For The Dialog
WILMINGTON – As a young girl Margaret Levesque’s mother would take her along to Sodality meetings at St. Joseph’s Church on French Street.
“We had to sit there and keep quiet” as the adult women prayed the rosary and conducted Sodality business, Levesque recalled.
Those days watching the adult women show their devotion to Mary and learn more about the Catholic Church sparked a desire in Levesque for a Junior Sodality that would reach the children. That dream has developed into a reality.
Twelve girls belong to a Junior Sodality that now meets once a month at St. Joseph’s. The girls who attend say the rosary, learn about the church, and take part in hands-on activities that underscore what they are learning. They also participate in service projects.
Franciscan Father Paul Williams, pastor of St. Joseph, introduced the Junior Sodality and its members to the church community last April.
While it meets at St. Joseph, Jean Toy, who with Levesque organized the Junior Sodality, said it is not a parish sodality but rather a diocesan one. She believes it is the only Junior Sodality in the Diocese of Wilmington, and noted that members come from four parishes: St. Joseph’s, Immaculate Heart of Mary, St. Catherine of Siena and St. Matthew.
While aimed at girls aged 6 to 12, three of the members are high school students who joined when the group organized and remain with it.
On Valentine’s Day the Junior Sodality put on a Love Lunch for the Senior Sodality at St. Joseph, to which Levesque and Toy belong. They donned chef hats to serve dessert after the buffet lunch, and two members spoke about how the Junior Sodality has helped form them.
Mikayla Purnell, a freshman at Brandywine High School, said working with the Junior Sodality on service projects helped her better understand the life of Jesus. “As Jesus washed the feet of men, we follow his divine example so that we may embody his everlasting grace, patience and humility.”
As a member of St. Joseph’s, Mikayla said the Junior Sodality allowed her “to form strong relationships with the congregation, my second home.”
Amelia Drushler, 9, said she has learned many ways to show her love through the Junior Sodality.
“We can help with chores before we are asked. We can say ‘thank you’ and ‘I love you’ a lot. We can be happy with what we have and not be unhappy when we can’t have something,” she said.
“Remember, God loves us and we must remember he gave us life.”
The effort to form the Junior Sodality began in 2013 with three girls, including Mikayla; all three are now in high school, Toy said
Members attended a retreat last September and have made items such as crèches at Christmas and rosaries, Toy said. One of the newer projects is to provide rosaries on Sundays to people in need of them. The first Sunday of each month the Junior Sodality recites the rosary before Mass.
While the girls learn about the church, they also have taught Toy about faith. “We thought we were going to lead the girls on their journey of faith,” she said. “Every time we meet, it is the girls who give back to us and enrich our faith.”
Members are: Jaeda and Justice Blackwell; Gia Cecere; Olivia Clark; Amelia and Anna Drushler; Jasmine MacFarlane; D’Avionna Perrigan; Tia Pulliam; Mikayla Purnell; Mekaela Rashad; and Blythe Cerol Shine.
For more information, contact Jean Toy at dodropintoys@ gmail.com.
