The Healing Journey

August 13, 2023

“Faith is a bird that feels the light and sings when the dawn is still dark.”
— Rabindranath Tagore

For several years, Sandy tried to track down her old friend, Sr. Catherine Theresa, who accompanied her on retreats and was part of a healing prayer ministry.

Then, one afternoon, she opened a letter from New Hampshire and pulled out an obituary that said Sister had died on February 7, 2023 at 93. The obituary, which her sister sent, told the story of remarkable woman who entered the Daughters of the Holy Spirit at 16 and spent her life without fanfare, working in the vineyard for Christ.

She taught in schools from Gadsden, Alabama, where she was principal, to Burlington, Vermont, and Bridgeport, Conn. She later got her nursing certificate and helped care for migrants in Maryland. In 1983, she became a missionary and went to Nigeria, where she worked in a pre-natal clinic. She also served the poor in Alabama and Haiti before returning to the provincial house in Putnam, Conn.

On one assignment, she was a visiting nurse on the overnight shift, caring for a young man, who was in a coma for seven years after a boating accident at 13. She was there when he died.

Sandy took out a piece of paper and wrote a letter to Sr. Catherine’s sister to tell her something she probably already knew: Sr. Catherine was the closest thing to a saint she ever met.

If you had doubts about your faith, being in her presence immediately dispelled them.

One other thing. Sr. Catherine, everyone knew, was surrounded by the scent of roses. That, the Church teaches, is called the “odor of sanctity,” a sweet and pure aroma of flowers that is an indication you are in the presence of a holy person.

Once, Sandy’s husband asked, “Sister, do you wear perfume?” He smiled, and she smiled in return. “Oh, no. I never wear perfume,” she assured him.

***

How often have you learned too late that a friend from your past has died, someone you were convinced God put in your path to make you a better person. You probably wished with all your heart that you had been able to see them one last time so you could thank them for being part of your life.