2020

Dear Sisters:

We begin a new Liturgical Year, and with it, a new Advent: a time of grace and hope, a time to be vigilant, to discover the presence of God and his salvific force.

For believers, Advent has always been and is now, as well, a precious gift to prepare for the celebration of Christmas. Since ancient times, the Church has felt the need to direct its gaze towards the glorious Lord, God’s presence in the world and also the One who will one day come to meet us at the end of time.

Come, Lord Jesus! It is the cry par excellence of the Church in Advent. But in reality, it is the cry of humanity and of each person, from the queue of unemployment or the queue of hunger in search of the necessary food, and from the bed of the sick …

The Gospel of this first Sunday of Advent invites us to be vigilant, in expectation of the final coming of Christ: “watch, for you will not know when the owner of the house will come (Mk 13,35,37). It is time to be attentive to so many injustices and inequalities; attentive to those who suffer the most from the consequences of the pandemic; attentive to so many unemployed people without financial resources to support their families, attentive to what the Spirit is telling us in the signs of the times, attentive to discover the face of Christ in those who need it …

I believe that Advent can only be celebrated from a deep solidarity with the greatest desires of humanity, from the concrete hopes of the people, those near and far, hopes of flesh and blood, with names and surnames. This humanity is what God wants and what we must prepare for. A possible prayer for this time may be to ask ourselves what the people are waiting for, what are their real hopes, so we are able to put them before the Lord and say “Come, Lord Jesus! on this specific reality, on this specific person.

Pope Francis in his encyclical “Fratelli Tutti” invites us to build a new, more fraternal humanity, in which everyone has the roof and bread needed to live, in which there is no discrimination on the grounds of race, social condition, poverty. We are all sons and daughters of God, He loves us and wants for each one a present and a future full of life. Let us take care of the earth that gives us food and take care of each other, especially those most in need.

Sisters, let us walk this Advent journey, hand in hand with Mary our Mother, may she teach us to believe, hope and love all humanity.

I wish you all a happy and holy Advent.

A fraternal hug and my prayer,

Sor Mª Asunción González, O.P.

General Priorest

Dear sisters,

     On the 7^th of October we celebrate with joy the beautiful feast of Our Lady of the Rosary. For us as Dominicans it is a good opportunity to reflect on the figure of the Virgin, her glory and her teachings.   Mary was associated in a very special way with the Incarnation, Passion and Resurrection of the Son of God.

      With joy we can see how, due to various circumstances, the rosary has become fashionable again, it is again in its place, that is, in the hands of the faithful, young and not so young, lay people as well as the consecrated persons.

              One of the many gifts that Saint John Paul II has left the Church is precisely this: to bring back the Holy Rosary in the hands of everyone. By his example, he motivated and confirmed those who had never abandoned this pious practice, even in times when it was ridiculed.

              Among all the devotions that are dedicated to the Virgin Mary, the rosary is the one that most identifies and unites Catholics. It is a powerful prayer that allows us to live the mysteries of the Gospel, to remember and meditate on the most significant moments on the life of the Savior. The rosary is an evangelical prayer, which requires meditation. It teaches us that, with Christ, glory is achieved through joy and pain.

              In the Apostolic Letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae we read: “The Rosary of the Virgin Mary is a prayer loved by countless Saints and encouraged by the Magisterium. Simple yet profound, it still remains, a prayer of great significance, destined to bring forth a harvest of holiness.  The Rosary, though clearly Marian in character, is at heart a Christocentric prayer. In the sobriety of its elements, it has all the depth of the Gospel message in its entirety”. (RVM n.1)

              Indeed, the Holy Rosary helps us to live immersed in the mystery of Christ, almost continually pondering his life, his words, his example, his conduct and also fostering identification with Christ.

              It brings us in a special way to all the people of God, both the simple and the learned, the saints and sinners. There is no prayer that needs less preparation and, at the same time, is so effective to the heart and mind of man.

