Catherine's Cafe Vocation Blog

Today just when I was needing some hope, God sent Theo (not his real name) into my life. We shared stories of hope with another.  At age 18 I was led to Sinsinawa where I learned of God's love through liturgy, scripture, nature and sisterhood.  At age 18 Theo went to prison after searching for belonging through crime. God intervened in his life and Theo eventually became aware of God's love. We saw clearly God had been in both of our lives. This week Theo and I will give a presentation to the St Vincent de Paul Society of my parish on the 11 x 15 campaign.  The campaign is led in Madison by a community called MOSES (Madison Organizing in Strength, Equality and Solidarity).  We find hope in God bringing people together to work on systemic change, in this case reducing the prison population in the state of Wisconsin by half by 2015.  This is just one systemic change that is needed so that the children of this generation will know that th...

I’ve been spending a lot of time at a farm lately, where I’m learning how critical a plant’s root system is for its ability to flourish.  Tomatoes aren’t transplanted from their starter trays until the root system is tight and full, and then they’re planted deep in the ground to allow extra roots to sprout from the stem. We humans also put down roots.  I’ve moved four times in the past three years, and I know it’s not easy to put down roots in a new place or community.  Now I’ve begun this itinerant Dominican life, knowing that I’ll probably be called to live in many different places throughout the years. Yet no matter how grounded or ungrounded I may feel in a given place, I will always be rooted in something more certain: God’s love!  Ephesians 3:20 reminds me of this: “May Christ dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love.” In the midst of transition, I’m learning to let my heart be rooted and gr...