Catherine's Cafe Vocation Blog

One of my ministries at the parish where I work is to coordinate the Food Pantry.   It is a daunting task to organize this service.   But even more overwhelming is to sit weekly with families who do not have enough food to eat three meals a day.   Just this past week, a dad said to me, “Sister, I have gone without dinner many a night this past month so my kids could eat.”   I immediately thought of the words of Christ spoken during the Eucharist, “This is my body given for you.”     Christ is truly risen and present in the love we share with our sisters and brothers in need.   As Dominicans, our role is to serve and to address the systemic issues behind hunger wherever we find ourselves.   What choices do I need to make so others can have what they need?   How do we join with others to create new systems of just distribution of resources? And, how about you, where are you encountering the risen Christ today? Peggy Ryan, OP Waukegan, IL

Earlier this month, Sr. Toni Harris. OP talked about involvement in the democratic election process in our country for the sake of the common good.   Since she wrote that blog entry, she and I and more than 200 Sisters gathered to exercise our voice and vote at our General Chapter.   Chapters like this one occur every 5 years as we Sisters consider our future, especially the next 5 years.    Then we elect a Prioress and Council to lead us in the direction we said we want to go. Since we held this Chapter at our motherhouse, we were well cared for, including our snack times.   Since Sinsinawa is in Wisconsin, it was fun to see cheese curds make an appearance one afternoon.   And we had choices of three flavors. Chapter days were filled with choices, “ flavorable ” conversations, decisions, directions and then elections. We asked Sr. Toni Harris, OP to be our Prioress for the next five years.   She said: “yes.” This summer will be the installation for her and the council membe