Repent and Believe in the Gospel
Wednesday, March 8, 2017 – 1st Week of Lent
The second formula used during the distribution of ashes on Ash Wednesday is “Repent and believe in the Gospel.” This formula reminds us of our call to repentance. We read in today’s reading about Jonah, who was sent to Nineveh to preach repentance. He really didn’t want to go. Instead, he wanted the city of Nineveh and its persecutors be destroyed. Yet, God’s plan was that Jonah would preach to the Ninevites and they would repent.
In the Gospel reading today, Jesus emphasizes on how the Jews of his time have one greater than Jonah who preaches to them about repentance. We often want proof that we are on the right track, but Jesus reminds us that the only proof we get is when we repent, when we change our hearts and our lives. May we be open and willing to change our lives, change our hearts this Lent. May we “Repent and believe – and LIVE – the Gospel!”
National Catholic Sisters Week
NCSW is an annual celebration that takes place from
March 8–14. Created to honor women religious, it is a series of events that
instruct, enlighten, and bring greater focus to the lives of these incredible
women. It’s our chance to recognize all they have done for us. It’s also our hope
that as more young women learn about women religious, more will choose to
follow their example.
Who are Women Religious?
They serve God through a diversity of ministries. Some live
cloistered lives in contemplative prayer, while others work on the frontlines
of global change, striving to improve various aspects of society, from
environmental change to healthcare reform to human rights issues. All find ways
to make the world a better place. They may have had a positive impact in your
life through their work in your community, even if you didn’t know they were
women religious. We invite you to learn more and get to know the sisters near
you!
History.
It began in 2014 as part of National Women’s History Month. The
inaugural National Catholic Sisters Week was held March 8–14, with the
highlight being the NCSW Sister/Student conference drawing more than 50 pairs
of Catholic sisters and college students across the country to St. Catherine
University and engaging hundreds more online, shining a national spotlight on
Catholic sisters and raising awareness of their profound influence on young
women.
A highlight of the weekend was SisterStories, a storytelling event hosted by acclaimed broadcast
journalist Soledad O’Brien and produced by The Moth Radio Hour, the national
public radio show that won a Peabody Award in 2010.
“National Catholic Sisters Week was a sweeping success,” says
Co-executive Director Sister Mary Soher, OP. “Among the sisters there was such
a claiming of sisterhood. There really is this sense that we are all sisters
working in the mission of Christ. The college students who got involved were
delightful. They found such peer support among other young women who also have
this hunger to learn more about sisters.”
Happy International Women’s
Day
“Today is International Women's Day! March 8 is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and
political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for
accelerating gender parity.
International Women's Day (IWD) has been observed since in the
early 1900's - a time of great expansion and turbulence in the industrialized
world that saw booming population growth and the rise of radical ideologies.
International Women's Day is a collective day of global celebration and a call
for gender parity. No one government, NGO, charity, corporation, academic
institution, women's network or media hub is solely responsible for
International Women's Day. Many organizations declare an annual IWD theme that
supports their specific agenda or cause, and some of these are adopted more
widely with relevance than others.
"The story of women's struggle for equality belongs to no
single feminist nor to any one organization but to the collective efforts of
all who care about human rights," says world-renowned feminist, journalist
and social and political activist Gloria Steinem. Thus, International Women's
Day is all about unity, celebration, reflection, advocacy and action - whatever
that looks like globally at a local level. But one thing is for sure:
International Women's Day has been occurring for well over a century - and
continues to grow from strength to strength.”
How will you celebrate the International Women’s Day?
Come and See Weekend
March 17 - 19, 2017
Would you like
to find out more about Dominican life and vocation?
If you are a
single Catholic woman 20 years of age and older,
Come and See
Weekends are an opportunity to explore Dominican Charism
and a life
built upon prayer, study, service, and community.
You know I must put one more plugin for our upcoming Come-and-See Weekend. That’s coming up NEXT WEEK – Friday, March
17th (St Patrick’s Day) through Sunday, March 19th. You may register by going to the following
link:
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