Children of Mary 2008

The Children of Mary at St Anthony’s Parish had a busy time over Easter as well.

They finished off the brass-cleaning which the Girls’ School had started on the Day of Recollection. This was a huge job, getting all the stored brass and the brass off the altar cleaned. As we are near the sea and the river the atmosphere is both damp and salty, which means brass tarnishes easily.



As well the Children of Mary had the responsibility for putting up the Altar of Repose. This was to be put up in the Parish Library where there is already and altar for Mass if there are too many priests in the parish wanting to say Mass. The girls draped hangings behind the altar, put up lights and decorated the altar with flowers. They had to call in the talents of a tall boy to put up the very highest draperies as they could not reach. The highest points. Everybody agreed that it was a truly reverent and inspirational Altar of Repose.







As well, many of the girls from the Children of Mary were involved in the Choir for the Midnight Mass and they all came back voluntarily next morning for the High Mass. Thank you, Children of Mary for all your work for the Parish over Easter!

Day of Recollection in our Schools.

On the Wednesday of Holy Week all the schools in the parish had a Day of Recollection. Father Cranshaw took the Primary School, Father Kurtz took the Boys’ Secondary School, and Father Laisney took the Girls’ Secondary School, St Dominic’s College.



Our Day of Recollection was held in the Hockey Club and the Croquet Club. We had talks in the Hockey club where we each had a table to write on and a nice chair. Sister Catherine had removed some of the Hockey photos and had put up a crucifix instead. Father spoke very well about the Mysteries of the Rosary and we said Fifteen Decades of the Rosary during the day. Between the lectures we were able to go to the Hockey Club for confessions as the Sisters had set up a confessional using the Hockey Club’s notice-boards.

If we were not going to Confession we spent the time between the lectures in the Croquet Club. As we had a lot of brass to clean for the Easter Ceremonies we worked silently on that while a teacher read to us or played a tape.



At lunch-time we sat out on the Croquet Lawn and ate silently while the teachers played a tape. Then it was back to the brass!



A nice feature of the day was the Outdoor Stations of the Cross which took place around the Croquet Lawn after lunch. Sister Catheine had made a laminated picture of each Station and we processed around them with Father leading us and all of us praying the prayers from the St Alphonsus books used in the Church.



Round about 3 o’clock the day ended and we could talk again. We certainly did break out then. We had to put the Hockey Hall back to its usual order, and to tidy the Croquet Club. We left much of the brass there as many of us would come voluntarily next day to continue cleaning it.

One of our Girls gets Top of the World.

Virginie receiving her Top of the World award

We had a great thrill this month when we were notified that one of our pupils had come Top of the World in the Cambridge IGCSE Examinations. This was Virginie Mathey who came top in French. Virginie is originally from New Caledonia but she must have done well in all aspects of the examination to gain this top place with 99% over the various components of the Examination. Her mother says that her French is very rusty after being out of French schools since Virginie was ten – but we think it cannot be too bad!


Father Laisney receiving the “ Top School ” award.

Virginie and her mother and father, and S.M.Madeleine, her French teacher, and Father Laisney, the Principal, went to Auckland for an awards ceremony. Virginie went up and received her prize, and Father Laisney was also called up to receive a “ Top School ” award. We thought this a fitting reward for all the time and effort he puts into our school!


Mr and Mrs Mathey with Virginie, Sister Mary Madeleine O.P and Father Laisney

Form 6 Trip to Wellington

On 25 February S.M.Madeleine and Mother Micaela took the Form 6 girls to Wellington for a cultural excursion. In the morning we visited the Alliance Francaise for a French experience, then we went to the beach for lunch which we had purchased at a French Bakery. In the afternoon we visited the birthplace of Katherine Mansfield, a New Zealand writer who revolutionized the short story.


Lunch at the beach


Birthplace of Katherine Mansfield

Form 7: Trip to the Museum.

Recently the Form 7 senior girls went to the Wanganui Museum to study background for the book they are reading for their Cambridge “A” Level Coursework. The book is set in early New Zealand before and during the Maori Wars. The Museum Educator had arranged an interesting experience for the girls. They were able to re-enact scenes from the book using Maori weapons and wearing Maori cloaks.





They were also able to dress up in replica colonial costumes, including fashionable women’s restrictive garments of the period and as British Soldiers.

The Novitiate

“Beati qui habitant in domo tua, Domine: in saecula saeculorum laudabunt te.”

Whenever we novices meet up with our old friends, they always invariably ask us: “so, Sister, what do you do all day?”
This question always provokes a grin, partly because of the honest incredulity behind it, (after all, it seems such an uneventful life) and partly because of its naivety. To the average person outside the Convent, it would seem that nuns really have no worries – and they are always praying!

