Meet Sister Colette Barker:
Prayer Central Director, Sacred Heart Convent
Request Prayer Now Every day an email containing a litany of prayer needs arrives in the inboxes of every Springfield Dominican Sister and associate in the world. These requests pour in regularly at Sacred Heart Convent in Springfield—motherhouse of the Dominican Sisters and home to nearly 100 sisters. Eventually all these requests, collected from the four winds by Dominican Sisters near and far, land on the desk of Sister Colette Barker, whom we’ve given the light-hearted title “prayer […]
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What is prayer? How does it work?
Human beings have prayed for thousands of years. Most of us who are people of faith give prayer a significant place in our daily routine. That’s not new. Human beings of various faith traditions have been praying for thousands of years. Many learned simple prayers at our mother’s or father’s knee: prayers like the Our Father, also known as the Lord’s Prayer. It’s likely that this prayer was one of the first steps to what has become a […]
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Sister Lori’s Seven Prayer Pointers
Download the PDF. Think you don’t have time to pray? Think again! Cor Unum team member Sister Lori Kirchman shares seven prayer practices you can use in the time you have. Have a minute? Unplug and breath. Five minutes? Read and reflect. Dashing from the car to classroom? Make it a walking meditation. Don’t tell Sister Lori you don’t have time to pray! She’s used these methods successfully throughout 33 years of Dominican life as a teacher, vocation […]
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“Let the Call Be Heard!” Associates in Action
Three hundred fifty-one active associates, eighty-one prayer associates and eighteen candidates in formation have heard the call to partner with the Springfield Dominicans in uncovering the light and truth of the Gospel in the world. Their Mission calls Associates to proclaim God’s Word with their daily lives. This year, associates and sisters are studying an article by Benedictine Sister Joan Chittister, Let the Call Be Heard. Sister Joan speaks of the importance of sharing a community’s charism in […]
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Snowstorm + Sisters + Coworkers = FUN!
Alyssa Regan, switchboard supervisor at Sacred Heart Convent, has two little boys at home she knew would be excited about getting out in the mammoth snowstorm that was scheduled for the weekend. Could that explain her brainstorm? Why not have a snow-person making contest for the sisters and their coworkers? What a brilliant idea! The sisters and coworkers have begun! Poor Cubbies… Cubs fans, or no? Sister Charmaine and Barb Tanner Hands down favorite–so far! Understated & […]
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Dominican Religious Life: An Historical Perspective
This article by Sister Susan Karina Dickey, OP, first appeared in the Fall 2017 JUST Words under the title Rehabilitating Dominican Religious Life: An Historical Perspective. Something new One of the memorable things about St. Dominic was his willingness to try something new while borrowing and adapting from the past. For example, the idea of preachers other than bishops was an innovation. We cannot know if Dominic saw himself as an innovator, but 800 years later we frame […]
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Top Ten Stories of 2018
What an amazing year 2018 was. Looking back there were so many ups and downs it is hard to believe that some of the events happened only in 2018. Here is a list of our top ten stories in order of engagement by you over the entire year. Sister Mary Jo Acquires Fame on the Internet for her First Pitch at a Major League Game “My goal is to just inspire young people to do their best and […]
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Transform Your Life: Sing Mary’s Song
This essay was originally published on Sunday December 30, 2018, in the Springfield State Journal-Register Beliefs column for which Sister Beth Murphy writes regularly. For many of us, January 1 has become unmoored from the faith context of Christmas. It’s New Year’s Day, of course, and holds a sense of promise and fresh start that can renew everyone’s spirits this time of year. For sports fans it’s Bowl Game Day, serving to rally friends and family around a […]
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