A Little St. Valentine’s Day Love from Sacred Heart Convent
For Valentine’s Day we asked two couples who work at our motherhouse to share what they most love about each other and about working with us at the convent. Their sweet replies are enough to melt your little chocolate heart! I love Dave’s good sense of humor! He’s a great dad for his sons. I love my job because I love the easy-going, peaceful atmosphere at the convent. It makes it a great place to work. The sisters […]
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Service in the Community: A Reflection on Service from Current SHG Students
For a number of years the sisters at Sacred Heart Convent and the students and faculty “across the blacktop” at Sacred Heart-Griffin High School have enjoyed a wonderful mutuality. Students are allowed to give one study hall period a week in service at the convent, where they come to read to sisters, or write letters for them, help the kitchen staff on the serving line, or assist sisters with various other tasks of daily ministry and common life. […]
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Holding Space for Young Adult Women as Pandemic Drags On
A new initiative of the Dominican Sisters of Springfield is meant to hold a space for young adult women to find encouragement, companionship, and the “space and grace” to meet themselves and uncover the purpose of their lives. What is Cor Unum? Cor Unum House is both a physical space in an historic Springfield, Illinois, neighborhood and a virtual gathering place that has sometimes included women from as far away as Zambia. While the initial plan was to […]
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Active Nonviolence: To Celebrate, Contemplate, and Live
Recently I was privileged to participate in a Pax Christi United Kingdom workshop on nonviolence. The sessions took place over five weeks and each included prayer, scripture, presentation, reflection, and discussion in small groups. Participants came from across the globe, despite the inconvenience for people in many time zones. This workshop, “Making Active Nonviolence Our Way of Life in the Church and in the World,” came to our attention as we on the Springfield Dominican Sisters’ Justice, Peace, […]
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“A Girl Can Be Sold Over and Over…” the Haunting Truth about Human Trafficking
It was in September 2003 when our Justice, Peace, and Integrity of Creation Committee first shared a resource unit on human trafficking with our sisters. In the years since then, I’ve heard and read many stories of exploitation and violence related to the sale and trading of human beings that seem unbelievable in their total disregard for the dignity of a person. What haunts me most is not a story, but words spoken by a man convicted of […]
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Consecrated Life: An Encounter With God through People
In his homily on World Day for Consecrated Life in 2019, Pope Francis breathed new life and joy in to the observance when he called consecrated life-the vowed life of Catholic sisters, brothers, priests and consecrated lay people-“a living encounter with the Lord in his people.” In honor of the 25th World Day for Consecrated Life on February 2, 2021, the National Religious Vocation Conference offers 32 short video stories about the lives of newer members of religious […]
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Sister Linda Mary DeLonais gets her very own Bernie Mitten Meme
Sister Linda Mary DeLonais knows the value of mittens. The Minnesota native and former forestry worker understands innately what science has proven: mittens keep your hands warmer because they keep your fingers together and because mittens have less surface area exposed to the cold. This knowledge has come in “handy” this winter because Sister Linda Mary, a Dominican Sister of Springfield for 24 years, often serves as a greeter at the door of St. Jerome Church in Troy, […]
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Contemplative Dialogue and How It Works
We know that these are challenging times for conversation about the crisis facing our democracy. Are you at a loss about where to begin with a values-based, non-violent dialogue? Are you concerned about how to recover our sense of justice, unity, and trust after events in our nation’s capitol this month? We have some resources that might help. Because we believe that every person has something to contribute to the healing process needed now in our country, we […]
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