- Well, what does a little Dominican novice do all day?

Certainly our lives are not as they would be in the world – after all, we do not have the same freedom as a young lady of the world, who is able to attend parties and movies and basically use her time and money however she wants to. We novices fill our lives in higher ways… our TV is the Blessed Sacrament, and we mint our money by winning graces for souls by our prayers and everything that we do. We live our lives for God alone - and we regret nothing, because we learn that it is His world we live in (no matter how everyone else seems to forget it) and we can lose nothing by doing precisely what He created us to do – spend our lives in loving and serving Him alone.

How do we do this?

The first bell of the morning sounds at 5:20am when the novice rises and offers her day to God with all “our thoughts, words and works”. Then the bell rings the Angelus, that joyful first greeting of the day to the Queen of Heaven imploring her protection and blessing. We are given twenty five minutes to don our holy Habit (at first it is not very easy – there are all sorts of things to worry about, from putting your scapular on inside-out to walking out your room door happily oblivious to the fact that you forgot to pin on your headdress!) and hurry to the Chapel, eager to sing the praises of God. There is something profoundly beautiful in arising so early – even before the sun has a chance to rise. To offer the first fruits of the day to Jesus Christ our Spouse: such is the beginning of a day that is to be wholly lived for Him, that is to be a whole-burnt offering for Him – a day that is one among years of a life consecrated entirely to His love. This is the summary of the life of a religious, and it is also the core and heart of the life of a novice, studying in the school of perfection. We know that we thus win many graces for souls and we glorify God.

The Office of Lauds with the rest of the community at 5:45am calls us to say “Good Morning” to God – we thank him for having looked after us during the night, and we dedicate ourselves to glorify him in all that we are about to do in the day. Prime is the office during which we ask God’s protection over us, that we may keep from offending Him by sin. To encourage our efforts, there is a little reading from the Martyrology everyday. Then, we make our half-hour Meditation, which is the immediate preparation for Mass. It is our great chance to think solely and undisturbed about the things of God, take a step back, and reflect, before advancing again to the spiritual combat against the world, the flesh and the devil. ( - Which combat the professed teaching sisters would say consisted entirely of school meetings, the ever-fun-loving children, and the never-ending marking!!) Mass at 7:00am and Holy Communion are the infinite sources of weaponry that we need to engage in this daily battle. Following our Thanksgiving after Mass we sing Terce, imploring the sanctifying action of the Holy Ghost upon all our work.



A very welcome breakfast comes next, after which we do our house duty, (for example, a Sister may be in charge of sweeping the staircase) and then follows the first class of the day for the novices at 8:30am taken by Mother Mary Catherine, our sub-mistress. Our mornings are usually filled with lectures and study, (naturally, being Dominicans, we “contemplate in order to pass to others the fruits of our contemplation”) during which we determine why we have entered the religious life, study what it means to be in the religious state, and the great graces that are attached to it. In short, we are given our two years in the novitiate to “feel our way around”, to decide whether it is really God’s will for us that we be religious, and in order to make a good decision we learn all about the vows that religious take, and we are gradually initiated into the life. The first year of the novitiate is a year given solely to contemplation – this means that we avoid unnecessary intercourse with the world, and it is for this reason that we do not teach. We do teach however, a little in the second and final year of our novitiate, as well as study, as a kind of gentle introduction to the life of a teaching Dominican sister.



The Divine Office of Sext is chanted at 12:55pm, when we have the chance to examine whether we have lived the morning for God, and we renew our fervour if we have been negligent in this respect. We renew our offering of ourselves, and we beg God to protect us especially at this time of the day, when temptations and distractions flood us and try to draw us away from Him. After Sext we have a simple lunch, and then follow classes, interspersed with free time when we either catch up on our duties, or we are left with the opportunity to go for walks to catch the last of the fine summer weather, a time very useful for catching up on saying our Rosaries – for, as Dominican novices, we must say a full Rosary every day; that is, fifteen decades. This is something we love dearly, of course, as it was to our holy Father Saint Dominic that the Blessed Mother of God gave the Rosary; and what better path to contemplation than this beautiful arrangement of Aves - a heavenly bouquet of roses to give to our Queen in reflecting upon the mysteries of her life and that of her Divine Son!



