My Profound Joy and Honor
I grew up in the East Bronx and attended public school grades K-6. It wouldn’t be until high school that I was blessed to meet the Sparkill Dominicans. My early occupational interest was to be an airline stewardess—as they were called then. But being the vertically challenged person I was then (and am even more so now!), I would never have been accepted for such a heightened position!
After completing Grades 7 and 8 at Holy Family School, I attended St. Helena High School (now Monsignor Scanlan High School), staffed by the Sparkill Dominicans. From my first encounter with the Sisters, with their warmth, approachability, and great teaching styles, I was enormously happy to begin and complete my four years of Commercial Studies.
During my junior year at St. Helena’s, I felt God’s call to a religious vocation with the Dominicans. I was blessed to have been accepted into the Sparkill Dominican Congregation of Our Lady of the Rosary in September 1957. My sponsor, Sister Rose Anastasia, O.P., remained my spiritual mentor, dear friend, and guide, from then until she passed away from this life in 2011.
I have often encountered the Lord as “a God of surprises,” and it was unexpected that I sensed His calling me from the Religious Life with a mandate to serve others in the world. Through prayer and deep reflection, I left the Order after thirteen years and began pursuing further education, which was encouraged by Sister Ann Catherine, O.P., a beloved social worker at St. Agnes School for Boys. Because of my secretarial skills, I was able to assist Sister in her work through transcription and beyond.
I was then, and remain now, in awe of the Sisters embracing former members as they do. The affection among us is truly palpable, and when the Associate Membership was initiated, I was delighted to be a part of it. I remained as such for twenty years, until Our Lord called me again to another vocation to serve.
I met and married my dear husband, Bobby G. Barnett, fourteen years after I left Sparkill, and with his support, I was able to volunteer many years of counseling/ therapy to the children and adults at St. Charles Borromeo School and Parish in Cinnaminson, NJ. As Jesus had taught his Apostles, “Freely have you received, [so] freely give.” (Matthew 10:8). So, with the permission of the two pastors of the parish during those years, I was able to donate the modest fees I charged my adult clients to the Sparkill Dominicans to support the aged and infirm Sisters.
Then, in 1999, even most surprisingly, the Lord called me to serve in the Secular Order of Discalced Carmelites (O.C.D.S.). There, I have served in the duties of Secretary, Council Member, and President. Always, and ever close to my beloved Sparkill, one of my Carmelite colleagues rightly dubbed me “DominiCarm!”
When I had a terrible accident at home on January 30, 2023, I was immediately hospitalized and then transferred to a second hospital where I had surgery on February 1. I asked my husband to please get in touch with the Sparkill Sisters for prayers, which they faithfully fulfilled. Most gratefully, the surgery successfully repaired my tibial plateau fracture, which would have otherwise rendered me unable to walk again.
After two months of rehabilitation in the Wiley Christian Mission and more than five months of in-home therapy, I have retained my ability to walk successfully for which I am filled with much gratitude to God and to all who continue to pray for my recovery. I especially remain filled with enormous thanks to all the Sparkill Sisters, the Associates, and former members for their abundant prayers, as well as for their offered Masses, messages, and phone calls, which have helped me through a most challenging time.
It is truly my profound joy and honor to be a member of the Veritas Society, uniting us humanly and spiritually, as it is for my husband, Bobby, who has also become a member.
Grace M. Barnett, O.C.D.S., Ph.D.
December 3, 2023