Catherine's Cafe Vocation Blog

“Vamos a la mesa del Señor…”   “Let us go to the table of the Lord…” Since the middle of April, I have been working at a food pantry.   An unused church was converted into a pantry to address the needs of the hungry in the area.   I love the idea that this food pantry was once a church where believers came to celebrate the Eucharist and participate in the other sacraments of our faith.   Where we once went to receive the Eucharist, we are now acting as the Body of Christ.   St. Thomas Aquinas, a 13 th century Dominican, once said:   “"The Eucharist is the Sacrament of Love; It signifies Love, It produces love.”   Here at the Holy Family Food Pantry, we become Christ’s love for others.   I believe this is what life is all about. And, you, what is life about for you? Peggy Ryan, OP Waukegan, IL                                                                             

I am writing this blog between the Solemnities of Ascension & Pentecost – between a promise and a gift.  At Christ’s Ascension, he promises us the Paraclete, the Holy Spirit, will come to us.  At Pentecost, the Holy Spirit unleashes abundant gifts. Actually, these Solemnities remind us of this ongoing divine work of promise and gift of each day and in each breath.  We are always moving between the promise and the gift of God’s grace, the deeper DNA of the cosmic life force.  I am constantly reminded of these twin movements as I live my days of community, ministry, prayer, relationships, and, yes, the Dominican way of study. For the past nine months, with a few other sisters, I have accompanied one of our candidates as she joined us to study Dominican life.  In our mutual commitment to be present to each other, we were living out God’s work of promise and gift.  And we have had fun in the process.  In what ways have you experienced God’s promise? What gifts have surprised you