In His Love - Hawthorne Dominicans. M. Michaela with her parents and brother-in-law Homer in the pictures top; to right Fr. Augustine Puchner, O.Praem., SMM, MMF, Fr. Gregory Dick,

In His Love A Publication of the Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne Fall 2017

This year, on our annual renewal and profession of vows on September 14th we were blessed to have

Sr. Maria Kolbe and Sr. Diana Marie renewing vows and Sister Mary Michaela making her final profession.

The mass for the renewal of vows was celebrated by Fr. Paul Burke, who is our chaplain at Our Lady of

Perpetual Help Home. The main celebrant for the mass of Sr. Michaela’s final vows was Fr. Augustine

Puchner, O. Praem, with Fr. Gregory Dick, O.Praem. was the homilist. Sr. Michaela had a strong connection

with the Norbertine community in California before she entered our community.

In the midst of the devastations caused by hurricane Irma, Sr. Mary Michaela made her final Profession

of Vows on the Solemnity of the Triumph of the Holy Cross. This is a great reminder for all of us that in the

midst of chaos, confusion and devastation, God is always there. He is there protecting us, caring for us…

loving us. Sr. Mary Michaela’s “fiat” is her response to this great and awesome God who has called her to be

for Himself. Her silent trust, surrender, and humility speaks volumes in a noisy world where God’s voice,

calling is not always heard. The day of her profession was filled with much joy attended by many friends and

families. Here is Sr. Mary Michaela’s reflection on that day.

“It will be our aim to forget ourselves and our finite life of work in the Lord….so that you and I may find that our life is

radiantly beautiful, in not being ours, but the life of Him we desire to be, at whatever cost of our will and ease. We must try to be

brave in order to be made brave, for our ambition is to die daily for Christ, and it is so hard to have a wakeful energy to know

how to die.” (Quote used by Fr. Gabriel O’Donnell of Rose Hawthorne—she is describing her vocation to one

of her companions just before taking the step of becoming a religious sister).

I found the above quote when I was a Postulant and I cut and pasted it in my journal. Since then once

in a while, especially when I need to remind myself of the “big picture,” I would peek and read it again

allowing me to focus and also providing me with a sense of closeness to my spiritual mother, Rose Hawthorne

Lathrop, and of belonging to our

Community. As time went by as a

religious sister, its meaning became

important to me each day, for dying to

self is the way to live this new life of

mine, a life with Jesus Christ in peace.

To live a fruitful life one must die,

putting away the old and putting on the

new self, doing God’s will and not mine.

As St. Paul reminds us “to live is Christ

and death is gain!”

Today as I processed down the aisle, looking straight

ahead hangs our Crucified Christ. And His Real Presence in the

tabernacle awaits me. I could not help but smile as His words

echo when I first heard Him call me: “I will sprinkle clean water

upon you to cleanse you from all your impurities, and from your

idols I will cleanse you. I will give you a new heart and place a

new spirit within you, taking from your bodies your stony heart

and giving you natural hearts. I will put my spirit within you and

make you live by my statutes, careful to observe my decrees.” (Ez.

36: 25-27). O, happy fault, you heard my cry and you saved me!

Now the time has finally come to give myself fully to our Lord,

Jesus Christ until death. Our life is a gift from God and what we

do with our life is our gift back to Him. What an honor to be

chosen, called to be His own, consecrated to bring Him souls, and

Him to souls, by serving the cancerous poor and those we

encounter each day. What an awesome God! A loving and

merciful God! Prostrating on the cold floor is a sign of total

surrender to Almighty God, not my will but your will. The joy

and victory of this beautiful day radiate God’s infinite love and

mercy to all of us who welcome Him with open arms like a little

child. As I knelt down to receive Him during Holy Communion,

I was humbled hearing Him say, “This is a start of a new

beginning, come my little one!” May my new life in Christ be an offering, a holocaust, a sacrifice, for the sake

of joy. I thank you dear Lord with all my heart for none of these I deserve and I could not have done any of

these without your grace. May the blessing and joy

You bestowed on me this day be the smile I bring to

win souls for You. Praised be Jesus Christ! Now and

forevermore. Amen.”

