Catherine's Cafe Vocation Blog

Do words spoken ever really fall on deaf ears?   Do actions taken ever slide into the universe with no effect? I pondered these questions recently after reading both the newspaper and Mark’s Gospel, where the rich young man asked Jesus how he could inherit eternal life, after having kept all the laws and commandments.   Jesus said he lacked only one thing, to “sell what you have, give to the poor, then come, follow me.”   This youth, who had many possessions, turned and walked away, sad.   End of story.   Or is it? Sometimes we encounter the gospels two-dimensionally, believing that what we read and hear is the complete picture.   But, did the person in the parable sadly walk away and continue life as he knew it?   Or was he impacted forever by that face-to-face encounter with Jesus?   Did Jesus’ words, initially rejected, eventually matter? What is the rest of the story? We know this person went away sad.   But perhaps she cou...

Shore of Green Bay During my retreat this year, I had the immense privilege of walking in the footsteps of our founder, Father Samuel Mazzuchelli, a 19 th -century Italian Dominican Friar, whose first mission as an ordained priest was in the Upper Midwest territory of the U.S.   In 1831, he traveled to Green Bay.   As a missionary, Fr Samuel lived among the people.   He learned their cultures, including their languages.   He listened to those he served.   While in Green Bay, he opened a school for the Native American population.   He wrote spiritual works in the Winnebago and Chippewa languages.   He continually wrote to Congress and President Andrew Jackson about the treatment of the Native peoples. Today, my sisters and I are still trying to walk in the footsteps of this remarkable, joyful Dominican.   We try to be one with those with whom we share mission by sharing in their daily lives.   We open ourselves up to new cultures and ...