To speak of the Spirituality Center in Ipswich, we must begin by contemplating and thanking the creator for this magnificent piece of creation. The Center, located on God's gift of an ecosystem of hills, ponds, woods, salt marsh, grasses, and a variety of breathing creatures, is a setting that inspires deep pondering of how the good God is revealed in each creature.

The Spirituality Center lies within the residence of a large community of retired and semi-retired Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur. The outer landscape matches the breathtaking beauty of Mary Queen Chapel and the magnificent three-paneled, stained-glass windows and hand-painted Stations of the Cross, all designed by the mystic artist Sister Vincent de Paul Curran, SNDdeN. The chapel is a special place of prayer for the sisters and retreatants. The Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur embrace the call to live an active contemplative life, and it is evident from the many individuals and groups who come to retreat at the center that this call is also deeply felt by many women and men in many spiritual traditions.

The center has a long history. It has nurtured a space for sacred prayer and reflection since its inception. It was first opened in 1996 in response to a needs assessment of best sharing our property as a resource for the broader community. To our surprise, we heard back about the need for a place for conferences and retreats, apart from the busyness of life, for quiet reflection and sharing. We listened to that call, and the Spirituality Center was born as a ministry for the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur.

The center's mission is to provide a contemplative setting with spiritual and educational opportunities to experience more deeply the goodness of God and the goodness of life itself while providing the time and space to become more deeply conscious of the divine and the cosmic community.

The Center began developing programs, such as days of prayer and weekend retreats, and soon after, it hosted inter-congregational and ecumenical gatherings and retreats. Now, the Center has expanded the number of hosted groups coming from a variety of backgrounds: parishes, schools, colleges, religious congregations, and churches of various faiths and ethnic origins and at the same time, offers its programs: spiritual direction, weekend retreats, directed and guided retreats, days of prayer, Centering Prayer, among others. With the closing of area retreat centers in recent years, there has been a significant influx of requests. The center could not function without our warm, hospitable staff and team of sister volunteers whose selfless, joyful service delights our guests.

In 2020, significant renovations were done to make the center more conducive to its mission. It now has 29 rooms with ensuite bathrooms, a newly designed small conference room, and the original conference room, drawing guests into the welcoming presence of Mary and Elizabeth through the Visitation stained-glass window.

The center's outdoor space was recently designed and built into the natural landscape, with a labyrinth, a salt marsh overlook, and a woodland path to enhance the outdoor prayer spaces for encountering the creator. These sacred spaces are conducive to listening to the Spirit and hearing one's inner voice. In the words of our foundress, St. Julie Billiart, "Be attentive to the inner voice of grace; it will never be absent. Listen to the good God in all things." ("Remembering God's Goodness: Daily thoughts based on the writings of St. Julie Billiart.")

And, too, we hear the words of Pope Francis in his encyclical Laudato Si': "The external deserts in the world are growing because the internal deserts have become so vast." (LS 217)

In this external desert, the present world of turbulence, violence, discrimination, and destruction, the natural world, the silent, still places like those within and surrounding the Spirituality Center, helps reveal what we need. In the words of St. Julie (1813): "Courage, a great spirit, solid values! That's what we need in our century. A lively faith must make us conquer all kinds of difficulties . . . The more difficult the times are, the more we must expect and hope from the goodness of the good God."

Those who come to the Spirituality Center often say that they feel enveloped by an outer calm and inner peace while coming up the driveway.

All are welcome! All are welcome! In this place!

For more information, visit our website at www.ndspiritualitycenter.org.



SISTER MARY ALICE MCCABE, SNDDEN, WORKED WITH RURAL COMMUNITIES AS A CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY ORGANIZER IN BRAZIL AND NICARAGUA FROM 1970 UNTIL 2017. DURING RECENT YEARS, SHE, ALONG WITH 32 OTHER SISTERS OF NOTRE DAME, SERVED AT THE HUMANITARIAN RESPITE CENTER IN MCALLEN, TEXAS, AND IN THE MATAMOROS, MEXICO, IMMIGRANT CAMP, WHERE THEY WELCOMED REFUGEE FAMILIES SEEKING ASYLUM IN THE U.S. SISTER MARY ALICE IS CO-COORDINATOR OF THE LAUDATO SI' ACTION PLATFORM TEAM FOR THE SISTERS OF NOTRE DAME DE NAMUR EAST-WEST PROVINCE, WHICH AIMS TO RESPOND COLLECTIVELY TO POPE FRANCIS'S URGENT CALL -- "LAUDATO SI'- CARE FOR OUR COMMON HOME." SHE SERVES ON THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE CUVILLY ARTS AND EARTH CENTER AND CUVILLY'S ECOJUSTICE NETWORK.



This article originally appeared in the Sept. 20, 2024, issue of The Pilot.