By Sister Marcella Donahue

(Editor’s Note: This week’s guest columnist is Sister Marcella Donahue, a sister of Notre Dame who teaches at St. Thomas More in Decatur. She is writing at the invitation of Sister Genievieve Schse who has requested members of various religious orders in the area to write about their different orders.)

“Prophetic voices in our days calling the church to renew herself, speak most insistently to us, the apostolic religious of the world. They call for a new Pentecost, a renewal of that moment when the mighty wind of the Spirit transformed fearful men into dynamic apostles to bring the good news of salvation to the world.”

A Spirited wind has taken hold of the church, forcing, questioning, probing, acting. In and with the church and with all men of good will, the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur seek to minister to a fractured world, making real the message of Jesus that each man is brother.

The Sisters of Notre Dame have a tradition of trying to respond to the needs of society. An extraordinary woman, Julie Billiart, formed the first group of sisters in the upheaval of post-revolutionary French society. Because of her connection with priests who refused the oath of allegiance to the state, she became an enemy to that state.

Reflecting on a society in which young women, especially the poor, were unable to receive an education, Julie responded by setting up free schools for the poor, supporting them by boarding schools for more wealthy girls. As some of her ideas of religious life differed from those of the bishop of France, Julie was not permitted to remain there. This conflict led to her establishing her foundation in Namur, Belgium. Julie’s vision of a world-wide community has been realized, as sisters serve in North and South America, Europe, Asia and Africa.

The Maryland Province of the Sisters of Notre Dame extends from New York to Florida. This group has committed itself “to work together and with others towards transformation of our society’s fundamentally materialistic value-base, which fosters such problems as poverty, racism, and violence, into a value system rooted in the Gospel.” (Statement of Mission, adopted by Sisters of Notre Dame, April 1970). In a ministry which is largely educational in nature, sisters serve in schools from elementary to university levels, in religious education, with migrant workers, in social work, nursing and in foreign missions.

At present there are 13 Sisters of Notre Dame in the Atlanta area. They serve on the faculties of St. Thomas More, St. Pius X and St. Joseph High Schools and on the staffs of Emmaus House and DeKalb Hospital.

Speaking on the role of religious women in the church’s search to bring justice to all men, Sr. Rosalie Murphy, Provincial of the Sisters of Notre Dame states: “We have chosen to identify with one who made it quite clear: My kingdom is not of this world. We have opted to belong to the church in an official way and to participate publicly in furthering its mission. And that mission is living in the world, sharing and shaping its history, sharing the destiny of the human community and assuming as our own its struggles and suffering.”

The Spirited wind that hovers in the hearts of men and moves them to great deeds bids each one to name every man brother. It is this good news that the Sisters of Notre Dame seek to proclaim.