all Christians found in the Fruit of her womb Him whereby we are all united to God and are made like to Him: "When He shall appear, we shall be like to Him, because we shall see Him as He is."[33]

Eve looked for pleasure in the fruit of the tree because it was good to eat. But she did not find this pleasure in it, and, on the contrary, she at once discovered she was naked and was stricken with sorrow. In the Fruit of the Blessed Virgin we find sweetness and salvation: "He that eateth My flesh . . . hath eternal life."[34]

The fruit which Eve desired was beautiful to look upon, but that Fruit of the Blessed Virgin is far more beautiful, for the Angels desire to look upon Him: "Thou art beautiful above the sons of men."[35] He is the splendour of the glory of the Father. Eve, therefore, looked in vain for that which she sought in the fruit of the tree, just as the sinner is disappointed in his sins. We must seek in the Fruit of the womb of the Virgin Mary whatsoever we desire. This is He who is the Fruit blessed by God, who has filled Him with every grace, which in turn is poured out upon us who adore Him: "Blessed be God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with spiritual blessings in Christ."[36] He, too, is revered by the Angels: "Benediction and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving, honour and power and strength, to our God."[37] And He is glorified by men: "Every tongue should confess that the Lord Jesus Christ is in the glory of God the Father."[38] The Blessed Virgin is indeed blessed, but far more blessed is the Fruit of her womb: "Blessed is He who cometh in the name of the Lord."[39]

ENDNOTES

1. Luke i. 28.
2. "Ibid.," 42.
3. The Hail Mary or Angelical Salutation or Ave Maria in the time of St. Thomas consisted only of the present first part of the prayer. The words, "Mary" and "Jesus," were added by the Church to the first part, and the second part--"Holy Mary, Mother of God, etc."--was also added by the Church later. "Most fittingly has the Holy Church of God added to this thanksgiving [i.e., the Hail Mary] a petition also and an invocation to the most holy Mother of God. This is to impress upon us the need to have recourse to her in order that by her intercession she may reconcile God with us sinners, and obtain for us the blessings necessary for this life and for life eternal" ("Roman Catechism," "On Prayer," Chapter V, 8).
4. Ps. ciii. 4.
5. Gen., xviii. 27.
6. Dan. vii. 10.
7. Ps. liv. 8.
8. Job, xxv. 3.
9. Cant., iv. 7.
10. I John, i. 8.
11. "De natura et gratia," c. xxxvi. Elsewhere St. Thomas says: "In the Angelic Salutation is shown forth the worthiness of the Blessed virgin for this conception when it says, 'Full of grace;; it expresses the Conception itself in the words, 'The Lord is with thee'; and it foretells the honour which will follow with the words, 'Blessed art thou among women' " ("Summa Theol.," III, Q. xxx, art. 4).
12. St. Thomas wrote before the solemn definition of the Immaculate conception by the Church and at a time when the subject was still a matter of controversy among theologians. In an earlier work, however, he pronounced in favor of the doctrine (I Sent., c. 44 Q. i, ad. 3), although he seemingly concluded against it in the "Summa Theologica." "Yet much discussion has arisen as to whether St. Thomas did or did not deny that the Blessed virgin was immaculate at the instant of her animation ("Catholic Encyclopedia." art. "Immaculate Conception"). On December 8, 1854, Pope Pius IX settled the question in the following definition: "Mary. ever blessed Virgin in the first instant of her conception, by a singular privilege and grace granted by God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the human race, was preserved exempt from all stain of original sin."
13. Luke, i. 38.
14. "Ibid.," 48.
15. "Ibid.," 34.
16. "Ibid.," 35.
17. Cant., iv. 4.
18. Eccl., xxiv. 25.
19. Isa., lviii. 11.
20. "The Blessed Virgin Mary obtained such a plenitude of grace that she was closest of all creatures to the Author of Grace; and thus she received in her womb Him who is full of grace. and by giving Him birth she is in a certain manner the source of grace for all men" ("Summa Theol.," III, Q. xxvii, art. 5). St. Bernard says: "It is God's will that we should receive all graces through Mary" ("Serm. de aquaeductu," n. vii). Mary is called the "Mediatrix of all Graces," and her mediation is immediate and universal, subordinate however to that of Jesus.
21. Luke. i. 35
22. Isa., xii. 6.
23. Antiphon from the Little Office of Blessed Virgin.
24. Luke. i. 35
25. "Totius Trinitatis nobile Triclinium."
26. Isa., xxxv. 2.
27. I Cor., vii. 34.
28. Ps. cxxxi. 8.
29. Prov., xiii. 22.
30. Here St. Thomas compares the fruit of the forbidden tree for Eve with the Fruit of Mary's womb for all Christians.
31. Gen., iii 5
32. John, viii. 44.
33. I John, iii. 2.
34. John, vi. 55.
35. Ps. xliv. 3.
36. Eph., i. 3.
37. Apoc., vii. 12.

School Production: Dante's Divine Comedy

2010-09-06T15:18:00.000-07:00

Darkness, tumultuous singing and puffs of smoke contrasted with golden light and angelic voices as St Augustine's Boys' and St Dominic's Girls' campuses joined forces and threw their first production open to the public.

Due to time and other restraints only selected pieces from the Inferno and Paradiso were chosen for adaptation to give the audience a taste of Dante's epic poem. The boys had the task of leading us through hell in the first half of the performance...

ACT ONE ~ THE INFERNO

Behind the scenes with St Augustine's preparing for the Inferno

Scene 1: Entrance into the Inferno
Halfway through his life, Dante the Pilgrim wakes to find himself lost in a dark world. Terrified at being alone in so infernal a valley, he knows not whence to turn. At that moment the figure of a man appears before him, the “shade” of Virgil, the famous Roman Poet, and the Pilgrim begs for help. Virgil promises to guide him on the path he must traverse, after which another spirit, more fit than Virgil, will lead him to Paradise. The Pilgrim begs Virgil to lead on, and the Guide starts ahead. The Pilgrim follows.

The pilgrim and his guide behind the scenes.

The ensuing scenes follow the spirit of Dante’s vision of the different levels of Hell spiralling downwards, deeper and deeper - each level divided, based on what sins the souls had committed during their lives. In tonight’s portrayal - the different levels are brought to life by sending the Pilgrim, Dante, into different eras of history - while there, Virgil guides and teaches Dante through these “ordinary” events and persons - souls who are rushing to perdition - according to the categories of sins against God, society and self. Virgil instructs his protégé as to why their impending damnation is so, in each passing scene...

Characters from the Inferno behind the scenes

Scene 2: Sins against God
For each talent received from the good God, it must be increased unto His greater honour and glory. Virgil reiterates this to Dante in the modern setting of a young French entrepreneur engrossed in commerce for the sole purpose of making money...

Scene 3: Sins against Society
The setting is a classroom in England during the time of the great 20th century war. They are students filled with rebellion against authority. Virgil will instruct Dante on the children’s calling toward the common good, but diverted instead to a common destructive path…

Scene 4: Sins against Self
Virgil and Dante now enter the German nation at the time of the aristocratic reign. One of these aristocrats, noble by birth, has forsaken his reign for wine, women and song. To discern which of the capital sins imprisons him, is the task which Virgil imposes upon wearied and confused Dante…then the time has arrived for Dante to make passage on his spiritual ascent.

The black-hooded grim reaper from scene 4

Sound effects, costume, smoke and lights with intermittent choruses of groans and screams, the tumultuous music of Orff from Carmina Burana and the fast moving scenes kept the audience spell bound until intermission. Then it was the girls opportunity to lead the audience together with the poet up higher and higher into the uppermost heavens towards God Himself.

ACT TWO ~ THE PARADISO

St Dominic's Girls' College with scenes from the Paradiso

Scene 1: Lower Heavens The Sphere of the Moon ~ The Inconstant

After having descended into the depths of Hell, Dante the Pilgrim, who represents every man, made his ascent through Purgatory. This journey, on which he passed through the terraces of purgation, was essential in order that he be purified sufficiently to enter into the realm of Heaven.

Towards the end of his ascent of the mountain of Purgatory, Virgil, who represents human reason, is replaced by another guide, Beatrice, who represents Divine Revelation. This exchange of guides emphasises the fact that human reason is insufficient, and that we cannot enter into Heaven except by the light of faith.

Beatrice and Dante the Pilgrim

Dante the Poet begins by informing us that he has been to Paradise, and has seen things so extraordinary that he cannot possibly hope to tell about them. Having returned from heaven, Dante the Poet overcomes his feelings of insufficiency and, spurred on by the commands of the souls he has met and his own sense of duty to warn, instruct and inspire us, he writes about his journey though nine spheres represented by the planets and other heavenly bodies, which have, at their centre, God – the Source of all Light and Life. As in his previous journeys, the pilgrim encounters a number of souls who teach him that their proximity and the degree of their vision of God is in proportion to their charity, which consists in the union of our will with that of God.

Dante the Poet at work

When they reach the first of the heavenly bodies, the sphere of the moon, Dante sees before him pale, nebulous faces. Thinking them to be reflections, he turns around, but sees nothing. Beatrice, smiling at his mistake, informs Dante that the faces belong to the inconstant – those who made vows to God and broke them. Although they have a place with God in His realm, these souls occupy the lowest position in the hierarchy of Paradise, and they appear to Dante in the lowest of the heavenly spheres, that of the inconstant and ever-changing moon.

The Poet conversing with Piccarda Donati

One of the souls, Piccarda Donati, a kinswoman of Dante’s wife, explains that she was forced to leave the convent and marry, thus breaking her religious vows, and she did not return when she later had the opportunity to do so. In response to Dante’s question about the desire of souls to attain a higher place in the hierarchy of Paradise, Beatrice urges Dante to listen well to what they have to say, as they are filled, to the extent of their capacity, with the light of God, and therefore perfectly happy and content with their place, albeit the lowest in Heaven.

Scene 2: The Middle Heavens The Sphere of the Sun ~ The Wise

The Pilgrim – unaware of rising there – discovers himself in the sphere of the sun, surrounded by spirits who shine with such brilliance, that is, those souls who, when in the world, illuminated others by the light of their teaching and wisdom.

A group of bright stars appears, representing the two prominent religious orders in Dante’s time – the Franciscans and the Dominicans. St Thomas is joined by other members of the Dominicans, who witness his praise of St Francis and his order. St Bonaventure, on behalf of the Franciscans, returns the compliment, paying tribute to St Dominic. From this, the Pilgrim learns that despite the disagreements that existed between the two orders on earth, they coincide in perfect charity in Heaven, recognising their common goal and rejoicing in the ultimate glory that each has given to God.

A conversation with St Thomas Aquinas

Towards the end of the scene, St Bonaventure laments the decline in the religious orders, a result of worldliness which smothered the fire of charity and generosity, leaving few willing to follow in the founders’ footsteps.

The Pilgrim with St Dominic, King Solomon and St Bonaventure

Scene 3: Highest Heaven Fixed Stars ~ The Church Triumphant

The Pilgrim and his guide are now in the sphere of the fixed stars, where they will shortly ascend to the Beatific Vision. His entire journey, from his descent into Hell until now, has been one of continuous learning, spiritual development and preparation for this final vision. In Hell, he attained a knowledge of his sinful state of self-love and pride, which brought about the necessary humility to start his ascent, and inflamed his desire for greater charity which consists in union of will with God.

Beatrice asking Our Lady for assistance

In this final scene, Dante the Pilgrim meets the souls who on earth possessed this ardent charity, and finally the Blessed Virgin, who, more than any other, lived in perfect charity and union with God. At Beatrice’s request, she prepares the Pilgrim for the ultimate vision of God. Dante beholds the Trinity under the form of three rings of different colours, all of which share and are bound by one and the same circumference. The Pilgrim struggles by the use of his own reasoning to grasp the vision before him, until suddenly the grace of understanding is given him, at which moment his will is fixed in harmony with Divine Love.

Angels and Saints singing the praises of God

The ending of the Paradiso (and thus the whole Divine Comedy) is rather abrupt. Attempting to reconcile the different views of God, Dante’s mind and poetic gift fail him. The vision of God is linked to squaring the circle, a mathematical problem without solution. In the last line of the poem, the poet finally gives in to the ineffable as he says that his will has become one with God’s. The reader can only assume that the poet was somehow returned to Earth, where he began the task of writing down what he had seen for the benefit of those still living.

Final bow

The whole progression was from darkness and horror to light and peace. We pray that all the students involved not only enjoyed participating but will remember the important lessons the Poet taught them as they in their turn make their ascent towards God in the little time given them here below on earth.

The Paradiso: Behind the Scenes

2010-09-06T15:01:00.000-07:00

ABC's of Convent Life - by a Novice

2010-09-05T20:35:00.000-07:00

Walk-a-thon fundraiser

2010-08-30T15:12:00.000-07:00

St Dominic's College students walked as many laps as they could, around a 3km circuit within the school's neighbourhood for a duration of three hours, in order to raise much needed funds for the Parish schools.

A water point was essential to keeping tired feet going...
Teachers manned the 3km point at which students got their Walker Cards stamped to record the number of rounds and thus distance covered...

After having done the hard work of gathering sponsors per km walked - both teachers and students were keen to cover as many miles as possible! Lovely sunshine (after a rather grey and wet morning) contributed to high spirits and good efforts from all involved.

Most students managed to walk for the entire three hours - leaving them with sore feet, red faces and the satisfaction of a job well done that will help to secure the future of their beloved school.

We wish to thank all Benefactors who helped to make this a successful fundraising event.

Fostering Vocations

2010-07-04T19:50:00.001-07:00

"The harvest indeed is great, but the labourers are few..." Luke 10:2
In the spirit of the vocations crusade which Father Couture called for in the Asian District (with Rosaries offered up for this intention between the months of May to November) and following the example of our holy founder who dispersed his brethren in the face of general disagreement saying that: "Seed rots when it is hoarded, bears fruit when it is sown." (Bologna, 26) Mother Micaela and Father Laisney agreed on an invitation from America to send three sisters to the United States to promote religious life in general and in particular to make our congregation known to another English speaking district.

