By Sister Kathleen Anne Tait, OP
Director of Mission Advancement
This quote from St. Catherine graces a beautiful new recognition wall, recently installed at the door of Sacred Heart Convent chapel, where every day our sisters remember in their prayer our friends and benefactors, who, having been our companions on the journey in this life, continue to share their gifts with us at the end of their lives on Earth.
St. Catherine knew from her own relationship with God that walking together as brothers and sisters in this life is a sure path to God’s reign.
Since our earliest foundation, we Dominican Sisters have been blessed by bequests from friends and Partners in Mission who have chosen to accompany us on the way. Through the years, their generous gifts have helped us build for the needs of our ministries in the United States and Peru, whether that be in support of students in our schools, parishioners in the cities and pueblos of Peru, or financial resources for our preaching, social justice commitments, and care of our elder sisters.
Walk with two feet; love of God and love of neighbor..on two wings you will fly to heaven
-St. Catherine of Siena
These dear friends, even though they are no longer with us, continue to make possible the preaching of the Gospel in our place and time.
St. Catherine’s image of walking with two feet is, in a very real way, an image of financial planning. Our benefactors’ first step is to look after the needs of their own families, then, stepping forward on the foot of charity, they share their surplus with organizations like our own religious community as a way to signal the values they desire to pass down to the next generation.
This new recognition wall is a beautiful acknowledgement of the way our benefactors have built the path to God’s reign on the two feet of love of God and love of neighbor. We are so pleased to have this constant reminder at the door of our chapel, where we can be humbled by the generosity and goodness of the members of our heritage society, newly named in honor of St. Catherine.
Sister Kathleen Anne Tait is the director of Mission Advancement for the Dominican Sisters of Springfield. To learn more about how to become a member of the St. Catherine Heritage Society contact her at skatait@spdom.or or 217-787-0481.
