Dear Friends,

            As we approach the beautiful season of Autumn, and the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, our hearts are full of joy as we thank God for the fruits of this year of grace. In preparation for the celebration of the feast let us ponder the words of our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI:

           Mary remains an example and model for our own lives as believers in Jesus Christ. May we also be empty vessels ready to be filled with His grace so as to be instruments of His Word. We will be praying for all your special intentions during the month of October and the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary.

           In our Spring Newsletter we mentioned that our 800th anniversary celebration of the foundation of the nuns of the Order by St. Dominic was continuing and that in a joint effort the monasteries have published a book: Search For Living Waters … Well, we needed no search ... On Trinity Sunday, we had a springtime flood which descended in a torrent of rain on us. Our large meeting room under the chapel began to flood as water cascaded from one of the window wells. The monastery is built into a hill with a fifteen foot retaining wall in the back and French drains along the side. One of the drains had been plugged underground, so there was little we could do other than bail out the water filling the window well until the rain stopped. Sister Stephen, who never hesitated for one minute to jump into the chest high deep water was later joined by Tom (our faithful workman) who filled buckets upon buckets of water which were handed to the sisters clad in their work dresses, who formed a ‘bucket brigade’ to do the emptying. Our work force served as Sunday afternoon entertainment for the neighbor’s children and their dog who seemed entranced by the whole operation, watching us from the safety of their yard. Even as we furiously bailed out water, the basement room and hallway still became seriously flooded.

          We struggled with the cleaning up indoors for another hour and a half before finally admitting defeat and sought the professional service of an agency,topump the water out, and to have the French drain blown out. Our only hope was that the infusion of living water was a sign of grace, since this main room and the area flooded was where our August 16th celebration was to be held.

           In preparation for our celebration, Sue Amisano, our music director, worked diligently with the sisters in her usual patient and cheerful manner, practicing the hymnsand music for the great day, together with our organist, Sister Mary Dominic. Having Sue conduct and sing along with the choir always instills such confidence in us and inspires us to do our best in the true spirit of each hymn.

          The celebration on August 16th to commemorate our 8th centenary as Dominican nuns and 63rd anniversary of our foundation in the Rochester diocese was indeed a memorable one. We were pleased to have so many of our ‘longtime’ friends join with us to give thanks. Our dear Bishop Matthew Clark celebrated the Mass of Thanksgiving together with Fathers Martin Boler, OSB, Prior of Mt. Saviour Monastery; John DeSocio; Richard Kunzman; Robert MacNamara; and Michael Trainor, OP, our former chaplain. Sue gave a beautiful rendition of Panis Angelicus, after communion, accompanied by Rosalie Krajci on the organ. Mary Alice Little, a local harpist, played before and during the Mass, and our own Sister Anna Marie accompanied us on the guitar and drums and Sister Mary of the Trinity, played the glockenspiel. It turned out to be a merry celebration as we praised the Lord for all his gifts.

The Mass was followed by a luncheon in our basement meeting room, which was beautifully decorated by one of our good friends, Rose Jayme who came from California for the celebration. We were also delighted to welcome our friends Tony and Dominic Sgro who played their harmonicas to entertain our guests during the meal. They are well known among music entertainers, having played in many countries around the world, and most recently at the Bush White House. “The Sgro Brothers” were accompanied by Mary Chely (the daughter of another ‘longtime’ friend of the community), on the bass guitar and Sister Anna Marie on the drums. The group was very entertaining and the lively music was joined in by our guests who kept rhythm by clapping their hands to the music.

We give praise and thanks to God for the grace to be a part of 800 years of Dominican life, to have celebrated the Eucharist, The Liturgy of the Hours and daily prayer in the same monastery and place for 63 years and to have shared in the joys and sorrows of so many good and faithful friends. This truly binds us together in a special and lasting way to this local community of faith.            In July, on the eve of our annual retreat, Sister Genevieve, who for years has suffered from post-polio syndrome and wears braces, aided by a walker, fell during the night and fractured her femur at the hip. Sister blew her precious whistle for help. Lucky for her two of the sisters (who are light sleepers) woke and went to her assistance and called 911. Their response was overwhelming. Imagine, eight rescue workers arrived and tramped up to the dormitory to take sister to the hospital. Even with all that commotion, most of the sisters (heavy sleepers) did not wake up and only found out the following morning what had happened. Sister’s surgery was successful. Thankfully she did not require a replacement of the hip. Shortly before Sister Genevieve’s accident, Sister Agnes too had a fall one night. She, however, was spared major fracture and got away with four broken toes.          Recently, we were informed by the company that services our elevator, that all hydraulic elevators of a single-bottom design cylinder must be replaced with a double-bottom cylinder. Production of hydraulic elevators with single-bottom cylinders ended in the early 1970s as the result of a code revision that mandated a double-bottom design thereafter. Thus, hydraulic elevators with single-bottom cylinders which have now been in use for 30 years or more are approaching the end of their useful lives. Our elevator which was installed in our new building in 1964 is one such elevator and has begun to show signs of this approaching uselessness. For example, there are oil leaks, skipping of floors, stuck doors and uneven landings. Since old parts can no longer be repaired or be replaced, corrective action is both required and mandatory for us.         In further recognition of the seriousness of this situation, Sr. Agnes, Sister Genevieve and some of our other sisters need the use of our elevator to get them to the refectory, the choir, the dormitory and the infirmary to enable them to participate in the daily activities of the community. The recommended upgrade is very expensive due to the major components that must be replaced, to comply with the Safety Code for Elevators (published in March 2001), such as the hydro controller, power unit, pump motor, jack assembly, piston, etc. The estimates we have received from two companies are between $90,000 and $100,000. We are in the process of trying to secure a grant for a portion of the estimated amount. However, we would be most grateful if you could help us in anyway with this needed expense. In addition, we still have not been able to repair our driveway because of so many other maintenance needs. We would like to assure you that we do not receive any funds from the diocese or our Order, so we are most grateful for your kind support. May God bless you all.

Your Elmira

Dominican Sisters