Catherine's Cafe Vocation Blog

What is prayer? There have been many times in which I have asked myself this question. I also know that there are endless amounts of answers, definitions, and interpretations of what prayer is according to Saints, theologians, women and men religious, social justice activists, and so on. And yet, I myself have not found an answer that has centered me. Also, as I am Candidate within a Religious Order, I become frustrated with myself at times, because I do not feel comfortable with a “traditional” style of prayer in which I close my eyes, fold my hands together, recite prayers, or sit in silence. Especially as a Dominican, I know that I must root myself in the tradition of contemplation and bearing the fruits of that contemplation. For me, as a woman of African descent, I have an understanding that prayer and spiritual practices are at the foundation of my heritage, since the beginning of humanity on the continent of Africa. That being said, I have turned to my ancestral community f...

It is of special interest to me that we connect here by blogging in the name of Catherine.   Recently I joined a group of women in our parish who once a week are in conversation about Catherine of Siena. We are following a study guide, Setting the World Ablaze, St Catherine of Siena.     I am realizing that we bloggers of the 21st century share the charism of Dominic just as Catherine, Dominican woman of the 14th century, shared insights through her numerous letters. A quote in our study guide from Mary O'Driscoll OP mentions that Catherine through becoming at home with God became at home with herself. She found the "living bubbling water of God's being within herself". In our time with God we find the living bubbling water of God within ourselves. We share the bubbling water of God as we connect to one another through this blog. How is God connecting us to the people in our conversation circles? Are we also connected by the God within to people i...