The Sisters were met with great enthusiasm and warmth as they made their way across the states visiting parishes and giving formal presentations and/or meeting informally with young ladies from New York, the Auriesville pilgrimage, Philadelphia, Syracuse, Chicago, St Louis, Kansas City, St Mary's and Denver from where they flew to Los Angeles and then back to New Zealand.

The Sisters were impressed with the great number of Catholics who remain faithful to tradition and the generosity of the youth with whom they met. One of our most frequent questions to answer was how we differ from the teaching Dominican Sisters of Fanjeaux who have two schools in the States. The answer given is that we belong to the same family but have different roots and therefore a slightly different spirit. Our life reflects the contemplative origins of our Congregation in that we (unlike the Fanjeaux Sisters) are bound to the full Divine Office in choir. The other main difference is that we are an English speaking congregation, with a novitiate in New Zealand whereas the Fanjeaux Sisters receive their formation in French.

"Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that He send labourers into His harvest"
The Sisters feel fortunate that they had the opportunity to plant some seeds and pray that God will bring their work to fruition, in possible vocations to Religious life. The Sisters wish to thank all of the Priests, Families and Benefactors who opened their hearts, homes and purses for this worthy cause. A Mass will be said for their intentions on July 7.

For the love of Truth

2010-07-03T19:27:00.000-07:00

Pope Pius XII said of real Christian education that it: "...must be a continuous, permanent and progressive work; it must permeate all teaching, even profane, penetrating right to the depths of the soul. It, therefore, consists in addition to the methodical exposition of doctrine, in seeing and making all things be seen in the light of the great and Divine Truth, just as in the contemplation of the material creation, things are not properly seen in their true colours, if not by the light, even if sometimes concealed by clouds, of the beautiful sun of God..."

As teachers we therefore aim to make them understand the connection that exists between all the subjects taught,in their subordination to the Faith, to allow them to better understand how to order and lead their life according to the right principles. By this means we help our children to grasp and understand what is right, in order to make them love and adhere to the Truth.

In doing so we pray in the words of Pope Pius XII: "...that they will accordingly exercise a healthy action on their generation - in fact, on future generations - so that they may pass through the world, leaving it better, sweeter and more beautiful than they found it"

Literature, poetry, painting, as well as music, are excellent tools for forming the mind to the disinterested values of beauty, truth and morality. True art speaks beyond words and leads us to grasp transcendent values, and eventually God Himself. Interhouse competitions gives students the chance to express their beliefs and display their talent. Below are entries from the Sacred Heart art competition:

The winning entries for the Catholic Womanhood poetry competition:

The Catholic Woman
Tell me Catholic Woman,
What should you be?
Take a simple glance at Our Lady
And tell me what you see.

I see a chaste and humble spouse
A tender and loving mother
Modest and simple in her beauty
A model like no other.

I see her holy tenderness
As she prays for us her children,
Her humility and prayerfulness
A perfect and loving maiden.

So now, Catholic Woman,
What should you be?
A model of Our Lady,
For all eternity.

~ Olivia McKenna (1st)

Catholic Womanhood
A Catholic woman once I did see;
How very kind she was to me,
So lost and forlorn was I abandoned by my fellow men;
She held out her helping hand.
Her eyes so gentle with no rebuke;
Her smile full of encouragement,
I, Juan Diego Mexican boy;
She, Our Lady of Guadalupe.
Her voice deep and meaningful;
As she told me to gather roses,
As long as I remember,
I shall remember her,
As a true woman of great goodness and greatness,
A true Catholic woman.

~ Veronica McAuliffe (2nd)

Winners of the Sacred Heart art competition

Pope Pius XII addressed teachers with these grave words:
"...your mission as teachers cannot be reduced simply to a means of imparting knowledge which is more or less profound and broad; you should be, above all, educators of the spirit, and, in due proportion, moulders of the souls of your pupils... Finally, the satisfactory fulfillment of such important duties will require on your part: assiduous dedication to your work, shunning no sacrifice and putting aside all personal gain; exemplary conduct, so that your little ones, who wil watch you closely, will learn more from your deeds than from your fine words - especially from your upright living, your self-abnegation, your patience, and your sincere piety..."

We pray that God will strenghen us to live up to such a great calling!

June Update

2010-06-03T15:53:00.000-07:00

NEWS FROM SCHOOL

The School year is progressing well and fast. Senior students are on study leave for their Latin Cambridge Examinations and all students are in preparation for their mid-year examinations, which are already only one week away!

A senior Biology class with Sister Marie Therese

Singing class with Sister Mary Rose.

The Netball Team raised money for their registration fees by selling chocolates.

Sister Rose with one of the many boxes of chocolates that were sold.

Other fundraising events included a cake raffle which was drawn on the Feast of Corpus Christi.

The girls eagerly awaiting the result,
drawn by Mother Micaela.

Corpus Christi Procession

The Brothers prepared an altar for benediction on the school verandah.

Senior girls arranged flowers to adorn the altar.

Both the Secondary and Primary Schools assembled in Church for the start of the procession with the Blessed Sacrament.

The procession made its way to the girls' school where we had Benediction.

CONVENT NEWS

The Sisters at prayer.

We now have both the back drive and music studio completed! This meant that we began looking for pianos. We put a notice in the parish bulletin and received three offers of pianos the same day. Aren’t traditional parishes wonderful?

The completed driveway.

The Sisters practising piano in the new music studio.

Novitiate lectures

During all the excitement Mother manages to keep Novitiate classes going.

Vocations Discernment Retreat

2010-05-17T01:52:00.000-07:00

The Dominican Sisters of Wanganui would like to hear from young women who are interested in taking part in a Vocations Discernment Retreat. The retreat is likely to be held on 12-17 December 2010 and we would like an idea of the numbers we will need to organize for.

We expect to engage an interesting and dynamic Society priest and there will also be input from the Sisters themselves. As well there will be a chance to share the life of the Sisters, to pray with them, to eat with them, to work alongside them in keeping the convent going during the days of the retreat.

In your expression of interest please include your name, age, physical address, place where you attend Mass, your phone number, and your email address.

Retreat fees will be kept to a minimum. The main thing is to get yourself here.
Please let us know if you would be interested, using one of the addresses below.

Mother Prioress,
12B York Street,
Wanganui,
New Zealand.
00-64-6-344-2265
stdominic@sspx.com

Feast of St Catherine of Siena, 30 April 2010

2010-05-07T16:00:00.000-07:00

This day is a very dear feast for us as St Catherine is one of the patrons of our Congregation. Also, some of our Sisters received the habit or made profession on this day.
This year we had an early Mass in our chapel and then a Sung Mass in the Church. At the Sung Mass Sister Marie Therese,O.P. renewed her vows for a further two years, as required by the Constitutions. The Mass was sung by boys of the school and schola members and the girls sang the Kyriale in alternation with the boys’ voices as well as the “Hymn to St Catherine” and “Hail St Dominic”.

After Mass we went for a picnic at Kai Iwi Beach with fish and chips. Father Fortin’s sister Mary Rose is visiting him at the moment so we were able to take her on a real kiwi experience.

March / April Update

2010-04-27T21:28:00.000-07:00

School Swimming:
Yes! Sister Rose did succeed in having school swimming go right through to the Monday of Holy Week. The children continued to enjoy the water and had more free playing time in the water. Lesser women than Sister Rose would not have had the courage to persist that late in the season.

Junior students demonstrating their skill at the recorder during a lunchtime concert.

Cooking class is a lot of fun...

Music Studio:
Our new music studio is being built in our grounds. Financed by a gift from Powerco it’s going to be a cute little building in the same style as the convent. What we need now is a piano and piano stool in reasonable condition to put in it.

A work in progress...

Back drive:
Our back drive is being surfaced which will allow us, at last, to put our vans in the carport.

Sausage Sizzles:
The nuns and children are running a series of sausage sizzles to raise money for the girls’ camp in December. Having some money in hand will reduce the cost to the children who come from large families with not much spare money. The Sausage Sizzles are run outside Harvey Norman’s in the city. The shop provides the barbeque and the sausages and the bread. All we have to provide is the onions, rubber gloves and serviettes. The girls are very good helpers.

Easter:
Students participated in a Day of Recollection during which Father gave a talk on the Holy Shroud.

Easter was a wonderful but hard-working time for our pupils. Some were in the choir for the ceremonies and many of them were in the Children of Mary who set up the Altar of Repose and cleaned most of the brass. The results were beautiful.

The Altar of Repose

Children of Mary outing:
For the feast of the Annunciation on 25 March the Children of Mary went for a tramp through the Manawatu Gorge. They also stopped at the cheesecake shop at Woodville, so a good time was had by all. This was most suitable as the Children of Mary work hard and pray hard in the parish.

School and Convent gardern

The Crusaders:
Sister Mary Rose and Sister Mary Margaret are running the Eucharistic Crusaders this year with Father Fortin as chaplain. As the meetings now take place in our classrooms just downstairs from the Convent we can hear the happy cries as the Crusaders take part in their meeting and then have a little play before they go over to Benediction as the conclusion of their meeting.

Painting of St Dominic recently donated to the Community

Graduation:

Four of our Sisters and Father Laisney and Father Cranshaw have received their Graduate Diplomas in Secondary Teaching. This is a great credit to the students, and to the Community at St Dominic’s which supported them!

Life in the Novitiate in 2010

2010-03-17T18:56:00.000-07:00

This year we have five novices and five professed Sisters in the Community. It looks very neat in Church, one row of Novices in front and one row of Professed Sisters behind. (However, there is room for more novices, so don’t hang back for fear of spoiling the symmetry). The Professed Sisters are pursuing worthy careers as school teachers, school administrators, P.E. instructors, Music teachers, and so on. But it is not of them we will speak today. Today I wish to speak of the Novitiate.

Mother Micaela is the novice-mistress. She thinks she might be a bit old for the job and will eventually train up some vibrant young nun to take over. The personnel of the novitiate can be divided as follows:
First, Sister Margaret, finished her canonical novitiate and now teaching Latin and Maths in the Secondary School as well as advancing in her studies towards a B.A. Second, Sister Marie Dominique; her canonical year of novitiate finishes at the end of April and she will then be able to teach a little in the school and possibly study towards adding New Zealand credits to her American degree. This depends on her getting New Zealand residency and the FBI is holding this up at the moment. These Sisters do some classes with the novices and their own class on Scripture.

Then there is a threesome, Sister Mary Raymond, Sister Maria Lucia and Sister Mary Jacinta. They are just at the beginning of their canonical year. They study the Rule and Constitutions, the Spiritual Life, and the Catechism of the Vows. They also help to run the house by cooking on weekdays, doing the laundry and doing the Sacristy. Their contribution to the house is really valuable.

The Novices all go to the Adult Catechism in the parish. As well they share in the classes all the Sisters have on The Summa, Philosophy, and Spirituality.

The Novitiate is a happy place where the Sisters have before them a life of prayer and pleasing God. Our present group seems to be a really good one. We ask your prayers that they may persevere and that more companions may be added to their number.

The Builderines

2010-03-17T18:54:00.000-07:00

We have had a lot to do with builders over the last two and a half years, and it would be fair to say, with certain honourable exceptions, that a certain amount of disillusionment has set in. This has led Sister Mary Rose and Sister Mary Margaret to formulate the idea of another order under our wing, called “The Builderines”. The two Sisters mentioned have proved themselves on flat-pack wardrobes and desks and they recently took on their most ambitious project to date, a flat-pack shed. The shed to be used, when assembled, to store the school mops, buckets, and cleaning materials.

It was wonderful to see the two Sisters reading the instructions, boring holes in the tin with our very own drill and getting the shed upright. They did it all alone except when two builders happened-by just as the Sisters had to go to Vespers and the men put the roof on.

Then the shed had to be moved to its final spot from being built in the middle of our front lawn. Several Sisters got inside and supported the roof with their hands and walked. It was a wonderful sight to see the shed making its own way across the front lawn with one Sister popping out every so often to see what it looked like and to report on their direction. After the shed was in place the floor was put down. But even then the shed was not safe. We had an enormous storm with 120km wind which threatened to blow the shed away. “We’ve got to save the shed” was the cry that echoed through the convent, and the Sisters ran out with a bag of dolomite and 25kgs of sheep pellets from the garden supplies. These just held the shed although it rocked back and forth to an alarming extent.

Now that the shed is finished one of our kindly teachers, Mr Hays, is putting shelves in it. But the whole experience has been a triumph for the Builderines.

The School Swimming Sports

2010-03-17T18:52:00.000-07:00

On Monday 8 March 2010 the whole school and convent travelled in vans and cars to the Wanganui Girls’ College swimming pool. The junior school, i.e. Forms 1-4 had been having swimming lessons there the whole term. Girls’ College having lent the pool for free, the parents had to pay only for the swimming instructress. It was great having the very pleasant and clean pool available with no-one else using it at the same time. A very nice woman from the St Anthony’s Parish, Jane Norton-Taylor, assisted Sister Rose with supervision, Jane being in the water and able to help girls who did not immediately grasp the instructions. For the sake of modesty the girls wore board shorts and either T shirts or rash vests.

The 8 March being the feast of St Thomas Aquinas, we decided to have swimming sports to celebrate. After a light lunch our cavalcade set off and found parking places over at girls’ college. Races took place in almost all disciplines including diving and underwater swimming. What was particularly striking was the progress made by the younger girls. Some of them could hardly swim at the beginning of the series of lessons and now they could swim the length of the pool in quite a respectable fashion. Sister Margaret manned the desk and recorded the winners’ points. We were very lucky in the weather on 8 March, a lovely sunny day with little wind. Indeed we have been blessed on every swimming day throughout the term with sunny nice weather. S.M. Rose hopes to keep going until Holy Week – will she make it?

Feast of the Epiphany ~ 2010

2010-01-23T17:48:00.000-08:00

The Feast of Epiphany this year brought a very special joy for the whole Church, and for the Dominican Order, in particular. On this day, two more souls were made the eternal spouses of Our Lord Jesus Christ and three souls entered into their betrothals with the Divine Spouse.

