One of the neatest things about the experience one has at the Grace Institute is that we are the well-treated, warmly- welcomed guests of the Dominican Sisters of Sinsinawa, and it is such a privilege to be guests in their Home for three days. There is such gentleness in that place- but also quite a strong sense of order and discipline. There are signs posted all over the place spelling out everything from the need for quiet on floors where guests stay to the need to use the “correct” door. They have created a certain sort of life for themselves which they cherish, and they have a smiling yet strict way of securing full compliance from all their guests. For those of us involved in arranging the worship services, that sense of propriety was embodied in Sister Prudence, whose responsibilities include overseeing the sisters’ worship space and making certain that we were always returning it to its original state once we were done with the room. She may have been quiet and gentle, but there was also something about her which conveyed the message “Don’t mess with me!” And we didn’t.
To hear the Dominican sisters singing in worship is to be transported back in time hundreds of years- but the sisters are also very much living in the present. Case in point- Sinsinawa is quite a “green” place, with extensive recycling- a firm policy of shutting off unneeded lights- and leading a concerted effort through petitions and the like to pressure Amtrak into resuming train service between Dubuque and Chicago – primarily because of the environmental advantages of train travel.
The Sisters have a wonderful library and also a computer room – and in both places, I observed quite a few of them at various computer terminals, typing to beat the band and navigating the internet with the greatest of ease. I don’t know- there’s just something profoundly odd yet assuring about the sight of a Dominican Sister expertly wielding a Mouse (the computer kind). It is part of what gives Sinsinawa its vibrancy- the way in which they manage to be “apart from the world” and yet “a part of the world.” There are probably other such holy places where the tie to the current world is cut rather drastically and permanently. . . but not at Sinsinawa.
pictured above: One of the Dominican Sisters of Sinsinawa working at a computer terminal in the library. I probably should have asked for permission to take the picture, but I didn’t want to interrupt her. (That’s a rather lame excuse, isn’t it.) I did go out in the hall and took the picture through two glass panes so I could be a bit discreet. Forgive me, Father, if I have sinned.