Catherine's Cafe Vocation Blog

The first decade of the second millennium has slipped by.  I ask myself if I’m any closer to knowing my true self; understanding and appreciating others; plumbing the depths of God’s mercy; savoring the beauty of the world about us; accepting the mysteries of pain and suffering and loss. The Dominican tradition emphasizes the role of contemplative prayer in nudging us along the path of deeper awareness of the meaning of our personal existence and of the complex web that unites us with God and with all that is. How do we go about it?  We take time to sit still in God’s presence.  We turn our gaze within; we listen, wait, relax, turn off the mental engines, and allow ourselves to fall into God’s embrace.  We remind ourselves that all is sacred.  Poets and mystics are good at showing us what it means to pay attention.  Emily Dickenson writes, “Luscious lies the pea within the pod.”  You have to be attentive, you have to slow down to admire peas in a...

I just came back from a walk, early morning. I read a Scripture passage before heading out.   For me time alone to reflect and be still, though getting exercise is a blessing. In religious life while busy in ministry I need to find the times to center myself and feed my spirit. That is why I love to go for a walk alone. I live in the city so it is on cement sidewalks and plazas, but I see the trees, flowers, the blue sky, the street cleaners but mostly I feel my body moving, breathing and I enjoy it. Being Dominican sisters our lives are centered in prayer and ministry. It is the reading and rereading the Gospels which impels me, encourages me, challenges me to work as a Dominican.   Just a few days ago I met a young woman Rosa who has 5 children, no husband. She lives in a small one room makeshift house. Her goal is to get her kids through school. God brought me to her door via her friend and neighbor, Claudia. Woman to woman, God is present. God has called me to meet her...