Sister Myra celebrates 60 years of religious profession in 2020. Her profession is Sister M. Timothy’s “fault.” Sister Myra claims “it’s Sister M. Timothy’s fault” that she is a Dominican instead of a Franciscan Sister. She tells the story like this: “I met Sister Timothy at Our Lady of Grace (Chicago) before I entered the …
Sister Mary Dominic Joerger celebrates 75 years of religious profession in 2020. Small in stature, it seemed ordained that she devoted most of her religious life to teaching primary grades. Second grade was her favorite because it allowed her to prepare her students for First Communion, a responsibility she delighted in. A native of Mendota, …
This week Father Gerry Kleba, retired pastor of St. Cronan’s Parish, St. Louis, contacted me about his long-ago friend, our Sister Maxine Riker. When I shared the news that Sister Maxine died in 2015, he replied by sharing this story, which we publish with his permission. His friend Charlene, who is central to this story …
Sister Maxine Riker: Healer, Preacher, Reconciler Read More »
Sister Charlotte’s Services Private burial at Calvary Cemetery on Monday, April 13. A memorial mass, celebrated by Sister Charlotte’s nephew Father Steve Pohlman, will be held at Sacred Heart Convent at a later date. In lieu of flowers or visits, donations may be made to the Dominican Sisters Retirement Fund, 1237 W. Monroe St., Springfield, …
Did you hear about the people who decided, in the midst of this extraordinary COVID19 crisis, that they needed to haul down from the attic, up from the basement, or out of the garage rafters—Christmas? Perhaps we aren’t feeling as brave now as we were early in the days of shelter-in-place, before the magnitude of …
Triduum observance Here are some resources for you if you are at a loss for how to best observe the Triduum, the three day liturgical season that precedes Easter and consists of Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Saturday, including the Easter Vigil. Less is more A bit of advice: less may be better. These …
Holy Week at Home: Resources for the Domestic Church Read More »
About the photo: Sister Linda Hayes sews surgical masks at St. Rose Convent in Springfield. You can’t grasp hope “Hope isn’t anything you can grasp,” Sister Kelly said, pausing for a thought then adding “It has to be received.” Then, as she stretched out her hands and looked at them, you could see the insight …
Sister M. Stephanie’s Services Because of the COVID19 outbreak no visitation or funeral mass is planned. Private burial services will be held at Calvary Cemetery on Thursday, March 26. A memorial mass will be celebrated at Sacred Heart Convent on a date to be determined. In lieu of flowers, or visits, donations may be made …
In which Sister Mary Paul allows a need to change the course of her life “I had an opportunity to become a clinical psychologist,” says Sister Mary Paul McCaughey. “I was really almost ready to make that jump, when I was called to become a principal of another high school.” In fact, she had completed …
Where God closes a door, a window opens. Sometimes, almost literally. Cor Unum House, a ministry of the Dominican Sisters of Springfield, is meant to be a house of hospitality, where guests are welcome into the sisters’ lives in tangible ways. Except, not now. While the Coronavirus lockdown has closed the sisters’ front door for …
Live-streamed Evening Prayer:
Welcome in a Time of Crisis Read More »
In which a veteran educator makes a difference in the lives of future leaders. After three years teaching 7th graders at Holy Angels School in Aurora, Ill., Sister Mary Paul moved a few miles west to Rosary High school to teach religion at the all-girls college prep school. In 1975, the old convent dining room …
In which a young teacher learns and grows Young Sister Mary Paul McCaughey may have thought she had this teaching thing down pat… though she never says this directly. She was fresh off her big success with the fifth graders at St. Dominic School in Quincy, Ill., and heading to a 7th grade classroom at …
The youngest sister on St. Dominic Mission in 1970 was Sister Mary Paul McCaughey. She was vivacious, intelligent, energetic, and tackled any opportunity to get a job DONE. One of the first stories I recall her sharing at the convent dinner table was about her Marian Catholic High School 1967prom night. Seems that after the …
Sister Sara Koch remembers:
The Adventures of a young Sister Mary Paul McCaughey Read More »
In which a 17-year-old makes a radical response to God’s call. “I didn’t really decide to be a sister,” Sister Mary Paul McCaughey says. “I was just called to be a sister.” Like many teens who struggled with identity and purpose, as a high school senior, Mina McCaughey always went to Mass and “did the …
(About the photo: Undated photo of Sister Rachel Conway and two children at Sacred Heart Convent, Springfield, Ill.) Springfield Dominicans thought they knew the story. A new reading of old documents raises an intriguing mystery. It may be that a beautiful story about the synchronicity of the death of one of the Springfield Dominican founders …
