5 Questions with ... Cause of Rose Hawthorne
In our sixth installment of our "5 Questions with ..." interview series we have an interview with two people associated with the cause of Venerable Rose Hawthorne: Fr. Gabriel O'Donnell, OP, was was postulator of the cause in the diocesan phase, and Sr. Diana Marie, OP, the vocations director of the Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne. We are delighted to bring you this "double" edition of our interview series. You can learn more about Venerable Rose Hawthorne here on her page at American Saints and Causes. Thank you both for participating!
(If you are associated with a cause and would like to participate in our interview series, email us or use the form on our Contact Us page. You can find all previous entries in the series indexed here.)
American Saints and Causes: Would you please introduce yourself and how you became involved with the cause of Venerable Rose Hawthorne (Mother Mary Alphonsa)?
Fr. Gabriel: I am Fr. Gabriel O'Donnell, a Dominican priest. I served as Postulator for the Diocesan Cause of Canonization of Venerable Rose Hawthorne, Mother Mary Alphonsa. I first learned of Rose Hawthorne as a high school student when assigned to read Katherine Burton's biography, Sorrow Built a Bridge. Later in life I met the Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne when one of my brothers became a patient at Rosary Hill Home and I wtinessed first-hand the remarkable care he received up to the time of his death.
Sr. Diana Marie: I am Sister Diana Marie, OP, a member of the Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne. We are the religious community founded by Venerable Rose Hawthorne and I currently serve as the Vocation Director for the community. In addition, I continue to help with patient care and I am preparing to get my license as a Nursing Home Administrator. My involvement with Mother's cause is through prayer, as one of her spiritual daughters, and I also have the privilege of working on the Rose Hawthorne Guild Newsletter which we send out to members on our mailing list.
American Saints and Causes: For those who do not know her, wo is Venerable Hawthorne? What can the faithful learn from her witness to Christ?
Fr. Gabriel: Rose Hawthorne, who later became Mother Mary Alphonsa, was the daughter of the famed American novelist, Nathaniel Hawthorne. Her life was a remarkable adventure in which she and her husband were converted to the Catholic faith and became true activists for significant religious, moral and cultural values in late 19th century America. Soon after her husband's death, Rose devoted her life to the service of the poor and founded the Dominican Sisters, Servants of Incurable Cancer, taking on the name of Mother Mary Alphonsa. She remained founder and superior until her death in 1926.
Rose Hawthorne was possessed of a somewhat fiery temperament and a restless spirit. The deaths of her parents, her only child and her husband introduced intense suffering into her life. It was in her relationship with God and the Catholic Church that she found a home that was psychologically and spiritually fulfilling. Her journey into emotional and spiritual stability and maturity are an example that any modern person would likely find inspiring. As wife, mother, religious sister and servant of the poor, she exemplifies a holiness that even the most ordinary man or woman will find credible.
Sr. Diana Marie: Father gave a very good summary of Venerable Rose Hawthorne's life, which is so fascinating. Her story was one of the first things that attracted me to the community. All of us can learn a lot from her perseverance, her faith and her deep love for the Church, the sacraments and the sick poor. Two things that always stand out to me in her story are her zeal and how she let the Lord use the many sufferings and losses in her life for something beautiful. She started out on a path (caring for the sick poor) that she did not know the end of, or whether it would be a success. She only knew she had to be faithful and keep moving forward with love and prayer. We all have to do this -- step out in faith rather than waiting until we know exactly how things will work out. And in terms of the sufferings that she went through, we all have suffering in our lives. We can all relate to that pain. But with Mother, she let it make her heart softer, more open rather than making her become closed off. That is a beautiful lesson for each of us.
American Saints and Causes: How has Venerable Hawthorne impacted you? How has she helped you live your faith?
Fr. Gabriel: Rose Hawthorne's relentless journey into personal integrity and an authentic relationship with God has always inspired and encouraged me. She faced many disappointments and failures but never lost her willingness to go forward. She was a woman of great courage.
Sr. Diana Marie: I am also a convert to the Catholic faith and so Ven. Rose Hawthorne's story was immediately engaging and relatable. When I first read about her, I thought that, even though I would never be a Sister, I would love to spend my life consoling Christ in some way, and living at the Foot of the Cross. This is how she saw the community and little did I know, I would be a Sister -- and one of her own Sisters!