              Saint Paul VI affirmed, “not only does this prayer not in conflict with the Liturgy, it sustains it, since it serves as an excellent introduction and a faithful echo of the Liturgy, enabling people to participate fully and interiorly in it and to reap its fruits in their daily lives.” (RVM 4) Contemplation is the essential element of the Rosary, it is a perfect prayer. It is a reading of the Gospel in a Marian key.

              My dear sisters, let us constantly entrust our personal path of sanctification and apostolate to the Virgin Mary, through the faithful and humble prayer of the Holy Rosary. In history, we do not lack the example of so many saints who were able to carry out their work of evangelization with great efficiency and efficacy.

              May we all have a good month of October! May the Holy Rosary unite us, like the rosary beads, in an intense sisterly love.

              Happy feast day of our Lady of the Rosary!

              My fraternal embrace and prayer,

Sor Mª Asunción González, OP.

General Prioress

Dear Sisters:

            We are close to celebrating the feast of Our Father St. Dominic, a compassionate man, who desired to be a response of mercy to the world.

            Blessed Jordan of Saxony offers us a beautiful description of the Saint, “inflamed with the zeal of God and supernatural ardor, possessing a limitless charity and the fervor of a vehement spirit”. He precisely highlights this fundamental trait of St. Dominic: he spoke with God or about God.  In the saints’ lives the love for God and neighbor always go together.

            In St. Dominic, three qualities stand out that have always caught the attention of his companions and that are more necessary than ever today: JOY, REALISM and COMPASSION. But I would like to particularly share with you COMPASSION, given the situation in which we find ourselves as humanity in these times of pandemic.

            St. Dominic, from his childhood grew in compassion, so much so that he interiorized in himself the miseries of others. He had a great love for the poor and needy, seeing the presence of Christ in each one of them. We all know very well the great famine that occurred in Palencia, when he was a student there. He deeply sympathized with the poor and gave them everything he had, including what he cherished the most, his books. More dramatic is that other scene in his life where he thought of selling himself as a slave, when he no longer had anything else to sell. For all this he suffered misunderstanding and criticism, to which he replied with kindness and peace: “Christ should not suffer hunger in the poor while I keep something in my house with which I can help them.” In truth we can say that Dominic was poor with the poor and for the poor. This is a trait that surely challenges our life.  Along with us nowadays, there is also the poverty of so many people and families, who, due to the current economic situation, are having a really hard time. Do these situations challenge our sensitivity, our solidarity and our charity? I think it should be an urgent call to detach ourselves from what we have to share with those most in need. 

            We are seeing how the world today, as a result of this pandemic, is in need of mercy and compassion in all its senses. The painful urgencies of many people make our compassion necessary, thereby implying a real commitment to all our suffering brothers, in order to walk towards an increasing solidarity in the world.

            Sisters, as Dominicans, we are called to strive to achieve a more humane and fraternal world. Let us look at the model of the first Christian community, how it was built on prayer, the reading of the Scriptures, the breaking of the bread and the sharing of everyone’s goods, so as not to abandon anyone in need (cf. Acts, 2, 42-45). Let us ask the Lord to increase our FAITH, to strengthen our HOPE and thus increase our CHARITY.

            HAPPY FEAST OF ST. DOMINIC!

            My fraternal embrace,

                                                Sor Mª Asunción González, O.P.

                                                                                        Priora General

Dear Sisters,

            The celebration of the feast of Saint Catherine of Siena is soon to come. Today as in her time, this sister of ours, places herself with her human, civil and Christian virtues, at our service through her strong and sweet personality, through her exemplary and holiness of life.

            In this difficult moment we are living, it may be appropriate to remember that St. Catherine was also a great benefactor of the society. During her time in Siena, there was a terrible plague and with her ardent charity worked passionately to comfort the sick. Her intense life of prayer was combined with care for the poor and the sick. She was always at the side of those who suffered from the plague, comforting them and preparing them for death. The historians tell us that even in many cases she buried them with her own hands.