None is chanted at 4:10pm, after which the cook of the day prepares the main dinner. Vespers takes place at 5:00pm, when we thank God for all the graces so far received. The Rosary with the community is then said, and then when she is ready, the cook rings the bell for the dinner. After this, the Sisters chant Matins in anticipation of the next day, (as it would be rather cheeky to ask the teaching sisters to get up at unearthly hours of the morning to fulfil this very beautiful Office) and then make an evening Meditation of fifteen minutes. Sometimes we attend Benediction, or the Stations of the Cross at the Church, and this takes the place of the evening Meditation leaving us some free time – which we novices are very prompt to use for saying our Rosaries!



Recreation takes place at 7:45pm, just before Compline. Although we are, in the Novitiate, separated from the Professed, we still manage to have plenty of fun with our two postulants! Activities range from indoor board games to walking, roller-blading and playing tennis with Mother Mary Catherine. I am quite sure that if “externs” were to see us at recreation they would be dumbstruck: who would have thought that nuns could have so much fun! We laugh at everything and the air is pervaded with an overall atmosphere of happiness and a deep joy. Our Lord certainly never meant His spouses to be dismal! (and it is extremely funny to watch your very dear tennis-expert postulant patiently hitting the ball straight to you, and you with all the good will in the world powerfully batting the ball back straight – to her Guardian Angel! And meanwhile the poor Sister on roller-blades just can’t help wondering if you’re really aiming the hits at her or not…)






















The Bell rings for Compline at 8:30pm, and we make our way to the Chapel to thank God for the graces of the day, to beg His pardon for any faults committed, and to beg His blessing and protection on the rest we must take in order to serve Him well on the morrow. The Salve Regina is sung, and the procession to the altar of Our Lady, led by the two Novices acting as acolytes and holding candles. The singing of the O Lumen to Saint Dominic marks the end of Compline, and then we have approximately forty minutes in which to prepare for bed.

When lights are turned off at 9:45pm, and we are drifting off on the gentle waves of sleep, we commend ourselves to Our Spouse as a child that lies secure in the arms of its mother, and we rest content, knowing that as we have lived solely for Him by His grace, so we will die.



Benedicamus Mariae!

Our clothing ceremony

In the still dark of January 5th 2008 the seconds seemed to quiver as they slowly passed. Did we even sleep at all that long night, the night before our clothing in the habbit of the Dominican sisters of Wanganui. Questions darted through our minds in an unceasing train of if’s…buts….and oh dears… the strange realisation that we would never spend another night as Antonia Rose Marie Gregory and Philomena Maria Theresa Ockerse.

The feast of the Epiphany of the child Jesus -finally we thought, wrapping ourselves for the last time in our long silky dresses; one of shimmery gold the other of moonlit forest green, surrounded in soft blue of our children of Mary capes which reassured us that our Virgin mother would lead us before her dear child whose gifts we are. On entering the church our thoughts followed the hymn “Crown Him with many crowns” yes, here we were to offer Him our own garlands of love, prayer and sacrifice in exchange for one from which all the roses had been taken –A crown of thorns.



After the ‘Asperges Me’ with Father Laisney seated in the centre of the sanctuary, Fr Loschi and Fr Cranshaw on our lady’s side; the sanctuary gates wide open like the arms of our waiting spouse, the Master of ceremonies Andre Ockerse escorted us as we processed through to be presented at the altar steps.
“What do you ask?” A prompt like an angel whispering, “ask and you shall receive” -
“Gods mercy and yours father” surged from the bottom of our hearts.
There at His feet Mother Mary beside, all doubts fled.

Retuning from the sanctuary Mother Micaela laid the holy habbit in our arms and clasping our future we left the church to put on our white robe and black cappa, symbolic of innocence and penance; our only garment for the rest of our lives. Returning as glowing brides of Christ we walked down the isle singing the Salve Regina.



First Antonia then Philomena we bowed our heads towards father and the strange almost awful sound of sharp quick scissors filled our ears. As the blades rampaged through our quantities of hair we knew it was symbolic of our choice - to tear ourselves from the life of the world with definity that as His brides we must remove all earthly adornments for spiritual pearls of the hidden life.

We knelt before mother Micaela to exchange our mantillas for the Dominican veil. First the cap then guimp, band and finally the white veil enclose gently about our faces and save for the slight apprehension as mother brandished pins, followed by a few finishing tugs from sister Madeline, we were clothed. Tremors of happiness made one feel like bursting into laughter or song but all I could do was smile!





