A year ago, Mary Katherine Hammett’s younger brother, Johnny, wasn’t able to attend her 75th jubilee. So Johnny and his wife, Lois, wrote out and sent a collection of their memories and these give us the beginning of the story of…
Author’s Note: The following is drawn in large measure from a remembrance by Margaret Blessum, the youngest of the Blessum family, in celebration of her older sister, Joan. It was delivered by Margaret at the service before Joan’s burial in…
Ezekiel 18:25-28 Philippians 2:1-11 Matthew 21:28-32 I have my own version of the Gospel story: My mother would say to my sister, ‘Please wash the dishes,’ and my sister would say an emphatic, belligerent ‘NO!’ It was clear she would…
Maureen Frances McCormack was born in St. Louis, the third of four daughters born to John Clement McCormack of Waukon, Iowa, and Ozzara Deluhery of Los Angeles. Maureen’s older sisters, Janet and Jean, were twins barely a year older than…
Gay DiCerto Lenox was born in El Cento, Calif., May 19, 1935. She was baptized Gaetana Angela, but was known as Gay. Her parents were Valentino and Angeline Christine DiCerto. Gay had three sisters, Angie, Valerie and Anna, and two…
The first words of Dolores Kelledy’s 1976 autobiography go right to the heart of the matter: “I became interested in the Sisters of Loretto while attending elementary school in the Sacred Heart Parish. The Lorettines there portrayed such a friendly…
I am a white female who grew up in a St. Louis suburb featured in the CBS documentary “16 in Webster Groves” (1966), a critique of the insular life of suburban kids that is still used in sociology classes and…
Mary Peter Bruce was the eldest daughter of James H. Bruce and Dolores Novoa, known as Lola. They named her Dolores Patricia and called her Patsy. She had three siblings, Lillian, Jimmy and Johnny, many cousins in Mexico and in…
Isaiah 55: 1-3 Ps 145 Romans 8: 35-39 Mt 14: 13-21 In today’s liturgy all the readings have the same simple message: Love permeates the world. God loves all of us and will not let us down. We have nothing to fear. This…
Mary Frances Lottes was born into what she describes as “a secure and happy life in a large family during the Depression years.” She was the fourth child of Arthur and Roberta Lottes, with Helen, Arthur, and Richard before her…
Today’s feast of Corpus Christi is about sacraments. It encourages us to reflect on the ways God uses the most simple human realities to bring us to the holy, how Grace and Divine Love are given to us through the…
Acts 2:14, 36-41 Psalm 23 (24) 1 Peter 2:20-25 John 10:1-10 Last Sunday we had the story of the disciples on the road to Emmaus and how they recognized Jesus in a stranger who broke bread with them. Today’s…