Catherine's Cafe Vocation Blog

Part of my year in St. Louis involves learning about the history of the Dominican Family in the United States. When I came into the year I thought I knew a good amount of the history…wow, there is so much more to learn. Of course some of this learning comes from books and articles, but I enjoy the conversations more. Whether it is talking with some of the women that visioned the Collaborative Dominican Novitiate (CDN) into being or visiting motherhouses around the country, the history is coming alive for me. Over Labor Day weekend we took a road trip to St. Catherine Kentucky. This is where the first Dominicans settled in the United States, and I could tell it was holy ground. We visited St. Rose Church and spoke with one of the older friars who lives in the parish about how it was a long time ago. We also spent time with the Dominican Sisters of Peace who live in St. Catherine Kentucky learning about their history and the role they played in the history of the area as they were deve...

I live in an apartment in Davenport, Iowa and I feel very connected with our sisters especially my local chapter.   Thirteen of us meet monthly for three to four hours. We pray, update one another on the happenings in our life, have an in-depth conversation on a selected topic and share a meal. My local chapter met Sunday September 18 at the Mound. Our group includes five sisters living at the Mound, two in East Dubuque, three in Dubuque and three in outlying areas of Iowa.  Our topic was our new congregation directional statement. Our commitment to one another following this discussion is that we will begin each monthly gathering sharing how we lived our directional statement since our last meeting.   We will also engage in ongoing study together and will decide that topic in October. I feel very connected and bonded with these sisters.   At the heart of our lives in community is our relationship with one another. How are you in...