One by one we began to gather
under the rose window of St. Catharine Hall. We have gathered under his
precious window since 1906 but this gathering would be different from any other
gathering for sisters and associates. We gathered to "Celebrate Our Story."
What a story it has been!!
A story that began because nine women responded to a call to come forth.
They answered that call on April 7, 1822 at St. Rose Parish. It would be
the first of many calls that the sisters heard and responded to with great faith
and confidence in God. Calls to teach the children of the pioneers.
Calls to minister to the soldiers wounded in the battles of the Civil War.
Calls to nurse the sick and bury the dead of those ravaged by typhoid and Yellow
Fever. Calls to establish schools and hospitals where there were none.
Calls to go to Puerto Rico, Peru, Belize, Romania. So many chapters in our
story.
This weekend we gathered to let the memories emerge from our minds and hearts.
This would be the last time we would gather as Dominicans of St. Catharine, Kentucky. There would be tears and laughter and the gathering would have its bitter sweet moments. Over and over we would hear the refrain, "Do you remember when ...?"
We had set aside these days to gather together our precious memories. How appropriate it seemed that we were gathering in fall. The fall is a time to harvest what has been planted. It is a time to look through the seeds to determine which seeds need to be saved and used for future crops. Over the past 187 years many seeds have been planted and we will have many gifts to take with us into the new congregation.
It was in this same hall that we
discerned a more recent call.
The
Dominican Sisters of St. Catharine, Ky. — who in 1822 formed the first
congregation of Dominican Sisters in the United States — are poised to merge
with six other communities to form a new congregation of Dominican women. The
new congregation to be called, Dominican sisters of Peace is comprised of congregations from five states —
received Vatican approval for the merger in November, 2007. The new congregation
will be officially founded on Easter Sunday 2009.
In addition to the St. Catharine Dominicans, the new congregation will include
the Dominican Congregation of St. Rose of Lima in Oxford, Mich.; Dominican
Sisters, Congregation of St. Mary, and the Eucharistic Missionaries of St.
Dominic, both of New Orleans; Congregation of the Immaculate Heart in Great
Bend, Kansas; Dominican Sisters of St. Mary of the Springs in Columbus, Ohio; and
the Congregation of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in Akron, Ohio. Together, they
will have 700 vowed sisters and 500 associates — men and women who are committed
to working with the sisters in ministry.
We have never been a congregation that spends too much time looking back, or
basking in past achievements. We believe that there is too much to be done
for god's people and for all of creation. It is time o take the next step
along the path that God leads. We have used a quote over the past two
years that reminds us of God's love and promise of faithfulness.
FAITH
When we walk to the edge of
all the light we have and take that step into the darkness of the unknown, we
must believe that one of two things will happen. There will be something
solid for us to stand on, or we will be taught how to fly. --P. Overton
It was time ... Sister Joye Gros, OP, President of the Dominican Sisters of St. Catharine, Kentucky, welcomed the assembly and the Celebrating began.