Title:
More Young Women Find a Calling in Catholic Order
Description: This is
a VOA Special English General News Report.
See text below
Text:
The Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia's is a Catholic
religious order in Tennessee. St. Cecilia's looks
and sounds much like it did when it first opened 150
years ago.
But there is also something new: the voices and
laughter of young woman studying to become Dominican
sisters. The current group of first-year students is
the largest in many years. Sister Catherine Marie is
a spokesperson for St. Cecilia's.
SISTER CATHERINE MARIE: "There are 270 of us, and
our growth of late has been rather extensive. This
year, we had 27 young women enter. Last year, it was
23.Great blessings to us."
Sister Catherine suspects these women want to look
deeper into their faith. Studies have shown that
Americans are interested in spiritual issues; yet
their involvement in organized religion is
falling.She says the Dominican Order was founded
during a period of social unrest.
SISTER CATHERINE MARIE: "There was a whole lot going
on in the world that was very irreligious. And yet
from this emerged an idealism and a wholehearted
desire to give of self."
That desire led Sister Kelly Edmunds to join St.
Cecilia's. She remembers how students at the
University of Sydney reacted to Dominican sisters
who served there.
SISTER KELLY EDMUNDS: "Just to watch them walking
down the main boulevard of campus wearing their
habits ... it was just such a powerful witness! And
I had friends in engineering who were like, they
knew I was Catholic. So they would say to me, 'Who
are these nuns on campus?' And so it was a really
great witness to me of the power of religious life."
Sister Victoria Marie came to St. Cecila's after
completing a study program in civil engineering.
SISTER VICTORIA MARIE: "So it was a big shift in my
life to go from utility to relationship, from what
am I going to do?To who am I going to be for the
Lord?"
A religious worker does not spend all day at work or
in prayer. Sister Kelly was surprised by how much
time she has to simply enjoy life.
SISTER KELLY EDMUNDS: "Just to be outside and to
enjoy the beauty of ... the beauty of the world and
creation. And so we play a lot of sport, we go for
walks, we just enjoy each other's company outdoors."
Yet the women do spend a lot of time at religious
services, in the classroom and doing work. Sister
Victoria admits it can be very busy.
SISTER VICTORIA MARIE: "For a couple weeks after I
entered I thought, I just want to lay on the couch
for the day, and I don't think they do that here,
you know?"
Sister Kelly does not believe her spirituality is
something unusual. She believes the Catholic Church
is in a period of renewal.
SISTER KELLY EDMUNDS: "It's a really great ... a
springtime for the Church, I suppose. And there's a
lot of hope and a lot of life."
The Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia are active in
Australia and across the United States. They teach
more than 13,000 students at more than 30 schools.
I'm Shirley Griffith.
Hi. I
personally reviewed this video and found it appropriate for
the news section of English Global Group. This
is a Voice of America video which covers an interesting
topic in Special English. I would appreciate some feedback from both
students and teachers about this video. You can comment in
the window below using any of a number of different services
including Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, and Hotmail.
To post a comment:
• Click "Comment using..." in
the window below
• Click your favorite service: Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail
• Login to the service
• Click "Add a comment..."
• Post your comment in the window
Students: Please post a
comment stating what you found interesting about this video. You are
welcome to include links to your English study blogs and any
other materials you think might be useful for learning
English.
Teachers: Please post your
thoughts about this video. You are welcome to include links to
your sites, blogs, and any other materials you think might
be useful for learning English.
Hi. I
personally reviewed this video and found it appropriate for
the news section of English Global Group. This
is a Voice of America video which covers an interesting
topic in Special English. I would appreciate some feedback from both
students and teachers about this video. You can comment in
the window below using any of a number of different services
including Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, and Hotmail.
