Devotions in the
Lives of Sinsinawa Dominicans
My dad had a special devotion of saying the rosary. In his later years he said the rosary several times a day. Whenever our family was on a trip longer than a half hour, we said the rosary. My dad drove and led the rosary. My mom was in the front seat with him, and she held up the rosary at the end of each decade. To this day, I say the rosary as I drive.
Sister Laura Goedken, OP (Bernal), Davenport, IA
The devotion I feel closest to and find meaningful is the Novena to the Little Flower, St. Theresa. I have always had a great love for her since I read her life story as a child and took her name for confirmation. My mother also had great devotion to her.
Sister Mariann Franzgrote, OP (Nadine), Richfield, MN
As a child I was taken to the stations of the cross, not understanding what it was all about. As I got older, I began to understand what it meant—what Jesus did for us. The priest usually led the stations in church. The churches used to be full. We would go on Sunday night or Wednesday night, and always during Lent.
Sister Catherine Houtakker, OP (Catherine Genoa), Sinsinawa, WI
My favorite way of praying began during my sabbatical year (1990) when my brother, Warren, and I participated in Christian meditation conferences in Canada, England, and Ireland. He was pastor of St. Marcelline Church in Schaumburg, IL, and searching for a way to help parishioners develop private prayer, and I was on the same quest for myself. The method developed by Father John Main, an Irish Benedictine, was taught and prayed during these conferences. We meditated for a half hour, interiorly reciting a mantra, “Ma-ra-na-tha” (“Come, Lord”), continuously.
Since then, I have meditated for one-half hour each morning and each evening but have chosen a variety of mantras. I thoughtfully read the Gospel and first reading of each day’s liturgy, and try to formulate a mantra related to them. I also have some favorite “standbys” such as antiphons from the daily office: “Create in me a clean heart, O God. Revive my spirit and make it strong.” This approach has made my daily meditation fresh, and I find the repetition more possible than with a one-word mantra.
Sister Marian McCarthy, OP (Marie Julia), Schaumburg, IL
My favorite devotion has always been the rosary. I learned it as a child and was in the habit of saying it with my family and at school. When I entered the Sinsinawa Dominican Congregation, I realized that I had joined the Dominican Congregation of the Most Holy Rosary. Our custom has always been to pray the rosary in community every day. Our intentions have always been threefold: for our friends and benefactors, for world peace, and for those for whom we have promised to pray. It seems that these intentions include just about everything. I have always felt that, when I prayed the rosary in community, I was joining with all my Sinsinawa Sisters and including all our families, our various ministries, and all our individual needs.
We have other devotions which have been a tradition for us since our earliest days, including prayer for the protection of our houses and the prayer for the beatification of Father Mazzuchelli. We also sing the Salve (in honor of Blessed Mother) and the O Lumen (in honor of St. Dominic) at the conclusion of evening office each day. Another prayer that is a favorite of mine is the prayer for travelers, which is said whenever we start on a journey. The providence prayer has also been said daily in our communities for a long time. It has never failed us.
Sister Mary Catherine St. Martin, OP (Alberto), Sinsinawa, WI
I have a special devotion to my guardian angel. She has never failed me.
Sister Ellen Mary Cull, OP, Sinsinawa, WI
Devotion to Celtic prayer was awakened in me by Sister Mary Brian Durkin, OP (deceased), during a Saturday morning of reflection given for the Sisters at the Mound about 10 years ago. At the end of her reflection, she gave each of us a small booklet in which were some of her favorite Celtic prayers. Since then, a number of those are part of my nightly prayers.
Sister Emily Herrington, OP (Anacletus), Sinsinawa, WI
My mother had a great devotion to the Holy Spirit. I remember hearing her tell a friend on the phone, after my father died at 48 years old and she had eight children to raise, that she turns to the Holy Spirit for help. I was 8 years old and my sister Peggy [Sister Margaret Ann Brennan, OP (Eunice)] was 3 years old.
Sister Jean Brennan, OP (Jerome Aemilian), Sinsinawa, WI
My sister-in-law, who lives in Brasilia, Brazil, introduced me to this Madonna: Our Lady of Aparecida. She is a real great lady.
Sister Tere Auad, OP (Juana Maria), Stuart, FL
I have a special devotion to the prayer to Blessed Mother called the Memorare.
Sister Ellen Claire Miller, OP (Joseph Mary), Sinsinawa, WI