Catherine's Cafe Vocation Blog

I am just done watering the flowers.  They had so much to say to me this morning. It was difficult to get a word in myself!  But it was such good stuff that I thought I’d share some of it with you – minus the confidential pieces of course!   The periwinkles are so self sufficient and independent.  Even though they are well able to withstand the dry season they said, they still appreciated me coming by and watering them occasionally. The Cosmos were their usual proud and stately selves beaming bright orange as I approached. They normally have a lot to say to me but this morning they just nodded in the direction of some little ones next to them that seemed neglected and in need of a little attention.  So I winked at Cosmos and spent some time with her neighbor assuring her that small is beautiful too and that she was special! She seemed to like that. Then there were those that I normally ignore. I even have a bad name for them.  I call them weeds!  As ...

As Dominicans, like others who pray with the Liturgy of the Hours or the Rosary, we are very familiar with this call to prayer:   “O God, come to my assistance; O Lord, make haste to help me.”   Another psalm response that is also common and one I often recite is:   “Be still and know that I am God.”   During this Lent, I am substituting the word God for Love.   So, when I pray, I say:   “O Love, come to my assistance…”   And, at night, as I try to review my day, I start by repeating the mantra:   “Be still and know that I am Love.” What a gift to simply be in the presence of God’s Love.   What a privilege to find myself surrounded by this grace. In today’s gospel, Jesus meets a Samaritan woman at the well.   He speaks to her and engages in a relationship with her despite the fact that a Jew and a man should NOT be talking to a woman and a Samaritan.   God’s love breaks down boundaries.   God’s love seeks right relationship....