Who are the Associates of the Daughters of the Cross?
| Associates of the Daughters of the Cross are men and women who are invited to live their call to holiness by journeying with the Daughters of the Cross and Blessed Marie Thérèse in the footsteps of Christ. Associates can be found in Jarrow, Dublin, Much Hadham, North Cheam, California, Belgium, India and Pakistan. Currently there are about 60 Associates attached to the English Province. | |
"We joined the Associates to share in the spirituality and mission of the Daughters of the Cross ....It's helped us to understand better our spiritual role in this life and how to apply our gifts on a daily basis. As members we've come to know God better, to love him more, and to recognise him in the weak and most suffering." |
Associates in Much Hadham receiving their membership cross |
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Californian Associates being received by Sr Veronica |
Extracts from a Californian Associate's (Carmelita) diaryMinistry at St. Mary's Dining HallApril 19th 2008A group of the Daughters of the Cross and Associates gathered together at St. Mary's Dining Hall in Stockton, California to share in our ministry to the poor and less fortunate. A group of six arrived at 8 a.m. to help prepare and serve breakfast and later a group of fifteen arrived to serve lunch. We began with a prayer, thanking God for giving us the opportunity to serve Him and asking for His blessing upon all who gathered daily at the table of plenty at St. Mary's. This was truly a spiritual and rewarding experience! We will continue to help in this ministry to the homeless as we strive to love and serve God in the weakest and poorest. San Francisco Outing May 31st 2008All fourteen Associates plus Sr. Marlene and Sr Ann gathered at the Stockton Amtrak Station to board our train to Emeryville. The train was almost full & most of us scrambled for available seats. The train travelled through the byways passing through refinery wells, creeks, wharfs & fields of wildflowers (lovely yellow sunflowers!). When we got to Emeryville, we boarded a bus that took us to Pier 39 in San Francisco. We separated in groups depending on what each of us preferred to do. Our group decided to eat first - clam chowder soup on sourdough bread (so yummy!), take a walking tour of the pier - watch the sea lions, window shop, buy fresh bread at Boudins, walk some more & snack on ice cream cones. It was a lot of fun getting to know each other (Associates) in a different setting. We all went home tired but happy!
At Pier 39 San Francisco Back row: Sr. Marlene, Len, Glorianne, Rosemarie, Teresa, Lupe,Greg, Prieta, Ronnie, Sr. Ann. Front row: Carmelita, Pam, Barbara, Patt, Loraine.
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Dublin Associates with Sisters Veronica and Una.
Some Associates in North Cheam with Sr Kathleen O'Reilly, who is one of the Assistants to the Mother General (pictured on the left)The First Associates
Number 8 Borough Road, Jarrow may seem an unlikely setting for the making of history, but then God is unpredictable and his ways inscrutable.
Sr Jane and friends looking at a photo album of the early Associates
Friends and colleagues of the Sisters have an affection for them and an interest in their work. However, in Jarrow there were 12 people, married and unmarried men and women, who wanted something more than that. They recognized that there was a spiritual foundation to the the Sisters' apostolic tasks, and they wanted to build their own lives on that foundation. The Constitutions of the Congregation embody the charism of the Foundress, Mère Marie Thérèse. That charism and spirituality of the Daughters of the Cross can be shared by those who long to deepen their awareness of God's presence in their homes, work places and indeed the world. Thus the Associates of the Daughters of the Cross came into being on September 6th 1987 in the convent in Jarrow.