MISSION
| The Society of St. Ursula,
founded by Anne de Xainctonge in 1606 in Dole, France, is an apostolic community of religious women."To make Jesus Christ known
and loved for the glory of the Father": in consecrating herself to God, Anne had this one desire.
For
this she wanted companions who were completely given to Jesus Christ, women who were
deeply spiritual and thoroughly grounded in the truths of the faith.
Anne clearly identified the essential
elements which the Society must keep to remain faithful to its mission:
the Christian education of girls and women, the absence of cloister, Ignatian
spirituality.
This same inspiration brings us together
in community.It commits us to share in the Church's mission of education
to young people and women, with a preference for the poor.
The mosaics of Anne de Xainctonge and Notre Dame's Crest were designed by our art teacher, Mr. Andy Weeks. During orientation 2007, the school community, in 2 groups of 150 students, painted over 300, 3" square pieces. The 9th and 12th grades created Anne's mosaic and the 10th and 11th grades worked on the school crest.
We had a small group meetings for our first value of the year: Respect. Our 305 students broke up into21 small groups of 16 students. The were led by 62 newly trained group leaders called: Anne's Leaders. Reports from everyone involved were very favorable. We have two books this year: Anne's Leader's Handbooks and Anne de Xainctonge's Values Curriculum Workbook.
|
 Because
our apostolic vocation is rooted in our consecration to Jesus Christ, the
One sent by the Father, our activity finds in him its source and fulfillment.
Our entire life should be a sharing in the unfolding of his mystery.
Therefore, by our life of humble service,
as Anne de Xainctonge wished, we will not carry great torches which cast
a brilliant light in the Church, but we 'will carry little lamps which
shall enlighten young girls, servants, the poor and
women, in order to make God known
and adored through his divine Son Our Lord.'"
(Constitutions Society of St. Ursula
of Anne de Xainctonge)
Click on the building to visit the
Notre Dame School website |
(L-R) Ellen Marie Donnelly, SU, Elizabeth
Anne DiPippo, SU, and Elizabeth DiTolla, SU |
The orientations of the
General Congregation 2000 find their foundation and impetus in the texts
of GC 94. Grounded in the text on Mission, today we want to deepen our
response to what we perceive, in this new millennium, as current and urgent
calls from ourselves, from the Church and from the world (Const 7-8).
In the first place, we again feel moved
and called to encourage each of us to deepen our personal relationship
with Jesus Christ through a re-immersion in the spirituality of Ignatius
and Anne. For us, these words and this manner of expression and living
speak the language of the heart.
As educators in the faith, we choose
to walk the road of gospel non-violence in all the aspects in which it
touches our lives especially personal relationships, the spirituality of
the earth and issues of justice and peace.
These orientations suggest concrete
ways of proceeding over the next five years. Personal conversion, prayer,
initial and on-going formation, reading, collaboration with others, time
spent in Sabbath, communal sharing and regular consciousness examen, appropriate
corporate commitment, inter-regional projects and, above all, processes
of discernment will help point the way. |
Catherine Gormley, SU and Kathleen
Donnelly, SU
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 May
our response to these calls, in the offering of our individual freedom,
human understanding and personal will, mark us indelibly as members of
the Society of Saint Ursula. May our very lives be the living signature
of our commitment to Jesus Christ alive and active in our world.
Mary Dolan, SU with Notre Dame staff
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