Once more we knelt on the sanctuary steps as Father blessed the dark rosewood rosaries and taking it we girded ourselves with the sword of our spiritual life. Then came our small St Benedict crucifixes, one gold, one silver, to be laid in time upon our written vows. In imitation of the choice our Lord gave to St Catherine of Sienna, Father held before us two crowns but the red blossoms and green leaves in a mist of gypsopfela held no charm beside the long sharp thorns entwined into the semblance of a crown. And we accepted this mystical invitation, “I choose the crown of thorns”



We left the sanctuary for the outstretched arms of Mother Micaela who embraced tenderly her two new daughters in the kiss of peace, smiling and speaking softly
“ holy perseverance” to each. Along the length of our community we walked each sister whispering a secret to help us on the journey we began on that beautiful day.

Choir Stalls

One of the most important things about our little Congregation is that it has contemplative roots, being able to trace its ancestry from Dublin to Galway and then to Prouille. Thus we are devoted to the Divine Office. When we moved to our new convent hope arose that we might be able to get choir stalls. A lovely farmer and his wife, Joe and Pamela Ryder, gave us a big load of beautiful macrocarpa wood, personally milled by Joe, but how to get it made into choir stalls. A builder friend costed out the making of choir stalls and it came out at about $2,000 for each stall, and we wanted fourteen! We had received a grant from the St Joseph Trust but only for $3,000. How to bridge the gap between $3,000 and 14 x $2,000?



We put thought and prayer into it and came up with a name! Chris Kuypers, one of the real founders of the parish and all his life a tireless worker for Tradition. Would he consider coming out of retirement for one last, ill-paid, job. Mr Kuypers did come out of retirement and he recruited his grandson, a young man who had just left school and was waiting to start a building apprenticeship.



In an amazingly short time Mr Kuypers rang up to say that he had finished the Choir-stalls. He and M. Guy Legrega, a Dominican Tertiary recently come to the parish from New Caledonia, brought them up to the Convent on two trailers. As an additional surprise M. Legrega had made metal crosses to go at the back of the stalls. He had seen crosses on the photographs of the stalls at St Dominic’s Priory in Dunedin and wanted us to have them too. Mrs Nicola Wansink, mother of our two postulants, had taken careful measurements and clear photographs of the original stalls in the Dunedin chapel and had supplied these as a pattern. (The chapel is now owned by the Dunedin Cathedral Parish.)



The stalls are substantially constructed and glow with the beauty of the wood. We are very pleased with them and we feel that they add to the dignity and solemnity of the Divine Office, and to the beauty of our Chapel.

Two New Novices Take The Veil

On 6 January 2008 our two Postulants received the veil.


Sister Mary Rosaria and Sister Mary Philomena

Click on the link (http://tvnz.co.nz/view/video_popup_windows_skin/1561378)
to the right of this page, in the 'Links' box,
to view a short video by TVNZ of the Novices on their big day.

Our Lady of Lourdes Camp 2008

The annual camp for the traditional Catholic girls of New Zealand was held from December 31st 2007 until January 5th 2008 at the YMCA camp at Raukawa Falls, about a one hour drive north of Wanganui.



The camp was organised by Father Cranshaw with the help of two Dominican Sisters - Sr Mary Madeleine and Sr Mary Rose and two other helpers, both teachers at our school. Early Monday morning everyone set off to arrive at the site by 10am. The Sisters had a bit of a delay as Father asked them (just before departure) to purchase party poppers and marshmallows for the activities to be held on the last night of camp. (Might just add that the party poppers were never actually used in the end after all of the effort to purchase them.) After half an hour of searching the shops for party poppers the Sisters were then able to set off. Upon their arrival many campers were already there ready to unpack and to be sorted into cabins and teams. Father arrived about half an hour later with a van full of the necessities for saying Mass (altar, candles and vestments), sports equipment, tents etc. In all, there were twenty girls from Wanganui, Hamilton and Auckland.





The girls were sorted into their teams. There were four teams of five, each with their special patron and team cry. We chose to place the camp under the patronage of Our Lady of Lourdes as this year is the 150th anniversary of the first apparition at Lourdes. Each of the teams were named after Our Lady. Sr Madeleine’s team was Our Lady of Fatima with the cry “Pray and make sacrifices”, Sr Rose’s team was called Our Lady of Guadalupe with the cry “Build my church”, Mr Foster’s team was Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal with the cry “Come to the foot of the altar” and the fourth team was named Our Lady of Victory with the cry “St Mary of Victory”.



Throughout the camp points were allocated for different activities and the team with the most points at the end of the camp won a box of chocolates. The team cries were for the line ups. Whenever the bell was rung the girls had to run to the basketball court, line up in their teams and yell their team cry and the first team to have all of their members lined up shouting the team cry won points for their team.

Two cabins separated into three rooms with four beds in each were allocated to us for the girls to sleep in – one red the other purple. Two teams went in one and the other two shared the other. The supervisors each had their own cabin.



