Who We Are

Meet the Sisters

Women today are still being called to listen to the Word of Christ, to ponder it and let it dwell in them; to study it and let it challenge them; to be silent and let it be fruitful within them; to celebrate it and let it return to God in praise and prayer.

Sr. Mary of Jesus Wiercinski, O.P.

Email Sr. Mary of Jesus

Books and apples are among my early memories of growing up in New York's beautiful Hudson valley-apple country. The oldest of three children, I attended Catholic grade and high school, before nurses' training. Many students "taught by the Sisters" wanted to become religious, and while the thought was attractive, I had no inclination toward teaching. During college "I determined that I wanted to help people and work with the poor," an important emphasis of the post-Vatican II Council.

A vocation usually isn't and was not for me, a trumpet blare, angelic messenger or a scroll written in gold. It's more like a small whisper, a thought or intuition that comes from somewhere...though ultimately Someone. I think that when God calls a person to a religious vocation, it may not always be clear-cut. God is full of surprises.

I worked with, and eventually entered a community of Dominican sisters that had the apostolate of working with the poor through nursing in their homes. Theirs was the only community I found that had visiting nursing as their primary work. I was assigned to work in various parts of the country, primarily in New York State. Through my reading and study, I fell in love with St Dominic during my time with them.

Sent to work in the Bronx, one of my patients was a cloistered nun! That was an eye-opener, because the monastic contemplative life was not much mentioned, seen or heard about, and Dominican monasteries seemed even rarer. I had avidly devoured St. Therese's Story of a Soul. In seeking a community, I had spoken to an advisor about a community like St. Therese's [that is a contemplative monastic group], only to be encouraged to join an active group involved with the world, where my nursing could be put to good use.

Eventually I was transferred to Harlem and then, out of state. I decided to leave the community to return to hospital work, and to test the possibility of "the Cloister". Visiting the monastery a number of times, I made a retreat, and finally asked to enter. After Profession, I remained there for thirty-three years, transferring to Elmira in 2007.

I needed to discover the Dominican Order with its emphasis on the Word of God; where prayer and contemplation were the basis of the life. For many years before entering, I had a Eucharistic spirituality with Mass and adoration; I was led to pray for priests. This was very compatible with Dominican monastic life.

I still like books [mysteries, history and biographies], and have developed a taste for astronomy. Star-gazing, I find, can also be an act of worship. One of my favorite authors said, "Not all who wander are lost". Each time my God of surprises led me to a move; it was not aimless, but ordered.