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Sister Denise Wilkinson

Content written by Sister Denise

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What have we to do in order to become saints?

Happy Feast! It’s good to be here with the usual suspects — SPs, Providence Associates, SP and PHC staff, colleagues and alumnae from SMWC, our close neighbors from the Village and West Terre Haute and Terre Haute. As always, we welcome all who have come to celebrate. It’s hard to believe that it has been…

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The 2011 installation of the General Officers

When the General Councilors and I planned this liturgy, we quickly chose as its theme the Mother Theodore quotation that appears on the cover of your worship aid: “Perfect abandonment of ourselves in all things for the future requires great courage, but we ought to aspire to it.” — Saint Mother Theodore Guerin. For the…

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Prayer in troubled times

Some days ago I received a request from a local newspaper reporter who was preparing an article about the 10th anniversary of the catastrophic events here in the U.S. on 9/11/01. She asked me if I thought people tended to turn to prayer at times of tragedy or turmoil. If so, why did I think…

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General Chapter 2011

Our General Chapter ended just about four weeks ago. The past weeks have given me the opportunity to reflect on the experience and outcomes of our time together and what I’d like to share with all of you, our partners in mission. All of my reflections center on a deep sense of gratitude, i.e., thankfulness…

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Father’s Day 2011

Working out in my garden yesterday, I inadvertently witnessed/eavesdropped on a lovely father-child series of moments – aka father-love-in-action. A van pulled up at the fountain standing at the end of the Avenue, our “main street” if you will. A family piled out — grandparents, mom and dad — but not the toddler who was…

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Easter 2011

As we enter the final week of Lent, the deep, deep purple of Lenten liturgical environments gives way first to the blazing red of Passion Sunday and Passion week, then briefly breaks into the startling white of Holy Thursday, then back to the blazing red of Good Friday and, finally, to the gentle pastels and…

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The annual exercise of Lent

Good old Lent! Here you are again — staring me in the face … daring me to find something good about the experience — in spite of my many years of getting to Easter and thinking, “Well, another Lent when I didn’t do what I said I would.” Lent, for me, is the Catholic equivalent…

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Valentine’s Day 2011

My cousin’s son and his wife have a son, Jack Alfred. (At family gatherings, use of his middle name is required to distinguish him from his cousin Jack Louis.) In my lamentably too few encounters with Jack Alfred, I find him a wonderful blend of serious and effervescent, inquisitive and definite. What I often observe…

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Be merry: Christmas reflection 2010

I have a fondness for the word “merry.” For years, my Christmas card complementary closing has been “Be merry!” What am I encouraging with this sign-off? “Merry” is defined as: full of fun and laughter; lively and cheerful; mirthful; conducive to fun and laughter. Remembering the definition caused me to wonder just how many merry…

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The Days of Our Waiting – Advent 2010

I find myself very taken with these ideas taken from Judy Cannato’s lovely book Field of Compassion: One way to speak of the Christian story is to say that God is always doing something more. Incomprehensible holy mystery is always giving more, revealing more communicating more. The only limit to that giving has been creation’s…

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Saying thank you: Thanksgiving 2010

How many times have we witnessed (or participated in) this scenario? An adult hands something to a small child and a parent says to the little one, “What do you say?” The expected response? Thank you! We all know the drill. In addition to being an expression of politeness, this oft-repeated exchange is also a…

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Day of the Dead — All Souls Day

My least favorite explanation for anything is that’s just the way it is. I can instantly feel the resistance rise up inside me. Reflection over the years has brought me to the realization that I resist the statement of fact because I don’t like the fact-in-question itself. Case in point – death. I get it…

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Sister Denise was the general superior of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods from 2006-2016. She previously served as a high school teacher, college administrator, postulant/novice director and director of advancement and communications for the Congregation. Currently, Sister Denise serves the Congregation in various volunteer positions.

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