Vocations
Meet Sister Kathy Cash
"I made a pretty radical decision to give up a lot of things and follow my call. But there's nothing 'holy' about me. You don’t have to be perfect to be a sister.
"I started seriously thinking about religious life during college. I had so many questions about the lifestyle: When will I see my family? How early do I have to get up? How much do we really pray? It can be hard to talk to friends and family about religious life, because you’re worried they’ll think it's weird. But having someone to walk through your search with you—a mentor, a priest at home or school, a spiritual director—really helped.
"Every community is different. It's important to visit, to talk with sisters about their lives. I visited another group of sisters a couple of times, but when I came to visit Ferdinand, I knew I didn't need to look anywhere else.
"The biggest surprise about being a Sister of St. Benedict? The capacity that these women have for loving: each other, the liturgy of the word, people we encounter through our work. And I was surprised by how much we affirm each other—our selves and our gifts. It's amazing to be part of a whole group of women who've dedicated their lives to seeking God. It's a tremendous gift."
“I started playing soccer in the 7th grade and quickly fell in love with it. I played through high school and at Brescia University, where I was named an Academic All-American. I hated graduating because I knew my competitive playing days were over. And I didn’t think being both a sister and a soccer coach was remotely possible. When I landed a teaching job at a boys’ school, I didn’t dream they would hire a female coach. Well, boy, was I wrong, and I’m loving it again.
“I like sharing my passion for the sport with the freshman boys I coach, staying physically active, working with students outside the classroom, and watching them learn and grow. Sharing victories is special, but I also like helping them figure out how to rebound from a tough loss. A lot of people don’t expect a woman to coach a boys’ team. It was fun when a player told a disbelieving ticket-taker, ‘She’s not our mom, she’s our coach! Come on, Sister!’ It’s also fun when the varsity expects me to be at their games, too, as a kind of calming influence during the heat of battle.”