A retreat, preached by Father Jacques Emily, prepared the sisters for the approaching ceremony by enveloping them deeply in the truths surrounding the sublimity of religious life - namely, that their perfection is to be attained by union with God, their Spouse, and this union will take place through charity. Daily conferences, including essential ones on the three religious vows, and benediction of the most Blessed Sacrament gave the sisters a most recollected and focused entrance to the upcoming profession and reception.

Fr Lavin, Fr Emily and Fr Becker.

On January 6th, Sister Mary Catherine, O.P. and Sister Mary Rose, O.P. pronounced their final, perpetual profession in a public ceremony attended by family, friends and clerics gathered for this occasion from all over the world. Fr. J. Emily officiated at the ceremony, assisted by Fr. Michael Lavin and Fr. Rainer Becher. At the Offertory of the Mass, the two sisters approached the altar with lighted candles and proceeded individually to pronounce their perpetual profession in the hands of their superior. As the sisters then knelt before the altar, the antiphon was intoned: "Veni, sponsa Christi..." - Come Spouse of Christ, receive the crown which the Lord hath prepared for thee for all eternity.

The Sisters kneeling in front of the Prioress to make their Perpetual Profession.

Blessing of the veil.

The celebrant went on to give the solemn blessing of the finally professed, followed by a most notable part of the ceremony - the blessing and giving of the ring. Receive the ring of bridal fidelity to God in the name of the Most Holy Trinity, that, wearing it, thou mayest be armed with the strength that cometh from divine protection, and that it may benefit thee unto everlasting salvation. Through Christ our Lord...

Blessing and giving of the ring.

Solemn prayers upon the finally Professed Sisters.

After having received the rings of their profession, the two finally professed sisters prostrated themselves in the form of a cross whilst the solemn prayers were chanted over them and the profoundly stirring responsory, Amo Christum was sung:
"I love Christ, into Whose nuptial room I shall enter: Whose Mother is a Virgin, Whose Father doth not know woman; and Whose voice singeth sweet to me: Whom when I love I remain chaste, Whom when I touch I am pure, and Whom when I take I remain a virgin. With His ring He hath wedded me, and He hath adorned me with most precious jewels..."

As the brilliant ceremony was brought to a close, the voices of the schola and choir united once more to praise the newly professed in the antiphon "Ista est": "She is the wise virgin, whom the Lord hath found vigilant, who hath taken oil together with her lamp, and when the Lord hath come, she was admitted with Him to the wedding..."

Schola and Choir members.

The two finally professed sisters, now wedded eternally to their Divine Spouse, were to share their immense happiness this day with three new sisters. The three postulants, heralding from all over the world - the United States, Argentina, and Australia, requested the holy habit of the Dominican Order this same morning. Once clothed in the Holy Habit of St. Dominic, they entered into the Church whilst voices were raised in the glorious Salve Regina. Forthwith they yielded their tresses of hair to the scissors - as a sacrifice of love to their future Spouse. Once veiled, they were blessed by the priest and each received their Crucifix and Rosary - two weapons by which they will strive to conquer the world for Christ and His Blessed Mother.

The Postulants before the start of the ceremony.

Request for and distribution of the habit.

The Postulants leave the Church to put on the habit.

When the Postulants return, their hair is cut by the priest.

The Prioress then veils them with the white veil.

The Priest gives the new Novices, who are kneeling, their Crucifix and Rosary.

As is customary in the Dominican ceremony, the new novices are offered a choice to be crowned either by a crown of roses or a crown of thorns. In imitation of their Crucified Beloved, and also of their Dominican Patroness, St. Catherine - the three novices each chose and were given the crown of thorns, as the choir chanted the Jesu corona virginum...

The crowning.

"Receive dear sister the crown of thorns in memory of the crown of Our Lord, and through this know that it is not fitting that those members be delicate, who are under the thorn crowned head, which is Christ, and if you wear the crown of thorns of tribulation in this life you will be rewarded by your Spouse with a crown of glory for evermore in the life to come."

Once blessed by the priest, the new novices were then given their names in Religion. The three sisters were each given illustrious Dominican saints as their new namesakes - Sr. Mary Raymond was given the patronage of St. Raymond of Pennafort, a renowned Dominican Preacher and confessor; Sr. Maria Lucia received the patronage of the Dominican mystic and stigmatist, Bl. Lucy of Narni; and Sr. Mary Jacinta was named for the celebrated St. Hyacinth, whose life of preaching the Gospel was filled with innumerable conversions and miracles.

While the Te Deum is sung the new Novices are given the kiss of peace by the Sisters.

As the new novices happily joined the other sisters, they rejoiced together for having heeded the invitation of Christ, "Hearken, O daughter, and see, and incline thy ear…and the King shall greatly desire thy beauty. For He is the Lord thy God, and Him thou shall adore..." The glorious Mass of Epiphany was finally closed by the Te Deum and the sisters' Dominican ceremony of the kiss of peace. The whole Church rejoiced to receive the professions of these sisters and to give the veils to the novices - it was a great day, indeed, wherein all was forgotten but the love and glory of God.

Please pray for these sisters and for the entire community of Dominicans in Wanganui, New Zealand.

Thoughts on Why I should be a Dominican?

2009-10-31T03:15:00.001-07:00

1. The Dominican way of life, the mixed life, is, St Thomas says, the way of life most similar to the life of Jesus and the Apostles.

2. The role of the Dominican Order is to save the Church in times of crisis and heresy. Such an Order is never more needed than now.

3. Being a Dominican Teaching Nun is putting a fence at the top of the cliff down which so many of our children fall. That is far better than picking people up at the bottom.

4. The religious life has always been the saving of the Church. Look at the Benedictines saving Europe by being pepper-potted among the ruins of the Empire. Now it’s our turn to be distributed through a crumbling civilization.

5. To save my own soul. As a Pope said, “Show me a Friar Preacher who has kept his rule perfectly and I will canonize him straight away”.

6. To save the souls of others by teaching a praying.

7. To extend the reign of Christ.

Talk for Parents’ Evening 23 October 2009.

2009-10-31T01:14:00.000-07:00

My dear Parents,

Thank you for coming tonight. I want to talk a little about the ideas behind the subject-choices we are offering next year.

First, next year is a very important year in education in New Zealand. There will be a new education curriculum coming into force in 2010. Karen Sewell, Secretary of Education writes enthusiastically that it is “an outcomes-focused curriculum”. Now when I tell you that Karen Sewell is a lesbian and that she ruined Green Bay High in West Auckland by throwing out uniforms, morals and sensible teachers, you will be rightly suspicious of her enthusiasm for the new curriculum. We had one of her teachers come to us at St Dominic’s in Henderson, and this teacher said to me, “I do enjoy it here at St Dominic’s. You believe children can be bad!”

You would be right to suspect Karen Sewel as Secretary of Education and the Government that appointed her and the Government that is leaving her in office. What she is promoting is a type of education where it matters less what the child learns and more whether the child acquires the values the State wants it to have. For example the State wants our children to believe that nothing can be known in an objective way; that knowledge cannot be passed from those who know to those who do not know, and that the children have to make up knowledge from their experience.

This new curriculum has no prescription for what the children should know. It makes children dependent on groups to know anything and it makes children dependent on groups to continue to know anything. Thus what children know can never really be tested. (Where would we have been if Archbishop Lefebve had been educated like this?)
You can see why we can’t afford to enter the State system, through integration, attractive though the bribes are.

You can also see that our school is in danger because legally, in order to keep our registration we have to prove that we are reaching the same standard as the state schools. We must bear in mind that the government is aiming at a monopoly of curriculum and to force on all children a view of humanity that is not the Catholic view. We have to look at what we can pose against these major threats.

First we have the SSPX, both supervising and teaching in the school.
Then we have the Dominican nuns with educational roots that go back to 1206 and a good relationship with the Fanjeaux teaching Dominicans.
For the most part we are not getting our Sisters trained in State Teachers’ Colleges and we are watching over their education carefully so that we are really offering a Dominican education. What our constitutions call, “an education of characteristic Dominican quality”.

The principles of Dominican education:
1. Education is hierarchical and at the top of the hierarchy comes Catholic Doctrine and philosophy. This is why we are not willing to keep or retain in our school girls who are not practising the Faith or who ridicule the Faith in class or in the playground.
2. Other subjects follow behind Catholic Doctrine and they must be seen as part of the order of a Christian world, which we are trying to re-establish.
3. The education we offer is essentially feminine – not inferior to boys’ Education- but adapted to the feminine nature and vocation. Thus our school is more of a liberal arts school, because such subjects prepare women for their special vocation. Don’t get the idea that we don’t want girls to do higher study, but we would rather they do it here in our extramural programme than among the troubles and temptations of the University.

Now, why do we teach the subjects we do have, following in hierarchical order behind Catholic Doctrine and Philosophy?
Catholic Doctrine I have already mentioned. We are here to save souls and it is necessary that the girls have a good knowledge of their Faith. We are blessed, also, to have Fr Laisney teaching the senior girls a subject called “Apologetics” which contains a good deal of doctrine and philosophy.

But, following close behind Catholic Doctrine, we need to have Literature. In reading good literature we can see that in the world there is a coherent society which must be Christian if people are to be happy and to save their souls. The younger girls can see, for example, in reading Robert Bolt’s play “The Thwarting of Baron Bolligrew” that it is necessary to restore Christian order in a society that has been broken down. Interestingly the hero, Sir Oblong Fitzoblong, begins by rebuilding the Church. By the time they reach Seventh Form the same girls are finding that a character like Steerforth, in “David Copperfield” is truly destructive because he is totally spoilt and selfish. They can also see that King Lear’s mismanagement of his Kingdom is a real betrayal of his duty and that this betrayal leads to trouble in the Kingdom. Of course Grammar and Spelling are important. We hope to teach them not only from the excellent grammar books we use but also by alerting the children to what good writers do in the carefully chosen texts they study.

Latin we teach even at a high level in our school, and we will continue to keep teaching it. Latin has influenced every other language in Europe and it is also the language of the Church by which she has been able to express exactly her theology and to offer her unchanging liturgy. Latin (and Greek when we have it) carries a treasure of culture and civilization and religion without which the children will grow up not knowing their own heritage. If the children want it we will offer AS level Latin; and we ask all to continue Ecclesiastical Latin twice a week after they have done their IGCSE. This ecclesiastical Latin gives them a knowledge of the Church’s vocabulary and of the great works of the early Fathers of the Church. Latin is also a great former of the mind – thinking skills.

Modern Languages come behind Latin. They give us access to the literature of other countries and also to the culture of other countries. In this age when French is the language of tradition we can hardly do without French.

We teach History and Classics because they help the children to understand the fabric of society and to realize that the more a nation is Christian in its structures, culture and power the more happiness and moderate prosperity will reign for all. Thus the children can verify the points taught in Catholic Doctrine class, just as they saw them in literature. They also learn about classical literature, art, architecture and people of the classical period.

Art History teaches them to appreciate beauty as a reflection of God’s beauty. It helps the children to distinguish between true art and false art and alerts them to the false philosophies behind inauthentic art.

We also teach Biology, which teaches the children that creatures made by God make up a Divine Order, about which the ultimate answers come not from Science but from Revelation.

Mathematics being an orderly subject teaches reasoning and helps modern youth who prefer to use tricks rather than their intelligence. They need to develop a logical mind and to give the answers and the steps that helped them to get there.

We teach Music, and will teach more of it as our resources develop. Music helps the children to understand the highest truths of the Faith through another means and, also, the harmony of all creation.

We also teach Geography to Form 4 level when the children sit their IGCSE. It teaches the children to appreciate God’s glory and order and also the dwelling place He has made for man.

A few words about Discipline and Atmosphere of the School.
I have first to say that we are very pleased with this year’s girls. They are a joy to be with and to teach. What we look for is good will, active co-operation and trust in the teacher. We expect that with your co-operation and ours this state of affairs will continue.We look for honesty among the children and the ability to take an increasing amount of responsibility for their education and their religious formation as they grow older. We suggest that you show a great and consistent interest in your children’s studies. There may be a few subjects where they get past your level of expertise but you can always follow Catholic Doctrine, English, History.

I’m against excessive homework myself, but children do need time to reflect on what they have learned in class, to assimilate it and thus to grow in maturity. They need, for homework,
• A regular after- school schedule.
• A quiet place to study.
• They also need their weekends organised in such a way that they get time
to do their weekend homework, and to rest and do healthy activities.
• Consistent attendance at school is also important. I realize that the pupil can be really sick at times, but there are some pupils who seem to stay home for little rests. It’s frustrating for the teachers who attend consistently themselves, always to be having to catch-up pupils whom we suspect of taking days off for little reason.

Before I finish, I would just like to mention that we are taking an initiative for next year that may interest you when your daughters reach Form 7. From next year we are setting up an extramural department for girls who want to study extramurally and yet have some support by staying on this campus. They will have a place to work, to plug in their computer, and tea and coffee making facilities. Some of the sisters, having done extra mural studies themselves, will be available to advise them.

I think that all of us, Priests, Nuns, Laystaff and Parents, working together can achieve great things in this little school. We need to because we’re not going to get any help from the New Zealand Curriculum and the aims of the New Zealand Government are quite different from ours. Let each of us take up our share of the task and work for the renewal of Society and Holy Church.

Mother’s Regrettable Jokes

2009-10-31T01:12:00.000-07:00

Mother Micaela’s public speaking is, alas, dotted with jokes, when she sees the audience’s eyes take on a glassy look, from too much educational talk. Here are a few from her talk to parents:

About Classics/History – One Egyptian to another.
“You know that huge statue in the desert? It’s lost its nose.”
Second Egyptian, “Lost its nose! Then how does is smell?”
First Egyptian, “Smell! It Sphinx.”

About Music: The favourite musical instrument in England before the Norman Conquest was the Anglo-Saxophone.

Q. What would you like to be?
A A School Teacher.
Q. Are you crazy?
A . I wasn’t aware it was a qualification.

SCHOOL GARDENING / ORCHARD PROJECT

2009-10-30T23:04:00.001-07:00

The girls have been doing a gardening module instead of P.E this term. It follows on from the gardening done by volunteers last term and our grounds are certainly looking lovely as a result of the girls efforts.

