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September 30, 2021, Adrian, Michigan – “Our life is a process of awakening. Each of us is precious to God. The wonderful thing that I have witnessed over years of spiritual direction is that God knows each of us intimately and will lead us in ways that we can follow.”

Sister Patricia Benson, OP

That was the introduction that Sister Patricia Benson, OP, made as she opened her September 23, 2021, spirituality talk, “Awakening Journey with God.” Her presentation was the latest in a series of live streamed talks sponsored by the Spirituality Committee of the Adrian Dominican Sisters.  

Throughout her talk, Sister Pat spoke of how God led her through various stages of her life. After each stage, she paused and posed a question, giving her audience a few minutes to reflect on their answer. “Please look at your relationship with God and Jesus and know that God will work within your personal circumstances and gifts – but sometimes in surprising and maybe challenging ways,” she said.

Sister Pat spoke of her young life and how her views of the world were shaped by those of her family and neighbors – and how her world “got bigger” when she attended Catholic school. Her teen years were marked by the “usual adolescent struggles,” but her view of God was growing, too. “I chose to enter religious life specifically to have time for God in my life,” she said.

She went on to speak of her formation years and the “breath of fresh air and a deeper freedom to think and explore” that came through Vatican II and the Adrian Dominican Congregation’s three-year Chapter of Renewal, which set the stage for sweeping changes in response to Vatican II.  

After her undergraduate study, Sister Pat said, she was invited to work towards a master’s degree in either mathematics or theology. “Although since high school I thought I would be a math and science teacher for the rest of my life, this provoked a serious discernment,” leading to her decision to study theology, she said. “Being introduced to the depth and breadth of the Christian tradition with its various schools of thought opened my mind to the reality of theology as faith seeking understanding.”
 
Sister Pat went on to discuss her developing understanding that humanity is “trashing Earth, God’s beautiful creation,” and that her American lifestyle made her complicit in this destruction. But she concluded with her deeper understanding of God’s forgiveness and unconditional love – and how our understanding of the universe has led to an expanded view of God. 

“The Infinite Mystery has had to include a loving, compassionate mystery,” Sister Pat said. “The God who created everything in the universe – perhaps multiverse – loves it and continues to hold it. Paul’s image of the Body of Christ has had to grow to include kinship with all of creation and cosmic dimensions.”   

Watch the recording of Sister Pat’s presentation below.

 

September 29, 2021, Adrian, Michigan – The General Council of the Adrian Dominican Sisters issued the following statement on the treatment by the President Joseph Biden Administration on Haitian refugees at the U.S.-Mexico border.

The Adrian Dominican Sisters join other religious leaders nationally in calling on the Biden Administration to immediately end deportation flights of Haitians seeking refuge at the U.S.-Mexico border. We are deeply distressed by images and reports of the inhumane treatment of Haitians at the border. 

In a letter sent to President Biden and his Administration, 177 faith-based organizations and 1,947 faith leaders representing diverse faith traditions write: 

Haitian asylum-seekers are not only pursuing what is their legal right. They are also challenging us all to live in full alignment with our religious and spiritual values, which implore us to welcome the stranger and not to turn our back on those in need. Late last month President Biden stated that, “human rights must be at the center of our foreign policy, not the periphery.” Yet the expulsion of Haitian immigrants from the U.S. southern border illustrates just the opposite. We must back up bold statements with actions.

We join in calling for an end to the deportation flights and use of Title 42 to justify those expulsions; a safe resumption of asylum processes; holding border agents accountable for abuses against Haitian migrants; and vigorous pursuit of Temporary Protected Status (TPS), Deferred Enforcement Departure (DED) and other remedies to protect Haitian migrants from harm as they seek refuge from environmental, political, and social strife.

The letter notes that “It does not go unnoticed that Black immigrants are often targets of the largest mass expulsions from the U.S. Mass migration from Haiti does not occur simply in response to natural disasters – it is closely tied to harmful, racist U.S. and Western foreign policies toward Haiti going back to 1804 when the country was founded by formerly enslaved people who fought for and won their freedom. We must address not only our treatment of Haitian migrants, but also our treatment of Haiti and the Haitian people, and begin to listen to their own solutions for their country’s needs.”

We Adrian Dominican Sisters further call on the United States Congress to enact comprehensive and long-overdue immigration reform, which is the only way to provide for rational and humane policies that serve the common good of all.

Members of the Adrian Dominican Sisters’ General Council are Sisters Patricia Siemen, OP, Prioress; Mary Margaret Pachucki, OP, Vicaress and General Councilor; Frances Nadolny, OP, Administrator and General Councilor; and Patricia Harvat, OP, and Elise D. García, OP, General Councilors.