Sharing Faith, Dreams, Hopes for the Future
by Sister Carol Artery, OP
Professed in 1958
After eight years of Sisters of Blessed Virgin Mary teaching at Our Lady Help of Christians School in Chicago, I was somewhat startled by the different charism I felt from the Dominicans at Trinity High School. Of course, I was now a teenager rather than a grade school student, but the Sisters seemed filled with enthusiasm and a kind of joy. I had prayed for several years NOT to have a vocation—a handsome husband and a troupe of boys was my desired lot in life at this time—however, Sister Marie Celeste Gatti was corraling girls to go on a weekend retreat at the Mound and I agreed to join the group along with my best friend. While I enjoyed the Sisters and often drove them around (before the days of driving), I never intended to spend my life with them.
I don’t remember much about the weekend but I realized that if I didn’t at least try religious life, I would never know what God had in store for me. So with some reluctance, I began saving money I earned from my summer job at a retail store to put towards a large trunk and a list of supplies I received from the Mound. At the end of the summer, I was gifted with a Bible and two black blouses from my co-workers at the store, who along with my family were very puzzled by my choice. As the end of summer approached, I tried to reason with my parents and finally, my father reluctantly agreed to drive me to the Mound in September. My mother, on the other hand, kept me registered at Mundelein College sure that I would be home in a few weeks. As an interesting note, at my Silver Jubilee, my mother had re-written history so that my entering had been her idea from the start.
My life as a Sinsinawa Dominican continues to be so rewarding I shudder to think what I could have missed and rejoice each day at this wonderful, sometimes crazy, unfolding of life among women who share my faith, my dreams, my hopes for the future.