EULOGY FOR SR KATHERINE
Bishop Peter, my sisters and brothers in Carmel, all of you our dear
relatives and friends, and especially I would like to mention Kathleen,
Margaret and Therese, nieces of our dear Sr Katherine who have travelled
from WA to be with us today to say farewell to their Aunty Kathleen.
I feel very humble standing here to share something of the life of our
beloved Sr Katherine with all of you, but I also feel deeply grateful
to Sr Jennifer for inviting me to do so, even though I think she took
a big risk in doing this for speaking at gatherings is not my charism
as indeed my community knows only too well! However I attempt this because
of the love I have for Sr Katherine and what she has meant to me during
my life in Carmel.
Had Katherine lived only three more days she would have celebrated her
99th birthday on 1st August, but God called her home to her eternal reward
at a quarter past one in the afternoon of Friday bringing to a close the
life of one who had been utterly dedicated and faithful to her Carmelite
Vocation of prayer and sacrifice for the Church during the past seventy
five and a half years.
Sr Katherine, the third of four children (3girls and 1 boy) was born
in Kalgoorlie, WA to her parents – James John and Kathleen Margaret
and was given the same name as her mother – that is Kathleen Margaret,
though after entering Carmel she was known as Katherine. Sister was really
shy by nature and we never knew a great deal about her childhood,- neither
was it the custom in earlier years (in the Dulwich Hill Carmel at least)
to speak about such things, but we do know that Sister survived meningitis
as a young girl and only recently during her last illness did she tell
me that the doctors and nurses at St John of God hospital where she was
treated told her that God must have had some special work for her to do,
because they considered it almost a miracle that she survived the illness
especially in those early days. I suppose even at that early age Katherine
was showing very definite signs of the great determination that was so
characteristic of her during her later life. Her niece Kathleen, told
me only yesterday about an incident which had occurred when Katherine
was young and having unsuccessfully tried to persuade some 7th day Adventists
to leave their front door she picked up the hose and turned it on them!!!
Such was our ‘shy’ and ‘timid’ Katherine when
she wanted to make a point!!
Sr entered Carmel at Dulwich Hill on 11th February 1930 having been accepted
for the life of an Extern Sister and subsequently received the Habit and
made her Profession as such, taking her Perpetual Vows in 1939. Sister
faithfully served the community in this capacity for 21 years after which
she was granted an Indult from Rome to transfer inside the Cloister making
profession of Solemn Vows in 1952. In subsequent years Sister Katherine
served the community in the office of Prioress, sub-Prioress, and Novice
Mistress as well as being a member of the community council many times.
It was particularly as Prioress that Sr Katherine humbly served her community
preferring always to be seen as simply a sister among her sisters, rather
than a superior over her community. Sister was also Sacristan for many
years always going about her work quietly and without any great fuss.
It was a big work then as there was not available at that time the variety
of light and drip dry materials which can make the work so much easier
today. There was no end of washing, starching and ironing sacristy linen,
altar cloths, albs etc. and Katherine being the very down to earth person
that she was, used to highly amuse some of us younger sisters when she
referred to the sacristan as being no more than a “glorified washer
woman’!! You really had to know Katherine to be able to appreciate
these little comments of hers. Katherine gave herself whole-heartedly
to any work that was asked of her and it was for many years while occupied
in these busy activities that she also cared for an elderly sick sister
in the community devoting all her time and energy to her. At the time
I entered Carmel this sister was still alive and I would often see Sr
Katherine pushing her along the cloister in the huge cumbersome wooden
wheel-chair that we had at the time. I was told that she used also to
take sister for an outing in the wheel-chair down the back of the five
and a half acre property – no easy task as her patient was quite
a big woman to be pushing in such a chair.
Katherine loved the garden and many novices learned to love gardening
from working close to her and watching what her green fingers produced.
She also loved to study the planets and the stars and would often be found
star-gazing on the flat-roof and imparting some of her knowledge of these
to anyone interested enough to listen. Katherine also had a wonderful
memory and even in her more recent years could still recite poems which
had been learnt at school 85 years ago!! She retained her fine mind to
the end of her life, though occasionally in the last stages of her illness
she would sometimes lapse into patches of confusion, but never for long.
