Sister Xiomara Mendez-Hernandez is received
Into the Novitiate during Special Ritual at Holy Rosary Chapel
Adrian, Michigan, March 12— A diverse gathering of Adrian Dominican Sisters, friends and colleagues rejoiced with Sister Xiomara Méndez-Hernández as she celebrated her Rite of Reception into the Novitiate. The special ritual was held March 12 at Holy Rosary Chapel on the motherhouse campus of the Adrian Dominican Sisters. With this significant step in the initial formation process, Sister Xiomara begins a two-year period of discernment as a novice, which could culminate in her profession of first vows with the Adrian Dominican Sisters.
Sister Carleen Maly, OP, who had walked with Sister Xiomara for part of her discernment journey, welcomed the guests to the reception ceremony. Celebrating with Sister Xiomara were her aunt, Sabina Hernández, of Puerto Rico; Sister Ana Feliz, OP, her mentor and spiritual guide from the Dominican Republic; Sister Anne Liam Lees, OP, Chapter Prioress of the Florida Mission Chapter; special guests from St. Joseph Academy, where she ministers, and St. Mary Parish in Adrian where she gives reflections during Spanish-language weekend Masses; members of her local community in the Formation House in Adrian; novices from the Collaborative Dominican Novitiate in St. Louis, brothers and friends from the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales, including their novices and novice master; and other Adrian Dominican Sisters.
The Rite of Reception was set in the context of Evening Prayer. After the Invitatory and the chanting of Psalm 141, complete with the incensing of the community, Sister Donna Markham, OP, Prioress of the Congregation, called Sister Xiomara forward and formally questioned her on her readiness to take the next step in her journey through discernment.
Sister Ellen Burkhardt, OP, Director of Formation, proclaimed a reading from St. Paul’s letter to the Galatians, in which the great apostle declared, “I have been crucified with Christ; yet I live, no longer I, but Christ lives in me” (2:19-20). “Paul was so identified with Christ that all the experiences of Christ became his experiences,” Sister Ellen noted. We as Christians are also called to be so closely identified with Christ, and to be transformed by the power of Jesus’ love, Sister Ellen said.
After Sister Ellen’s reflection, Sister Xiomara received a copy of the Constitution of the Adrian Dominican Sisters, with the challenge to study the Congregation’s way of life. As the assembly sang the words of Dominican Saint Catherine of Siena – “Clothe me, O clothe me with yourself, eternal Truth” – Sister Xiomara was clothed in the preaching garment “as a visible sign of the Order of Preachers and a connection with eight centuries of women and men who have followed in the steps of St. Dominic to preach, to praise, to bless.”
Sister Donna declared the novice’s new name and new identity – Sister Xiomara. The Prioress formally received Sister Xiomara into the novitiate to begin a two-year period of deeper discernment, a period when both she and the Adrian Dominican Congregation would discern whether she is called to bind herself to the community through first vows. Both Sister Xiomara and the Adrian Dominican Sisters in the assembly formally affirmed their intention to walk the journey of discernment together.
The Rite of Reception concluded with the Dominican Blessing, the singing of the Dominican Magnificat and the sharing of the sign of peace. The celebration continued into the evening with a special dinner and a reception in honor of Sister Xiomara.
A native of Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic, Xiomara was the second of five children born to Carmen and Eleuterio Mendez. After graduating from high school in Santo Domingo, she went on to earn a degree in industrial art, with a major in fashion design, from the University of Santo Domingo. She was a successful fashion designer – owning a small business with a classmate and designing, creating and selling women’s clothing – when she felt the need for a deeper relationship with God.
While attending young adult groups and retreats, Xiomara met the Adrian Dominican Sisters and became an Associate. Her desire to give her life to God in service to others led her to request entrance into the Adrian Dominican Congregation. During her candidacy year, Sister Xiomara has lived in the Siena House on the Adrian Dominican Motherhouse campus with the rest of the formation community, learned more about the Adrian Dominican Sisters, and ministered at St. Joseph Academy and at St. Mary Parish in Adrian.