A shoot of Jesse shot straight from the heart of God

Play
For 29 November 2011, Tuesday of 1st Advent, based on Isaiah 11:1-10

A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots. The spirit of the Lord shall rest on him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. His delight shall be in the fear of the Lord. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide by what his ears hear; but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked. Righteousness shall be the belt around his waist, and faithfulness the belt around his loins. The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze, their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put its hand on the adder’s den. They will not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain; for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.

On that day the root of Jesse shall stand as a signal to the peoples; the nations shall inquire of him, and his dwelling shall be glorious.


Scripture passage from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright 1989, 1993, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

About Mary Ann Wiesemann-Mills, O.P.

Mary Ann is a member of the Sisters of Peace.
She was an elementary school teacher for 20 years, serving in schools located in both Akron and in Denver, CO. She received training as a retreat/spiritual director at the Jesuit Renewal Center in Milford, OH and continues to serve as both a spiritual director and retreat preacher as time allows.

As associate pastor for seven years at St. Joseph Parish in Mantua, OH, she shared full preaching responsibilities with the pastor.
From 1989-2001, she served as Vocation/Formation Director for her congregation.

Mary Ann graduated from Aquinas Institute of Theology in May, 1997 with a Doctor of Ministry in Preaching and since that time has served as the Promoter of the Charism for the Akron Dominicans.
For five years she was a faculty member for the Aquinas Summer Preaching Institute and now serves as Adjunct Professor of Homiletics at St. Mary Seminary in Cleveland, OH.

Mary Ann is a member of the Academy of Homiletics and is past President of the Catholic Association of Teachers of Homiletics, which is a branch of the Academy.

July 1, 2001, Mary Ann elected to the Leadership Team of the Sisters of St. Dominic of Akron, OH, which has now joined with six other congregations to become the Dominican Sisters of Peace.

January 17, 2004, she was elected Prioress of the congregation to complete the term of Sister Elizabeth Ann Schaefer, OP who died December 23, 2003; this term ends June 30, 2005.

March 29, 2005 Mary Ann was elected Prioress of the congregation for the next four years, term beginning July 2, 2005 and ending June 30, 2009.