A true soldier for Christ passed on from us this June. The thought that comes to directly to mind in regards to her life is “The Love of Christ Impels Us”. It sums up Kay’s life, truly, and could have been her battle cry.
Kay Dodds, a Regnum Christi member in Greenfield, Indiana, was a loving, dynamic person whose beautiful smile and contagious laugh warmed others with her genuineness and gift of hospitality. She took an interest in whoever was in front of her, friend and stranger alike. She was a vibrant woman, a force of nature really, full of faith and love for others. Always full of initiative, she was an entrepreneur, devoted wife, mother, grandmother, and a missionary all her life. She lived a Christ-centered life, and shared that when she was in prayer, she spoke with Christ as if he were sitting next to her—that is how personal her faith was.
Her deep faith and gift for holy boldness caused Kay to be a true apostle. It was her mission to make sure everyone knew about God’s love for them. She was involved, often leading, church ministries, civic services, and apostolates all her life. Kay had a very special gift of encouraging and allowing others to help her in the mission to be an apostle on many levels. It was difficult to tell Kay no when asked to join her to help spread the Kingdom of Christ. She had a way of helping you see that obstacles could be overcome and that the value of the project was well worth the work.
Kay’s trust in God was another wonderful example. When Kay had an idea for a new initiative, she would pray and allow God to open the doors, if it was His will. So many times she could give an account for when she had the need for resources in the form of people, money, or services and they would arrive, just in the right time to allow a project to continue.
Not long after becoming a member of Regnum Christi, she received the inspiration to launch the world-wide apostolate Changing Hearts, inviting all Christian denominations to be partners in it. With its mission of returning the culture to God, and the vision of educating all people about the cultural dilemma of moral issues, Kay worked tirelessly on this new apostolate God had put on her heart. She was well after what could be considered retirement age, too!
Through much work, prayer and fasting of those called to join her, she was truly changing the hearts of many people throughout the world and opening hearts to Christ. Changing Hearts began with a simple bookmark/prayer card in her local area. That prayer card is currently available in six languages, has been distributed at world-wide events, including World Youth Days, and is constantly being tweaked to continue to be relevant which is evident by the use of a website, weekly newsletters, radio shows, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.
Courage, perseverance, and mission ring out as some of her outstanding virtues. She was an entrepreneur. She was widowed as a young mother with five children. She always lived as an apostle. She battled to recover from a traumatic brain injury later in life. She bravely fought cancer when it was discovered at Stage 4. Nonetheless, she was impelled to continue with an unshakable trust in the Lord and took comfort in the accompaniment of the Blessed Mother. She never seemed to doubt, even in adversity, that God was present and accomplishing His Divine Will. Even in her final months in the midst of chemotheraphy treatments, she dressed up as always and came to Regnum Christi Mornings of Reflection, continued her radio broadcasts for Changing Hearts, and partnered with another organization to take Changing Hearts to the streets with Good Friday Family Missions in downtown Indianapolis. She seemed never to miss an opportunity for serving Christ, even to the last. Kay offered her final months of suffering, which became quite intense, for the Holy Souls in Purgatory and the conversion of families.
Kay’s presence on earth will certainly be missed by those who were blessed to know her, but surely with her joy and love for others, Christ will allow her prayers from heaven to continue to open and change the hearts of many toward Christ.
Kay’s obituary can be found here.
