My Get Up and Go… Springfield–Tucson–Columbus
Hello Readers, It was Dec. 12, 2025, when I left Springfield, Ill., to give a retreat to the students preparing for confirmation at Mission San Xavier Del Bac on the Tohono O’odham Nation, San Xavier Indian Reservation in Tucson, Ariz., Following my time there, I flew to Columbus, Ohio, to participate in SEEK 2026, a five-day experience where thousands of Catholics come together to encounter and grow in a relationship with Christ. A highlight from my travels included […]
Sister Judi Hilbing: Giving in the service of the Gospel
Over the course of a lifetime every Dominican Sister engages in many ministries, all for the sake of the preaching mission. Such is the case for Sister Judith Hilbing, who over her lifetime has been a teacher, administrator, missionary, and a member of elected leadership. Sister Judi’s role now is to translate into Spanish the resources being used for the formation of new sisters in Peru-and to be a comforting presence to the sisters who live in Regina […]
Sister M. Anita Tapocik, OP
Sister M. Anita Tapocik Services Visitation: 4:00 p.m. to 5:15 p.m., Tue., Dec. 9, Aquinas Center, Sacred Heart Convent, 1237 W. Monroe St., Springfield, IL 62704. Funeral Mass: 6:30 p.m., Tue., Dec. 9, at Sacred Heart Convent Chapel, Dominican Father Robert Kelly, presiding. Wake and Mass livestreamed at springfieldop.org/livestream/ Burial: She will be laid to rest at Calvary Cemetery, 10:00 a.m. Wed. Dec. 10 Those services will livestream on Facebook @springfieldop. Springfield Dominican Sister M. Anita Tapocik died […]
2025 Month of Peace: Cameroon
Each year, from the first Sunday of Advent until the Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord, the Dominican Family celebrates the Dominican Month for Peace: a time of prayer and commitment focused on a country in the world facing situations of conflict. This year, the spotlight is on Cameroon, under the theme: “Truth and Justice for a Lasting Peace.” During this period, Dominican communities are called to organize pastoral activities, promote solidarity initiatives, and offer prayers for this African […]
Sister Anita Cleary to accompany deported women in Central America
Photo: Sister Anita Cleary, far right, with Sisters Judith Hilbing (l) and Adele Human, ahead of a trip to Peru, spring 2025. Springfield Dominican Sister Anita Cleary will be among pilgrims traveling to Central America this month in solidarity with women deported from the United States. The group will also mark the 45th anniversary of the martyrdom of four U.S. churchwomen in El Salvador in 1980. About 30 pilgrims will be in El Salvador Nov. 28-Dec. 6. On […]
Pope Leo: Building Bridges of Hope and Healing in the Church
Do you recall where you were the day Pope Leo XIV was elected? A citizen of the United States and Peru, Augustinian friar Robert Francis Cardinal Prevost, born in Dolton, Ill., was chosen by the College of Cardinals May 8, 2025, to succeed Pope Francis. The shock and joy of the election of a U.S.-born pope permeated conversations for many days afterwards. The “six degrees of separation” theory of a small-world network clicked in immediately. A priest well […]
Partners in Mission: How faith and family impact giving
By Sister Kathleen Anne Tait, OP Judy Babb Troxell is deeply grateful to her mother and father, Harry and Eileen Marron Babb, for the grounding in faith and the “DNA of giving” they instilled within her, and her siblings. Her earliest memories are of putting coins in her weekly children’s church envelope and watching her father write the check for the Sunday offering. Judy’s mother grew up with little, but gave away in abundance. Her parents’ generosity […]
Solidarity: Finding and hearing the voice of God in a wounded and broken world
By Margaret Lombe My reflection is informed by Catholic social teaching and centers on finding and hearing the voice of God in a wounded world. I often ponder on the question “How do I witness to the gospel values in love and truth amid the many wounds that characterize our world today, wounds of systemic inequalities, environmental trauma, racism, polarization, violence, indifference, and political tumult? Like many teachers, I am confronted with questions from my students. One student […]
