Dominican sisters witness through Bible game show appearance
March 19, 2013: Three religious sisters are participating in a unique evangelization
effort by competing on a Bible trivia game show in hopes of supporting their community.
“This
isn’t something we would normally do, but when the opportunity arose, Mother (Assumpta
Long) discerned that it would be good not only for the benefit of our community, but
also for the New Evangelization,” Sr. Maria Suso of the Dominican Sisters of Mary,
Mother of the Eucharist told CNA March 15. Team Sisters of Mary will be featured on
the March 21 season premiere of The American Bible Challenge, hosted by comedian Jeff
Foxworthy on Game Show Network.
Facing off against Team Preachin’ Divas, a
group of women dedicated to inner city outreach in Oakland, Calif., and Team Anointed
Ink, a group of Texas-based tattoo artists who cover up questionable body art with
religious symbols, the Sisters competed for a chance to win $100,000 for their charity
of choice. We met the other teams and it was beautiful to see their love for the Scripture
and their dedication to Christ,” Sr. Suso said.
Although Sr. Suso could not
reveal how far she and a few of the community’s novices, Sister Peter Joseph and Sister
Evangeline, advanced in the game show – which has already been filmed – she did say
that they all had “a lot of fun” competing to win money for their rapidly expanding
order. Founded in 1997 with just four sisters in Ann Arbor, Mich., the Sisters
of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist have now grown to 120 members. The order’s habited
sisters are specially committed to Mary, the Blessed Sacrament and the New Evangelization.
Aside
from trying to win money to support their community, Sr. Suso said their presence
on the show was just one of the many ways their community is “engaging with the culture
to try to bring them to Christ.” “Anyone that sees us,” she said, “I hope would realize
that the joy that we have and the love that we have for one another comes from Christ
and that they can also come into contact with him.”
Although she and her teammates
were chosen to compete because of their knowledge of the Bible, Sr. Suso said preparing
for the show gave them an even deeper appreciation of Scripture.
She explained
that Catholics tend to focus on the “basic idea and the content” of Sacred Scripture
rather than the small details. While that aspect of the Bible is “important,” she
said, “the Church Fathers didn’t feel that way.” “The Fathers of the Church,” she
said, “memorized the Scriptures and they knew all the details and they found them
all significant.” In their study of the Bible leading up to the show – and even
more so after the show – Sr. Suso said she and her teammates have come “to look at
the Scriptures in a different way” by learning “to appreciate the details more.” “I
hope that encourages some Catholics to rededicate themselves to discovering the riches
of the Scriptures.”