Catherine's Cafe Vocation Blog

I read recently that students in the high school graduating class of 2016 or 2017 will be the first to have no personal memory of the events of 9/11.  They will know only what they have read and been taught.  Thus, what is written and what is said (both in and out of the classroom) can enormously influence the worldview of these impressionable young people, who will grow to lead us into an unknown future.  What they read and hear could cause them to live life either cynically and in fear, or in hope.  What they read and hear could cause them to see themselves as independent beings or as integral parts of an interconnected worldwide family and Mother Earth who sustains it.  What they read and hear could mean an increase in suspicion and oppression of the ‘other’ or to a healthy curiosity and welcoming of the rich diversity offered to all of us, by each of us. We are teachers accountable to our children and the future we are asking them to be...

Many stories are shared in the small community in which I live. Two sisters and one associate moved to a modest house on Madison’s near east side one year ago.  We had lived in a very large parish convent, where we often welcomed guests to share meals, meetings and/or overnight accommodations and, of course, stories. It may seem sad to give up a place that was a great place for Dominican life. But what blessings and what stories guests have shared in this smaller space. This morning began as usual with our 7 a.m. prayer that we share by phone with a sister in Maryland and an associate in Barneveld WI.   We begin by sharing the Gospel story for the week.   This time it was about what is required to be a disciple of Jesus.   We talked about the challenge of continuing to discern anew what it means to share the Gospel of Jesus with others. As two members were sent off to their day jobs.   A person came to the front porch to return keys and share abou...