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Saint Dolly: We Will Always Love You

Hee Haw. It’s been a long time since I thought of that corny country music comedy show that Dolly Parton often appeared on as a guest artist. But within minutes of hearing that beloved Dolly Parton, aka Saint Dolly, had passed away, my social media feeds and text messages were blowing up with shared memories of loving Dolly.

(Cover image credit: Kara Renee Art Apparently I am not the only one who called Dolly a saint. Search “Saint Dolly.” Incredible art!)

Watching Hee Haw as a little girl in the ‘70s and singing to the lyrics of Jolene and I Will Always Love You at my grandma’s house are my first, very fond memories of Dolly. My cousin Michelle and I would sit on our grandma’s couch listening to Dolly Parton albums.

We thought it was very cool when an album folded out and included the song lyrics. Sometimes we peacefully belted out the lyrics to a Dolly song, and other times we would tug that album cover back and forth, vying for more territory to see the lyrics better. Occasionally, our tugging resulted in a hair-pulling episode over who held the album cover the longest, or so our cousin Kim reports.

I have often shared my love for Dolly on social media. I admire her advocacy for education and literacy, as well as her generous book donations through Imagination Library. I admire her acceptance of self and others. She is known for saying, “I am comfortable in my own skin… I know who I am and I don’t try to be nobody else” and “I think everybody has the right to be who they are.” She used her voice to speak out for LGBTQ issues, Black Lives Matters, and Covid vaccinations.

A touching, more recent Dolly memory was from the 2019 Grammy Awards, when she performed her newest song, “Red Shoes,” from the Dumplin‘ movie soundtrack. I share the original reflection below.

Trappist monk Thomas Merton wrote, “For me to be a saint means to be myself. Therefore the problem of sanctity and salvation is in fact the problem of finding out who I am and of discovering my true self.”

Dolly shined her light in life, finding her purpose, living authentically and encouraging others to do the same. Her light will perpetually shine in the lives she influenced. I will always love Dolly, and all she stood for. Rest in peace, good and faithful servant.

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St. Cecilia, Patron of Music—November 22 Saint of the Day

“The aim and final reason of all music should be nothing else but the glory of God and the refreshment of the spirit.”

Johann Sebastian Bach

St. Cecilia—November 22, Saint of the Day

St. Cecilia is a Roman martyr and the patron of music and musicians. It is written that Cecilia dedicated herself to virginity, but instead was forced by her parents into marriage. As musicians played at her wedding, Cecilia “sang in her heart to the Lord”. Memorializing St. Cecilia is remembering that music is a pathway to connect to the Divine, a way to seek comfort, to praise and to pray.

“Singing is soulful. It is prayerful and it is powerful. I love to sing (in the privacy of my own car). I love to listen to others sing, from the liturgical chant of Benedictine monks to contemporary Christian artists. Whether it is the melody or insightful lyrics that I find a connection with, music can create a mood, help recognize or express a feeling, or bring me to a place of prayerful listening.

journey is my own
SoulCollage Card–This Journey Is My Own (blog post link below.)

When monks sing, they believe they are singing with the angels, and we are just to join in. The beauty of singing familiar songs and hymns is allowing our mind and heart to beat as one. Songs that capture what we could have not so artfully written, become our prayer. To sing, or sing with another, is to elevate the soul, to connect with the Divine.” (from a previous blog post, Music as Prayer ♫ This Journey Is My Own)

St. Cecilia was memorialized in the church of Santa Cecilia in Trastevere, founded in the 3rd century after Cecilia was martyred. The church is believed to be on the site of the house where she lived and died. Since 1527, a community of Benedictine nuns has lived in the monastery next door. In 1599, Cecilia’s body was found in incorrupt with deep cuts in her neck just as she had died. A sculpture by Stefano Maderno of Cecilia’s body lies in front of the choir.

When I visited Rome during the World Oblate Congress, we made an unscheduled stop at St. Cecilia’s in the Trastevere region. It was a profound experience, one that I cannot quite capture in words. Instead, I share some photos of my visit.

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