If it hadn't been for that sister

by Diocese of Des Moines | July 1, 2022

More than 50 years have gone by since I was touched by the smile of a Dominican nun. That smile remains in my memory to this day. It was because of that smile that I eventually became a convert to the Catholic faith. 

I was raised in the non-denominational (basically Baptist) faith. My mother instilled a great love for God in those early years and for that I am forever grateful. Even so, I always knew that I wanted more - I wanted to be like that “lady in the black dress” who lived next door to our own pastor and his family. 

This is what happened. 

One afternoon, while we were playing softball in the vacant lot behind our pastor’s house, adjacent to the convent next door, one of our batters slammed the ball into the backyard of the convent. We - because we had been taught then, back in the mid-1960’s, that Catholics were not Christians - were in horror, because at that very moment, two of those ladies in black dresses came out of their house. We ran for the trees along the edge of the vacant lot and hid in the trees. What were we going to do now? 

We needn’t have worried. One of the sisters strolled over to the errant softball, picked it up, tossed it back to us…and smiled. There was that smile! 

We eventually came out from hiding and continued the game. But my thoughts went to her. Her smile. “There’s someone who lives her faith every day,” is what I thought. “I want to be like her!” 

Well, as you can guess, becoming a nun is not really an option for a young Baptist girl. 

Almost 40 years had to go by before I could realize that what I was searching for was in fact my conversion to the Catholic faith. And all through those years, I always wondered what happened to that nun and would I ever be able to meet her to thank her for her testimony. 

My prayers were answered in 2015 when I traveled to my hometown of Racine, Wisconsin, for a family funeral. I stayed at the Sienna Center there. It is a retreat center and home for retired Racine Dominican sisters. I shared my story with them about the sister who smiled at me. Soon after that conversation, another sister came riding toward me on her scooter. She said, “Come on! I think I found her!” 

Sister led me to the cafeteria where lunch was being served. She pointed me toward the table where a few of the other sisters were having their lunch. I introduced myself. What a blessing to find the actual person whose smile meant so much to me so many decades ago! 

Even before my conversion, I always held in high respect those men and women who stuck to their faith and provided role models for others, especially sisters. That’s why, to this day, I enjoy spending any time I can with the sisters of our Diocese. I was privileged to accompany the international sisters of the Diocese of Des Moines to a morning retreat at the Domus Trinitatis Contemplative Center for Retreat & Renewal in Willey on May 21. 

For more information on the Center, or the Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity (SOLT), email 
homeofthetrinity@gmail.com or call 712-292-3011. Facebook: facebook.com/homeofthetrinity. Web: www.homeofthetrinity.com; www.solt.net.

Brenda Wedemeyer is a member of St. Mary Parish in Guthrie Center.