Saturday, June 11th marked an important moment in
the history of the Dominican Monastery of Our Lady
of Mt Thabor. The community located near
Ortonville, Michigan celebrated the final Mass in
their chapel overlooking “Renchek Lake”. The
liturgy was presided over by Allen Vigneron,
Archbishop of Detroit, who was assisted by seven
concelebrating priests. Dozens of friends of
the monastery joined them in prayer and in the
reception that followed.
The small group of
Sisters have been friends of our own monastic
community at St. Benedict’s for nearly 50 years,
as our priests served as confessors for the nuns
and we supported one another with prayer and
fellowship.
The Dominican Sisters
have had their “ups and downs” over the years,
steadily building up their physical plant while
their membership both increased and
decreased. Recent losses - to deaths and
departures - reduced the number of Sisters to two
and left the community with few options.
Throughout their
existence one constant remained: the Sisters
faithfulness to prayer and a simple, contemplative
life style. Indeed, during the homily at the
closing Mass, Archbishop Vigneron declared this to
be the “culmination” of the Sisters’ prayerful
witness. Their contribution to the history
and life of the Church in this area is treasured
and appreciated and will never be forgotten.
The “next phase” of the
religious life of Sr. Anne Mary Kearney, O.P. (one
of the founderesses, along with Sr. M. Martin di
Giambattista, O.P, who is deceased) and M. Joseph,
O.P. is a move to the Dominican Monastery of the
Blessed Sacrament in Farmington, MI. The
Sisters noted gratefully that this contemplative
community has welcomed them with open arms and
seems to be a perfect fit for them.
We wish our dear Sisters
and friends God’s continued blessings in their new
home and we are confident that with God’s grace
and the prayers of His people they will persevere
faithfully in the witness of their lives
consecrated to Him!