Spirituality

From the first iteration, Father Morris was a great supporter of Weaving Our Sisters' Voices. He would attend many rehearsals getting to know the students and celebrated the growing process with us. He had joined our faculty not long before our 2006 tour, so he attended the very first rehearsals and even toured with us. The subtitle of the original tour was: A Sacred Tapestry of Story and Dance. Father Morris’s journey with the three productions contributed greatly to the sacredness of the experience. In the 2006 tour, one of the performers had gone through becoming a Catholic with him; a number of years later, Father Morris presided at her wedding. It was so special to see the connection of creativity, spirit, art and life all come together.

Fr. Morris was also our chaplain for the 2010 production. I remember he was very worried that I might lose some of the original ‘magic’ of the show by expanding the cast to five and performing on the stage. But again he was diligent in attending rehearsals and then continued the gift of writing specific prayers to be shared with actors prior to performances. I believe he fell in love, as I did, with the new group of student actors and musicians as the performance took on a new life and prayer.

The 2015 cast and crew with Mather Morris and his friend Katherine. Photo courtesy of Suzanne Ostersmith.

WSV cast member Janine Warrington with Father Morris going for a walk together outside of rehearsal time. Photo courtesy of Janine Warrington.

Thankfully, Fr. Morris was also a big part of the 2015 production—an even bigger part in some ways. After many years of service to the Theatre and Dance Department, Weaving Our Sisters’ Voices was the final show he was on the Gonzaga Campus to serve as chaplain. His health had been declining, and just a couple weeks after the closing of the show he was moved to a center for Jesuits in California where they were able to give greater care. But before his move, Father Morris was at every performance to give his special prayers:

“On the occasion of this opening performance bless the members of this cast so that they may give of their very best. As they begin the series of performances before live audiences, let them experience that they are accomplishing something bigger than themselves, because you are with each one of them. Give them the inner confidence they need to perform with full energy and full voice.

Further, You know that the women in the play are saints in their own right by simply doing what they had to do even if they were not recognized by your official Church. Let this performance inspire all in the audience to see that they too can be saints just by doing what they need to do.” 

Over the many years of serving the Theatre and Dance Department, he would write the specific prayers for the production that was going up. These prayers were a source of centering for the cast and crew and an opportunity to be reminded of the work they were doing, that this work was made sacred just by engaging with it.