“Be who God intended you to be and you will set the world on fire” – St. Catherine of Siena. Many who are reading this are probably very familiar with St Catherine and the many other saints that can be found under the mantle of Our Holy Mother Mary that St Dominic dreamed of all those many centuries ago. Let me introduce myself, I am Krystine Abberton, a registered nurse, Molloy College alumni and a member of the Dominican Family for many years. I began my journey with the Dominican Sisters of Amityville in my high school years attending preaching weekends and then chose to attend Molloy College, a Dominican institution. While in college I was involved in many things including Campus Ministries and all the events sponsored by that department. One of the events came my sophomore year, I was invited to attend the Dominican College Preaching in Action Conference. Attending this conference, I was able to connect with students, professors and staff from all of the Dominican colleges throughout the nation. Throughout the week we participated in workshops that introduced and reinforced all the different ways one can preach aside from words. Also, as diverse as the groups were, we observed that each one of us has individual gifts and talents that can contribute to unique and valuable preaching styles.
Following the conference, I was afforded many opportunities to grow my faith as well as my knowledge of St Dominic and his holy preaching. Among others, I have attended trips to El Salvador, Fanjeaux, France and Adrian, Michigan for the Dominican College Colloquium through Molloy and further expanded my love for Dominican Charism and preaching. Through all of these experiences I was able to meet people of all walks of life, different faiths and backgrounds. In certain experiences though we didn’t speak the same languages, we were able to communicate through our service, community, spirituality and faith, the same four pillars I had been introduced to in high school and then reminded of at the Preaching in Action Conference through Molloy. Currently I am a registered nurse in a pediatrician’s office but I am still very much connected with the Dominican sisters and continue to look for opportunities to preach not only with my words but with methods I had been taught so many years ago. I can truly say my life was changed and made forever better by the experiences I have had beginning with attending the Dominican College Preaching in Action Conference.