She was really blessed in this way. One little incident of many comes
to mind showing how alert she still was in the midst of her increasing
weakness. Her nose was a great source of distress for some time and she
always needed tissues but it was so hard to take any from her – even
if you offered her a clean one in return for what you wanted to take.
Finally I said to her a few days before she died, “Goodness Katherine,
I don’t know what you will do when you die. You can’t take
the tissues with you” and as quick as lightening she said “but
I won’t take my nose either” So there you are – she
nearly always had the last word!!!
One of our present novices used the expression “living Gospel” as
summing up Katherine’s life while the other thought of her as a “living
Rule” seeing her as a guiding light, an inspiration, an example
of the best that Carmel could produce. I think these are very strong statements
and coming as they do from sisters in formation today, they show what
an impression Katherine made on them yet she herself would laugh if she
heard such comments about herself. Though she was always very faithful
to the Carmelite life and its Rule, nevertheless, she possessed a very
free spirit and would never allow herself to be shackled by a whole lot
of unnecessary laws and customs. I think her novices at the time loved
her for this quality too, because she tried to encourage their growth
and freedom of spirit also.
Katherine had strong faith, though I believe she lived most of her life
in great “darkness”; her love for our Carmelite saints, especially
St John of the Cross and St Therese of the Child Jesus was very evident
in her life. In my early years in Carmel I once told her that even though
I tried to read St John of the Cross, I couldn’t understand him
and that worried me greatly. Her reply was swift –“Sr Gemma
you love St Therese and try to follow her doctrine. You have nothing to
worry about because St Therese’s doctrine is really a simplified
version of St John’s teaching for those people who cannot read his
writings.” Her words gave me great peace and I never worried again
about the matter.
It was marvellous to watch the transformation that took place in Katherine,
herself in the last months - weeks of her life. It was wonderful to sit
with her and be able to talk about her approaching death and be witness
to the eagerness she showed at knowing that her life was gradually coming
to its end. “Come Lord Jesus, do not delay” was a little prayer
that was often on her lips especially at times when she felt the burden
of her illness. Not many days before she died I had gone into her a few
times and she seemed to be asleep. The next time I went in I said
“
Oh, you are awake now.”
I haven’t been asleep” she replied
“
Well if you haven’t been asleep, what have you been thinking of” I
asked her.
“
Oh, I was just thinking of God, and how He is really Love, and He wants us
all to love one another. That is all that matters that we love one another.
You know, every sister in this community is different but that doesn’t
matter. I know that each one is trying to live faithfully her Carmelite Vocation
and that is all that matters. You can only try and do your best but we must
all love each other, differences don’t matter” I then said to her,
-
“
Katherine, I think you are living more in Heaven now than on earth” and
she replied quite spontaneously,
“
Yes, He is preparing me now to be a beautiful Queen”.
I was deeply touched by this reply and I felt that I was right in what I had
just said to her because this language was most uncharacteristic of our “down-to-earth ” Katherine.
For about four weeks or more before her death we used to gather each
night in her room at 8.00 p m for Night Prayer around her bed. It was
wonderful to watch the way she greeted each sister as she came into the
room with some words very special for herself. And then you would see
her lips praying the words of the psalms with us - if she could remember
them. On the last night – Thursday, she said to Jennifer, “God
bless you and your lovely community”- it was almost like a farewell
message. On an earlier occasion she had remarked on the “marvellous
community” – she was just so grateful for all that was done
for her no matter how small an act it may have been. We have cherished
these words coming from sister as we all know that she only said what
she meant.
All of this sums up for me a life of fidelity to prayer which is simply
how Katherine tried to live and by that giving of herself to God He was
able to touch her soul in its very depths and transform it and we her
sisters have been privileged to witness. in some small degree this marvellous
work of God. in her.
If I had to try and summarise the message that I felt Katherine most
wanted to leave with us I think it could be said in the words of St Paul “Try
then to imitate God, as children of his that he loves, and follow Christ
by loving as he loved you,…”always giving thanks to God Who
is our Father, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Amen
Thank you Katherine for all you have been for me throughout my years
in Carmel.
I ask you now to pray for and help each one of us present here today
to farewell you.
Sister Gemma O’Keeffe OCD
Wednesday 3 August 2005
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