Some of you may know Sister Donna Brodman, O.P., who has been working in our parish for the past five years, will be leaving us to move to Peekskill, New York. While she was here at Saint Aloysius, Sister ministered to our parishioners who are not able to get to church. Her greatest joy was bringing our Eucharistic Lord, and praying with our brothers and sisters who couldn’t pray and receive Communion with the community that gathers each Sunday. Sister’s visits brought peace, joy, and healing; and I received so many phone calls and notes of gratitude for Sister Donna’s prayerful presence.
As I reflect on Sister Donna’s ministry, I think of her journey from her family farm in Ohio to her first days in the convent as a novice with the Dominican Sisters of Our Lady of the Springs. I imagine her taking on the responsibilities that her religious community required of her – teaching young children, cooking, even getting her hairdressing license! I remember when the sisters made their move to Bridgeport to begin their adventure as the Dominican Sisters of Our Lady of the Springs of Bridgeport, taking up residence in Stamford. But it was our providential meeting at a gas station in Stamford where I learned that Sister Donna was looking for a new ministry opportunity. Within a week or two, Sister joined our ministry team.
We will have an opportunity in the springtime to wish Sister Donna well at a parish event; but in the meantime, thank you Sister Donna for your love of the Lord and His Mother, your dedication to our sisters and brothers whom you visited, and your boundless energy for ministry. We will pray you into the next adventure that God will offer you. We love you and look forward to celebrating the gift you have been when we see you in the spring!
Lenten blessings,
Welcome to the Saint Aloysius! Our parish was founded in 1896 to serve the Catholic families that were settling in the greater New Canaan area.