Catherine's Cafe Vocation Blog

I have a favorite word – it is a word I learned in the late 1960’s when I took my first courses in computers. The word? Synergy. I considered it a business word. Later I discovered it is really a faith word. In the letter to the Romans there is this verse: “All things work together for those who love God” - or to say another way: “All things work for good for those who love God” In the original Greek there is the word “synergia” – “all work together” from which comes our word “synergy.” This word tries to express the dynamic that comes from two or more persons working together. From the business perspective it considered the dynamic of team work. The potential is NOT multiple – it is exponential! From a faith perspective it considers not only people of faith coming together for common purpose but when people of faith work toward the Good that is God, more will happen than we could ever imagine. When Sisters gather for our common life, the grace of synergy abounds. It is not unusual for...

In my many years as a Dominican Sister of Sinsinawa, I have ministered as a teacher, principal, and pastoral associate in parishes across the Midwest and Southern states. Recently, 2005-2009, I was a campus minister at Murray State University Newman House in Murray, KY. Although I have loved every mission I have been on, being a campus minister brought me a special joy because of the many young adults I came to know and love. These young people are prayerful, energetic, affectionate, caring and dedicated to mission. Although I have moved on from Murray I am fortunate to be able to mentor Mary Reding, a Murray State grad and now campus minister at the Western Kentucky University Catholic Center here in Bowling Green, KY, where Sister Geri Hoye and I now reside and minister within the Diocese of Owensboro, KY. This experience is a continuation of what, for me, has been a lifelong goal of my ministry as a Dominican Sister – to enable others to carry on the mission of the Church. Because ...