Catherine's Cafe Vocation Blog

A few days ago one of our sisters died. Her name was Victoire Beausoleil. Some sisters had known her as their second-grade teacher. I came to know her in the later years of her life. I was then a candidate for the congregation and she was living at our mother-house. Her welcome was an inspiration and source of encouragement to me. And it was not only Victoire. I remember Consuelo Fissler  - with whom I had a special bond as we shared the same birthday –and so many others whose names I have forgotten. They lived their commitment as joyful, contemplative women of the Gospel as they built relationship with the newer members. This year, as I go back once more, several of my friends will no longer be there. And yet there will be others. Our congregation is alive. Sisters, who were out on mission before, are now at the Mound and Villa. As we renew our relationships, we drink deep of the energy that flows in us and through us. We know that ‘at the heart of minis...

I sometimes cry at Hallmark ads because I am moved by the concentrated dose of love portrayed..  For the same reason I shed tears at weddings and wedding anniversaries.  Interestingly, I had a similar experience when the Madison area sisters gathered to celebrate 50th and 60th year anniversaries of religious profession of five area sisters. At the celebration we laughed and cried as we told stories on the jubilarians.  The light in the eyes of sisters as they told stories on one another reflected the Spirit.  It is God's Spirit that draws all together in love. Christian couples look outward on family, friends and the world with an extension of their unique love.  Sisters, each called in a special way to love the friends of God, shine a collective love on the world whenever they gather. Those gatherings are sacraments of God's love in a concentrated form. Whatever way one loves is a gift of the Spirit.  As the author of I Corinthians w...