Once the members of the seven congregations chose the name for the new congregation to be Dominican sisters of Peace, it seemed appropriate to call the new space the Peace Garden.
On July 1, 2009 we had a cook-out to thank the Motherhouse Employees as well as Danny Ray Spalding and Philip Mattingly. We waned the first thing that happened at the Peace Garden to be something involving our employees. We gathered there, talked about Mr. Phil and also how proud and grateful we are to Mark for creating this beautiful spot. A place where we will be able to sit and be enveloped by the beauty of the place we call St. Catharine.
When you enter the Peace Garden the first thing that greets you is the Peace Pole. You will notice that there are six languages, each saying, "May Peace Prevail Upon Earth." The languages represent the "mother" language of the seven congregations that joined together to form the Dominican Sisters of Peace. Dominicans of Akron and Great Bend have roots back to Regensburg so the language is German. Dominicans of St. Mary's, New Orleans have there roots in Ireland so we have Gaelic. Dominicans of Oxford come from Czechoslovakia so the language used is Slovak. The Eucharistic Missionaries of St. Dominic claim French as their "mother" language. Dominicans of Columbus and St. Catharine have English. The sixth language is Latin to represent the language of the universal Church. then you come to the beautiful gazebo and the pond with a small waterfall.
click picture for a larger view
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The gazebo is in the center of the Peace Garden. It is positioned to take the benefit of the breeze. At the entrance two peace rose bushes have been planted. The trees are river birch and two types of maple. The bushes are crape myrtle. These will add beautiful color to the Peace Garden. Boxwood have also been planted and gradually more flowers will be added. |
Four fish have been introduced into the pond. We are also considering adding a few water lilies. |
We think Mr. Phil would approve. In fact we feel sure that when there is no breeze and yet we see the swing on the gazebo moving, it is Mr. Phil sitting in his favorite spot, looking out and taking everything in yet saying very little. This is a beautiful spot and I hope you will come to St. Catharine to enjoy it and be enfolded in the beauty of this land and let your soul be washed in peace.
the jonquil will take you back to What's New
