Living the Gospel Through Dominican Hour

As a Catholic Dominican school, faith is woven into the fabric of life at St. Agnes. Rooted in the Dominican Pillars of Study, Prayer, Community and Service, St. Agnes strives to prepare our students for more than just academic success, but rather to be catalysts for change and good throughout the world.

To help our young ladies in the Upper School develop an even deeper understanding of how to live the Pillars in their daily lives, we allot time for a weekly Dominican Hour. One hour each Wednesday is dedicated to deepening our connection to a specific Pillar. The first and third Wednesday of each month are reserved for a focus on Prayer as we gather to celebrate Mass led by our chaplain Fr. Nicholas Reynolds.

Every other Wednesday we experience the Pillar of Community, Study, or Service, through our SGA Speaker Series, meaningful service projects, and activities designed to promote academic growth. We believe this model helps guide our students to both learn and live the Gospel values as they become young women grounded in their faith.

Amara Touch (’28), SGA Chaplain, is the lead on this year's Speaker Series, selecting and communicating with each one personally. The speakers are encouraged to share “real talk about life and the lessons that life gives all of us.” For this year’s first guest, Amara enlisted President Gomez, who openly shared her journey with the girls.

Dr. Jennifer Lovelace, SGA Faculty Sponsor, explained, “Dr. Gomez's decision to say "yes" to SGA Speaker Series was a gift to our students and our educators. She shared lessons from her professional and family life, emphasizing that a leader needs mentors, support systems, community, and faith. With honesty and authenticity, she outlined the "chapters" of her journey and inspired us with her story.”

Dr. Gomez’s talk, entitled God Writes Perfectly on Wavy Lines, shared a powerful message with the girls about saying “yes” to God and trusting in his plan. She told them: “I don't think the goal of life is to draw the perfect line. I think the goal is to learn how to walk faithfully when the line starts to curve. Sometimes the road curves because there is something around the corner that you cannot yet see.”

With five key points: 1) You do not have to have your life figured out; 2) Learn to discern, not just to decide; 3) Raise your hand; 4) Choose your people carefully; and 5) Trust the wavy lines, Dr. Gomez encouraged the girls to be courageous but humble enough to accept help, to know the difference between having a plan and believing you have to control the outcome, and listening when God uses other people to help us recognize gifts we haven't learned to name yet.

In closing she shared, “I want to leave you with something very simple. I have come to believe that God is faithful-over and over again. Not because everything in my life has gone according to plan-it absolutely has not. But because when I look backward, I can see His fingerprints in places I couldn't see them at the time.”

Each speaker chosen is a celebration of our Community- bringing new perspectives to broaden our students’ outlook on the world. We look forward to future Dominican Hour speakers and activities, as we continue to grow together in our faith.