JUST Words

By Sister Barbara Blesse, OP 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 […]

Sister Teresa Marron returned to her home parish for a class reunion in August and was pleasantly surprised to learn the school established a scholarship fund in her name: The Sister Teresa Marron St. Malachy Scholarship Fund will support the financial needs of St. Malachy students for years to come. Additionally, on August 23, the

By Sister Kathleen Anne Tait, OP  The Springfield Dominican Sisters are celebrating 60 years of service to the Peruvian people. In response to a call from Pope John XXIII to send sisters to South America, four sisters volunteered in 1965. Today, native Peruvian Springfield Dominican Sisters serve in Lima and in Jarpa, a rural agricultural

By Brandon Durham I have always enjoyed mowing. My yard is much smaller than the 5 acres I grew up on, so when spring comes it doesn’t take long to cut. The street out front is split by a raised median that is also part of my responsibility to maintain. What is striking about this

By Sister Judine Hilbing, OP  While leisure can be defined as time spent away from business, work, domestic chores, and education, we simply can’t put it off until all the work is done. We need to take time to care for the mind, body, and spirit by carving out time and space for relaxation. Doing

The first-of-its-kind By Sister Kathleen Anne Tait, OP Chris Knight’s most memorable times as a child were when “the sisters” came to visit. When the word got around they were coming, the Kniery family of ten shifted into full-preparation mode, readying their home in Bloomington, Ill., for the arrival of their mother’s aunt, Sister Monica

By Sisters M. Clare Fichtner, OP, and Elyse Marie Ramirez, OP Walk with us, please, into Sacred Heart Convent Chapel. You will notice several things all at once. First, you are reminded of how spacious God is. Then, you  are aware of being wrapped in the simple beauty of concrete, colored glass, wood, and untold

By Dave Sanders “I shall be more useful to you and more fruitful after my death than I was in my life,” promised St. Dominic from his deathbed. Gifted at comforting the suffering, he spoke these final words to give strength and peace to the distraught followers at his bedside; those he was leaving to

By Sister Catherine Stewart, OP Throughout our lives, we have multiple experiences of endings and beginnings. We are reminded of this as we daily enjoy sunrises and sunsets. When a new opportunity presents itself, we pause and ask “Am I ready for a new experience?” Most of us, “Just know it’s time to start something

By Margaret Lombe, PhD. My reflection centers on my engagement, along with six students from Boston University School of Social Work (BU-SSW), with refugees in Kenya: dignified-citizens-turned-objects-of-charity by conflict and civil unrest. The largest refugee camp in the world, called Kakuma, lies on the edge of the Sahara Desert in northwestern Kenya. Kakuma holds about

By Sister Sharon Zayac, OP “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.”            ~ Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities Dickens could

A sister and an associate talk about their ministry in cross-cultural settings By Carolyn White Indigenous Americans Sister Barbara Bogenschutz recently returned to Fort Belknap Reservation, Mont., where she first began her ministry among Native Americans in 1999. Since then, she also served as a pastoral leader among the Anishinaabe at Red Cliff, Wisc., and

Sisters Kristin Crawford and Sharon Zayac received their certification in permaculture design through Midwest Permaculture, located in Stelle, Ill. They completed a 72-hour online course, which included project work. The project is a permaculture design for an area at Jubilee Farm where they are creating a “permagarden.”