| A Gradual Call |
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| Senaida Rivera, OP Dominican Sisters of Tacoma, Washington |
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| When God calls a person to service as a religious sister or brother it doesn't necessarily happen the same way for everyone. My experience of call was gradual. After several years of active participation in Church ministry, I became aware of how I was happiest "working" for God. There was a Tacoma Dominican Sister, Sister Mary T. Buttimer, OP ministering in the parish where I was a member. While working and ministering with her, she became the channel through which I heard God's call to religious life and to the Tacoma Dominicans. Meeting and visiting with the Dominican Sisters of Tacoma left me with a great sense of belonging there. Becoming familiar with their history and important ministries strengthened my desire to be a part of something greater than myself. I must admit there were many conversations with God (okay, so a little "disputatio" was going on) about what I was being called to do. One particular day, I couldn't get the thought of answering this call to religious life out of my mind. I found it difficult to believe that God would be calling me, and that it must just have been one big misunderstanding! This occasion was pretty intense for me as I prayed and reflected. I remember at one point just throwing my arms up and accepting God's will for me. I chuckled to myself because had I known it was going to feel so right, I would have done so a lot sooner. It was a moment filled with joy, clarity, and a sense of rightness. I immediately wrote a letter asking to enter the Tacoma Dominicans Sisters, and after a process of mutual discernment, became a candidate, the first step in the process of becoming a sister. Three years later, on August 8, 2009, I professed Temporary Vows at St. Patrick Church in Tacoma, WA. As a woman religious, I live my Dominican life in the context of Church, the charism of Preaching grounded in the four pillars of prayer, study, community, and ministry. I travel on a journey of solidarity alongside my sisters in the work of preaching the Gospel, promoting peace and justice, and working for human rights. I experience the joy and freedom of living in community with women whose focus is God centered, who call one another to Truth, our Dominican motto, and who, as our Centennial song proclaims, are "Women Called to be Witness." www.tacomaop.org |
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Dominican Life | USA
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