History of the Order and Our Heritage

                               In 1999, a group of women lead by Sister Carole Ann Yates (d. 2010) came together to begin the Order of St. Brigid, based on                                 the teaching and structures used by St. Brigid of Kildare.  Sr. Carole was a devote Anglican and to the Order through which

                               she raised funds and worked for medical missions in rural Alabama while serving as the first prioress of the Order.  Over

                               the years, and due to the untimely death of Sister Carole, the Order went dormant and their original rule of life was lost.

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                               In late summer 2018, Rev. Dr. Katherine "Amma Kate" Mary Martin, D.Min., LCSW and Shawna Lea Osborn, RN, FCN were

approached about reconstituting a religious order for women of various walks of life.  Both ladies, who together had a combined 40+ years of experience in monastic life, were passionate about integrating the wisdom of desert mothers and saints into every day spirituality for the 21st century, including its application to contemplative prayer, multi-generational families, and caring for the sick and vulnerable.  After much prayer, reflection, and discussion, both ladies decided to follow God’s call in creating a unique Order for women.  

 

Reconstituted on the Feast of the Holy Cross on September 14, 2018, Amma Kate was installed by Bishop Jones as

the first abbess, and Sister Shawna as the second prioress, of the reconstituted Order.

 

The Sisters of Hope was created to be a nurturing and empowering, community who welcomes Christian Women

who are called to the tradition of prayer, work, study, contemplation, spiritual formation, and hospitality. Drawing

from the ancient wisdom of great desert mothers and female saints, the Sisters of Hope uses an integrated
approach as both a contemplative and active monastic order archetypical of the life of St. Brigid of Kildare.  

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     Amma Syncletica of Alexandria said, "There are many who live in the mountains and behave as if they were in the town; they are wasting their time. It is possible to be a solitary in one's mind while living in a crowd; and it is possible for those who are solitaries to live in the crowd of their own thoughts."

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Just as Mother Teresa of Calcutta heard a call within a call, we at the Sisters of Hope sought to make a difference in the world within our vocation.  In January of 2022, after Amma Kate retired as Abbess and retained the title of Abbess Emeritus,  the ladies of the Order felt it was time to solidify and integrate a historic catholic monastic tradition to the Order to bring a comprehensive and unique, Christ-inspired walk to our women.   On January 24, 2022, the Order unanimously voted to transition to a Dominican order with the blessings of the chaplains and bishop protector.

 

     Amma Theodora of Alexandria said, “Let us strive to enter by the narrow gate. Just as the trees, if they have not stood before the winter’s storms cannot bear fruit, so it is with us; this present age is a storm and it is only through many trials and temptations that we can obtain an inheritance in the kingdom of heaven.”

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What Makes Sisters of Hope Different

When looking at monastic orders, a third order (also known as a tertiary monastic order) is an association of persons who live according to a rule of life, but may not necessarily live in a community together and yet can wear the habit and participate in the good works.  According to the New Advent Catholic Encyclopedia, “third orders can each be divided into (a) regulars, i.e. living in convents, and (b) seculars, i.e. living in the world... Any catholic may join a third order, but may not at once belong to more than one, nor may without grave cause leave one for another.”   Dominican Orders for women contain both second order (those who live together) and third order (dispersed) persons.  The Sisters of Hope welcome single, married, divorced, or widowed women from jurisdictions or denominations in the ancient tradition of apostolic succession to discern their call to become a vowed sister or an associate.  Although currently dispersed, we are seeking to purchase a building for those sisters seeking to live in community together. Whether a sister chooses to live in community with others from the Order or beyond the residential walls, we have set standards that allow us to identify as monastics and to spiritually fellowship with our sisters from whom we may be physically separated.

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Like St. Brigid of Kildare, St. Dominic sought to share the truth of God's love with the world. As St. Dominic began his preaching ministry, he established a group of women converts.  Although his Order did not yet have official status, in 1206, the first community of Dominicans was women at the monastery of Blessed Mary of Prouille in the south of France, known as the preaching nuns. As the Dominican Friars of the Province of St. Joseph has said,  " When St. Dominic first approached Pope Innocent III in 1213 about founding an [Order], the pope responded with enthusiasm, but with one condition: ... no religious order was allowed to create a new rule of life for itself, so St. Dominic and his brothers would have to decide on a rule already in place in the Church.  When St. Dominic returned to Toulouse with the news, the brothers decided quickly and unanimously to adopt the Rule of St. Augustine. There were many practical advantages to their choice: the rule is short, with a great degree of adaptability; it was familiar, in that St. Dominic had been living under the rule for years as a canon in Osma; and it was one of the oldest and most venerable rules in use at the time, giving it a valued air of venerability and sanctity. But there were even more important spiritual advantages to the Rule of St. Augustine. The rule is elegant in its simplicity, addressing the very heart of human desires and needs, showing by prescript and exhortation how men are to live their lives unto God. The rule is also profoundly merciful, while remaining a vibrant challenge to those who live it; the rule expects that men will enter religious life at different personal and spiritual stages, and provides for their individual maturation within the context of the fraternal life...  But perhaps the most important dimension of the rule is expressed in the opening line: 'Before all things, dearly beloved brothers, love God and then your neighbor, because these were the first commandments given to us' (Ante omnia, fratres carissimi, diligatur Deus, deinde proximus, quia ista sunt praecepta principaliter nobis data.). The life of a Dominican must begin and end with this two-fold love: the love of God that drives his whole person, and the love of neighbor that impels him to [evangelize]."

 

For these reasons, the Sisters of Hope were honored to adopt the Dominican life with a modified Rule of St. Augustine while still respecting and integrating the roots of the original Order of St. Brigid.  On the Feast of St. Catherine of Siena (a Dominican and one of four women doctors of the church) on April 29, 2022, Sr. Shawna will be installed as second Abbess of the Order and Sr. Karen Giardina will be the Order's third prioress.

 

Official Verse of All Dominican Orders  
“And as for all who walk by this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God.” ~ Galatians 6:16 (ESV)

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Additional Sisters of Hope Verse

"Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves... Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.  May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope."
~ Romans 12:10,12; 15:13 (ESV)

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Official Dominican Order Mottos

• Laudare, Benedicere, Praedicare – Latin for "To Praise, To Bless, To Preach"

• Veritas – Latin for "Truth"

• Una fide, spe et caritate. – Latin for "One in Faith, Hope, and Love."

• Contemplari et contemplata aliis trader – Latin for "To Contemplate and to Hand on to Others the Fruits of Contemplation."

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Sisters of Hope Motto

"One in Faith, Hope, and Love" - this motto was originally influenced by 1 Thessalonians 1:3 (ESV), "Remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, " but the Sisters also chose this motto for our love of Micah 6:8 which encourages us to act justly, love mercy, and walk with God.