Catherine's Cafe Vocation Blog

I can't remember not knowing about the Communion of Saints within our Catholic Tradition.   I even had a collection of saint statues lined up on a ledge built for just this purpose in my bedroom   Oh yes, there was a collection of dolls up there as well.   It made for an interesting mix to contemplate in my young mind. We think of the saints - the ones officially recognized - as holier than holy.   We forget they were really   human both blessed and broken.   Within this reality, they responded to God's grace and engaged their lives for the sake of the Gospel. Within the history of the Dominican Order, we have many Saints, beginning with our Holy Father, Dominic.   We have Saints who have also been named Doctors of the Church, Albert the Great and his student, Thomas Aquinas, as well as Catherine of Siena.   These just name a few. In reality, there are many saints, most unknown to most of us, who lived faithful lives.   This is...

“…you will set the whole world on fire.”  These words proclaimed by Catherine of Siena nearly 700 years ago were true as the Catholic community of St. Francis of Assisi parish in Sangre Grande, Trinidad & Tobago, gathered to witness the perpetual profession of Sister Lystra Long, O.P.  Our prioress, Mary Ellen Gevelinger, O.P. received Lystra’s vows, and there were twenty-two Dominicans of Sinsinawa present, along with five Associates, Lystra’s family, Archbishop Gilbert, priests and religious, and many friends of our Trinidadian Sisters and Associates.  The two-hour liturgy featured spirited liturgical music which was mostly Trinidadian, but also some North American, including “Sacrament Most Holy,” by Marcia Holthaus, O.P. (accompanied by Steel Pans, of all things!) Then all 450 gathered under tents outside that had been decorated with red, white and black balloons, colorful tablecloths and stars, (which were a BIG hit with the children!) for a splendid Trinidadia...