First each girl has seeds to grow. Pottles, seeds and potting mix were supplied by Sister M. Catherine and the girls brook over the window-sills watching their seedlings. One lesson they have learned is that different kinds of seeds take different lengths of time to germinate. Then Sister Catherine got in touch with an organic nursery which gave us fruit trees and instructions on how to grow them organically. It was a hard job to clear spaces on the bank for the trees but the girls did it willingly. Other people have also helped us including Mr Reg Wilton and Mr Francis Foster who put in an irrigation system. Other help has come in the form of plants and bulbs and it all adds to the Sister’s above-ground vege garden supplied by Mrs Ridgway. Unfortunately our soil here is pure sand but Sister Catherine is in touch with a racing stable ….. and kind Mr McAuliffe brings the stuff down.

Sister Rose also has got us in touch with a “trees for paper” scheme. Every time we fill three woolbales with paper rubbish we get a native tree. We expect to be buried in the bush before a few years are out!

Making Your Meditation

2009-08-30T15:56:00.000-07:00

1. Prepare the night before by reading over the passage on which you wish to meditate. When you have read it over you could make notes, either mentally or in writing, of the points that seem to be particularly applicable to yourself and your relationship with God.

2. In the morning start your meditation kneeling up. Ask God to help and enlighten you during your meditation. Read over your passage again. Then start with one of the points you picked out last night and think of what you might say to God about it.

3. Either go on kneeling or sit up, but get reasonably comfortable, though stay upright and decorous.

4. Begin to make a few formulated prayers to God, leaving spaces between them when your thoughts can rise to God words or God can speak to you inspiring you with new insights and convictions.

5. Go on taking points and treating them as above. Do not think that you have to be ceaselessly active. The periods of wordless communication with God should grow until they take over your meditation.

6. Be particularly alert for, and encourage in yourself, moments of inspiration from God which will help you to new perspectives, new Christian insights, greater charity.

7. Towards the end of your meditation start thinking about a resolution you could make to carry the insights of the meditation into the day. It’s a good idea to keep this resolution simple.

8. Kneel down and thank God for your meditation. Ask Our Lord and Our Lady’s help with your resolution.

Vocations

2009-08-30T15:54:00.000-07:00

When we come to talk about vocations there are several questions that need to be answered. These are:
• What is a vocation?
• How do I know if I have a vocation?
• Should I try my vocation?
• When will I have security in my vocation?

A vocation is a call from God to follow a particular way of life and to save one’s soul by following that path. The problem of which vocation to follow usually becomes acute when it is a question of a religious vocation, a call to follow Christ more closely in the priesthood or religious life. Here we will talk about vocations to the religious life.

So we need to ask, How do I know if I have a religious vocation? The answer to this question needs to be split into, fitness, inclination and willingness. To take fitness first: The person considering a vocation must look at her own fitness for such a life. Is she physically fit enough for convent life, which is reasonably strenuous? Is she mentally fit enough with no history of mental illness? Not being able to match up to these basic criteria could well indicate that the person is meant for a different path of life.

Then, there is moral fitness. The way to find out is to be completely honest with the superior of the Convent in which one is interested. Generally Contemplative orders are stricter about difficulties of temperament or items from the past than active orders are. The reason is not hard to see: in a fully enclosed contemplative order a woman is stuck with her own temperament and her own past for the rest of her life, whereas in an active order there is a legitimate outlet from the self.

We move on to inclination. Do I, being physically, mentally, and morally fit for convent life, find in myself an inclination towards following the way of life of a nun? Of course, feelings are not everything, but if there is something that really puts you off convent life, and this feeling cannot be overcome by better knowledge of the convent, then it is probably not for you. On the other hand one could be under a really serious obligation to investigate religious life rather than just leave the question because of an initial and perhaps frivolous distaste.

The last point in recognizing that one has a religious vocation is willingness. It is a simple question to ask oneself. “Have I the willingness, relying on the grace of God, to live for with Christ in a relationship of love, for the good of Holy Church, for the rest of my life”. One can weigh up the great promises of our Lord to those who follow Him more closely, but in the end it does come down to a leap of Faith.

So, we come to the point, should I try my vocation? The answer is that one should. No amount of thinking or wondering can equal the experience of spending a few days in a convent. Things will certainly come clear after that and points the convent my not have told you about, like a silent refectory, will become obvious.

There is another point about this trying of the vocation which is important. Putting it briefly, I would say that one owes it to the Church to try one’s vocation. Here is the Church deteriorating on every side. Here is tradition trying to hold firm. What is the answer? The answer is the same as it has always been in the Church: set up religious orders which will preserve the truth, teach it to others and gradually create outposts of Catholicism and civilization with the capacity to rebuild Christendom. We can look at the time after the Barbarian Invasions when the Benedictine monasteries re-civilised Europe. The religious orders can do the same in this distressing modern era. Religious life is not a flight from the world but an engagement to rebuild the world. If there is a possibility that you are meant to be on the front line of this fight, how can you hang back? At least find out what your place in the fight is.

The final question I would like to deal with is the matter of “security” in one’s vocation. Young women ask, “When will I know for sure?” When will I be secure in my vocation? One answer is that half of your vocation depends on a frail human being damaged by original sin, so you will never have total securing at that end. On the other hand as you depend on God over the years a bond forms between yourself and the ever-dependable so that you become more and more secure, with prayer, as the years go on. The initial trusting is harder but the process builds on itself and on grace so that you can have a sweet security even from your novitiate days.

A NEW MEMBER ADDED TO THE COMMUNITY!

2009-05-26T21:47:00.000-07:00

On the Feast of Saint Catherine of Siena, April 30th, in addition to the magnificent and breath-taking ceremony of Sister Mary Madeleine's Perpetual Profession, there was also added a new member to the community. Miss Martin, the first American in the convent, received the holy habit of St. Dominic and was given the name of Sister Marie Dominique, after our Holy Father Saint Dominic. Preceding the ceremony, a Triduum Retreat was preached by Fr. Cranshaw (from New Zealand) and Fr. Burfitt (from the U.S.), and was very beneficial to the sisters.

The ceremonies on the Feast of Saint Catherine began with the reception of the Dominican habit. The habit of the order is highly reverenced because of its heavenly origins. The Blessed Virgin herself revealed the scapular to her children in the Order and henceforth, Dominicans have always worn this distinctive garb. The holy scapular of our Order is the most distinguished part of our Dominican habit, "the maternal pledge from Heaven of the love of the Blessed Virgin Mary towards us, under whose wings thou shalt find a shadow from the heat and a bulwark and defense in death from all dangers both of body and soul."

"Blessed are those," exclaims Theodoric of Apoldia, "who are found worthy to wear this habit, the symbol of grace unspeakable, woven by the hands of the true valiant woman for the members of her household! Let us ever cherish with veneration this royal and virginal garment and never soil its spotless whiteness." From the fact of the scapular being our Lady's gift to her children, the custom prevails in the Order of always invoking her on assuming it in the morning with the verse: Monstra te esse Matrem, etc.

At the beginning of the ceremony, the postulant must answer the question of the Church: "What dost thou seek?" Kneeling before the altar of God, and His representatives on earth – the priests, she gently responds: "God's mercy and yours, Father." She then confirms that she desires to receive the holy habit and to enter this congregation of Dominicans, and so is given the habit by the Prioress. Once the future-novice has donned the religious habit, she returns to the Church to the harmonies of the Salve Regina, where then she willingly surrenders her hair to the scissors of the celebrant, a sign of her abandonment of the world's distractions and desires. Once veiled, the new novice returns to the Priests and receives her Crucifix and Rosary. The highlight of the ceremony is at the end – the Crowning and Naming. While the choir chants the chords of Jesu, Corona Virginum, the priest offers the novice two crowns – one of roses and the other of thorns, saying:

"Behold dear daughter, two crowns, one beautiful, the other of thorns. Choose the one with which you wish to be crowned."

When the novice has chosen the crown of thorns - in imitation of her Dominican patroness, St. Catherine of Siena, who was given this same choice by our Lord Himself – the priest then pronounces the beautiful words:

"Receive dear sister the crown of thorns in memory of the crown of Our Lord, and through this know that it is not fitting that those members be delicate, who are under the thorn crowned head, which is Christ, and if you wear the crown of thorns of tribulation in this life you will be rewarded by your Spouse with a crown of glory for evermore in the life to come."

Once crowned, the novice is then given her new name in the Order. What a joy to have the patronage of a great saint, and in this novice's case – the greatest of Dominican saints – our founder himself. After the ceremonies, with much delight, a small reception was held for the sisters. Since then, the newest novice has joined her fellow sisters in the task of preparing her soul for her Betrothed. A great pleasure, she is now able to assist in the Salve Procession after Compline by carrying one of the two candles at the head of the procession. The Novices regularly perform this office, and as the procession makes its way back from the altar of our Lady to the main altar singing the Antiphon O Lumen in honour of our Holy Father St. Dominic, the two novices bearing candles, stand on either side of the altar while the other sisters process in. This image, so close to the tabernacle, brings to mind the words of the Dominican, Mary of Jesus. She used to call the novices the Seraphim of the choir, because they stood nearest the Blessed Sacrament, and so, as she was accustomed to tell them, ought to be the most fervent.

The Novice hears the words of the psalmist: "Hearken, O daughter, and see, and incline thy ear…and the King shall greatly desire thy beauty. For He is the Lord thy God, and Him thou shall adore." (Ps 44) The time of Novitiate is principally to separate herself from the world, so that her heart might be Christ's alone. "…My spouse, is a garden enclosed." (Cant. 4:12) Please pray for the newest novice, and all the sisters', holy perseverance.

To conclude, we will quote the description of the outward appearance of a true Dominican, as given by the Venerable Julia Cicarelli of Camerino (1532-1621):

"The custody of the eyes shows the attention we ought to pay to our own defects; the head inclined signifies submission of will; the arms crossed the desire of suffering for God; kneeling the remembrance of our falls and weaknesses; woolen garments the patience and meekness of the lamb; the white habit purity of heart; the black mantle death to the world; the hair cut off the retrenchment of worldly thoughts; the shoes made of the skins of dead beasts the remembrance of death. When the interior is conformable to the exterior, then 'this is indeed the house of God.'"

(All quotes taken from The Spirit of the Dominican Order Illustrated from the Lives of its Saints)

WHAT’S HAPPENING AT SAINT DOMINIC’S

2009-03-18T01:19:00.000-07:00

APRIL
9th-14th ..............Easter Break
30th.....................Feast of St Catherine of Siena
...........................Final Profession and Reception of the habit
30th-May 18th.......Holidays
___________________________________________________
MAY
11th-15th..............Bethlehem Intensive Course
...........................Pilgrimage to Paraparaumu
___________________________________________________
JUNE
16th-20th..............Mid year exams
___________________________________________________
JULY
6th-10th................Mid-term break
22nd......................Feast of St Mary Magdalene
............................803rd Anniversary of the Dominican Sisters
___________________________________________________
AUGUST
3rd........................Raffle closes
4th........................Feast of St Dominic
.............................Annual teachers vs students netball match
.............................Raffle is drawn
15th.......................Feast of the Assumption
22nd- Sept 13th.......School holidays
___________________________________________________
SEPTEMBER
29th.......................Mother’s Feast day
___________________________________________________
OCTOBER
7th.........................Feast of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary
___________________________________________________
NOVEMBER
.............................Cambridege examinations
16th-20th................End of year exams
___________________________________________________
DECEMBER
4th.........................Last day of school
8th.........................Feast of the Immaculate Conception
.............................Our seventh anniversary
__________________________________________________

THE BETHLEHEM STUDYING SISTERS

2009-03-18T01:18:00.001-07:00

This year our Bethlehem studies started with an intensive course up in Tauranga at the end of January. We had a very stressful beginning as the accommodation which was promised us fell through at the last minute. As always, Mother was quick off the mark and managed to organise an alternative lodging at the Marist community in Te Puna. The Fathers there were overwhelmingly lovely and allowed us to stay in the Parish hall, while Father Laisney stayed in the Priory. They also gave us the use of their Church. We had a little crisis on the first day when Father was without any traditional Mass vestments. It was quite funny when he walked out of the sacristy wearing what can be considered “conservative” novus ordo vestments but still very odd. Father did not suit them at all and we had to control ourselves from laughing.

Fathers Cranshaw and Jackson managed to secure lodging in Omakaroa, about 15 minutes away from where we were. A lovely retired couple have a very nice little cottage at the back of their property and kindly allowed the priests to stay there for the duration of our course. Usually we stay in the bach next door which is owned by a relation of our novice but it was unavailable at this time. We have spent many a happy day there walking along the beach, going on a barge and going out on boats to a little island on previous occasions when we had to go up last year for intensive courses.

Kayaking at Omokaroa

Sister Mary Madeleine and Sister Marie Therese left Wanganui on an early Monday morning on January 26th to drive all the way up to Tauranga while Sister Rose had to stay for her Grandfather’s funeral and so flew up later that day using her leftover airpoints. Sister Catherine flew in on the Wednesday from South Africa, and arrived in class just at the right time (we were in the middle of “introducing” ourselves for the millionth time).

The intensive course itself was not too bad and we did learn a lot of interesting things about the Maori people and land wars etc. We were told that later on this year, as part of the Diploma, we will have to spend a few nights on a Marae. At the moment this will be included in our next intensive course here in Wanganui in May. We are busy learning a little of the Maori language as we will be expected to give a little speech in Maori. We are all also going on our second and last practicum. Sister Catherine, Sister Therese and Fr Laisney will be teaching at St Dominic’s, Sister Madeleine, Sister Rose and Fr Jackson will be on section at Collegiate and Fr Cranshaw has opted to go to Auckland Grammar. It will be a very interesting and a very busy time for all.

What we really look forward to is the end of year. Sister Madeleine and Sister Rose will graduate – God willing - in May with their Bachelor degrees, and then again in November with the rest of our little group when we finish our Diploma in Teaching. After that it is 2 years of provisional registration before we can be considered as fully-registered Teachers in New Zealand.

