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dominicansoul

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dominicansoul

A dear close personal friend of mine from my previous community, left that community to start a NEW ONE in Bismarck, ND: 

 

https://www.stmarysisters.org/

 

IF anyone is interested contact Sr. Mary Joseph.  And she's pretty cool and devout and orthodox and everything you want in a Superior/Formatter, so spread the news... 

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Its a bit ambitious to be building  a house for 200 sisters if the organisation has only  just  been founded.  How many members are   there at present.  Still I hope its a success. 

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dominicansoul
On 10/22/2021 at 11:55 AM, GraceUk said:

Its a bit ambitious to be building  a house for 200 sisters if the organisation has only  just  been founded.  How many members are   there at present.  Still I hope its a success. 

BE AMBITIOUS! St. Dominic was!  :D 

It will probably take years to even get the money to build it, but if God wants it... well, we shall see... 

On 10/22/2021 at 8:34 PM, PaxCordisJesu said:

Is she from the Dominican Sisters of Mary Mother of the Eucharist by any chance? her habit appears identical

She was postulant #2 from the very first group ever at the DSMME.  She has been formed and taught well, now she's going off to build another holy community... 

 

Most Dominican habits are identical because, well, they all use the same pattern, but yes, it's her old habit... :D  

On 10/23/2021 at 7:08 PM, underatree said:

I’m curious as to how their life differs from that of Ann Arbor or Nashville. Any insight, DS?

There are slight differences, but most of it is pretty much the same as Ann Arbor.  

13 hours ago, Yvonne said:

Do they have an age limit? Does anyone know??

Probably the mid-30's.  But exceptions can be made.  

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dominicansoul
On 10/23/2021 at 7:08 PM, underatree said:

I’m curious as to how their life differs from that of Ann Arbor or Nashville. Any insight, DS?

I also want to add that Bismarck is much colder than Ann Arbor.  So, there's that :topsy:

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Why does somebody  feel the need to found a new community which is nearly  exactly the same as the original one. Is it so they can be in charge. Genuinely puzzled as to why. Even the  same habit. Its cheeky I think.

Edited by GraceUk
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dominicansoul

She felt called, there was a need, so she went.  Cheeky or not, if its from God, it will prevail.  I don't necessarily think new foundations need to be radically different from previous communities.   If the model works, replicate it. 

It's going to eventually be the Saint Mary Dominican Sisters when it gets to the right stage, so... a Dominican habit is what she needs to be wearing.  Dominican habits are the same.  Nashville and Ann Arbor are the same exact habits except for the veil and the necklace.  So... not too puzzling in my opinion...

Sisters of Life have the same exact habit pattern as well except for the obvious color differences... 

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dominicansoul

In my humble opinion, how blessed we would be if several of these convents popped up everywhere!  Please, put one in my backyard, Lord!  :smile3:  I would love praying there with Sisters! 

Even if a Sister "wanted to be in control" like you hypothesize, God can still use her for His wondrous deeds.  None of us are perfect, but yet, He still uses us to fulfill His will... Godspeed to this community I hope and pray for it's perseverance!  

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Most new communities do not survive, of course. CARA research demonstrates this pretty convincingly, as does history. 

To seek funding for a huge (200-person) "motherhouse" before something even has canonical status is pretty unrealistic, I think. I can't think of any congregations which did that, historically. I'd be cautious. 

There clearly doesn't seem to be a new charism here, which at least traditionally was the most legitimate reason for a new community. I realize that many communities are founded for purely instrumental reasons, but is this necessary? Is there a Catholic population in Bismarck that can sustain such a group? Why not just send sisters there from an extant congregation?

A very many unanswered questions. 

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 Well there may or may not be  enough Catholics there. Better to start small, then work your way up. Also, look up the Diocese of Bismark. There is also another new community there, the Servants of the Children of Light, and yes that's the name and yes it is a woman's group. You will see if you Google it the Bishop's declaration about it. I'm not starting any community, but if I did,  the name might be Handmaids of Jesus Our Shepherd, Good Shepherd being  the parish i belong to. Odd name to me.Also, there is an order from India of men and women , the Brothers and Sisters of Christian Science.You can Google that one too.

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Sponsa-Christi

I basically agree with some of the concerns about a brand-new community, especially a brand-new community that is doing this kind of ambitious fundraising.

But, even while I believe in being cautious, sometimes the Lord really is calling someone to start a new community. The Dakotas are an area of the country with their own unique cultural needs. So, for example, I can see where there may be a real call for a Dominican teaching congregation with a particular charism for serving Catholics in a way uniquely suited for a distinctively rural life. 

If this is the case, though, I wish they would talk about this on the website! I'm curious to know about the story of their founding inspiration, what makes them different from other Dominican communities, how many members they actual have (and maybe what their stories are), etc. But most of what's on the present website is just generic information about religious life in general. 

Also, @dominicansoul, can you PM me? I actually have one very specific question about this community from a canon lawyer's perspective. 

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3 hours ago, GraceUk said:

Why does somebody  feel the need to found a new community which is nearly  exactly the same as the original one. Is it so they can be in charge. Genuinely puzzled as to why. Even the  same habit. Its cheeky I think.

Probably for one of the same reason that the Ann Arbor Dominicans got their start. A community gets soooo big that the question must be asked, "Is God desiring another community?"

I understand that this is a foundation of Ann Arbor, so it's a natural development.

Edited by JHFamily
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1 hour ago, JHFamily said:

Probably for one of the same reason that the Ann Arbor Dominicans got their start. A community gets soooo big that the question must be asked, "Is God desiring another community?"

I understand that this is a foundation of Ann Arbor, so it's a natural development.

But Nashville wasn't that big--it's still only around 250. I do think in this case, Mother Assumpta had difficulty going back "into the ranks," as it were. 

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