Jesus had been with his disciples for 3 years, and in those 3 years, I can only imagine the "good times" and the "bad times" they went through together. Birthdays, weddings, wakes and burials, and of course, all those times listening and learning what it means to pray. The relationship between Jesus and his disciples is not much different than ours is with you. And as I continue to reflect on the weekend we were invited to share our news with you, I am moved both by the years my Dominican Sisters have given to our parish of Epiphany, and the love our parish family has offered us. In this time of waiting, may we continue to be open to the voice of God calling us to remember, to reflect, and to rejoice at this gift of these 105 years!

For those of you who may not have been at Mass that weekend, I humbly offer what I truly believe was the Holy Spirit's invitation to begin our journey of remembrance.

This year, Dominican sisters, priests, laymen and women, and associates around the world are celebrating the 800^th birthday of our Order, founded by St. Dominic de Guzman; a man who believed that to do God’s will meant, “sowing the seed. Not hoarding it.”

During these 800 years, the presence of St. Dominic has shown through the men and women who have felt called to follow God in the way of Truth. As Dominican Sisters, we strive to live a life of poverty, chastity and obedience, and through our vows, live out our Dominican motto, “to praise, to bless and to preach.” We are blessed by our Dominican family, by those with whom and for whom we serve, the opportunities we have to learn, and the prayer life our Dominican call has invited us to share with the Church.

In 1911, two of our Sisters came to Epiphany to begin a new mission. And during these 105 years, our school and parish have birthed forth many priests, sisters and associates, who have gone on to set the world on fire using a quote from St. Catherine of Siena, our Dominican Sister.

We have also been blessed to be a part of the parishes of St. Elizabeth of Hungary in Crestwood, St. Mary Magdalene in Brentwood, Little Flower in Richmond Heights, and St. James in Dogtown, among several others. Our parish communities and schools have opened their hearts, homes and faith to our Sisters, and because of our shared journey to know more deeply God’s love for us, we are richer.

During these last two years, our Epiphany community of Sisters Marie, Carol, Loretta and myself, has struggled with what has become a challenging discernment. Through our common and individual prayer, God has opened our eyes to see more clearly how we are aging and what this means for our future.

St. Thomas Aquinas, our Dominican brother, once said, “We can't have full knowledge all at once. We must start by believing; then afterwards we may be led on to master the evidence for ourselves.” We believe that God called us to Epiphany all those 105 years ago. We did not know what would take place, or how long we would be here. We received greater knowledge as years went by, when our community grew, blessed by vocations from Epiphany.

Now we are asked to trust in the new evidence that is yet to come, as we anticipate the end of our journey with our Epiphany family sometime this summer. We believe it is God’s will that we leave our home here, and we trust that we will receive the grace to affirm that we are becoming ever more the people God is creating us to be.

This is not our “goodbye” to you. This is our invitation to you to pray for us, as we will continue to pray for you. This is not only our mourning as a community of 4, but a grieving of a larger family that we want to share with you. We thank Father Tom, who invited us to share our news with you personally. His gift of presence has been a blessing to us, and we thank him for his gift of listening and support.

God bless each of you. And as we approach our Lenten season may we, as one Epiphany family, continue to “act justly, love tenderly and walk humbly with our God.” (Micah 6:8).