After choosing their beds and unpacking their belongings the girls were given a brief safety talk about the camp site by John the camp coordinator with the help of Robyn who did the cooking for us. The girls then had free time until twelve. Everyone went to try out the flying fox (including the Sisters) and some went to check out the swimming hole. After a hearty lunch of subway style sandwiches the girls had free time until two and then played softball and relays between their teams to gain points. The Sisters then took the girls for a ten minute walk to the Raukawa Falls which was followed by swimming in the river before saying the rosary in the make do chapel at 5.30.





The meals were eaten in the gym. The girls sat in their teams and each day different teams were appointed to help with serving the meals and doing the dishes and clean up afterwards. The camp coordinators were very impressed with the girls and said that they were the best group of girls that they had ever had. There was a very pleasant atmosphere among the girls which made the camp a great success. There were a few pranks – like sunscreen being put onto girls’ faces while they were sleeping but nothing too serious.





At 8pm Father gave the girls a talk on Rose Hue who lived in China under the Communist Regime. He gave a talk each day on this topic. The girls found it very interesting. This was followed by a camp fire and camp songs played by Mr Foster on his guitar.



Being New Year’s eve we wanted to see in the New Year and Father was to say the first Mass in the world for 2008 (as of course New Zealand is ahead of the rest of the world timewise) so we had to keep the girls occupied until midnight. We played spotlight until about 11.45pm and then gathered in the chapel to prepare for Mass. We started Mass by singing the Veni Creator and Father gave a lovely sermon on how things which begin well end well with reference to being able to start the new year with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. There is no better way to start a new year. We went to bed at about 1.30am and we were able to rise a bit later in the morning having breakfast at 9am.







There was skipping in the morning followed by a talk by Father and organised games. In the afternoon there was a siesta followed by team challenges and the low ropes course, kayaking/canoeing and swimming with a qualified supervisor. Each evening we had benediction and rosary at 5.30pm followed by dinner. The Sisters gave a presentation on their trip to France and America in January 2007 and then night prayers were said and everyone went to bed.







Wednesday was the most adventurous day. The girls rose at 6.30 and went for a quick jog before getting dressed for Mass. Breakfast was at 8 and then everyone prepared their own packed lunch and sleeping gear for our day hike and overnight camp at Atene. We piled into four vehicles with our backpacks, lunch, dinner and breakfast and set off at about 9.30am. We arrived at the beginning of our track at about 11am. The track is quite a difficult one but everyone made it to the end with the last group arriving about one hour after the rest. It took seven and a half hours to complete with many stops along the way. Even our youngest camper accomplished this great task. The first aid kit was well used with three sprained ankles to attend to, many splinters to remove and blisters to burst. The main attraction for the girls was the swim that Father had promised them when they had completed the track. That was the only thing that kept them going. The first to complete the track were driven to the campsite to set up the tents. Water was scarce so the souls in purgatory really benefited that day. Everyone went for a swim at about 9pm, night prayers were said and then everyone retired to their sleeping bags and pretty much went to sleep straight away. Fortunately there were no dramas. There was a plan to tip Father’s hammock while he was sleeping – only problem was that no one knew where he was sleeping.



The next morning everyone was woken up by Father’s whistle and a few were dragged out of their tents in their sleeping bags. After breakfast we took down the tents and packed everything into the vehicles and drove back to the camp site. The need to shower has never been so inviting. Father said Mass at 11 and then we had a quiet afternoon of orienteering and swimming. That night the girls played rounders in the gym followed by an evening talk and everyone looked forward to their beds after a very tiring day. It was hard to believe that Friday was so close. Time just flew as everyone was having so much fun.



In the morning we played softball in our different teams and after lunch the each team built a raft from 3 tyres and 3 strings which they raced on the river. We also had a go at archery and two bulls eyes were achieved by two of the supervisors. In the evening the girls provided us with entertainment by performing some skits in their different teams and even Father and Mr Foster sang a song for us accompanied by the guitar. Father gave a slide show of all of the photos and videos he had taken of the camp and then the Sisters left after being hugged by nearly every girl on camp. It was such a moving sight to see. The girls played night games and sung songs around the camp fire and toasted marshmallows and got to bed at about midnight.








Saturday was filled with a few games to gain those last minute points for each team and of course clean up in the afternoon. Just before departure each girl was presented with a “Little Miss” certificate awarded to them for a particular trait which they exhibited on camp for example “Little Miss Competitive” for the girl who always had to have her say about the umpiring of games. The girls returned home all very happy and excited with plans to go on next year’s camp. Even the Sisters eagerly await the next one!