COMMUNITY
tvc.dsj.org | September 19, 2017
5
Adrian Dominican Sister Who Served in San Jose Marks 75-Year Jubilee
Sister Virginia (Joan Patrice) O’Reilly,
O.P., celebrating 75 years as an Adrian
Dominican Sister, is a native of Detroit
and a 1943 graduate of Saint Joseph Acad-
emy in Adrian, Michigan. She entered
the Adrian Dominican Congregation on
June 21, 1942; made her fi rst profession of
vows on January 4, 1944; and professed
her perpetual vows on January 4, 1949.
Sister Virginia earned a bachelor’s de-
gree in mathematics from Barry College
(now University) Florida, 1949; a master’s
degree in mathematics from Catholic
University of America in Washington,
D.C., 1952; a master’s degree in educa-
tion, specializing in guidance, from Siena
Heights College (now University) 1973;
and a doctorate in clinical psychology
from the California School of Profes-
sional Psychology, San Francisco 1977.
She is a licensed psychologist in the states
of California, New York, and Michigan.
Sister Virginia’s fi rst assignments took
her to classrooms in Illinois, Florida, and
Georgia. After earning her master’s in
mathematics, she taught in high schools
in Michigan and Illinois, and then taught
at the college level in Illinois.
Sister Virginia returned to Adrian,
Michigan, to serve at the Congregation’s
Motherhouse, fi rst as Director of Stud-
ies and then as Director of Research,
Sister Virginia (Joan Patrice) O’Reilly, O.P.
1968-1971. She completed her years in
education ministry as a college professor
and high school guidance counselor in
Michigan, 1971-1974. She then switched
her ministerial focus to clinical psychol-
ogy, serving in that capacity at the House
of Affi rmation, Montara, Calif., 1977-1979;
the Jesuit Institute of Family Life, Los
Altos 1979-1980; Consultation Services to
Religious, South San Francisco 1980-1981;
and the Dominican Pastoral Institute,
Oakland 1981-1985. She continued her
ministry as a psychologist in South
Africa, New York State, and Michigan.
After her retirement in 1996, Sister
Virginia moved to Adrian and contin-
ued to serve the community: as adjunct
professor of psychology at Siena Heights
University, 1999-2003; spiritual director,
2005-2007; and as a library assistant,
2007-2010.
Sister Virginia said that being an
Adrian Dominican Sister “has been the
most important thing in my life.”
40 Days for Life – What do You Want of Me, Lord?
“I’m a convert to Catholicism. I was
baptized Lutheran, raised without faith
to be an atheist, and I was welcomed
into the Catholic Church in 2009.” Roger
Bonilla is a parishioner of Church of the
Resurrection, in Sunnyvale. “I started
praying with 40 Days for Life in the fall
of last year, 2016. I did it in response to
an article in The Valley Catholic. I had
been going to the January Walk for Life
for about fi ve years, but I never went out
here locally to pray.”
“The fi rst time out there is the tough-
est, because you don’t know what to
expect. But I fi nd that it’s a peaceful
time of prayer. It’s not quiet, the traffi c
at the intersection is almost constant,”
Bonilla says. The Planned Parenthood at
the corner of The Alameda and Naglee
Avenue is one of the two Vigil sites in
the diocese.
“The Servant Song” is Roger’s favorite
song to sing while praying at the abortion
business. “I know a lot of people pray the
Rosary there, but if I’m there alone, I just
like to sing this song to Jesus.”
“I was there on October 17, and a
Older Adults Walk with Ease
It is 9:30 a.m., and older adults at the
Eastside Neighborhood Center (ENC)
begin to gather into small groups for
their morning stroll. They take their
usual path across the foot bridge over
the Lower Silver Creek Trail. In the midst
of their mid-walk stretches, the seniors
pause to observe the surrounding wild-
life – egrets, Canadian geese, mallard
ducks and ducklings, and the occasional
turtle. Continuing along the pathway, the
adults admire neighborhood gardens,
literally stopping to smell the roses or
to gaze upon trees carefully grown and
nurtured by long-time residents.
From February to March, these older
adults participated in Walk with Ease,
a walking program developed by the
Arthritis Foundation. The goal of the
program is to encourage seniors to take
their physical health into their own
hands by developing good stretching
and exercise habits. One of the biggest
takeaways for the seniors is that an in-
tense 30-minute workout isn’t essential
to staying healthy – breaking up exercise
young mom approached me, carrying
her little boy in one of those front baby
carriers. She had just co me from her
checkup at RealOptions (Pregnancy
Medical Clinic). We walked and prayed
together a bit. She thanked me for be-
ing there on the sidewalk. She said her
18-month-old boy, was here with her
today only because people were here
praying two years before. She saw
them and made a decision for life. I
was so moved to be there to meet her
and her son.”
Long experience praying at the site
has taught the volunteers patience.
Sometimes there are ‘saves,’ where a
mom or a young couple will come out
of the abortion facility and report to
the vigil volunteers that they chose
life. But sometimes it takes two years
to fi nd out. Sometimes the volunteers
may never know this side of heaven.
The 40 Days for Life campaign runs
September 27 through November 5,
at two Planned Parenthood locations:
1691 The Alameda, San Jose and
225 San Antonio Road, Mountain View.
Volunteers are needed at both sites to
pray and be a witness for life.
Sign up for an hour or two of vigil
at www.40daysforlife.com/sanjose or
www.40daysforlife.com/mountainview.
For more information call (408) 800-5498
or email 40dfl [email protected].
YOU CHOOSE YOUR
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A group of seniors from the Eastside Neighbor-
hood Center enjoyed regular walks, enjoying
their surrounding neighborhoods.
into small 10-minute chunks throughout
the day can make a signifi cant diff erence
in their energy levels.
For eight weeks, Santa Clara County
seniors 60 years old and older met every
Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday for a
walk through either ENC or downtown
San Jose by John XXIII Multiservice Cen-
ter. The walks left lasting impressions
as seniors discovered hidden gems in
the neighborhood easily missed by car
or bus. They were surprised to fi nd that
Cesar Chavez’s family home was just a
fi ve-minute walk away from ENC.
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License 4131356. These materials are not from HUD or FHA and the document
was not approved by HUD, FHA or any Government Agency.