Sr. M. Michaela with her parents and brother-in-law Homer in

the pictures top; to right Fr. Augustine Puchner, O.Praem.,

SMM, MMF, Fr. Gregory Dick, O.Pream. and his sister, Sr.

Regina Francis; above procession at the Mass of her

profession, bottom left Sister with her family and bottom right

with her parents.

Sr. Diana Marie renewal of

vows to right; Sr. Maria

Kolbe, Sr. M. Michaela & Sr.

Diana Marie in center; Sr.

Maria Kolbe renewing vows

in bottom left; Sr. M.

Michaela & Mother M.

Francis at the reception

bottom right.

We would like to share with our readers a

conversion story from a few years ago. The patient’s name

was Bob Jasuale. He came to us, as you will read, a very

broken man, but he was so open to God’s grace, that the

Sisters remember him as an example of how much God can

work in our souls if we but let Him. The following are

excerpts from the homily at his funeral Mass, given by Fr.

Jacob Restrick, OP, who was quite an important person in

his conversion story. In this homily he reads excerpts from

some essays Bob wrote about his conversion. I have put

Bob’s words in italics.

….”The readings which we just listened to were all

chosen by Bob. ...He had come to believe in good orderly

direction (G.O.D.) and made as many preparations for this time as he could.

Bob came to love the Word of God, and I know he spent hours each day in prayer and

meditation; and when reading from his little pile of books, he would highlight sentences to meditate

on. He identified with these words from the Book of Wisdom: Chastised a little they shall be

greatly blessed, because God tried them and found them worthy of Himself.

I don’t know if most of you know that Bob was also a marvelous writer and could write page

after page—I think it was part of his way of meditating. He wrote a very beautiful account of his

spiritual awakening and journey both in the fellowship of AA and in the fellowship of Rosary Hill,

and the fellowship of the Church...I would like to share excerpts of an essay he wrote, entitled The

Holy Mountain.

I had eyes, but I could not see; I had ears, that heard little and understood none; I had a mouth that

spoke most often. The sense of touch was long gone for I had lost that blessed gift of being able to receive hugs.

I was among the living, but I was dead. He writes that he would pray to be removed from his living

Hell. Then to my prayers came the answer. It was called cancer. July 6, 2010, 11:00 am I arrived in an

ambulance still drunk from the previous day at this place called Rosary Hill. Little did I know this would be my

Holy Mountain...I was met by a nurse, except her dress was unlike that of any in my prior experience. She and

others like her had long white habits and black veils and were angelic in their manner. It didn’t take me long to

realize they were nuns, yet they were so unlike the nuns I was told about in my youth by my friends of Catholic

faith. Faith, what did I know about faith? What did I know about anything?...Time passed and I physically

started to get better, but inside I was still sick. An empty hole I knew all too well was still screaming inside of

me. I started to go to chapel; half-heartedly attending a Sunday Mass that was unfamiliar to me. Then an

awakening, a calling, a gift from God came to me...I knew not what was in store, but I came to believe that

maybe my life was worth living. Even when I didn't believe this to be true, I knew there were my two children,

parents and many others that thought this was true. So it began a road to the unknown. Unlike my past

attempts to change my life, this one was not out of fear or desperation. This was for love,, love like I have never

known before. Oh, I loved my children as much as I was capable of, and like a son loves one’s parents, spouse,

siblings and friends, I tried. Oh, how I tried but I was unable to because I was empty inside. How I longed for

answers... The road was not one, but three leading to One Love, One Truth; One Infinite beyond any part of

my imagination. The Mystery: one God the Father, the Son Jesus, and the breath of the Holy Spirit.

