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There are 225 Dominican Sisters of Mission San Jose, 170 are living and ministering in the United States, 46 in Mexico, 6 in Germany and 3 in Guatemala. In the United States women of Native American, Latin American, European, Japanese, Burmese, Dutch-Indonesian, Korean, Vietnamese, Filipino, and Chinese ancestry each contribute their own cultural perspectives to our life in community.
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Meet Sister Carol Monzon, QueensCare Nurse
I was born in Manila, Philippines and studied nursing at the College of Nursing at the University of Santo Tomas in Manila. I migrated to the United States on April 1970. I met the Dominican Sisters of Mission San Jose through the late Sister Benilda Desmond, a great scripture scholar and preacher in our Congregation who led the RCIA program and taught Bible Study in my parish at St. Dominic’s Church in Eagle Rock Los Angeles. At the time, I was working as a nurse at Queen of Angels - Hollywood Presbyterian Medical center in the recovery room. Soon after meeting Sister Benilda, I began formal discernment with Sister Gloria Marie Jones, then vocation director for the congregation. My personal prayer deepened my interest in religious life and gave me the clarity to pursue the call to religious life by entering with the Dominican Sisters of Mission San Jose on August 8th, the Feast of St. Dominic, in 1990.
In initial formation with two other young women, I studied basic philosophy and theology, Catholic social teaching, theology of the vows and history of the Congregation while doing some part-time service in the local community. Although the program was very structured, our formation director, Sister Diane Bridenbecker made it interesting and fun. Once a month we were able to get away for a prayer day at Marywood, a rustic resort in the Santa Cruz mountains, and every now and then the professed sisters took us on outings. After first profession, my first assignment was to service at St. Martin’s, the residence for elderly infirm sisters at the Motherhouse and then in the assisted living program at St. Joseph Priory. Then I was sent to live St. Thomas More community in Tucson, Arizona where I worked asa nurse in a Skilled Nursing Facility. After taking a return to nursing course at Mt. Saint Mary’s College in Los Angeles, I went into Oncology Med/Surg, Emergency Room (ER) and home health nursing. Lately I have been doing parish nursing through QueensCare Health & Faith Partnership.
What I most love about my religious vocation is the freedom it gives me to serve without worrying the financial aspect of living. Although people might not realize it, vowed poverty is very freeing! I also love being able to serve the underserved members of our communities with their health needs. I feel that I am truly following Jesus' footsteps in his caring for the sick and the poor. What I would say to any young woman discerning a call to religious life, is if the "fit" is right, consecrated life is very empowering because you are able to live with women with the same vision and motivation –to follow in the footsteps of Jesus by bringing the Good News to all! My hope for the future is that we would all realize that we are truly brothers and sisters. Therefore there is no need for competition. Through sharing what we have and collaborating in what we do for the common good, we can all move closer towards GOD! That simple truth is God's plan for each one of us. As long as we stay focused on Jesus, with our whole being open to God’s Grace of the Spirit in our actions, we can accomplish this for the good of all!
Sister Bios
Meet Carol Monzon, QueensCare Nurse
Meet Sister Karen Elizabeth, Motherhouse Administrator
Meet Mary Perez, Our Newest Member
Missioning News
Transformed by the Gospel - Flintridge Sacred Heart
Dominican Collaboration for the Mission - Saint Elizabeth