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Sister Dawn Tomaszewski

Content written by Sister Dawn

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Mother Theodore was just here…

Mother Theodore is always present in our day-to-day lives. This fact was made all the more evident after attending the Saint Mother Theodore Fest this past weekend.

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It takes a village, a caring village, to put an end to hunger

Writer and management consultant Margaret Wheatley says, “There is no power equal to a community discovering what it cares about.”

This line came into my mind as I was scurrying around the Saint Mary-of-the-Woods campus last Saturday taking pictures of a community caring about the fact that people in their neighborhood are hungry. Officially called the Hunger Bust Fun Run/Walk, the event was sponsored by St. Mary’s Village Parish with all proceeds going to support Providence Food Pantry, a sponsored ministry of the Sisters of Providence.

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The Papal Conclave: March Madness & the Gift of the Holy Spirit

I love the annual NCAA College Basketball Tournament, affectionately marketed as “March Madness.” Like many fans I rip out the page from the newspaper that has the teams in their brackets and begin to pick my winners. My best case scenario has North Carolina, my graduate school alma mater, going to the Final Four. But…

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Let’s go down to the river to pray … you could really benefit from this!

After the January Taizé prayer service at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, we learned that one of the participants made the following report to members of a committee on which he serves: “You all should go to the next one. You could really benefit from this.” These monthly services in the Church of the Immaculate Conception were created…

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Black Friday CAN BE a Good Friday!

One would probably expect that a blog post coming from the Sisters of Providence with “Black Friday” in the title would condemn the blatant consumerism running rampant in our society. While consumerism is definitely an issue, I have to admit that I LOVE BLACK FRIDAY. In fact, I have loved Black Friday even before it…

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“It’s those gates”

A musing on what happens when you enter the gates at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods. It happened again. This time it was during the orientation of our newest candidates to become associates of the Sisters of Providence. There were about 50 of us in the room, half were women and men interested in entering into a deeper…

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“The Sisters are always there”

Given the magnitude of the issues facing the Leadership Conference of Women Religious during its recent annual assembly Aug. 7-10 … Given the amazing presence and presentation of keynote speaker Barbara Marx Hubbard… Given the inspiring presidential address offered to 900 members of the conference who responded with a sustained (and sustaining) standing ovation ……

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Do you remember your First Holy Communion?

My young friend, Patrick Donovan, made his First Communion last weekend. Not only did I receive an invitation to attend this special occasion but I also was part of the advance team to deliver Pat to church for his class picture and to stake out a pew for the rest of the family. Nestled in…

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St. Josephine Bakhita: A Super Bowl MVP

The proximity of this year’s Super Bowl to the heart of our community here at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods has made us painfully aware of the issue of human trafficking. It is a sad fact that one of the major ways that human trafficking occurs in our country is at major sporting events where hundreds, in some…

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Opwatki is another name for love

This week, my wonderfully NON-Polish sister-in-law will travel to a Polish deli near her home outside of Chicago in search of kielbasa. She has chosen this deli because her daughter’s band director told her she also would find Opwatki there. “I know we have to have Opwatki,” she told me proudly when we spoke over…

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A faceless ghost?

It’s a perfect time for a good ghost story. Settle in and hear this first-hand account of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods own “faceless nun.”

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Sister Dawn Tomaszewski was elected General Superior of the Sisters of Providence in 2016. She has been a Sister of Providence since 1975. Previously she ministered as a teacher, as communication and development director for the sisters and their ministries and as a member of elected leadership on the general council of the Sisters of Providence.

Sister profile

To learn more about Sister Dawn, view her sister profile page.