Catherine's Cafe Vocation Blog

This question appears on a tee shirt I was given recently. Where to begin? People come to mind at once: Jesus and his prophetic followers; family members and friends; the people I meet on Friday mornings at the Bridgeview Detention Center to pray for immigrants being deported that day; amazing teachers; my Dominican sisters who preach so well and who work so faithfully for justice; mystics who dared to take the plunge into God; the miners in Chile who never gave up hope; truth seekers and peace makers; poets who write so movingly about love and beauty, about life and loss. The list of people, thank God, is endless, because without inspiring people life would be dull indeed, barely worth living! What else inspires me? Well… music; sunrise and sunset; a pristine shoreline; snow geese in flight, lit by the sun and outlined against a dazzlingly blue sky; stories of courage and compassion and fidelity; conversation about things that matter. All of these things animate and invigorate me. Th...

Each November around the feast of St. Martin des Porres O.P. the Dominican family living around Mexico City gathers for a day of study and prayer. This year we went to the cloistered monastery of Santa Maria de Guadalupe. As Dominican family we were 182 total, sisters, priests, cloistered nuns, laity and members of the Dominican youth movement. What a beautiful gathering as family!  Many young people are in the cloister and joining religious life as well as the youth movement. People want to serve, to pray and give their lives in acts of goodness for this world. We studied the early Dominicans who arrived in the Americas 500 years ago. We had creative presentations on the Spanish conquest and the courageous response by Dominican friars in defense of human rights. I was inspired by the energy and courage of people seeking to serve others. Hearts are moved and decisions made to give to others in a variety of ways. As Dominicans we have choices to live in different groups (cloistered...