Katherine Doyle, RSM, is trained in history and spirituality. She received an MA in Educational Administration from the University of San Francisco in California, and an MA in Liturgical Studies from St. John’s University, Collegeville, Minnesota. She has served as Director of Mercy Center Auburn (California), Director of Faith Formation for the Diocese of Sacramento, California, and Novitiate Minister for the USA Novitiate. A Mercy historian, she has published Like a Tree by Running Water: The Story of Mary Baptist Russell, California’s First Sister of Mercy and is writing the history of California’s Mercy Community in Sacramento. She serves on the executive board of the Mercy Association of Scripture and Theology (MAST, the organization), serves on planning committees for the annual MAST meeting, and is a regular contributor to The MAST Journal.
One of the marks of a good historical study is its ability to leave the reader wanting more. Paula Diann Marlin, RSM, has done just that in her book Courage & Compassion Sisters of Mercy in the American Civil War.
As we bring this sacred day to closure, may the peace and blessings of God be with us. I’d like to begin with a memory from my days as a young teacher. I introduced my students to working with salt ceramic. It was an experience that has stayed in my imagination because you had to stir the mixture for what seemed like forever before it