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 …
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 …
Today is International Migrants Day. People are fleeing record violence in Central America, crossing thousands of miles in nearly unimaginable conditions to seek asylum in the United States. We can respect their right to migrate and welcome them while having a secure border. The militarization of the southern border is a waste of taxpayer dollars …
An NPR Illinois Interview with Sister Marcelline Koch. Sister Marcelline Koch, standing center, above, invites US citizens to do two things when it comes to grasping what’s happening at the US-Mexico border: See the immigrants as people who are frightened for their children. Do the analysis necessary to understand why mothers and fathers are compelled …
We received this message from Sister Marcelline Koch regarding her experience volunteering at Annunciation House a Catholic Charities-sponsored ministry serving families who arrive in El Paso, Texas, seeking asylum. Sister Marcelline, Sister Anita Cleary, and two of their friends, Kathryn Raistrick and Julie Wullner, volunteered at Annunciation House Nov. 13-19, 2018. She wrote on Sunday, …
This essay was first published on November 18, 2018 in the Springfield State Journal-Register Beliefs column for which Sister Beth Murphy writes regularly. There is a certain way of reading Jewish and Christian apocalyptic texts that makes excellent B movie material. I believe we are living in an apocalypse—but not that kind! The word apocalypse …
A week of service at an immigrant shelter in El Paso helps ease the burdens of desperate families Springfield, Ill.—On Sunday, Springfield Dominican Sisters Anita Cleary and Marcelline Koch will travel to El Paso, Texas to volunteer at a Catholic shelter for families called Annunciation House. “We’re going because Annunciation House and other shelters like …
Dominican Sisters Head to the Border to Serve Children & Families Read More »
A Statement from the Dominican Sisters of Springfield Office for Justice We stand with all people of good will in opposition to the hate that has seeped into our public discourse and spilled out with deadly effect into our streets, neighborhoods, and places of worship. Our hearts ache for all those whose lives have been …
This material is taken from “A Call to Holiness: A 2018 Guide for Voters” created collaboratively by religious congregations and national Catholic justice organizations. “Vulnerable ourselves, we choose to stand with the poor, accompany those on the margins, and to work toward systems that promote life.” “A good Catholic meddles in politics.” A Call to …
A Call to Holiness: A 2018 Guide for Voters Summary Read More »
This essay was first published in the August 26, 2018 edition of the Springfield State Journal-Register, in the Beliefs column, for which Sister Beth Murphy writes regularly. How many tears have been spilled over the latest scandal in the Catholic Church? It is deeply disturbing, painful beyond imagining, to think of the thousands of children …
How did we get here? Power, Shame—and at Long Last, Mercy Read More »
