December 2008

Hi my name is Vicki Wright.  Life in community is wonderful.  I am one of two new applicants this year and am delighted to be part of this community of five women.  We are learning to live and grow together as sisters.  I have always wanted a sister and now I have four of them!

A big part of our community life involves receiving formation through talks and sharing by the sisters and some of the Companions of the Cross priests and seminarians.  Although I have not yet started formal classes at Dominican College (possibly starting next year for me), I am learning so much about what it means to be a member of this community and growing in my faith and prayer life.

Several people have been curious about our daily life and so I wanted to share it with you.  We pray Morning Prayer from the Liturgy of the Hours together as a community at 6:00 am, and then go to the adoration chapel at St. Mary's church for an hour of personal prayer.  Then, we are off to 8:00 am Mass at St. Patrick's Basilica, and this is all before starting our workday.  A lot can be accomplished before 8:30 am when you put your mind to it!  J  After Mass, we go off to work or to our apostolate.  We gather together again at 5:00 pm for evening prayer and praise and worship.  After this, we share supper together, which we each take turns cooking (my night is Wednesday).  In the evenings, we have formation.  It is a busy schedule, but I am getting used to and enjoying the rhythm of the routine of my new life.

Currently, I continue to work part time at my job, where I've been for the past two years, as a Speech-Language Pathologist in Ottawa-area schools.  I am very blessed to be working in this field and I continue to learn, be amazed, and amused by all the children with whom I work.

On Wednesdays, I help out at Our Lady of His Mercy Friendship Centre, a local outreach centre, where we pray with, listen to, and share a meal with people who are living in difficult circumstances such as homelessness, addiction, and loneliness.  I have learned so much already from the people I have met at the Centre, such as what it means to be real and present with others.

On Fridays, we spend the day in silence and prayer, which is usually a welcome time to slow down a little and to rejuvenate in prayer.  I love the silence because it allows me to listen to God in a deeper way that can only be found in these opportunities to withdraw from the busyness of daily life.

Our weekend schedule can vary quite a bit.  One Saturday a month we host a program called Women of the Cross, which allows women to get together to talk about various topics in our faith.  On the third Sunday of the month, we host Eggs and Fellowship, an opportunity for our friends, family, supporters and neighbours to come over for brunch and fellowship.  This is a great time to get to know different people in our community.  Our community is also strongly involved in Duc in Altum, a diocesan-wide discernment program for young adults, at which I often help out in the kitchen.

Our community attends Sunday Mass together at one of three Companions of the Cross parishes in Ottawa - Queen of the Most Holy Rosary, St. Mary's, and St. Maurice.  I have really been enjoying getting to know different people at all of these parishes.  I definitely miss Divine Infant Parish though and all the people there.  I love coming to visit every once in a while and seeing how the LifeTeen program and everyone at the youth mass is doing!

In September, the community held a Sister Shower for us, the two first-year applicants.  It was a wonderful time of fellowship, getting to know some of the women in the area, and sharing our testimonies.  It meant so very much to me that my mother, two of my aunts, and some of my friends were able to attend.  Also, the generosity of people I hadn't met until that point astounded me.  It was so wonderful to meet all of the people there.

Our theme for this first year of community is to be.  This is a good and necessary lesson for me to learn how to be, instead of always doing.  Although it is sometimes a challenging lesson, I am definitely growing in this area of my life.

One other thing that I have learned to do this year is to sew.  I was asked to sew a skirt for myself this year in order to match the skirts of my other sisters.  I only had to take it apart once. J  Sewing lessons might have been a good idea prior to entering, but with help from my sisters, I have completed my skirt, and am happy to be wearing it.

Overall, I am enjoying my time with the sisters very much and have been blessed greatly by living in community.  I have also been growing closer to God, especially in my prayer life.