Bishop Greg Kelly makes a special blessing on a piece of art made to honor Sister Thea Bowman on Oct. 16 at Holy Cross Catholic Church. (Ben Torres/Special Contributor)
By Father Timothy Gollob
Special to The Texas Catholic
What a dynamic celebration we experienced at Holy Cross in October in a holy event honoring Sister Thea Bowman. After much planning and vigorous preparation, we assembled in the church to listen to the personal testimonials of folks who had met and had been influenced by Sister Thea.
Through Gospel songs and spiritual dance and enthusiastic clapping, we were able to have a taste of the uplifting spirit of this inspiring singing evangelist from Mississippi.
Those who had previewed the video of Sister Thea preaching to the assembled Catholic Bishops of the United States in 1989 could personally imagine the impact her voice had on them. You, too, can get a real dose of the dynamism of Sister Thea by going on the internet and typing in her name. There you can find many videos of her talks to various groups.
In the past, Sister Thea called herself the child of “old folks.” Then she became a teaching nun and influenced many of her students. In the last years of her life, she battled cancer and never missed an opportunity to preach the Good News by her willingness to give inspiring mission retreats to parishes and to organizations.
Today, we are all called to answer her call for every member of the church to be a “for real” brother or sister to all those who need someone to share their sorrow or their confusion or their pain and lift them up by sharing the light of our own faith, hope and love.
I’m going to let my little light shine… because Jesus gave it to me.
Father Timothy Gollob is the pastor of Holy Cross Catholic Church in Oak Cliff.
