One of the first things two Dominican sisters asked Catholic school students on a recent visit to Allentown was how many of them had never seen a religious sister before.
Quite a few hands were raised.
It’s one reason Sister Mara Grace and Sister Jacinta, of the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia in Nashville, Tenn. drove to the Diocese of Allentown recently – to help students understand what it means to be a religious sister, devoting your life to prayer and to God.
“Why do you wear that thing over your head?” asked one youngster at St. Thomas More School, giving the sisters an opening to explain their garb – ankle-length white habits, long black veils,and large rosaries hanging from their sides.
The presentations to 500 Catholic school students from St. Thomas More, St. Elizabeth Regional (Whitehall), and St. John Vianney regional schools, were just one part of a multi-day visit in which the sisters met with people of all walks of life to explain their vocation, and to share fellowship and prayer. They were invited to visit by Bishop Alfred Schlert.
In their school presentations, the sisters were prayerful and funny. They talked about their own lives growing up, and a bit about what inspired them to become religious sisters. And they talked about being prepared for when God calls, whether it’s a vocation to the religious life, a vocation to the Priesthood, or a vocation to marriage and parenthood.
“Their order has been around for 800 years,” said Katie Albright, the Diocese’s Director of Catechesis, who helped arrange the visit.
“When we as lay people spend time around women who have made this radical, beautiful choice to devote their entire lives to God, we leave the encounter with profound insights into our own call to holiness."
The sisters also visited with college students, directors of religious education, priests and educators during their time in the Diocese. For more about the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia, go to www.nashvilledominican.org.
By Paul Wirth
Photos by Vargas Photography
