The quote “If you want world peace, then go home and love your family,” is often attributed to Mother Teresa, and no one embodied a love of family changing the world more than recently passed Hickory Catholic Karen Miller (1945-2024).
Karen and her husband raised their 12 children in Hickory with love and affection, as well as instilling a deep faith in them. Miller’s adult children are now a business franchise owner and employer, pastor and priest, social advocates, musicians and artists, and parents of their own. When my mother first moved to Hickory, she immediately noticed Karen, the loving matron of 12, at St. Aloysius Church. Karen graciously brought my mom into her family’s circle, making my mom family as well.
As I remember and pray for Karen in her passing, I feel like I finally understand Mother Teresa’s directive to treat those closest to us with love and how that changes the world for the better. I thank Karen for helping me see that.
Aaron Kohrs is a former member of St. Aloysius Parish in Hickory.
In the Catholic News Herald’s July 12 cover story, “Reclaiming History,” celebrating Our Lady of Consolation Parish’s efforts to preserve a beloved decades-old school building, we are reminded of how God can make all things new. St. Margaret Mary Alacoque writes in her autobiography that Jesus said to her, “…I am the eternal memory of My Heavenly Father, by Whom nothing is forgotten, and before Whom the past and the future are as the present.” As they preserve the past for the present and the future, Our Lady of Consolation will be making their learning center new again.
Jon Gauthier is a member of St. Matthew Parish and a published author.