OUR NEW HOME ECONOMICS CLASS

2009-03-18T01:17:00.000-07:00

With the mothers of tomorrow in our hands we are keen to equip them with a little of the homely arts, which have see a sad decline from yesteryear. To begin, the essential tools had to be mustered and the endless line of old dilapidated hand cranked sewing machines were crossed off the list and assigned to their long awaited graves! Well once again it wasn’t really that bad but new machines were needed so the ever resourceful Mrs Ryan whipped up the parish into a thoroughly enjoyed progressive dinner and as the say in France ‘Voila’ : we ticked of the tall order (for a bunch of nuns)of 4 machines and an over locker thanks to the proceeds.

So far our little seamstresses have learnt the basics of cross- stitch and so decorated the front of their pincushions. Next we are still venturing the paths of a matching set of aprons when we discovered the inability of a few to sew STRAIGHT lines and so with the age old maxim of ‘practice makes perfect’ we set to the practising side of it! However, with lots of fun and many a call of “SISTERRRRRRRRR” we are getting on well!

THE SONG OF A NUN

2009-03-18T01:16:00.000-07:00

Music is an integral part of our lives as nuns – first and foremost because we are brides of Christ and then for some it overflows in a very useful way into our lives as school teachers! Because our first duty is that of praise and honour to Him who is sublime beauty, fittingly the most beautiful way to pray is through the song of the church, the Divine Office and the Liturgy which makes living the sentiments felt in the church; from the plaintive cry of the Lenten sorrow to the glorious jubilations of the Resurrection that strain the earthly fibres of our hearts. Well, that’s on a good day for alas at 5-20 in the morning it is more of a plea for strength to face the onslaught of another day - that’s the weary view of Friday morning: mostly we praise our good King with a happy heart and so the song of a Nun!

Choir Practice
This year has seen the debut of our little polyphonic choir. We sang on the third Sunday of January. At the Offertory we began chorally with the ‘Inviolata’ to our Mother followed by the stronger unison of the ‘O Lumen’ to our Holy Father St Dominic. Then came the finale at Communion -‘Ave Verum’ by Josquin du Pres, a heavenly motet of an angelic soprano melody complimented by the aspiring band of altos who lift our hearts and our thoughts to join with the angels of heaven! We are delighted at the rare talent of our new crew of postulants which the Lord has called to our ensemble, namely Lucia and Cheryl. Deo Gratias!

THE NOVITIATE

2009-03-18T01:15:00.000-07:00

The New Year, with all its blessings, has also brought a very pleasant change to the Novitiate. The novices and postulants are now pleased to have their array of classes and lectures being mostly overseen by Mother Micaela, who was able to particularly focus her schedule so as to be able to be in the Novitiate more regularly. The novices, having already filled their souls with the writings of Abbot Marmion, Fr. Garrigou-Lagrange, and Dom Chautard, have now proceeded to set sail on and to navigate through the sea that will guide and govern the rest of their lives, leading them to Christ - the Rule and Constitutions. The Rule of St. Augustine and the Constitutions of the congregation are very important for the novices to study and reflect on, as they are the guides by which the religious fulfils her vows and tends more and more to perfection, as she is obliged to once she makes her vows. This fundamental class is accompanied by an also essential study of the Catechism of the Vows. This catechism clearly furnishes the novices with the exact knowledge of the nature and principal obligations of their state. These essential classes are accompanied by a philosophy and apologetics course - taught by Father Francois Laisney, a lecture on spirituality with the noted author Tanquerey, and also a study of Latin. This rich program will soon have additions from the Holy Cross Seminary, with classes beginning in the near future. The Sisters are very much looking forward to commencing the studies of Moral and Ascetical Theology, Liturgy, Acts of the Magisterium, and Scripture. The Sisters feel quite blessed to be able to study these central subjects, so necessary in order to be able to defend the Truth - the cause for which they exist. The Dominicans have an obligation to study Truth all their lives, so as to be able to better pass it on to others. "Contemplari et contemplata tradere." This study begins at the very outset of the Sisters' religious life, a study which they will continue joyfully and eagerly for the rest of their days.

ARRIVING AT THE CONVENT

2009-03-18T01:14:00.000-07:00

Before coming to the convent, I would very occasionally poke up (from under the ashes of a million last-minute preparations) a few sparks of curiosity about what it would be like to actually be at the convent, and in New Zealand. I can’t remember much of what I came up with, but as it turns out, the most surprising bits of convent life have been the ones I assumed would be a certain way, so that it didn’t occur to me to wonder about them.

The little plane by which postulants arrive with in Wanganui.

Glimpses of the countryside from the plane.

First views of Wanganui

To start with the trivial, I wondered a good bit how I would do as a teacher, but the last thing that it would have occurred to me to worry about was language difference! And yet, more than once in the last few weeks I have gotten stuck over things like “refill” instead of “looseleaf,” “twink” instead of “whiteout” and “rubber” for “eraser.” And, though any teacher could have told me this (and probably has) I have yet to learn the basic rule: don’t give the students more work than you can mark!

School Mass

Cheryl and I are both here from the United States, and although she has been in France a good deal and I am from Argentina, there are always differences in a new culture. Mealtimes are closer to American than Argentinean ones, though the names are different, but the biggest food difference has been fish as prepared by the Filipino postulants—and in this our culture shock, like our inexperience with handling fish bones, was shared by most of the Sisters, of all nationalities! The fish was delicious, though, and the cooks have been asked to prepare it again—though not too often, because it takes so long to eat! And Sundays and feasts have proved that the convent is entirely populated by talented cooks.

As for Dominican culture, of course I spent the first week in hopeless confusion over profound, middle and head inclinations, turning to the outside in processions, genuflecting or not, and so forth. The traffic laws, though unusual, are easy to remember—the senior goes first except when praying, in which case the junior goes first (and eating counts as praying, isn’t that lovely? Dinner is practically an Office in itself. So I don’t have to be embarrassed about dedicating a whole paragraph to it.)

The processions are the most beautiful novelty about the Dominican Office. Every night after Compline we have a procession to Our Lady’s altar during the Salve Regina, and on the way back we sing the “O Lumen,” a song to St. Dominic. Every Saturday this procession includes the Litany of Our Lady, sung to a very beautiful tune, and once a month there is also a procession back to St. Dominic’s altar (I should mention that these altars are little shelves on the wall, for the moment—the convent isn’t that big!)

The Salve Procession

Besides teaching, as Dominicans we have to do a lot of studying. As we learned in our class with Mother, St. Cajetan said that a Dominican who does not study several hours a day is living in mortal sin! As very busy teaching Dominicans, we probably have to make up some of this by counting our meditation and Office—after all, what better way of studying is there than talking to the Truth? But we do have Apologetics with Fr. Laisney first thing on school mornings, class with Mother, Catechism on Tuesdays (we are studying St. Paul’s Epistle to the Ephesians), Thursday Summa class, and Saturday Spirituality. Not to mention reading during every meal! Just since our arrival at the end of January we have heard: a series of talks on St. Therese’s spirituality, a book on Catholic Philosophy, talks on the Divine Comedy and Moby Dick by Dr. White, an interview by Bishop Williamson (not the late lamented one but an older American one), and the life of Mother Mary of the Cross, an Australian foundress.

And then, of course, the best thing about actually arriving is getting to meet all the Sisters! They gave each of us postulants a gorgeous welcome and we had a talking meal, outside or in the staff-room. And it took a while for the strange wonderfulness of living under the same roof with the Blessed Sacrament to wear off—it is still wonderful, but not so startling. I guess that is why we bow and genuflect when we go into the chapel, to remind us. I don’t have room now to tell about teaching, but it is fun, though absolutely exhausting! So that will wait till next time.

The Community

FEAST OF THE EPIPHANY

2009-03-18T01:12:00.000-07:00

In preparation for the lovely ceremony of the taking of the habit of our canonical novice, Sister Mary Margaret, the third Kiwi in the community (dare I say soon to be outnumbered by Australians and Americans– at present we have 3 Kiwis, 3 Aussies, 1 Filipino, 1 South African and 3 Americans) we had our annual retreat preached by Fr Joseph Pfeiffer. It was a very spiritual yet funny retreat on the Gifts of the Holy Ghost, the seven vices and the last 7 words of Our Lord based on talks given by Bishop Fulton Sheen. Father also incorporated the topic of womanhood which I am sure we all found very useful. We had 3 conferences a day and Father was available after most conferences for consultation and there was always a line up to see him - it was well worth the wait.

The community with Father Pfeiffer after the ceremony.

With the ceremony approaching we had many practices with the altar boys to perfect it and yet the cutting of the hair was still almost forgotten – even after we went to great lengths to find a beautiful silver platter. Otherwise, the ceremony went smoothly with Father being very careful to cut Sister’s hair, (no shedding of blood this time), the longest plait yet in the community. It will be sent to the family who were unable to attend. The Sisters always enjoy the evening when they have the fun of perfecting the priest’s hair cutting skills.

Father Pfeiffer cutting Sister's hair.

After the cutting of the hair the Sister is dressed in the veil. She then returns to the altar steps to choose between the crown of roses and the crown of thorns....

After the beautiful Solemn High Mass we had a pizza lunch with the parishioners on our convent grounds under a lovely gazebo donated by a kind couple and set up by the Sisters that morning. A volleyball net was also put up and the children challenged the Sisters to a match, well a few matches thinking they would win. We were given the little ones to give them more of an advantage and we will not state the outcome here!!

Sister cutting the cake.

Sister has now entered on her spiritual journey with Mother Micaela and her hidden talents of cooking, writing rhymes and drawing have come to light.

Life has been so busy...

2008-12-14T19:53:00.000-08:00

A combined school photo of St Dominic's and St Augustine's

Life has been so busy at St Dominic’s School and Convent I scarcely know where to begin or how to condense the information into a short article. Well, no better time to start than the present. I will begin with a pleasurable trip to the Chocolate Factory, which involved the Form 1 & 2 girls and boys, Fr Kurtz, Sister Rose and a kind parent who provided transport for the boys. This little trip was paid by the school since both classes raised the highest amount in each school at our recent Skate-a-thon fundraiser. After Mass and a hearty breakfast, the girls jumped into the convent car with Sister Rose at the wheel, while the boys leapt into a big red transit van with a determined Fr Kurtz at the front. Leaving from the Church at 8.15am it took us about 2 hours to reach the Chocolate Factory.

A jolly lady greeted us at the Factory, gave us what resembled shower caps to wear, then asked us to rub our hands together with some anti-septic spray – everything was done in a highly professional manner. We were given very interesting details – from how to make easter eggs and chocolates with soft centers, to how they package each individual chocolate. It was most enjoyable.

The best part was the end when we were able to TASTE-TEST some of the products and explore their shop. I was particularly excited to find some “sticky specials” for $1. This included a bag of soft centre honey chocolates, which normally would have been $5 for a bag.

Lunch consisted of Pizza and little fizzy drinks, kindly supplied by Fr Kurtz and then we were off to a Car Museum, which was very fascinating. Well worth the journey.

The next day after the little school trip, was all hands on deck to get ready for our end of year prize giving. There were singing practices, props to be made, lines to learn, prizes to arrange etc.

Learning lines...

Making props...

Prayers said outside after a big clean-up!

The effort paid off. The girls sang beautifully under the direction of our Music teacher, Mrs Borberg and the girls had even organized a little song of their own, in French I might add, which was accompanied by one of our students, Mirae Kim. Next was a little Greek myth “Perseus & Medusa” which was dramatized by our French teacher Mr Hays, who unfortunately could not be with us on the night as he was in hospital. The formal part of the evening consisted in a humorous speech by our Mother Superior and engaging speeches by Fr Laisney and our Valedictorian Maria Petersen.

Maria Petersen

Towards the end, our teachers who were in academic dress and the Sisters in their cappas ascended the stage for the actual handing out of prizes. It was most pleasing to see girls who had put in a good year's work go up and receive their reward. Towards the end, everyone was on the edge of their seats wondering who would be Dux. This year it was two girls – Maria Devine and Julia Kelly, whose final scores were so close we couldn’t bear to give it to one without the other. There was thunderous applause as both girls came up to receive their prizes.

We also had a special guest from Massey University who was there to award high achiever scholarships to two of our pupils – Julia Kelly and Adelaide Png. He made the comment that we should be proud of the fact that Massey had given two big scholarships to such a small school.

In fact the school has done very well this year – Virginie Mathey achieved top of the world in French and Julia Kelly won a Film Contest, for which she was awarded an IMAC computer for the school.

Julia presenting the new computer.

At the very end, the students presented a little gift to the Sisters – a beautiful sign which is now out the front so that whoever passes by will see the “Veritas” logo and below “St Dominic’s Convent and Girls’ School.

Our new sign

The next day, Mother and Sister Madeleine were off to Australia to do a little mission in Tynong after Society Priests had asked them to come over to promote the religious life and to foster vocations and to look at “possible” sites for a second foundation, however, we will have to see what God wills for our community. I am sure they will write more on their trip later.

...various presentation evenings.

Meanwhile, Sister Catherine was left to look after the remaining Sisters and postulants. On the 8th December, the feast of the Immaculate Conception and a big day for our convent – our 6th birthday, we had a very active day.

It began with Office and Mass, which included a Franciscan Profession and then after a short practice we sang some special songs at the 10am Sung Mass. The Sisters have recently formed a little polyphony choir and this was our little début. A little nervous, we sang “O Gloriosa Virginum” and the “Sicut Cervus”. With what little time we had left in the morning, the Sisters decorated the staffroom to celebrate our birthday and we had a lovely lunch together.

The next week we were off to New Plymouth to visit a “free” zoo and a beautiful park. It was a most enjoyable day, however, since I am running out of room I will let the pictures tell the story.

...at the zoo

The sisters prayed Sext and had morning tea at the lake.

Admiring the beautiful flower gardens...

... last look at the mountain before we head back home.

At present we are living a more contemplative life in preparation for Christmas. After a busy school year, it is wonderful to be able to spend some extra time in meditation and have the time to do extra spiritual reading. We also have Latin lessons, lectures from Mother and daily chant practices in preparation for the sung offices and the beautiful “O Antiphons”.

Our little novice is busy constructing the crib for this year’s nativity scene and by the looks of things, it will be a marvel – I wish you all a happy and very holy Christmas.