Bob was received into the Catholic Church on January 16th 2011...Of all the attributes one could call

on to describe Bob, I think love is the best. He was all love. He came to love Rosary Hill; he loved

his roommates, even the most difficult…, he loved being the caller for Pokeno, he loved his

garden…, he loved his AA groups and all those who helped to keep him sober; he became a hugger

with volunteers, the other patients, their visitors, the chaplain! He never lost his sense of humor or

ability to tease, even in the last weeks when the pain was relentless and his physical appearance

changed so dramatically...And he loved his family in a new way, which was another fight of

sobriety...And now I can feel, I can feel the pain and hurt and overcome the uncomfortable moments that are

part of life. But, so much more I can feel joy and love. The love from those that tried to love the unlovable me;

and I the unlovable can love back. I can love those that are so precious to me today. Those two precious

children that God blessed me with and two parents that cried themselves to sleep I love today, and after all,

God is Love.”

Above is Bob at his baptism and then at

his first communion & confirmation. To

the right is Bob with his parents & Sr. M.

Florence. This picture was taken when

his illness was nearing its end. Regarding

Bob’s conversion, his parents used to say,

“You have given us back our son.”

“Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; for His love endures forever.” (1 Chronicles 16:34)

This is one of my favorite Scripture verses, and still is. It was Love that brought me to the

religious life, and it is Love that keeps me here. My vocation story is quite simple, in fact, too

simple with no major conversion, no big fanfare. When God called me, He knew that He needed

to be simple and direct, and that He was!

I was born and raised in the Philippines surrounded by my parents, siblings and extended

family. Growing up, we did not have much, but I never knew it, never felt it. I was happy and

never knew hunger. My parents provided for us, protected us, and loved us the best they knew

how. I believe it was my parents loving example and generosity that laid the foundations to my

vocation and my grandmother’s simple faith that nurtured the seed.

My family and I moved to the United States when I was a child. It was like the Holy

Family’s ’flight from Egypt’, fleeing for safety. When I was thirteen years old, I felt the call to the

religious life. I inquired about it but really was too young for anything to materialize, yet I was

open to whatever God was asking of me. I went on with my life, dated, finished my studies,

graduated from nursing school and worked at a hospital as a registered nurse. Somehow, it was

made clear to me that my childhood dream of getting married and raising a family was not meant

to be. I felt hunger, a longing for more. The call to the religious life became more evident and

stronger especially after college. I prayed about it and visited religious communities. My last visit

the Hawthorne Dominicans was during their vocation week in the year 2000. On the Feast of St.

Dominic, I said ’yes’ to God and three months later, I entered the community as a religious sister

on the feast of St. Catherine of Alexandria.

“And we know that all things work together for the good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His

purpose.” (Romans 8:28) Answering the call to the religious life was not easy. It requires trust, trust in

God’s great love for us. I believe the obstacles and doubts that

come across our paths are there to strengthen our faith and our

love for Him. I am forever grateful to my parents for their love

and support, for my dear father who suffered greatly for ’giving up’

another one of his daughters.* He now sees God face to face and

understands all things!

“My grace is sufficient for you…” (2 Corinthians 12:9 ) Looking back, it

was God’s grace, God’s mercy, God’s great love for me that He

called me to the religious life. The hunger and the longing I had

felt was for God: a hunger and longing that only He can satisfy!

* Sister Alma Maria, one of our sisters, is also a blood sister to Sister M. Josepha

SISTER MARY JOSEPHA BORJA, OP

Our Vocation story this issue

As a novice to left and

as a postulant above

Sister Josepha has always loved birds,

often keeping parakeets or other

birds as pets for the patients; this bird

is owned by a volunteer at Rosary

Hill Home

Sr. Mae, Sr. M. Margaret, Sr. Alma Marie and

Sr. M. Josepha

Decorating for Christmas at Our Lady of

Perpetual Home, where she is currently

assigned as Director of Nursing

Above is Sr. Miriam with one of our

patients, Krystyna, who is from Poland.

Top right Sr. Rosemary helping a patient

feed the horse from the mounted police;

to right Auxiliary Bishop John J. McIntyre

visited Sacred Heart Home in July; next is

Sr. Marie Edward and Sr. Diana Marie

during May procession this year. Bottom

left Sr. Mae and Sr. M. Anthony; Bottom

right is Fr. Paul Burke, Sr. M. Kevin, Sr.

