Catherine's Cafe Vocation Blog

On my mind these days is the church’s proclamation of the Year of Faith scheduled to start October 11, 2012, the 50th anniversary of the opening of Vatican II and end November 24, 2013, the 20th anniversary of the publication of the Catechism. The church is calling us to conversion so that we will witness the truth. Then I put this together with the challenging issues facing LCWR and think of how much I need faith in a good and gracious God. Who has the truth? Our Dominican motto is truth. I think of the challenging issues facing families when the church talks about religious freedom and contraception. Where do our young people turn? I believe one of the primary statements from Vatican II was the primacy of conscience. I always go back to that as I seek truth and make decisions. These are hard times but others would say every time is a hard time, just different issues. I turn again in prayer to a good and gracious God. As we celebrate the opening of Vatican II, will the church l...

My first semester at Edgewood College is drawing to a close.  Living in a new city and a new house approaches its 4-month anniversary.  The end of April closed the curtain on the Inter-Community Pre-Novitiate (ICPN) in Racine, spent with eleven wonderful candidates and our equally wonderful Formation Directors – especially mine!  And turmoil within the Church has churned up questions, not the least of which has been “why would anyone want to enter Religious life today, at this time, in this Church?”  I’ve wrestled with that one lately, and have had more than a few chats with our very patient God as a result.  So why would a woman want to enter Religious life today? I don’t know … why do some people bungee jump? I imagine it’s because they love the resulting thrill and rush.  (Not a good analogy, perhaps.)  Or why would anyone want to become a nuclear physicist?  Truthfully, I have no idea but I suppose it might be because she or he loves the...