The Golfer's Prayer Book

by: Rosemary Steers, Communications Specialist

Sister Dorothy Ederer has been a member of the Dominican Sisters ~ Grand Rapids since 1965. She taught junior high school for 14 years, receiving several awards for teaching excellence. She spent the next several years in campus ministry as a counselor to students, parish liturgist, and co-directing summer campus ministry school. She has given retreats and workshops on liturgy and spirituality throughout the world.

Her first book, Colors of the Spirit , speaks about the good things people do for each other. The cover states that "These individuals were the colors that brightened Dorothy's world."

She is from a large family - one of seven  children and grew up in Saginaw, Michigan during the Viet Nam conflict -- a time when society was being redefined by a push/pull sentiment between anti-war demonstrators and those who had always supported the government in all of its military decisions.

For Catholics, this was the time when Vatican II moved the Catholic Church into new ways of thinking about spirituality and in living out their faith as members of a community and as individuals. This new, fresh way of faith expression was confusing and troubling for many. People had to think things through, make some tough decisions, and assume responsibility for those choices. For many, life sometimes seemed full of gray clouds.

But Dorothy then, as now, found the silver lining in those gray clouds. She credits her parents for teaching her that life is too short for us not to celebrate it. She says, "My wonderful parents were great role models for me. They just loved people and saw the good in others. My dad always said, 'If you can't tell the world she's a good little girl, then don't say anything at all.' " 

It is with this spirit of seeing and showing others the good in themselves that she travels with the Master. A deeply spiritual woman, she inspires the reader through metaphors that make a delightful, insightful connection between the game of golf and walking through life with the Master in her most recent book,  The Golfer's Prayer Book: Walking the Fairway with the Master.

A 78-page book that is small in size but large in content, this little book of inspiration has five sections packed full of encouragement - something anyone can use whether they are golfers or spectators.

The message is not new but the presentation has an unusual swing and speaks to today's busy people with reflections that can be consumed in a few short minutes and digested throughout the balance of the day. This most recent book of Ederer's was published in May of this year by Paulist Press and is currently available at bookstores and various online locations.

Sister Dorothy is beginning her fifth year as Campus Minister at St. Mary Student Parish at the University of Michigan. She has a smile for everyone she meets, and gives the college students a sense of value and the knowledge that they are worthy of love. Somehow, she also finds time to golf and write books that inspire and move the reader.

Sister Dorothy Ederer, OP is a member of the Dominican Sisters ~ Grand Rapids