Sister Teresa Joseph's visit to St Dominic's Convent, Wanganui

2008-09-11T18:39:00.001-07:00

St Dominic's College: photos from inter-house competitions

2008-09-11T00:01:00.001-07:00

Update on St Dominic's Convent and College events

2008-09-07T15:21:00.000-07:00

Arrivals and a Departure:
Since you last heard from us we have lost one novice, who decided the life was not for her. On the other hand we have gained five postulants. There are two young women from Dunedin, one from Melbourne, one from America and one from the Philippines. This has brought our numbers back to ten. We also have some more “prospects” lurking in the wings. Another young lady from the Philippines is due to arrive within a fortnight. Then we have two young women who intend to come in January, and a young lady from Kenya, who would come immediately if she had the money to pay for her visa.

A Visitor:
At the beginning of July we were much cheered by the arrival of a visitor from Romagne, near Poitiers in France. This was onc of the Dominican Sisters of Fanjeaux, Mother Teresa Joseph, O.P. She was the very first of their American Postulants and was one of the Foundresses of Post Falls. For some years she was Subprioress in Post Falls and then Prioress for six years. Her term of office having ended she is having a spell in France. We thoroughly enjoyed the help she was able to give us in the Chant and in ordinary Dominican living.

Study:
At the moment we have four Sisters studying Latin from Massey and one studying Mathematics. As well, Sister Mary Madeleine and Sister Mary Rose are finishing off their B.A. degrees this semester. This is a great credit to them as they have persevered extramurally and have done very well with numerous “A’s” in their degrees. However, this is not the study-burden I have been talking about.

The Sisters mentioned above and two others, plus three of the priests, are all studying for the Graduate Diploma in Secondary Teaching at Bethlehem Tertiary Institude near Tauranga. Much of the course is on-line but the Sisters also have to go to Bethlehem each holidays for Intensive Courses.

Next term and next year the student Sisters will have to go to other schools for a “practicum” where they will teach with other teachers and be inspected by professors from Bethlehem Tertiary Institute. We think this will be a first for schools like Collegiate and Wanganui High School.

As though any more excitement were needed we also celebrate feastdays in the school with vigour, largely powered and organized by our excellent young nuns and our really nice Seventh Form girls. These events usually include inter-house competitions among our three Houses in the school, named, for reasons Dominican ex-pupils will recognize, Calaroga, Prouille and Bologna.

One of these events took place on 7 March, Feast of St Thomas Aquinas. The young Sisters organized an afternoon which consisted of a quiz on the life of St Thomas, races, ball-games, and egg-and-spoon races. The girls had a delightful time with the juniors particularly appreciating the leadership and encouragement of our senior girls.

Another occasion was the Feast of St Catherine of Siena, which also happened to be the last day of Term 1. This time the competition was more intellectual as we had a day of debating and public speaking. Forms 5,6 and 7 debated topics related to their Church History course and the Third and Fourth Form spoke about traditional religious orders. Forms One and Two spoke about different saints. The event took place in the Hockey Club Hall and was a great success. One interesting outcome was that girls shone in this event who do not always make a big impact academically.

Of course the highlight of the year for our school is St Dominic’s Day. We celebrated this in an extended way with a Solemn High Mass on the Day where the Nuns and the girls sang, and the boys sang the proper. We then spent the rest of the day as a holiday. However, on the 22 August, the day of the Skate-a-thon, we completed our St Dominic’s Day celebration by having our interhouse netball competition and the hotly contested Students versus Staff netball match. This last was an epic struggle but the girls won. Between the netball and skating about two hundred rounds of the Skating Rink girls and nuns were exhausted at the end of the day.

As I write, we are moving into the third term. Cambridge Examinations are coming up and the girls are studying well. Our Seventh Form did very well in the Examination they sat in June, AS level French, with one student gaining an A and two distinctions for French Speaking. Our Fifth form also did well in their IGCSE Latin with two students gaining an A. We hope for similar results in November.

St Anthony’s Procession

2008-07-01T21:33:00.000-07:00

On 15 June 2008, St Anthony’s parish held its annual procession in honour of St Anthony. The founding parishioners promised St Anthony that if he got them the Church that had been their original parish Church, then up for sale, they would hold an annual procession in his honour. Using a front-man, and in spite of the efforts of the Bishop of Palmerston North to find out who was buying the Church, they became the owners of St Anthony’s Church plus a presbytery section with presbytery, a convent section which was empty, and a school section, also empty.

Each year the length of the procession gives an indication of the growth of the parish, as we can see from our position in the middle of the procession. First the thurifer and servers, then flower-girls, then the statue of St Anthony surrounded by flowers, then the relic carried by the celebrant accompanied by deacon and sub-deacon and flanked by torch-bearers.

Then the Papal Coat of Arms and the Papal Flag and the New Zealand Flag, then the flags of all the nations represented in the parish. Then comes the St Stephen’s Guild, the Third Orders, and then the girls of St Dominic’s College with their banner carried by the Head Prefect and Deputy Head-Prefect, followed by all the girls in uniform, walking two by two with white mantillas on their heads. Immediately behind the girls come the nuns, also two by two, the whole creating a fine sight for the many people who come out to watch the procession go by. After that comes the Schola and various other parish groups and the general parishioners, plus a pipe-band which plays stirring and martial music in between the hymns led by the leader of the Schola over a megaphone.

We always give especially bright smiles as we pass the home of Mrs Green, who writes to the paper each year to complain that the Catholics have been carrying an “idol” through the streets of Wanganui. After we get back to the Churchyard we sing “God Defend New Zealand” while the New Zealand Flag is run up the flagpole, and then “Christus Vincit” as the Papal Flag is run up the flag-pole. We then re-enter the Church for the blessing of St Anthony’s Bread (we all receive a bun) and the veneration of the relic. After that the parishioners repair to the Primary School (St Anthony’s) while the nuns go back to their Convent. In the Primary Classrooms the older girls serve the meal to the parishioners and help with the washing up.

This year we were blessed with exceptionally fine weather for the procession. It was a still, windless, Winter’s day. Quite warm and sunny, a great day to celebrate our Faith and our achievements under God. May God bless St Anthony’s and its people!

Children of Mary 2008

2008-04-13T02:22:00.000-07:00

The Children of Mary at St Anthony’s Parish had a busy time over Easter as well.

They finished off the brass-cleaning which the Girls’ School had started on the Day of Recollection. This was a huge job, getting all the stored brass and the brass off the altar cleaned. As we are near the sea and the river the atmosphere is both damp and salty, which means brass tarnishes easily.

As well the Children of Mary had the responsibility for putting up the Altar of Repose. This was to be put up in the Parish Library where there is already and altar for Mass if there are too many priests in the parish wanting to say Mass. The girls draped hangings behind the altar, put up lights and decorated the altar with flowers. They had to call in the talents of a tall boy to put up the very highest draperies as they could not reach. The highest points. Everybody agreed that it was a truly reverent and inspirational Altar of Repose.

As well, many of the girls from the Children of Mary were involved in the Choir for the Midnight Mass and they all came back voluntarily next morning for the High Mass. Thank you, Children of Mary for all your work for the Parish over Easter!

Day of Recollection in our Schools.

2008-04-12T20:03:00.000-07:00

On the Wednesday of Holy Week all the schools in the parish had a Day of Recollection. Father Cranshaw took the Primary School, Father Kurtz took the Boys’ Secondary School, and Father Laisney took the Girls’ Secondary School, St Dominic’s College.

Our Day of Recollection was held in the Hockey Club and the Croquet Club. We had talks in the Hockey club where we each had a table to write on and a nice chair. Sister Catherine had removed some of the Hockey photos and had put up a crucifix instead. Father spoke very well about the Mysteries of the Rosary and we said Fifteen Decades of the Rosary during the day. Between the lectures we were able to go to the Hockey Club for confessions as the Sisters had set up a confessional using the Hockey Club’s notice-boards.

If we were not going to Confession we spent the time between the lectures in the Croquet Club. As we had a lot of brass to clean for the Easter Ceremonies we worked silently on that while a teacher read to us or played a tape.

At lunch-time we sat out on the Croquet Lawn and ate silently while the teachers played a tape. Then it was back to the brass!

A nice feature of the day was the Outdoor Stations of the Cross which took place around the Croquet Lawn after lunch. Sister Catheine had made a laminated picture of each Station and we processed around them with Father leading us and all of us praying the prayers from the St Alphonsus books used in the Church.

Round about 3 o’clock the day ended and we could talk again. We certainly did break out then. We had to put the Hockey Hall back to its usual order, and to tidy the Croquet Club. We left much of the brass there as many of us would come voluntarily next day to continue cleaning it.

One of our Girls gets Top of the World.

2008-03-17T18:04:00.000-07:00

Virginie receiving her Top of the World award

We had a great thrill this month when we were notified that one of our pupils had come Top of the World in the Cambridge IGCSE Examinations. This was Virginie Mathey who came top in French. Virginie is originally from New Caledonia but she must have done well in all aspects of the examination to gain this top place with 99% over the various components of the Examination. Her mother says that her French is very rusty after being out of French schools since Virginie was ten – but we think it cannot be too bad!

Father Laisney receiving the “ Top School ” award.

Virginie and her mother and father, and S.M.Madeleine, her French teacher, and Father Laisney, the Principal, went to Auckland for an awards ceremony. Virginie went up and received her prize, and Father Laisney was also called up to receive a “ Top School ” award. We thought this a fitting reward for all the time and effort he puts into our school!

Mr and Mrs Mathey with Virginie, Sister Mary Madeleine O.P and Father Laisney

Form 6 Trip to Wellington

2008-03-05T00:20:00.000-08:00

On 25 February S.M.Madeleine and Mother Micaela took the Form 6 girls to Wellington for a cultural excursion. In the morning we visited the Alliance Francaise for a French experience, then we went to the beach for lunch which we had purchased at a French Bakery. In the afternoon we visited the birthplace of Katherine Mansfield, a New Zealand writer who revolutionized the short story.

Lunch at the beach

Birthplace of Katherine Mansfield

Form 7: Trip to the Museum.

2008-03-05T00:17:00.000-08:00

Recently the Form 7 senior girls went to the Wanganui Museum to study background for the book they are reading for their Cambridge “A” Level Coursework. The book is set in early New Zealand before and during the Maori Wars. The Museum Educator had arranged an interesting experience for the girls. They were able to re-enact scenes from the book using Maori weapons and wearing Maori cloaks.

They were also able to dress up in replica colonial costumes, including fashionable women’s restrictive garments of the period and as British Soldiers.

The Novitiate

2008-03-03T15:15:00.000-08:00

“Beati qui habitant in domo tua, Domine: in saecula saeculorum laudabunt te.”

Whenever we novices meet up with our old friends, they always invariably ask us: “so, Sister, what do you do all day?”
This question always provokes a grin, partly because of the honest incredulity behind it, (after all, it seems such an uneventful life) and partly because of its naivety. To the average person outside the Convent, it would seem that nuns really have no worries – and they are always praying!

- Well, what does a little Dominican novice do all day?

Certainly our lives are not as they would be in the world – after all, we do not have the same freedom as a young lady of the world, who is able to attend parties and movies and basically use her time and money however she wants to. We novices fill our lives in higher ways… our TV is the Blessed Sacrament, and we mint our money by winning graces for souls by our prayers and everything that we do. We live our lives for God alone - and we regret nothing, because we learn that it is His world we live in (no matter how everyone else seems to forget it) and we can lose nothing by doing precisely what He created us to do – spend our lives in loving and serving Him alone.

How do we do this?

The first bell of the morning sounds at 5:20am when the novice rises and offers her day to God with all “our thoughts, words and works”. Then the bell rings the Angelus, that joyful first greeting of the day to the Queen of Heaven imploring her protection and blessing. We are given twenty five minutes to don our holy Habit (at first it is not very easy – there are all sorts of things to worry about, from putting your scapular on inside-out to walking out your room door happily oblivious to the fact that you forgot to pin on your headdress!) and hurry to the Chapel, eager to sing the praises of God. There is something profoundly beautiful in arising so early – even before the sun has a chance to rise. To offer the first fruits of the day to Jesus Christ our Spouse: such is the beginning of a day that is to be wholly lived for Him, that is to be a whole-burnt offering for Him – a day that is one among years of a life consecrated entirely to His love. This is the summary of the life of a religious, and it is also the core and heart of the life of a novice, studying in the school of perfection. We know that we thus win many graces for souls and we glorify God.

The Office of Lauds with the rest of the community at 5:45am calls us to say “Good Morning” to God – we thank him for having looked after us during the night, and we dedicate ourselves to glorify him in all that we are about to do in the day. Prime is the office during which we ask God’s protection over us, that we may keep from offending Him by sin. To encourage our efforts, there is a little reading from the Martyrology everyday. Then, we make our half-hour Meditation, which is the immediate preparation for Mass. It is our great chance to think solely and undisturbed about the things of God, take a step back, and reflect, before advancing again to the spiritual combat against the world, the flesh and the devil. ( - Which combat the professed teaching sisters would say consisted entirely of school meetings, the ever-fun-loving children, and the never-ending marking!!) Mass at 7:00am and Holy Communion are the infinite sources of weaponry that we need to engage in this daily battle. Following our Thanksgiving after Mass we sing Terce, imploring the sanctifying action of the Holy Ghost upon all our work.

A very welcome breakfast comes next, after which we do our house duty, (for example, a Sister may be in charge of sweeping the staircase) and then follows the first class of the day for the novices at 8:30am taken by Mother Mary Catherine, our sub-mistress. Our mornings are usually filled with lectures and study, (naturally, being Dominicans, we “contemplate in order to pass to others the fruits of our contemplation”) during which we determine why we have entered the religious life, study what it means to be in the religious state, and the great graces that are attached to it. In short, we are given our two years in the novitiate to “feel our way around”, to decide whether it is really God’s will for us that we be religious, and in order to make a good decision we learn all about the vows that religious take, and we are gradually initiated into the life. The first year of the novitiate is a year given solely to contemplation – this means that we avoid unnecessary intercourse with the world, and it is for this reason that we do not teach. We do teach however, a little in the second and final year of our novitiate, as well as study, as a kind of gentle introduction to the life of a teaching Dominican sister.

