Catherine's Cafe Vocation Blog

This summer, in the city of Milwaukee, the number of violent deaths has escalated to record proportions.  There is fear and sadness in many neighborhoods.  The Sinsinawa Dominicans in Milwaukee joined the Amani neighborhood for a prayer vigil.  A libation prayer was made by an elder of the community calling upon the ancestors to bless us and guide us to the path of peace.  This prayer called for trust and reminded each neighbor of their importance.  Brotherhood and sisterhood were named as cherished relationships.  Unity and compassion were evoked as answers to prayer.  Each of us left having promised to be a light of peace for all we meet.  Where are you this summer?  With whom are you praying?  And, for what do you prayer? Peggy Ryan, OP Whitefish Bay, WI

This weekend our novice, Sr. Kathy Flynn, joined 4 other novices to begin 10 months of their canonical novitiate at the Collaborative Dominican Novitiate (CDN). Each year a new group of novices comes together to create its own unique experience of community with fresh spirit, abundant gifts, and eagerness to grow in the Dominican tradition.  This group has already begun! The CDN provides a quality experience of Dominican community life, prayer, study, ministry, exposure to and practice of preaching skills, and personal growth for the novices of the member groups. The process of this collaborative experience is intended to: offer a rich novitiate experience, encourage a supportive peer group, share the giftedness and resources of the congregations involved, and promote the charism of the Order.  Like any new beginning this one requires a leap of faith for this is no ordinary year.  It’s a transformational time of opening oneself and learning about God, herself, relig