Kathy -- The Big Chick -- celebrates a milestone with her trademark laugh.
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Call it an old wives' tale or a superstition but somehow, it seems to bear itself out -- death comes in threes. In the last two weeks, I've experienced it myself; after the first one, the thought briefly crossed my mind that more would come. When the second person passed, I waited for notification of the third. Sure enough, within days, the phone call came.
My rosary beads have been busy.
Years before I entered this wonderful mission ministry, God gave me a beautiful time of preparation by placing me amid a group of women who, like me, depended on their rosaries in good times and bad. It was on a parish retreat that I first met some of the members who happened to be on the team. A fellow retreatant, Kathy, would also find kindred spirits among these special women.
Kathy was a large woman with an open heart and a lively wit. You never wondered what was on her mind! We clicked instantly.
We were both invited to join a weekly gathering to pray the rosary. It was a slow, deliberate version. There was no rushing us. We were woman of varied ages (from our thirties to our nineties!), some married, some single, some mothers, some not. When the other prayer groups in our parish started to name themselves -- things like "Spirit Alive" and "Faith Within" - it was with a bit of frustration that one of us remarked, "Why do we need a name? We're just a bunch of chicks who like to say the rosary!" After the hooting and howling stopped, the name stuck -- we became the Rosary Chicks.
We called Kathy "The Big Chick." She was great at finding silly chick-themed gifts. Making us laugh was her greatest talent.
One year, our national Pontifical Mission Societies conference was held in Rome; staff and volunteers were invited to make the pilgrimage. Since Kathy volunteered in our office, she and her husband came along. Because our work ultimately reports to the Holy Father, we were privileged to be received in a private audience with then-Pope John Paul II, with whom Kathy shared a birthday. Apparently, no one ever told Kathy that women traditionally wear black to meet the pope. She appeared at the bus dressed in a madras plaid jacket, as large and loud as her personality! I never let her live it down.
Kathy went home to God at the beginning of May. When she meets her favorite saint -- the former pope -- I pray he recalls her loud plaid jacket and has a great laugh with her. Then I hope they offer a rosary for the Chicks and, of course, the missions.
- Maureen Crowley Heil is Director of Programs and Development for the Pontifical Mission Societies, Boston.