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July 13, 2021, Adrian, Michigan – The Adrian Dominican Congregation celebrated the lives and faithful dedication of 44 Jubilarians – one Sister marking 80 years; 12 marking 75 years; 14 celebrating their Double-Diamond (70-year) Jubilee; 17 celebrating their Diamond (60-year) Jubilee; and one Sister marking her Silver (25-year) Jubilee. Together, the Jubilarians represent 3,005 years of religious life, dedicated to God, the Church, and the Adrian Dominican Congregation.
The Congregation’s formal celebration – scaled down from previous years because of the COVID-19 pandemic – involved a Memorial Mass for seven deceased Diamond Jubilarians on June 25, 2021, and the formal Jubilee Mass for the living Diamond and Silver Jubilarians on June 26, 2021.
As a sign that the Motherhouse Campus is gradually reopening, seven Jubilarians who live at the Motherhouse or in surrounding Lenawee County attended the two Masses in person. They were Sisters Rosemary (Maura Catherine) Abramovich, OP, Virginia (John Thoma) Corley, OP, Tarianne (Virginia Anne) DeYonker, OP, Carmen Joseph Dominguez, OP, Mary (Mary Ardice) Keefe, OP, and Gloria (Jonathan) Korhonen, OP, all Diamond Jubilarians, and Sister Aneesah McNamee, OP, a Silver Jubilarian.
The Sisters celebrating their 80, 75, and 70 years of religious life were honored separately by their Mission Chapters. View the complete list of the 2021 Jubilarians.
In a moving ritual during the Memorial Mass, individual Jubilarians placed a flower in a vase in front of the altar as each deceased Diamond Jubilarian’s name was proclaimed: Mary Elizabeth (Marie Jonathan) Beres, OP, Carol Ann (Mary Teresina) Dulka, OP, Michele Kopp, OP, Mary Ann Luby, OP, Theresa (Victor Mary) McCall, OP, Ann (M. Catherine) Schafer, OP, and Mary Eileen (Eileen Paul) Sullivan, OP.
During the Memorial Mass, Sisters Mary Keefe, OP, and Tarianne DeYonker, OP, reflected on the opening prayer of the Congregation’s Rite of Committal: “We bring our Sister to this holy place, this sacred ground to join with those in the communion of our Adrian Dominican Saints who have gone before us. This is a place of peace and rest, of memory, inspiration, and gratitude for all of those who have gone before us and who now lie in these circles of discipleship and friendship.”
“Reflecting on the end point of our lives can give us a healthy perspective on our life choices at difficult times and remind us of our need for one another,” Sister Mary said. “We are truly companions, called to support one another in good times and in bad times. Inspired by our Sisters who have gone before us, may we also be witnesses to the spirit of Dominic and Catherine [of Siena].”
Watch the Memorial Liturgy.
The Jubilee Liturgy on June 26 exuded a spirit of joy and celebration. Father James Hug, SJ, traced Jubilee to the Hebrew Scriptures, Leviticus 25:8-22. “Loving God, you established the original Jubilee, the Sabbath of Sabbath years, to remind us that all creation comes freely from your hand as your gift of love to your people,” he said. “Today we celebrate your love to these Jubilarians, grateful that you called them to your service.”
Prioress Patricia Siemen, OP, addresses Jubilarians near and far as she reflects on the readings for the Jubilee Mass.
Prioress Patricia Siemen, OP, addressed the Jubilarians, noting the joy of Sisters, Associates, and friends in joining them virtually in the celebration of their Jubilee. “Each of you have blessed and been blessed by so many people and places with your individual and communal ‘yes’ over these many years,” she said. “You have poured out your loving presence among the youth, those who are sick, and those who are in need of an education … You have served in foreign lands, rural areas, and inner cities, preaching a word of welcome and healing to those who experience broken relationships.”
Sister Gloria represented all of the Jubilarians – those in the chapel and those watching via live stream – in renewing her vows to Sister Patricia.
Watch the Jubilee Mass. Scroll down to the bottom of the page, where you’ll see the video on the right.
The Jubilee celebration was coordinated by the Jubilee Committee: Sister Marie Joy Finfera, OP, Chair; Sister Virginia Corley, OP; and Co-workers Krystal Baker, Jan Bourg, Jeanette Desgrange, Ashley Duke, Susan Kremski, and Jill Maria Murdy.
May 20, 2021, Adrian, Michigan – St. Dominic, Dominican saints, numerous Dominican Sisters, and everyday people preach the Word of God in a variety of ways – not only from the pulpit. All Christians, in fact, are called to preach the love of God with their lives.
That was the message that Sister Joan Delaplane, OP, brought in her presentation, “The Spirituality of the Preacher.” Her live streamed presentation on May 13, 2021, was part of a series of monthly talks coordinated by the Spirituality Committee of the Adrian Dominican Sisters.
“The Spirit has given specific charisms or gifts to certain people so their spirituality will have a focus,” said Sister Joan, a spiritual director, retreat director, and former Professor of Homiletics at Aquinas Institute of Theology in St. Louis, Missouri. She gave the examples of Franciscans, who focus on poverty and simplicity, and the Sisters of Mercy, whose lives revolve around the Corporal and Spiritual Acts of Mercy. “We Dominicans – or Order of Preachers – remind the baptized that all are called to share the good news of God’s saving love for each of us,” she said.
While many equate preaching with the message of priests or ministers at the pulpit, Sister Joan emphasized preaching in a broader sense. St. Dominic spent one night on a bar stool preaching God’s love to a bartender. Preaching can also be through teaching or art and, in the case of Sister Joan’s sister, Adrian Dominican Sister Marya Delaplane, OP, through years of illness and suffering. But, Sister Joan emphasized, preaching can also take place in very simple ways. She recalled a maintenance man at St. Louis University who, when asked how he was, typically responded, “Ah, blessed!”
Sister Joan noted that in their lives of preaching, Dominicans are grounded in prayer, study, and community, which, together with preaching or ministry, make up the four pillars of Dominican life. “We have seen one another give witness to our Co-workers, our local community, our family and friends [through] our desire to pray, to live simply,” she said. “All is a holy preaching.” She encouraged her listeners to “go in peace and preach the Word with your lips and your life.”
Watch the entire presentation below.