ORIGINALLY POSTED 15 May 2014
You helped the chaplain and the soldiers in Afghanistan with socks.
Now, help some nuns… the other warriors.
You know them, I’m sure: the Dominican Sisters in Summit, NJ. These are the legendary “soap sisters” of Seignadou Soaps. (Great gifts, btw.)
They sent a PDF of a booklet for their campaign HERE.
I received this note, which I bring to your kind attention.
Dear Fr. Zuhlsdorf,
Pax Christi!
Thanks for all the hard work and balanced reflection you share on your blog. I don’t know how you do it but I’m glad you do!Could you do something for us, the nuns OFF the bus?
We have launched a capital campaign to build a much needed new wing onto our monastery. Our monastery looks big but it’s because it is nearly all chapel! Our chapel is nearly the size of our local Catholic Church! We are running out of cell space in the professed dorm and need to take back the cells used for work and sewing rooms. Any “extra” space that would be standard in a monastery was sacrificed in order to make building our monastery possible after the Great Depression and we never really finished it. For years we’ve been making do but as time goes on the needs have changed and we are getting quite cramped!
Most of the new wing will be extern use: guest rooms, gift shop, guest dining room, etc. The bottom floor will be much needed work space for us. By building the new wing we’ll also be able to make our chapel handicap accessible. We know some people who make their Adoration sitting in the car in front of the open doors of the chapel. Sort of drive-through adoration, I guess! But they can’t get up the stairs so that’s the best they can do.
I’ve attached our campaign booklet for you to see. [HERE]
We have never had what you might call “big benefactors”. Our monastery was built with the dimes of many, many friends who bought a brick and so “brick by brick” [good phrase] our monastery was built. We need to raise $4 million for our new addition, driveway configuration and renovation of the existing parlor, reception office and guest bathroom and hallway to the chapel. It’s a lot, we know, but this is Summit, NJ and EVERYTHING costs so much more here than in other parts of the country.
Just on the practical level this is truly needed and has been for a long time. Spiritually we believe that in the light of our Dominican charism the best way we cloistered nuns can participate in the New Evangelization (which isn’t really new, Dominicans have been at it for 800 years) is simply to offer what we have come to the monastery for: our life of prayer and union with God for the preaching of the Gospel and the salvation of souls. All day long people frequent our chapel and more and more people ask to come for retreat, especially priests and religious who have few places they can go that don’t offer weird, new agey stuff. Our guest room is in constant demand. We receive a lot of young women discerning their vocation. In fact, we have 3 voted on for postulancy. They are being delayed by school debt. We have quite a few making an aspirancy (live-in) and several finishing college before they can apply to enter.
Thank you for whatever you can do to help us. Please be assured of our prayers and pray for us! [Please, do. I will for you.]
In Christ and His Holy Mother,
Sr. Mary Catharine (for Sr. Mary Martin our prioress and all the Sisters)
Help the Sisters?