M. Patricia, Evelyn DiMaio, and Sr. Anne

Marie at the reception on September

14th.

Little Pearls

Throughout our busy days, our Lord always surprises us with “Little Pearls”, that is, little moments or occurrences that makes us break into laughter, lighten our load and/or inspire us. These “Little

Pearls” help us to lift our hearts and minds to God and keep us focused on the “Pearl of Great Price”

we hear of from the Gospels. We would like to share some of these pearls with you!

Our Blessed Mother to the Rescue Mrs. G. was having a difficult day. She had not been feeling well and was very anxious, so much so that she burst out crying and there was nothing we could say to console her. The Priest stopped by to see her and prayed with her asking God to calm her anxieties and grant her peace. After Father had left the room, Mrs. G. prayed to the Blessed Mother to obtain for her the comfort she so desperately needed. Just a few seconds after she had finished praying, the volunteer that goes around with the afternoon refreshment cart came into the room and said to Mrs. G., “I have something for you.” Mrs. G. thought she was referring to a snack and she replied, “No, thank you. I’m not in the mood for anything.” The volunteer explained that someone (she did not know who they were) had given her a package for Mrs G. When she opened the package she found a beautiful little statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary. She was very surprised and overjoyed that the Blessed Mother had listened to her prayer. Just a couple of seconds later, Mrs. G. was overwhelmed with a sense of peace and comfort which lasted all day. She later related “The Blessed Mother did it for me!”

Fish or Chicken? Mrs. L. was not a very good eater, but she did like to eat chicken (sometimes). She was just waking up from her morning nap when it was time for lunch. Still half asleep, she proceeded to eat. That day we were having Chicken Marsala for lunch. Once she had finish eating she exclaimed: “That was the best FISH!!” So, the best fish she ever had turned out to be chicken!

A Most Beautiful Thing The Corpus Christi Procession is one of the Sisters’ favorite traditions. We process with the Blessed Sacrament while the priest blesses all the rooms and each one of the patients. Mr. D. likes to talk about almost anything and everything and it is common to hear him talking or repeating a word or phrase that he might be fixed on. It is not an easy task to change the topic or have him stop for a few minutes. During the Corpus Christi Procession, Mr. D. was talking as usual, but when the priest came in with the Blessed Sacrament and gave him a blessing, he stopped and exclaimed: “It’s so beautiful and I can die happy now!”

A Very Special Blessing It is one of our traditions to bless our patients with holy water, (with their consent), before we leave for the night. After giving Mrs. H. her night blessing, the Sister was still doing a few things in the room. Mrs. H. signaled her with her finger to come. Once the Sister was standing next to her, Mrs. H. whispered: “You blessed me, but who blessed you? I will bless you”. Then, Mrs. H. proceeded to make the Sign of the Cross on the Sister’s forehead while saying: “In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit”.

The Missing Grinch Almost ten years ago we had a mystery

during Christmas time at Rosary Hill Home. One

of the Sisters was decorating the men’s floor for

Christmas and had received a stuffed animal of

the Grinch as a present from another Sister. He

was dressed in a Santa suit just like he was in the

famous Dr. Seuss story where he tried to steal

Christmas. Well, a couple days after he had been

set in the hallway, the Sister noticed he was

missing. The Grinch that tried to steal Christmas

had been stolen! So, she inquired among the

sisters and the staff and found out that a patient

had it in his room. Now, this patient, Mr. B, had a

reputation for a fiery temper. They knew if they

came to him about it he would be upset.

Recently Mr. B. had lost his teddy bear which he

used for propping up one of his legs on the bed.

He decided the Grinch stuffed animal would

suffice, so he had taken it, and there it was under

his foot! So, after much discussion amongst the

staff, Sister placed a sign where the Grinch had

been that read ‘RETURN GRINCH, NO QUESTIONS

ASKED’ and placed a new stuffed teddy bear by

the sign. The next day the Grinch reappeared!

