The Gospel. Our Vows. Our Promise to the World.
Baptism
Baptism is the sacrament of new life that calls every Christian forward in relationship with Jesus Christ. Our life of vowed consecration is rooted in our baptism. Read the foundational documents on the sacrament of baptism in the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
Vows
We make our profession of vows using these words of the ancient Dominican formula:
I make profession and promise obedience to God, to blessed Mary, to blessed Dominic, and to you Sister N., the prioress general of our congregation the Dominican Sisters of Springfield, and to your successors, according to the Rule of St. Augustine and the Constitutions of this congregation. I will be obedient to you and to your successors until death.
Our Mission
Called by God into right relationship with all creation
and graced by Dominican life and mission,
we compassionately preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Our Vision
Committed to living the Dominican charism exemplified by Dominic, Catherine of Siena and other holy women and men, we embrace the courage and trust of our foundresses and respond to the signs of our times.
Confident in God’s ongoing revelation and stirred by prophetic imagination, we preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ from the depth of our communion with God and one another.
As vowed Dominican women, we enflesh this Word in our world, a Word we contemplate and celebrate with joy, study attentively, live in community and proclaim in ministry.
(Adapted from Article 1, Constitutions)
A Prayer for the Life of the World
Each time we hold a General Chapter, a two-part meeting consisting of a Chapter of Life and Mission and a Chapter of Election, we spend the time reflecting on our past and looking forward to the future. At the end of the meeting, we produce a prayer or a statement that summarizes the work of that General Chapter and provides inspiration and focus for the coming years. Our last chapter in 2019 yielded this Prayer for the Life of the World.
Holy Mystery, ever ancient, ever new,
we, the Dominican Sisters of Springfield, come before You,
aware of our interconnectedness in the cosmos,
and in solidarity with the rostros concretos* of the marginalized.
We come with deep gratitude for our common call.
Draw us into communion with You and all creation.
Living with intentional awareness and openness to change,
we seek to expand the expression of our vows,
inviting others to walk with us in sharing our charism.
Free our hearts to recognize and attend to Christ in hidden and unexpected places.
We renounce our participation in the sin of racism
and reject the societal barriers created by the misuse of power.
Through our contemplation, transform us to listen deeply to one another and to the brokenness of the world.
Bless our efforts to be the holy preaching.
Christ, You are expansive.
We journey in that truth, offering our testimonio de vida.
*Rostros concretos literally means “specific faces.” The Spanish concept more broadly includes any oppressive situation relegating people or creation to the margins.
