Catherine's Cafe Vocation Blog

Several days ago I spent a day taking down Christmas decorations in the church, visiting a parishioner on her 100th birthday, helping to count the Sunday collection money, and beginning the planning process for a funeral.  That night I made the comment: "I hope tomorrow will be a normal day."   "What ever did I mean by that?" I thought the next morning.  Did I want an easier kind of day?  Did I want less variety in my day?  After a couple of unexpected conversations I realized that this new day was not a "normal" one either.   Maybe there is no such thing as a "normal" day, since each day is unique.  Each day has its own challenges, its own gifts, its own blessings and opportunities to spread joy and love.  In order for me to live each day fully I must be open to those moments when God's grace is offered to me, but if I am only looking for a "normal" day I may miss some of the unique blessings of that particular day.   ...

Lately I have been reflecting and reading about death. Some may find this topic somber and even morbid, personally it has not been.   As someone in full-time parish ministry, ever so often I have to celebrate someone's life through a funeral service. This is what we do when someone dies, we focus on their life and what it meant to the relatives, friends and acquaintances left behind. In her book 'Befriending Death', author Michelle O'Rourke states, that Henri Nouwen in his book 'Our Greatest Gift', says, "We have to befriend life and our purpose first, before we can embrace death." As I continue to reflect on my own life and also on the lives of my parents who are growing older, this message rings true to me. When I realize what my purpose is for being in this world and I am able to try to fulfill that purpose, death does not seem so scary. It is when I feel that I have wasted my one life on earth that death becomes scary. A new year means...