Reflections on Community, Isolation and Presence in the Age of Zoom

August 19, 2021

What is presence in the age of Zoom? What does it mean to be present on a Zoom call? As a spiritual director, what does it mean when you cannot be physically present with your directee? How do you practice when you no longer have access to your place of practice? What is this mystery […]

A Celebration of Spiritual Direction Ministry and New Spiritual Directors

May 26, 2021

This past Saturday morning, May 22, the Dominican Sisters ~ Grand Rapids and the Dominican Center Spiritual Direction Ministry celebrated six newly certified spiritual directors upon their recent completion of the 2-year Practicum experience. They were invited to a special ministry blessing joined by the community of spiritual directors who make their home at Dominican […]

Because of Dominicans, I am …

May 26, 2020

On an evening in March 2020, Dominican Center celebrated the ministry of Spiritual Direction. Spiritual Directors gathered to reconnect and to reflect on the impact the ministry has on their lives and on the lives of those with whom they walk. Spiritual Director Esther Yff-Prins shared this reflection; may her powerful message enrich your own […]

Dominican Center and Marywood Campus Closed to All Visitors

March 13, 2020

During this time of pandemic, we invite you to join the Dominican Center community via our online offerings. See our online transformative learning programs and retreats here. Together, we can all help limit transmission of the COVID-19 virus — and help protect the vulnerable and elderly people around us. Dominican Center at Marywood is taking […]

Can We Talk about Talking WITH One Another?

November 9, 2019

What has happened to the way that we talk with one another? Have we lost the ability to dialogue? We hear and partake in conversations about various topics that are fraught with the capacity for us to talk at one another rather than with one another. I attended a conference last October where the speakers […]

Soothing Silence… in July at Dominican Center

July 11, 2019

Nurturing soothing silence and peace in our own lives contributes to peace in our world, says author and restorative justice advocate and teacher Jeanne Lound Shaller. "A Little Desert - A Resting Place in God". That's the title of the first chapter of Jeanne Lound Schaller's book: Desert in my Backyard. Isn't that a wonderful […]

Human Trafficking Has Our Attention

January 9, 2019

The faces of human trafficking are more familiar than one might think. It can happen to anybody in any place in any country. Men, women, and children in the United States and throughout the world are exploited in what is recognized as one of the greatest human rights tragedies of our time. Who are they? […]

Iconography: Contemplation of the Mystical Divine

November 26, 2018

Sister Teresa once shared that "My preaching has come through sharing stories of beauty seen, observed and expressed in a variety of creative mediums." Icon writing is one of those mediums. Residents and visitors to Aquinata Hall enjoy a gallery of her icons lit by the natural light of the atrium windows. Images of Christ, […]