Catherine's Cafe Vocation Blog

I grew up on the south side of Chicago and at that time it was a strictly segregated neighborhood. Most of my neighbors were not consciously or actively racist but they shared a prevailing fear that “other “ people might move across 59th street. Much worse, the pastor of our parish was known to have turned black people away when they came to worship in our church. I went to school across the street from that church and, particularly as a sophomore in high school, I saw that there was a different way to look at diversity. The Dominican sister who taught English—and a lot more—to us teenagers opened new windows for us. She moderated the “Brotherhood” club; she introduced us to literature and to people who represented worlds we’d never experienced. She invited us to get involved in activities that followed from our beliefs, such as handing out open-housing leaflets on local street corners. I felt free—like I was a person that Jesus was talking to in the gospel. I wondered if the way this ...

In 2000, I attended my first vocation retreat. I was 47 years old. Three weeks ago, I publically made perpetual (final) profession of vows as a Dominican Sister of Sinsinawa. Why would anyone say “yes” to beginning a discernment process toward vowed religious life when in her late 40s and early 50s? I have been asked some form of that question numerous times. There is one answer for me: The inner stirring was too great to ignore. The “chase” [by God] in The Hound of Heaven , a 19 th century poem by Francis Thompson, has become a metaphor for my journey into religious life. There was pursuit, surrender, and a “yes” – actually, many yeses. Discerning religious life in your fifties is definitely not for the faint-hearted. Separately and together, the Congregation and I took the time we needed for good questions, honest conversations, and much reflection to determine if this would be a good fit. There is a lot to let go of when you’re my age, including a few possessions ...