Catherine's Cafe Vocation Blog

Dominicans are Easter people.   First of all, we are devoted to newness and open to risk.   Our founder, Saint Dominic, began the Order of Preachers in order to launch new ways of spreading God’s Word. Secondly, we are women and men of hope.   As our brother, Thomas Aquinas said, “Faith has to do with things that are not seen and hope with things that are not as hand.”   We want to see with eyes of abundance, not scarcity.   Finally, we are committed to the belief that anything is possible.   When a situation appears without promise, we will look for what could be there.   We will live in the paradoxical.   We will strive to turn our deepest sorrows into a joy that cannot be contained.   We long to share our talking to God and about God.        So, how about you?   How are you connected to Easter? Peggy Ryan, OP Waukegan, IL

The summer of 2014 Daesh (ISIS) swept through the northern part of Iraq.   Dominicans Sisters and Friars, fleeing with their neighbors, have done heroic ministry among their people even as they suffer their own displacement. For this blog entry I am sharing a portion of the Easter letter from the Prioress of the Iraqi Dominican Sisters sent to me and others here in the US.   She writes: "... As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man…and they were alarmed. "Don't be alarmed," he said. "He has risen! He is not here." Mark 16: 5-6   Dear Sisters, Brethren and Friends,   It is great to hear the good news about Jesus’ resurrection. But if we were to think about the place from where the good news is announced, we would be a bit surprised. The women came into the tomb, and they saw a young man sitting there. Important things happen inside the tomb.   The community that announce the good news is surprisingly in the tomb. The sam