A Reflection for the 2024 Providence Associate Commitment Ceremony

Note: The following is the reflection General Superior Sister Dawn Tomaszewski offered during the 2024 Providence Associate Commitment Ceremony, which took place on Saturday, Oct. 12.

Jesus offered them still another parable: 

“Providence Associates are like the yeast a baker took and mixed in with three measures of flour until it was leavened all through to help bring about the kindom of heaven right here, right now.” 

Maybe you didn’t know that being a Providence Associate would involve bread-making. But after reflecting on this parable from the Gospel of Matthew, and checking out more than a few bread-making tips, I would like to suggest that your commitment today is just as important in bringing the Face of Providence to our world as is yeast mixed in with three measures of flour in bringing bread to the table.

Yeast represents a small, seemingly insignificant force. However, it can produce a significant change. And if the scripture commentaries about this passage are to be believed, the three measures of flour that Jesus mentions were equivalent to a bushel basket full of flour. This bushel basket of flour, when mixed with yeast, could produce more than a hundred pounds of dough.

We expect nothing less from you, associates elect. And just in case you think you are not up to this task, let me remind you that it is not by mere chance that you are sitting in this church today. You have been called by God, and now by your Sisters in Providence, to be leaven for the bread of life for the world. This is not unlike the call the Corinthians received from Paul in his letter exhorting them to be cheerful givers. The particular context for this portion of his letter is his desire for them to help suffering Christians elsewhere. Paul believes that when Christians give generously, God will bless them. He says: “God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed.”

God has certainly given each of you, each of us, unique talents and gifts. What an abundance you are, and what a Providence it is for us, the Sisters of Providence, that you enter into this relationship with us to use those talents and gifts to further the kindom of God wherever you live and move and have your being.

I love your own dreams for what the kindom might look like, and as expressed in your letters of commitment:

“Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could all embrace the principles of justice and non-violence while living in communion with God and our fellow sisters and brothers?”

And another said, “The call to be active participants with God through works of love, mercy, and justice, and for me food justice, in the world, resonates with me and how I want to live today.”

Still another stated, “I have volunteered for an addiction recovery home that has captivated my soul in a deeper understanding of the how and why childhood trauma can thrust someone into the chaos of addiction. I know I need to do more for the poor …”

And said the person who has been supplying handmade items for our gift shops, “I am an advocate of the spiritual benefits of using our creative gifts to connect with the Spirit.”

While you have been reflecting on how you might be leaven for others through your commitment as an associate, the yeast has also been working in you. I loved the comments from our associates elect explaining what has happened to them during the past year:

“Since entering on this journey, my work with the clients of the Saint Vincent DePaul Society has grown to mean more to me.”

Another, “Personally, I have become more engaged in my commitment to the environment.”

Still another said: “… I have another mission that I didn’t realize was a mission — being a mother.”

Many of you may resonate with this next quote: “I don’t know if the other candidates felt a shift in themselves during the fall meeting, but WOW, I sure did! I felt ‘different;’ the only explanation was/is PROVIDENCE.”

And finally, one of you signed your letter: “Very sincerely and with a happy heart.”

“Providence Associates are like the yeast a baker took and mixed in with three measures of flour until it was leavened all through to help bring about the kindom of heaven right here, right now.” 

So, let me say a few last words about this bread-making business and being a Providence Associate. No matter how good a baker you are and even if you didn’t have to mill your own flour as the baker in the Gospel probably had to do, kneading and processing and baking 100 pounds of dough would be a very challenging task for one baker alone.

Bringing about the realm of God, the kindom of heaven, here and now, calls for community, for connection, for relationship. Nearly all of you spoke with gratitude about the companion with whom you traveled this past year. I suspect you have a new life-long friend.

As you are able, take advantage of the gatherings of Providence Circles, attend the sponsored retreats and annual meetings, connect virtually for prayer, participate in the many ways the entire Providence Community is trying to be advocates in the world. And when the going gets tough, call for a bread-making party. Remind yourself that you belong to Providence, you belong to each other  and you belong to us:

A community of vowed Catholic women religious, who joyfully live out the radical Gospel message of love, mercy and justice in today’s world. Inspired by our foundress Saint Mother Theodore Guerin, we are passionate about our lives of prayer, education, service and advocacy. We dedicate ourselves to helping those who might otherwise be forgotten.

Thank you, associates elect, thank you to the many Providence Associates here and elsewhere who will renew their commitment to this charism of Providence.

As you make that commitment, please hear our Foundress Saint Mother Theodore say what I believe is her greatest prayer of COMMUNITY and CONNECTION and her fondest hope for all of us who walk in her footsteps:

“Grant, oh my God, that all who dwell in this house will love thee much, will love one another, and may never forget why they came here.”

And may we all dwell here very sincerely and with happy hearts.