The Divine Office of Sext is chanted at 12:55pm, when we have the chance to examine whether we have lived the morning for God, and we renew our fervour if we have been negligent in this respect. We renew our offering of ourselves, and we beg God to protect us especially at this time of the day, when temptations and distractions flood us and try to draw us away from Him. After Sext we have a simple lunch, and then follow classes, interspersed with free time when we either catch up on our duties, or we are left with the opportunity to go for walks to catch the last of the fine summer weather, a time very useful for catching up on saying our Rosaries – for, as Dominican novices, we must say a full Rosary every day; that is, fifteen decades. This is something we love dearly, of course, as it was to our holy Father Saint Dominic that the Blessed Mother of God gave the Rosary; and what better path to contemplation than this beautiful arrangement of Aves - a heavenly bouquet of roses to give to our Queen in reflecting upon the mysteries of her life and that of her Divine Son!

None is chanted at 4:10pm, after which the cook of the day prepares the main dinner. Vespers takes place at 5:00pm, when we thank God for all the graces so far received. The Rosary with the community is then said, and then when she is ready, the cook rings the bell for the dinner. After this, the Sisters chant Matins in anticipation of the next day, (as it would be rather cheeky to ask the teaching sisters to get up at unearthly hours of the morning to fulfil this very beautiful Office) and then make an evening Meditation of fifteen minutes. Sometimes we attend Benediction, or the Stations of the Cross at the Church, and this takes the place of the evening Meditation leaving us some free time – which we novices are very prompt to use for saying our Rosaries!

Recreation takes place at 7:45pm, just before Compline. Although we are, in the Novitiate, separated from the Professed, we still manage to have plenty of fun with our two postulants! Activities range from indoor board games to walking, roller-blading and playing tennis with Mother Mary Catherine. I am quite sure that if “externs” were to see us at recreation they would be dumbstruck: who would have thought that nuns could have so much fun! We laugh at everything and the air is pervaded with an overall atmosphere of happiness and a deep joy. Our Lord certainly never meant His spouses to be dismal! (and it is extremely funny to watch your very dear tennis-expert postulant patiently hitting the ball straight to you, and you with all the good will in the world powerfully batting the ball back straight – to her Guardian Angel! And meanwhile the poor Sister on roller-blades just can’t help wondering if you’re really aiming the hits at her or not…)

The Bell rings for Compline at 8:30pm, and we make our way to the Chapel to thank God for the graces of the day, to beg His pardon for any faults committed, and to beg His blessing and protection on the rest we must take in order to serve Him well on the morrow. The Salve Regina is sung, and the procession to the altar of Our Lady, led by the two Novices acting as acolytes and holding candles. The singing of the O Lumen to Saint Dominic marks the end of Compline, and then we have approximately forty minutes in which to prepare for bed.

When lights are turned off at 9:45pm, and we are drifting off on the gentle waves of sleep, we commend ourselves to Our Spouse as a child that lies secure in the arms of its mother, and we rest content, knowing that as we have lived solely for Him by His grace, so we will die.

Benedicamus Mariae!

Our clothing ceremony

2008-03-03T15:13:00.000-08:00

In the still dark of January 5th 2008 the seconds seemed to quiver as they slowly passed. Did we even sleep at all that long night, the night before our clothing in the habbit of the Dominican sisters of Wanganui. Questions darted through our minds in an unceasing train of if’s…buts….and oh dears… the strange realisation that we would never spend another night as Antonia Rose Marie Gregory and Philomena Maria Theresa Ockerse.

The feast of the Epiphany of the child Jesus -finally we thought, wrapping ourselves for the last time in our long silky dresses; one of shimmery gold the other of moonlit forest green, surrounded in soft blue of our children of Mary capes which reassured us that our Virgin mother would lead us before her dear child whose gifts we are. On entering the church our thoughts followed the hymn “Crown Him with many crowns” yes, here we were to offer Him our own garlands of love, prayer and sacrifice in exchange for one from which all the roses had been taken –A crown of thorns.

After the ‘Asperges Me’ with Father Laisney seated in the centre of the sanctuary, Fr Loschi and Fr Cranshaw on our lady’s side; the sanctuary gates wide open like the arms of our waiting spouse, the Master of ceremonies Andre Ockerse escorted us as we processed through to be presented at the altar steps.
“What do you ask?” A prompt like an angel whispering, “ask and you shall receive” -
“Gods mercy and yours father” surged from the bottom of our hearts.
There at His feet Mother Mary beside, all doubts fled.

Retuning from the sanctuary Mother Micaela laid the holy habbit in our arms and clasping our future we left the church to put on our white robe and black cappa, symbolic of innocence and penance; our only garment for the rest of our lives. Returning as glowing brides of Christ we walked down the isle singing the Salve Regina.

First Antonia then Philomena we bowed our heads towards father and the strange almost awful sound of sharp quick scissors filled our ears. As the blades rampaged through our quantities of hair we knew it was symbolic of our choice - to tear ourselves from the life of the world with definity that as His brides we must remove all earthly adornments for spiritual pearls of the hidden life.

We knelt before mother Micaela to exchange our mantillas for the Dominican veil. First the cap then guimp, band and finally the white veil enclose gently about our faces and save for the slight apprehension as mother brandished pins, followed by a few finishing tugs from sister Madeline, we were clothed. Tremors of happiness made one feel like bursting into laughter or song but all I could do was smile!

Once more we knelt on the sanctuary steps as Father blessed the dark rosewood rosaries and taking it we girded ourselves with the sword of our spiritual life. Then came our small St Benedict crucifixes, one gold, one silver, to be laid in time upon our written vows. In imitation of the choice our Lord gave to St Catherine of Sienna, Father held before us two crowns but the red blossoms and green leaves in a mist of gypsopfela held no charm beside the long sharp thorns entwined into the semblance of a crown. And we accepted this mystical invitation, “I choose the crown of thorns”

We left the sanctuary for the outstretched arms of Mother Micaela who embraced tenderly her two new daughters in the kiss of peace, smiling and speaking softly
“ holy perseverance” to each. Along the length of our community we walked each sister whispering a secret to help us on the journey we began on that beautiful day.

Choir Stalls

2008-02-19T17:56:00.000-08:00

One of the most important things about our little Congregation is that it has contemplative roots, being able to trace its ancestry from Dublin to Galway and then to Prouille. Thus we are devoted to the Divine Office. When we moved to our new convent hope arose that we might be able to get choir stalls. A lovely farmer and his wife, Joe and Pamela Ryder, gave us a big load of beautiful macrocarpa wood, personally milled by Joe, but how to get it made into choir stalls. A builder friend costed out the making of choir stalls and it came out at about $2,000 for each stall, and we wanted fourteen! We had received a grant from the St Joseph Trust but only for $3,000. How to bridge the gap between $3,000 and 14 x $2,000?

We put thought and prayer into it and came up with a name! Chris Kuypers, one of the real founders of the parish and all his life a tireless worker for Tradition. Would he consider coming out of retirement for one last, ill-paid, job. Mr Kuypers did come out of retirement and he recruited his grandson, a young man who had just left school and was waiting to start a building apprenticeship.

In an amazingly short time Mr Kuypers rang up to say that he had finished the Choir-stalls. He and M. Guy Legrega, a Dominican Tertiary recently come to the parish from New Caledonia, brought them up to the Convent on two trailers. As an additional surprise M. Legrega had made metal crosses to go at the back of the stalls. He had seen crosses on the photographs of the stalls at St Dominic’s Priory in Dunedin and wanted us to have them too. Mrs Nicola Wansink, mother of our two postulants, had taken careful measurements and clear photographs of the original stalls in the Dunedin chapel and had supplied these as a pattern. (The chapel is now owned by the Dunedin Cathedral Parish.)

The stalls are substantially constructed and glow with the beauty of the wood. We are very pleased with them and we feel that they add to the dignity and solemnity of the Divine Office, and to the beauty of our Chapel.

Two New Novices Take The Veil

2008-02-09T02:46:00.000-08:00

On 6 January 2008 our two Postulants received the veil.

Sister Mary Rosaria and Sister Mary Philomena

Click on the link (http://tvnz.co.nz/view/video_popup_windows_skin/1561378)
to the right of this page, in the 'Links' box,
to view a short video by TVNZ of the Novices on their big day.

Our Lady of Lourdes Camp 2008

2008-02-09T00:48:00.000-08:00

The annual camp for the traditional Catholic girls of New Zealand was held from December 31st 2007 until January 5th 2008 at the YMCA camp at Raukawa Falls, about a one hour drive north of Wanganui.

The camp was organised by Father Cranshaw with the help of two Dominican Sisters - Sr Mary Madeleine and Sr Mary Rose and two other helpers, both teachers at our school. Early Monday morning everyone set off to arrive at the site by 10am. The Sisters had a bit of a delay as Father asked them (just before departure) to purchase party poppers and marshmallows for the activities to be held on the last night of camp. (Might just add that the party poppers were never actually used in the end after all of the effort to purchase them.) After half an hour of searching the shops for party poppers the Sisters were then able to set off. Upon their arrival many campers were already there ready to unpack and to be sorted into cabins and teams. Father arrived about half an hour later with a van full of the necessities for saying Mass (altar, candles and vestments), sports equipment, tents etc. In all, there were twenty girls from Wanganui, Hamilton and Auckland.

The girls were sorted into their teams. There were four teams of five, each with their special patron and team cry. We chose to place the camp under the patronage of Our Lady of Lourdes as this year is the 150th anniversary of the first apparition at Lourdes. Each of the teams were named after Our Lady. Sr Madeleine’s team was Our Lady of Fatima with the cry “Pray and make sacrifices”, Sr Rose’s team was called Our Lady of Guadalupe with the cry “Build my church”, Mr Foster’s team was Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal with the cry “Come to the foot of the altar” and the fourth team was named Our Lady of Victory with the cry “St Mary of Victory”.

Throughout the camp points were allocated for different activities and the team with the most points at the end of the camp won a box of chocolates. The team cries were for the line ups. Whenever the bell was rung the girls had to run to the basketball court, line up in their teams and yell their team cry and the first team to have all of their members lined up shouting the team cry won points for their team.

Two cabins separated into three rooms with four beds in each were allocated to us for the girls to sleep in – one red the other purple. Two teams went in one and the other two shared the other. The supervisors each had their own cabin.

After choosing their beds and unpacking their belongings the girls were given a brief safety talk about the camp site by John the camp coordinator with the help of Robyn who did the cooking for us. The girls then had free time until twelve. Everyone went to try out the flying fox (including the Sisters) and some went to check out the swimming hole. After a hearty lunch of subway style sandwiches the girls had free time until two and then played softball and relays between their teams to gain points. The Sisters then took the girls for a ten minute walk to the Raukawa Falls which was followed by swimming in the river before saying the rosary in the make do chapel at 5.30.

The meals were eaten in the gym. The girls sat in their teams and each day different teams were appointed to help with serving the meals and doing the dishes and clean up afterwards. The camp coordinators were very impressed with the girls and said that they were the best group of girls that they had ever had. There was a very pleasant atmosphere among the girls which made the camp a great success. There were a few pranks – like sunscreen being put onto girls’ faces while they were sleeping but nothing too serious.

At 8pm Father gave the girls a talk on Rose Hue who lived in China under the Communist Regime. He gave a talk each day on this topic. The girls found it very interesting. This was followed by a camp fire and camp songs played by Mr Foster on his guitar.

Being New Year’s eve we wanted to see in the New Year and Father was to say the first Mass in the world for 2008 (as of course New Zealand is ahead of the rest of the world timewise) so we had to keep the girls occupied until midnight. We played spotlight until about 11.45pm and then gathered in the chapel to prepare for Mass. We started Mass by singing the Veni Creator and Father gave a lovely sermon on how things which begin well end well with reference to being able to start the new year with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. There is no better way to start a new year. We went to bed at about 1.30am and we were able to rise a bit later in the morning having breakfast at 9am.

There was skipping in the morning followed by a talk by Father and organised games. In the afternoon there was a siesta followed by team challenges and the low ropes course, kayaking/canoeing and swimming with a qualified supervisor. Each evening we had benediction and rosary at 5.30pm followed by dinner. The Sisters gave a presentation on their trip to France and America in January 2007 and then night prayers were said and everyone went to bed.

Wednesday was the most adventurous day. The girls rose at 6.30 and went for a quick jog before getting dressed for Mass. Breakfast was at 8 and then everyone prepared their own packed lunch and sleeping gear for our day hike and overnight camp at Atene. We piled into four vehicles with our backpacks, lunch, dinner and breakfast and set off at about 9.30am. We arrived at the beginning of our track at about 11am. The track is quite a difficult one but everyone made it to the end with the last group arriving about one hour after the rest. It took seven and a half hours to complete with many stops along the way. Even our youngest camper accomplished this great task. The first aid kit was well used with three sprained ankles to attend to, many splinters to remove and blisters to burst. The main attraction for the girls was the swim that Father had promised them when they had completed the track. That was the only thing that kept them going. The first to complete the track were driven to the campsite to set up the tents. Water was scarce so the souls in purgatory really benefited that day. Everyone went for a swim at about 9pm, night prayers were said and then everyone retired to their sleeping bags and pretty much went to sleep straight away. Fortunately there were no dramas. There was a plan to tip Father’s hammock while he was sleeping – only problem was that no one knew where he was sleeping.

The next morning everyone was woken up by Father’s whistle and a few were dragged out of their tents in their sleeping bags. After breakfast we took down the tents and packed everything into the vehicles and drove back to the camp site. The need to shower has never been so inviting. Father said Mass at 11 and then we had a quiet afternoon of orienteering and swimming. That night the girls played rounders in the gym followed by an evening talk and everyone looked forward to their beds after a very tiring day. It was hard to believe that Friday was so close. Time just flew as everyone was having so much fun.