            Of course, today, we cannot do what she did. This work is being carried out by doctors, nurses, other kinds of health and civil protection personnel…, giving their own lives in generous and heroic service on more than one occasion. Many priests and religious have also lost their lives as they give spiritual, human and psychological help, both to the sick during their final moments, and to their families.

            Nowadays all of us are involved in the fight against Covid-19, the first and major global pandemic of our era, which is changing the life of millions of people. We have found ourselves in an unexpected way faced with this coronavirus and for which the only solution offered to us at the moment is to wash our hands and isolate ourselves in our homes. It is true that as citizens we must comply with the directives of the authorities, but beyond this, we as Christians and as religious must contribute our evangelical witness through our serenity, hope and solidarity in the midst of this chaos before us, putting our trust in God through our intense prayer not only for the victims, but also for their families.

            I would like to conclude this letter by citing Pope Francis’ message on Easter morning for the world afflicted by the pandemic: The proclamation of the Resurrection of Christ transmits to humanity “a different “contagion”, a message transmitted from heart to heart — for every human heart awaits this Good News.  It is the contagion of hope: “Christ, my hope, is risen!”.  This is no magic formula that makes problems vanish.  No, the resurrection of Christ is not that.  Instead, it is the victory of love over the root of evil, a victory that does not “by-pass” suffering and death, but passes through them, opening a path in the abyss, transforming evil into good: this is the unique hallmark of the power of God.  The Risen Lord is also the Crucified One, not someone else.  In his glorious body he bears indelible wounds: wounds that have become windows of hope.” (L’Osservatore Romano, April 14, 2020)

            Wishing you a Blessed and Happy Feast day of Saint Catherine of Siena. May her courage in facing the challenges of her time “contaminate” us.

            With my sisterly embrace and prayer,

Sr. Mª Asunción González, O.P.

Prioress General

LENT 2020

Dear Sisters,

            Lent is the liturgical season that the Church celebrates to prepare us for the great feast of Easter. It is a time to repent from our faults and be converted to make ourselves better and able to live closer to Christ.

            In Lent, Christ invites us to change our life. The Church also invites us to live this season as a path to Jesus Christ, listening to the Word of God, praying, sharing with others and doing good works. That is why Lent is the time of forgiveness and fraternal reconciliation. Every single day, throughout our lives, we must cast away from our hearts: hatred, resentment, envy, jealousy or anything which contradicts our love for God and our brothers and sisters.

            Generally, when we speak about conversion, we instinctively think of something sad, painful, very much like a penance, a form of mortification and asceticism. A somewhat impossible effort for which we are no longer drawn into as source of joy or strength because it seems that we never get closer to its goal.

            However, if we stop and reflect on the message of Jesus, we hear, first of all, an encouraging call to change our hearts and learn how to live a more humane life, because God is close to us and wants to change our lives.

            The conversion of which Jesus speaks is not forced. It is a change that is growing in us as we realize that God wants to make our lives more human and happier. That is why conversion is not something sad, but the discovery of true joy. It does not stop us from living our lives, but an invitation to be more alive than ever. It allows us to discover towards where we should direct our life.

            Conversion is something joyful. It is clearing our minds of selfishness and interests that dwarf our daily lives. It is setting our heart free from anguish and complications created by our desire for power and possession. It is liberating ourselves from unnecessary things and living for people who need us.

            We begin to be converted when we discover that what is important is not to ask ourselves how can I get something, but how can I become myself.

            When we hear the call of Jesus: “Repent, because the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand”, let us believe that it is never too late to repent and be converted, because it is never too late to love, it is never too late to be happier, it is never too late to be forgiven and be renewed by God.

            Let us be guided by Mary, our Mother who knows how to lead us especially during this season of mercy.

Happy Easter!

                                                                                  My fraternal embrace,

                                                                                  Sor Mª Asunción González, OP

                                                                                                 General Prioress