Her example, her place in American history because of her family, her zeal, her failed efforts at finding happiness based on her own ideas, all of these spoke to me, my interests and experience. I also loved that, as I looked at her life, I could see that she lived each part of it fully. It would be a mistake to think that her life, or any life, was waiting to begin until after converting or finding one's vocation. No, her whole life prepared her to become the Catholic, the woman and the Foundress that she was to become by grace. She lived each part of her life faithfully but continued to follow the Lord deeper into service.
In the community I have had the privilege to read more of her writings and her letters. This has helped me grow in my own love for the sick and the poor and to begin to see what she saw in them. Not only Christ, but that it is the same Christ as we meet in the Eucharist. And, very importantly, that we who care for them are not different from those we care for. All of us together are poor and sick before the Lord who loves and wants to heal us in more important ways than just our bodies.
American Saints and Causes: The decree of her heroic virtues, leading to her designation as a Venerable, occurred just last year. That must have been an exciting moment. What was it like for the sisters and the cause to receive that news?
Fr. Gabriel: The Decree of Heroic Virtue, issued by the Holy See, made it possible for Rose Hawthorne to be called "Venerable." It was a signal to all the Sisters that the cause was progressing under the guidance of a Roman Postulator and the authority of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints. Beatification and canonization has become a more real possibility with this decree.
Sr. Diana Marie: Here at the Motherhouse there was a lot of clapping, cheering and even a few tears! Our guests heard us cheering, called us in to find out what was going on and joined us in the celebration! It was very exciting, and I was surprised how much it moved me. As her Sisters, we have never doubted that Mother lived an exceptional life of more-than-ordinary virtue, but to have her life of heroic virtue acknowledged and publicly proclaimed by the authority of the Church means so much to us. We are also delighted that it offers her life as an example to many more people than before the declaration.
American Saints and Causes: What are the next steps for the cause? Are there any potential miracles being evaluated that might lead to her beatification?
Fr. Gabriel: The next step for the Cause is the recognition of a reported miracle being declared truly due to the direct intervention of God. This then makes it possible for the Pope to decree that the Cause may now move ahead to beatification and the bestowal of the title "Blessed" on the Servant of God. There is at least one reported miracle that has been given to the Roman Postulator to submit to the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints for its long and careful examination of the possible miracle.
American Saints and Causes: Catholics frequently make pilgrimages to shrines or other sites of saints to which they have a devotion. Is there a shrine or location for Venerable Hawthorne suitable for pilgrims?
Fr. Gabriel: There is not a shrine for Rose Hawthorne. Her tomb is on the grounds of the motherhouse of the Dominican Sisters at Hawthorne, New York. If the Holy See gives permission for beatification, it will be possible to establish a shrine in her honor, most likely in the chapel of the Domincan Sisters' Motherhouse. There is there already a "Heritage Room" in which various artifacts from the life of Mother Mary Alphonsa and the early days of the community are on display. Rosary Hill Home is a functioning hospital/hospice/nursing home so the possibility of visiting pilgrims is of necessity, very limited.
Sr. Diana Marie: As Father said, there is not a shrine at this time and visits will always be somewhat limited because the needs, comfort, and peaceful environment of the home for the patients take priority. But we are always happy to send out literature and prayer cards on Mother so people can learn more even without a shrine. They can contact our community to request those.
American Saints and Causes: If someone wanted to help, how could they best support or assist the work of the cause?
Fr. Gabriel: Helping the Cause to progress and to make Rose Hawthorne, Mother Mary Alphonsa, better known is best done by joining the Rose Hawthorne Guild. There are spiritual benefits and regular newsletters that keep a member up to date on the progress of the Cause and report favors received through the intercession of the Venerable Servant of God.
Sr. Diana Marie: In addition to joining the Guild, as Father mentioned, I would add the answer that most people already know: prayer. Please pray for the cause to advance and for her eventual canonization. Pray for those in Rome who are responsible for examining the possible miracles attributed to her intercession. And pray for your own needs through her intercession. You can find the prayer of canonization that we pray on our website and join us in that! Also, please notify us if you receive any favors through the intercession of Ven. Rose Hawthorne. It is ablessing to hear about them -- for us and for our Guild members -- and help enliven the faith of those who hope to her canonization.
Thanks again, Fr. Gabriel and Sr. Diana Marie, for helping us learn more about Venerable Rose Hawthorne! Those who wish can learn more about the cause on their website.