In the morning we played softball in our different teams and after lunch the each team built a raft from 3 tyres and 3 strings which they raced on the river. We also had a go at archery and two bulls eyes were achieved by two of the supervisors. In the evening the girls provided us with entertainment by performing some skits in their different teams and even Father and Mr Foster sang a song for us accompanied by the guitar. Father gave a slide show of all of the photos and videos he had taken of the camp and then the Sisters left after being hugged by nearly every girl on camp. It was such a moving sight to see. The girls played night games and sung songs around the camp fire and toasted marshmallows and got to bed at about midnight.

Saturday was filled with a few games to gain those last minute points for each team and of course clean up in the afternoon. Just before departure each girl was presented with a “Little Miss” certificate awarded to them for a particular trait which they exhibited on camp for example “Little Miss Competitive” for the girl who always had to have her say about the umpiring of games. The girls returned home all very happy and excited with plans to go on next year’s camp. Even the Sisters eagerly await the next one!

Retreat

2007-12-27T18:02:00.000-08:00

The Sisters with Father Laisney and Father Couture

From 15-22 December the Dominican Sisters of Wanganui are making their retreat. The Retreat-giver is Father Couture, the District Superior. He is preaching about Our Lady with a strong Biblical and Thomistic background. Two priests are also sharing the Retreat.

The Sisters have also been able to move into their new Chapel and Refectory, which is a great relief from the crowded conditions we have lived in for the last year. It is great to have space to do things in the proper Dominican way, and the new rooms have enhanced the recollection of the Retreat. As well we have our own confessional now in the sacristy, and we have been able to have confessions quietly in the house, instead of attracting a crowd to the priest as happens if we go in the Church. It goes to show that all things come to those who wait.

Our new Chapel

We are not able to actually sleep in the newer part of the building yet as the consent process is not finished, nor are we able to use the community room or laundry (basement floor) as they are not finished yet. However, each little bit of progress is an encouragement and we enjoy each little bit of the building to which we get access.

Examination Results for the Nuns

2007-12-10T17:56:00.000-08:00

These last few weeks have also been the time for receiving university exam results for the nuns. I am pleased to report that each Sister doing extramural study from Massey University has gained at least one “A” and one gained two “A’s”. As well, nobody gained anything less than a “B”. This is very good as the Sisters work under difficulties with their schoolwork to do and their attendance at the Divine Office and their private prayer.

Next year, several of the Sisters, and some lay-teachers, will be following the course for the Graduate Diploma in Secondary Teaching from Bethlehem Tertiary Institute. Because we can provide such a large group of students Bethlehem will conduct most of the lectures on our campus. This will be very convenient for our teachers who will do the course part-time over two years.

Blessing of School and New Convent

2007-12-10T16:13:00.000-08:00

On Saturday 8 December we had a Solemn High Mass in the Church for the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. This beautiful Mass was followed by the blessing of the school and convent.

After Mass, the Celebrant, Fr Couture, and the Deacon, Fr Cranshaw, and the Subdeacon, Fr Jackson, went in procession with the servers to the new Convent and School. After a prayer of blessing the Ministers went in procession, led by the Sisters, right through the building, sprinkling it with Holy Water.

After the blessing there were photographs and then the parishioners joined us for a morning-tea in the first classroom. A happy time was had by all.

End of the 2007 School Year

2007-12-10T12:53:00.000-08:00

The 6th and 7th of December found us celebrating the end of the school year. S.M.Catherine and S.M.Madeleine worked hard producing the reports, Sister Mary Rose organized the Prizegiving ceremony, Sister Marie Therese organized the prizes with the help of S.M.Madeleine and the postulants also worked hard, Philomena helping with the Form 1 and 2 item and Antonia helping in the school but also overseeing the collection of textbooks and the ordering of new ones for the English Department. This combined effort by the community, with a shared overview of the needs of the school, reinforced our sense of community and our appreciation of each other’s efforts.

St. Anthony's Ensemble

The evening of the prizegiving was a pleasant, slightly cool evening, which was all to the good as we could have been very hot in the Methodist Hall in Wickstead Street. The Breakup started at 7pm with a welcome from Fr Laisney, the singing of the school hymn, “Hail St Dominic” and a brief sketch by Fr Laisney of the major events of the school year. Then followed a performance by the St Anthony’s Ensemble, a recently formed orchestra made up of the pupils of Mrs Antonia Gregory and other instrumentalists. They had not done well at the practice but found their form on the night. The audience loved them. There were little children playing quarter-size violins, S.M.Rose on the ‘cello with Elizabeth Smith also on the ‘cello. Philomena Ockerse, our postulant provided the brass section single-handed, playing on her tenor horn.

Form 6 - "White men aren't for eating"

A musical item followed, prepared by Mrs Adrienne Borberg, our pianist and singing teacher, who backs us up wonderfully in all musical aspects of school life. Being a Dominican Ex-pupil she is unable to refuse a firm request from a white habit! We mark them for life, you know. Other items included a French song by Form 5 and 6 with bell-ringing accompaniment and two dear little “lambs” borrowed for the occasion. Form Six put on a play, “White Men Aren’t for Eating”, and the entire Boys’ School gave a choral rendition of “The Hound of Heaven” by Francis Thompson.

Boys' School - "The Hound of Heaven"

We were much cheered and encouraged by a speech from Father D. Couture, the District Superior of the SSPX. He encouraged us to value what we have in Wanganui – a complete parish with schools, priests, and nuns. Father pointed out that we are the most complete parish in the Asian district.

Father D. Couture - District Superior

His speech was followed by the Valedictorian Speech given by Nicholas Kawana. Nicholas urged us to keep our Faith in Catholic Education which equips the young men and women leaving our school with the weapons they need to live a good Catholic life in the context of the modern world.

Nicholas Kawana - Valedictorian

The presentation of the prizes was a great success. The list was beautifully read by S.M.Madeleine and the children advanced to receive their prizes with a becoming combination of modesty and poise. The Dux of the school was Keith Benfell, who also won the Senior Catechism Prize. Some amusement was caused when French children received prizes for excellence in French, but fair is fair. The same children were also awarded prizes for diligence in English! The prizes had all been donated by friends of the school, who had also been given the privilege of naming their prize. This made the prizegiving highly interesting as the reading of the Prizelist was a roll-call of people who have helped Tradition. It was heart-stirring to hear names like, “The Father Augustine Cummins Prize for Catholic Doctrine”, “The Father Stan Lorrigan prize for First in Class”. We think it is good that these names be kept alive in our midst and passed on to a new generation of young Catholics. We are very grateful to the donors.

Mother M Micaela O.P

Finally, the children presented “thank you” gifts to teachers who have helped them in particular ways. Mr Halpin was given a bottle of wine and some chocolates for his part in coaching the Hockey team to winning their competition. “I don’t deserve it, but I’ll drink it”, was his comment. Also presented with thank you gifts were Mrs. Borberg (Music), and Madame Mathey (French), Miss Kurcikova (Netball), S.M.Madeleine (Netball), and Mrs. Julie Nyssen (Netball). There was a surprise presentation of flowers to Mother Micaela and chocolates to Fr Laisney. This was an initiative of the girls who acknowledged the work of the nuns and the priests by collecting money for these gifts from all, boys and girls. The evening ended with the spirited singing of “Hail to our Alma Mater” by those present.

On Friday 7 December, the last Mass of the School Year was celebrated for St Dominic’s College. Fr Couture was the celebrant and preacher. He spoke on the virtue of gratitude. The St Stephen’s Guild ceremony for the retirement of Nicholas Kawana as Head M.C. and the installation of Joseph Lavin in the position also took place at this Mass. After Mass reports were distributed and the Christmas holidays began!

Exam Time

2007-11-20T17:42:00.001-08:00

For the last month we have been having Cambridge Examinations at St Dominic’s College. Form 4 sat their IGCSE Geography; Form 5 sat the rest of their IGCSE subjects; Form 6 sat their AS subjects and Form 7 sat their A Levels. We are very blessed in that we are the only completely Cambridge School in New Zealand. Other schools may believe in Cambridge, but they are obliged to offer also the subjects for the National Certificate in Educational Achievement. We are free of all the crises of that troubled and much criticized system, and our pupils achieve qualifications that are internationally respectable and portable.

We are also blessed in that the Wanganui Hockey Association allows us (at no charge!) to sit our examinations in the Hockey Hall. It is a pleasant, cool room looking out over the Domain and Hockey Turf, and sanctified by the fact that Archbishop Lefebvre once said Mass there, conferred the Sacrament of Confirmation, and prophesied that one day the Traditional Catholics would regain the right to worship in St Anthony’s Church. That has happened!

This week we also have our internal school examinations for the junior forms and for subjects not taken at Cambridge Level, and for Catholic Doctrine. It is a good experience for the younger children to sit examinations under strict examination conditions, and it certainly trains them up for their public examinations later.

Recently our examination procedures were reviewed by Cambridge Representatives and we gained an “exemplary” status. All credit should go to S.M.Catherine who sets up and runs the examinations procedures.

The results of the internal examinations will be relayed to the parents by the children’s school reports which will be given out after the final Mass of the year on 8 December. The Cambridge papers have been sent to England for marking and results will be available on the Cambridge website about 15 January. Please God, success will attend this year’s candidates!

Feast of Christ the King.

2007-10-28T20:26:00.001-07:00

Sunday 29 October 2007: Feast of Christ the King.

Yesterday we celebrated the Feast of Christ the King. A Solemn High Mass was celebrated at 9.30am in St Anthony’s Church. At this Mass nine children of the parish received their First Communion. They had been prepared for the Sacraments of First Confession and First Communion by Sister Mary Rose, O.P. and by Miss Philomena Ockerse, one of the postulants. The First Communicants behaved beautifully throughout the Mass and Procession, which was a long one with three Benedictions, at the home of Gerard and Antonia Gregory, at the Croquet Club, and back at the Church. After the religious part of the ceremony the children had a celebratory brunch with the priests and their immediate family.

Solemn High Mass

Nine children of the parish received their First Communion

Miss Philomena Ockerse, one of the postulants with the First Communicants

Procession

Celebratory Brunch

An Introduction

2007-10-26T23:18:00.000-07:00

This blog is for our friends, families and benefactors, who are kind enough
to be interested in our life and apostolate. We also hope that young women
interested in a Dominican vocation may make their way to this blog and find
out more about the details of our religious life.

Who are we?
We are a traditional Congregation of Dominican Sisters formed after the lapse into modernism of the New Zealand Dominican Sisters. We aim to live the total Dominican life with full Divine Office in Latin and traditional Convent Life with Habit, Silence, Recreation, Traditional Refectory and Teaching Apostolate. All this is built on our devotion to the Traditional Latin Mass in both our own Dominican life and the beloved Tridentine Rite as we find it here at St Anthony’s parish Wanganui. At the moment there are eight of us.

Where do we come from?
A fuller account of our origins and the story of our first Sister can be found by following the link to the Asian website of the Society of St Pius X. In summary, we were founded by a New Zealand Dominican Sister who had had to leave her Congregation because of its modernism. She has been joined by young Sisters, and, with the advice and help of the Dominican Sisters of Fanjeaux and the Society of St Pius X, we have been able to build up our community here. We have received young women from New Zealand, Australia, and South Africa.

Where are we?

Our only convent, at the moment, is in Wanganui, a coastal town of 43,000 inhabitants at the mouth of the Wanganui River on the West Coast of the North Island of New Zealand. We live in St Anthony’s Traditional (Latin Mass) Parish where we teach in the schools of the Society of St Pius X. We are, at present living in our new Convent, which is only half built, at 12B York Street, behind St Anthony’s Church. We look forward to the completion of the Convent when we will be able to take up all the customs and ceremonials which are curtailed because we have really outgrown our current living space. This convent is being provided for us by the generosity of the Traditional Catholic Faithful of New Zealand.

What do we do?
Our main work is the maintenance of the Divine Office which we sing or chant according to the Dominican Rite with its beautiful ceremonial. By means of the Divine Office we extend the influence of our daily Mass through the whole of life. Our second work is our life in community where we endeavor to sanctify ourselves and each other. Our third work is the maintenance of traditional schools here in the parish. We help to run St Anthony’s Primary School and the two separate schools (for boys and girls respectively) which make up St Dominic’s College.

The Sisters in Church

St Dominic's College

St Anthony’s Primary School

How do we train?
We follow the classical model of religious life with postulancy followed by novitiate and then a period of temporary profession. Some of our training is in-house but we also make use of extra-mural study from Massey University in Palmerston North and the University of New England, Armidale, Australia. If the Sisters are not trained teachers when they enter they do their teacher-training through Bethlehem Tertiary Institute near Tauranga. For our formal religious education we rely on the local Society of St Pius X priests who give us lectures. From February 2008 we are also receiving “distance” courses from Holy Cross Seminary, Goulburn, (SSPX), so that we can gain formal training in Philosophy and Theology.

A few snatches from the Archives:

Visit of Father Albert, O.P.
An important step in the history of our Congregation was the visit of Father Albert to run our retreat in December 2005. We enjoyed a very Thomistic Retreat, and also availed ourselves of Father’s expertise in the chant and ceremonial. To show our appreciation we took Father Albert for a ride in a jet-boat on the Wanganui River. It was, unfortunately, a wet day and Father said that it was like going through a car-wash. None-the-less a good time was had by all. We had, out of courtesy, accompanied Father on his very scenic trip.

Sisters go to Europe and America:
In January 2007 Sister Mary Madeleine, O.P., and Sister Mary Rose, O.P., visited Europe and America to gain more knowledge of Dominican Life and teaching-methods. The trip was made possible by a generous donation from the St Joseph Trust and also a very generous donation from a private benefactor. The Sisters were able to visit Fanjeaux, the motherhouse of the Teaching Dominicans of Fanjeaux. While there they were able to visit St Dominic’s house and the “Signadou”, the place where he saw the sign which pointed out to him where to establish the first convent of Sisters, at Prouille. They were also able to visit Prouille, the ancestral convent of our Congregation. In France they also visited the convent at Romagne and the Contemplative Nuns and the Friars at Avrillé. The also fitted in visits to Lourdes and Paris. In America they stayed with the Fanjeaux Dominicans at St Dominic School, Post Falls, where, as in Fanjeaux, they learned a lot about the Dominican methods of teaching. During their whole trip they also refreshed their knowledge of the chant and ceremonial for the Divine Office.