Catherine's Cafe Vocation Blog

This Saturday we celebrate the Feast of St. Mary of Magdala – the first witness to the Resurrection, Apostle to the Apostles, and one of the patrons of the Order of Preachers.  Unfortunately, this preacher and faithful Christ-follower is one of the most misunderstood women in Christian history.   For centuries, Mary of Magdala has all too often been seen as repentant prostitute and public sinner – an image reinforced by artistic representations of her.   Books and movies like The Da Vinci Code which present her as Jesus’ wife add to the confusion. So who is the real Mary of Magdala? The Gospels describe her as accompanying Jesus during his ministry in Galilee and supporting the mission from her means.   She is at the foot of the cross during the crucifixion - in contrast to Jesus’ male follower who fled or hid. She is among the myrrh-bearing women who go to Jesus’ tomb early on Easter morning – and there she has a powerful encounter with the Risen Chr...

It's raining again today!  We are well over our average for this month and it's only half-over! Groan. However, I must tell you I live in a rain forest so rain is part of our life, but when the rainfall goes over the usual amount it causes us all to groan. We expect rain but we don't let it stop us from doing things. We have parades in the rain, children go out for recess in the rain, soccer and baseball games go on when it rains. We know which vegetables and flowers to plant and which ones will rot.  We adjust to what we cannot change and we make the best of what we have. But because of the rain and also the darkness of winter the people of Juneau have created a great sense of community.  More activities happen indoors and neighbors know each other better and look out for one another, especially when a need arises. With only 30 days of sunshine a year we could be a grumpy people and complainers. Instead, we truly rejoice when we have one of those rare sunny ...