Catherine's Cafe Vocation Blog

This weekend, several Sinsinawa Dominicans and I attended the annual School of the Americas vigil and protest.   Several thousand people gathered at the gates of the school to remember the thousands tortured, kidnapped, and murdered at the hands of dictators and militaries trained there. It was a powerful, holy, and overwhelming weekend.   We heard from people who have lost children, parents, friends.   We heard from people who have been working for over thirty years to close the school and end the injustice.   We sang, danced, prayed, and called forth the names of the dead. As I return home, my spirit somehow feels both broken and lifted.   I am energized to have been among such a dedicated group of peacemakers, but I am also reminded that working for justice “is just like a long walk… the real changes take a lot of time and we need to learn how to walk to the change we want to see.” (Francisco Herrera). Herrera wrote a song about this called “Cam...

In the US, November causes us to notice “thanksgiving.”   If we are reflective, we notice it is not only about one day and special meals with family and friends. This month I have “noticed” several spirituality sites focusing on gratitude as well as friends posting their own thoughts or quotes of others on facebook. Dominican mystic of the 13 th century, Meister Eckhart, says:   “If the only prayer we ever say is:   Thank you – it is enough!”   Among my noticings this month is that Thanksgiving Day and the beginning of Hanukkah are the same date.   I am thinking a lot about my interfaith connections and especially those of the Jewish tradition with whom I have worked to bring understanding, friendship and dialogue among many faith traditions.   I am grateful for these friends and colleagues. Among the quotes I have read on facebook was one that went something like this:   “Gratitude brings joy to the heart…”   I find this to be a truth ...