Catherine's Cafe Vocation Blog

My first night at the Sinsinawa Mound as a candidate, Sisters Rose and Yvonne invited me to join them in working a spherical jigsaw puzzle in the community room.   The three of us ordered the pieces and carefully fit them together. As we worked each evening, the Republican and Democratic National Conventions were on television. We heard many words about American identity, war and peace, justice, and visions of society as it is and ought to be. As we worked the puzzle and listened to politicians’ speeches, I thought of an idea from the Jewish tradition: tikkun olam , Hebrew for “repairing the world.” In an inter-religious dialogue group, a Jewish friend once explained tikkun olam as works that promote justice and restore broken relationships. Ordering the puzzle pieces, fitting them in and slowly watching the continents and oceans appear felt like a fitting metaphor for what we are called to do as people of faith: to bring unity out of fragmentation. The Constitutions...

I’ve lived in four communities of sisters during my discernment with the Sinsinawa Dominicans: my local community at the Mound, as a Candidate in Atlanta, as a Novice in St. Louis, and now as a second year Novice in Denver.  As I begin this third year in community, I’m reminded how creating community is a somewhat awkward process—especially at first.  Learning about each sister—her personality, how she adds to the “mix” of the community and how I can best relate to her—is often a trial-and-error process requiring patience and intention.  Developing new relationships is a time of great excitement, requiring both openness and vigilance.      Today it strikes me how integral community-building is to being human, not just a woman religious.  Right now I’m visiting my cousin in California during the birth of her second child—yesterday she and her husband had a beautiful, healthy baby boy.  I spent the day with their 3-year-old daughter, Gabrie...