But what made the incident so memorable was

that security cameras had recently been installed,

and Andy, the maintenance director, had seen the

whole transaction on camera. (The cameras were

not installed because the Grinch was stolen, by

the way). Andy played the video for a few of the

Sisters to see. As they watched Mr. B., they could

not help but laugh with glee at the scene. They

saw Mr. B. come down the hall with his walker,

see the sign, and practically tip toe his way back

to his room, as much as this can be done with a

walker. He then peered cautiously around the

corners as he came out of his room to make sure

no one was in sight, and with Grinch in hand, he

quickly swapped out the Grinch for the teddy

bear. When the sister went into his room later,

she, nor the staff, said a single word about it. The

Grinch had been returned and the patient was

happy with his teddy bear under his foot.

The Visit

Mrs. S. was very anxious about dying and this

caused her a lot of anxiety most of the time. One

morning as Sister went to check on her, Sister

found Mrs. S. awake and smiling. Mrs. S.

immediately told Sister that a young and

beautiful Jewish lady came to the bottom of her

bed last night and introduced her to her Son. She

told her there was no need to be afraid. Mrs. S.

said that now she felt very peaceful and was told

by the Lady to ask for a statue of the Sorrowful

Mother. This may not seem surprising until you

know that Mrs. S. was Jewish, so she wouldn’t

have known of that devotion. Sister immediately

brought a statue of the Pieta to Mrs. S.’s room.

Mrs. S. remained peaceful for the remaining

weeks before she died.

A Come to Jesus Moment One day as Dr. Leicht was making his rounds at

Sacred Heart Home, he introduced himself to one

of the patients. ’Mary,’ seemed like she was

about to say, ‘come to the light,’ (since that is

how doctor’s name is pronounced), but suddenly

she changed her manner, grabbed the doctor’s

hand and began to sing, in a gospel tune “Come

to Jesus, Dr. Leicht!” She made up about three

verses before she stopped and let his hand go.

Then she assumed a very dignified air and

straightened her gown to signal she was finished.

On October 7th, the feast

of the Holy Rosary, we had

the blessing of two

postulants enter our

community to begin their

novitiate. Fr. Jacob Restrick,

OP was present to perform

the entrance ceremony at

vespers. The postulants

receive a blessed medal of

St. Dominic. We ask your

prayers for their

perseverance during this

time of initial formation.

Above are Mary Busse and Gabriela Gareis our new postulants; below is Gabriela with her

family.

To the right is Fr. Jacob, below is the

new postulant Mary, Sr. Marie Edward

and Mother Mary Francis with the

medals; bottom are the postulants

receiving the medals from Sr. Marie

Edward

Our Lady of

the

Rosary Pray for

us!

THE DOMINICAN SISTERS OF HAWTHORNE

SERVANTS OF RELIEF FOR INCURABLE CANCER

600 LINDA AVENUE

HAWTHORNE, NEW YORK 10532-1362

ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

Rose Hawthorne

(Mother Mary Alphonsa, O.P.)

Motherhouse:

Rosary Hill Home

DOMINICAN SISTERS OF HAWTHORNE

Direct Inquiries to: Sr. Alma Marie, O.P., Vocation Director

Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne 600 Linda Avenue, Hawthorne, New York 10532

(845) 745-1319 E-Mail: [email protected]

NAME ______________________________

ADDRESS ___________________________

CITY _______________________________

STATE _________ ZIP ________________

Please add the above name to The Rose

Hawthorne Guild.

Please add the above name to your

mailing list to receive IN HIS LOVE.

Dear Sister Alma Marie:

I would like to speak with you about

visiting your community.

My number: ( ) ______-________

Please send me additional

information about your

community.

Please send me your Vocation Video

on a CD. (The video is also on our

web site.)

JOIN THE CAUSE

There is a lot happening with

the Cause of Rose Hawthorne

(Mother Mary Alphonsa). If

you’re interested in learning

more, join the Rose

Hawthorne Guild. There is no

cost to become a member. We

are happy to have your

interest. All we ask is that you

spread the word about Rose

Hawthorne and share with us

any favors you know of that

are received through her

intercession.