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The Southern Cross, Page 6
Aronamd
Thursday, October 12, 2000
Two from diocese take vows
as Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne
Left: Sisters Marie, Elizabeth and John Marie “took the habit”
and chose religious names on September 14. Sister Elizabeth is
from Macon. Above: Sisters Alma Marie, Margaret and Mae
made their final vows as Hawthorne Dominicans at the same
ceremony. Sister Alma Marie is from Thomasville.
Hawthorne, New York
O n September 14, the Feast of The
Triumph of the Holy Cross, three
women from diverse backgrounds took
final vows as Hawthorne Dominicans, a
community of religious women with
one apostolate—nursing incurable can
cer patients. One of them, Sister Alma
Marie Borja, hails from Thomasville, in
the Diocese of Savannah. Three others
took the habit and their religious names,
on the way to final profession. One of
them, Sister Mary Elizabeth Thye, is
from Macon.
These women continue in the foot
steps of Rose Hawthorne Lathrop and
Alice Huber, co-foundresses of the
Community who, one hundred years
ago, on December 8, 1900, professed
vows and took the religious names:
Sister Alphonsa and Sister Rose. That
day marked the founding of the
Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne,
Servants of Relief for Incurable Cancer.
Father Benedict Groeschel of the
Franciscan Friars of the Renewal offici
ated at the Eucharistic Celebration and
Ceremony of Profession of Vows. The
Ceremony took place in the Chapel of
Our Lady of the Rosary, on the grounds
of the Motherhouse in Hawthorne, New
York. It was followed by a celebration
with family and friends.
Sister Alma Marie (Malou Borja) is
originally from the Philippines. She and
her family came to the United States in
1985 and settled in Georgia. The eldest
of four children, Sister is a graduate of
Early County High School in Blakely,
Georgia. She was a member of Saint
Augustine Church in Thomasville and
was pursuing her college degree before
entering the novitiate. Sister Alma
Marie is the second member of Saint
Augustine’s to enter the order in recent
years. Sister Faustina (Tuesday
Rodriguez) entered the order previous
ly. Louella Borja, another parishioner,
will enter the order in November.
Sister Mary Elizabeth (Carolyn Thye)
grew up in Cordele and moved to
Macon in 1993. She attended Georgia
College in Milledgeville where she
earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in
Nursing. Sister worked for several years
as a registered nurse before taking a
position with a hospice. Sister’s parents
and brother live in Schuylkill Haven,
Pennsylvania. Her sister, Sister Mary
Raymond, is a member of the Nashville
Dominicans in Tennessee. She has two
other sisters who are members of reli
gious communities.
The Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne
nurse incurable cancer patients in seven
modem nursing facilities in six states:
New York, Massachusetts, Penn
sylvania, Georgia, Ohio and Minnesota.
The homes are built and maintained
entirely by contributions from generous
and concerned individuals. All care is
free. The homes are for those who can
not afford nursing care.
Women are drawn to this community
by its traditional community life, strong
prayer life and a challenging apostolate.
While the apostolate is an important
aspect of the sisters’ lives, prayer is its
basis. The prayer life must be there to get
one through rough times and to give
one’s life substance. Prayer is the core
and center of the sisters’ whole existence.
Many of the women who enter have
no prior nursing experience, but they
share a great compassion for the sick
poor and, as they become acquainted
with the apostolate, they find it gives
tremendous rewards. Nursing incurable
cancer patients is difficult work, but it
is work that must be done, and must be
done well for love of God. Every sister
helps with the patients but primary care
is given by the nursing sisters. A small
staff of orderlies assist the sisters in the
men’s wards.
“Prayer, work and community”—
according to Mother Marie Edward, the
Mother General of the Community —
“these three aspects together create an
atmosphere in which the sisters are, in
the words of Thomas Merton, ‘com
pletely free to serve God in perfection
for his own sake alone’.”
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