The Importance of Community
Common life, or community, is the heart of Springfield Dominican Life. We stay connected to friends, family, and the people we serve for a lifetime. At Sacred Heart Convent, the sisters live their commitment to common life by helping and serving one another.
You can join our mission to be light For The Life of the World by visiting the join us page to see the many ways you can be in relationship with the Springfield Dominican Sisters’ community.
Community is a group of people who take care of and serve each other.
St. Paul wrote to early Christian communities telling them the Holy Spirit guides different communities, so they are all doing God's work.
Religious communities have similarities and differences. Different religious orders share many things in common, however, there are also differences that set each community apart and bring about diversity within the Church. This diversity helps the entire Body of Christ to continue the work of Jesus here on earth.
Communities are extremely important to our everyday life: we are part of families, we learn in classrooms and in schools with other students, we work alongside other people, social media apps such as Instagram and Facebook allow us to stay connected to friends and family who are far away, we belong to sports teams and even video games give us the option of playing with people who are in other locations. We do a lot of things as part of a community. When positive, these interactions can be helpful as they shape us in our abilities, attitudes and gifts. These communities can support us and help us as we try to reach our goals.
© National Catholic Sisters Project | Called and Consecrated: Exploring the Lives of Women Religious; Curriculum: How Do Sisters Create Community?
Dominic is said to have called community life “The Holy Preaching.” That’s because living together and sharing all things in common, when done in the spirit of the Gospel, is it itself a preaching of the Word of God. It gives concrete expression to our desire to live out the unity that Jesus prayed for among his disciples. Our life together nurtures and sustains us in our commitment to God and service to all God’s people and creation. A deep sharing of common lives is essential to our calling as Dominican Sisters.
Although we live in various houses and convents in the United States and Peru, we come together as a congregation for General Assembly, General Chapter, Study Days and other events.
Learn more about our community life by browsing our blog posts.
