Congratulations to Sisters Fulton Marie Meismer, Joseph Lucia Grieshop, and Catherine Paul Gignoux, who made their Perpetual Profession of Vows with the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist, on July 28 at Christ the King Parish in Ann Arbor. Ad multos annos!
“My sisters, today’s celebration has a matrimonial sense about it. You are making of yourselves a gift to Jesus himself,” said Bishop Earl Boyea, the principal celebrant and homilist at the Mass of Perpetual Religious Profession.
“But you recognize that you are only able to do this because he has first made himself a gift to each of you. You have his heart, you have his mind, you have his love, and you have his cross.”
Founded in 1997, the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist honor the Dominican tradition established in the 13th century by Saint Dominic Guzman while also embracing Pope Saint John Paul II’s call to a New Evangelization.
With their motherhouse in Ann Arbor, God has blessed the order with rapid growth. They currently number more than 140 sisters, with an average age of 38. The sisters describe their mission as “to share God’s message of faith and the joy of religious life with the modern world through education, vocation promotion, and the media.” Bishop Boyea’s homily is reproduced in full below:
• Homily by Bishop Earl Boyea of Lansing upon the occasion of Perpetual Profession of Vows for the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist 2026, July 28, 2026, Christ the King, Ann Arbor:
My dear sisters, you wish to be pledged as brides of Jesus Christ. Hosea starts us off with these words of God: “I will espouse you to me forever.” This snippet of the Old Testament does not include the words of challenge and repudiation which Hosea voices earlier in chapter two. That earlier charge against Israel was meant to motivate the people to redemption. Thus, the words at the beginning of our reading, “I will allure her,” make sense. This wedding is really the work of God in you; he is alluring you; he will make sure that this endures in fidelity forever. We simply have to give ourselves over to him.
For this to happen we have St. Paul as a model. To be espoused to Christ it is not simply a matter of “considering everything [else] as a loss,” as Paul puts it in his letter to the Philippians. It is instead “the supreme good of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.” This, my sisters, is not knowing about Jesus, but rather it is knowing him personally. What kind of espousal would there be without that kind of connection? But such a knowledge, while it does include the power of the Resurrection, also involves “sharing of his sufferings by being conformed to his death.” My sisters, you are being allured to the cross and resurrection of our Lord. Pursue that prize of God’s upward calling.
Yet, engaged as you all are in the great ministry of the Word, especially through teaching, you know that this espousal is not just for yourself. You are actually seeking to fulfill Jesus’ own prayer to his Heavenly Father: “I pray not only for these, but also for those who will believe in me through their word.” This union you seek to consummate with the Lord Jesus Christ is ultimately to participate in the great union of the Father and the Son, that is the union of Love itself, a love which is glory itself, a love which imitates the love manifested in the Lord’s gift of himself. Your espousal, my sisters, will bring you face to face with many others and your love will draw them into the very heart of Christ. Thus, Jesus’ prayer for you is clear: “that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.”
My sisters, today’s celebration has a matrimonial sense about it. You are making of yourselves a gift to Jesus himself. But you recognize that you are only able to do this because he has first made himself a gift to each of you. You have his heart, you have his mind, you have his love, and you have his cross.
Notice that after the end of today’s Gospel account, since Jesus’ prayer to the Father was finished, they all headed over to the Kidron Valley. And we know what was then in store. There were only 11 of them with Jesus and soon they all would be gone.
Fortunately for us, the Spirit was in the wings waiting to fire these guys up. While today is filled with joyous glory, you are being led by this loving Lord to that same valley. Whatever it may mean for you, you are not alone, for your spouse is ever with you. Invite that same Spirit to be the fire which sets you free to ignite the world with his love.
