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Sister Denise Wilkinson

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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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Foundation Day – Oct. 22, 2010
Happy Foundation Day! Happy 170th anniversary of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods and of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College! In the name of the Sisters of Providence and our Providence Associates, I extend a warm welcome to all present here – our co-workers, our dear neighbors and family members, members of the SMWC community and…
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Feast Day 2010
Happy Feast! What a wonderful community gathered to celebrate the life of Saint Mother Theodore, our foundress and our model of humanness and holiness. This is the fourth time I’ve preached on this feast day; and I have grown to love the richness and challenge of the Scriptures proclaimed. This year, maybe because I’m shopping…
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Gratitude – Thanksgiving 2009
It’s a rare thanksgiving season that I don’t hear my grandma’s oft-repeated admonition to us for any breach of good behavior. “Don’t be such an ingrate.” My mother’s corrections were much more behavior specific. “Don’t be fresh.” “Stop bickering.” “Be polite when you ask.” “I told you to stop jumping on the beds.” Not Grandma…
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We hear from where we stand – Foundation Day 2009
Happy Foundation Day! There’s a saying, “We see from where we stand.” As I was reflecting on these readings, I started to think it’s as true to say, “We hear from where we stand.” In this church, in its warmth and light and community, the Scriptures chosen for this celebration sound comforting, don’t they? Yahweh…
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How to become a saint – Saint Mother Theodore Guerin’s Feast Day 2009
Many of us here remember the safe landing of US Airways Flight # 1549 into the Hudson River this past January. A total of 155 persons aboard — no lives lost; pilot and crew performing gracefully and competently under the worst kind of pressure. We heard words like remarkable, extraordinary, heroic. One passenger even used…
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Principles of non-violence
Paging through the newspaper the other day, I came across an interview with Ambassador Andrew Young, a close associate of Martin Luther King, Jr. The interviewer asked Young many questions about his early days in the civil rights movement. Young’s responses were thoughtful, measured and obviously the product of a man who has spent a…
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O Death, where is your victory? O Death, where is your sting? – Easter 2009
Whenever I stumble upon this passage from 1 Corinthians 15, I have the same knee-jerk reaction: I can go with the victory part; but death does sting. When a loved one dies, sensations of loneliness, loss, grief — sometimes even anger — sting us. Watching the news these past several days, who hasn’t felt the…
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Honor Divine Providence
This article is reprinted from the winter 2009 issue of HOPE. Of the many gifts membership in the Congregation bestows on us, a commitment to life-long learning is among the most valuable. This commitment extends not only to professional education aiding us in our ministerial lives but also to on-going education in theology and spirituality….
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Sister Denise reflection: 2008 Rite of Commitment
On Saturday, Nov. 8, 2008, 32 candidate-associates made their first commitment as Providence Associates during the Rite of Commitment in the Church of the Immaculate Conception. During the Eucharistic Liturgy, 43 Providence Associates renewed their commitments. The following reflection was given by General Superior Sister Denise Wilkinson. I remember when Sister Mary Alice Zander and…
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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To learn more about Sister Denise, view her sister profile page.