Catherine's Cafe Vocation Blog

Ash Wednesday confronts us with the ultimate truth: our lives belong to God . This truth calls us to humility and a renewed focus on God’s mission of love and mercy.   Join us over lent in “building bridges” toward living out God’s mission in the world. It is our responsibility as Christians that our faith is not just personal but also social. Ash Wednesday creates an opportunity to begin anew. To intentionally reflect on our need to move from sin to grace, from self-reliance to trust in God. We acknowledge our lives belong to God . This truth calls us to humility and is an invitation to intentionally open our hearts to deeper conversion by living Gospel values.   Our Lenten journey mirrors Jesus’ 40 days in the desert (Matthew 4:1-11), calling us to deepen our faith through: Prayer , it strengthens our relationship with God as we ask for the graces we need and pray for the common good. Fasting , letting go of the distractions that keep us from living the joy of the Gospel....

    When Sisters began composing reflections for the Vocation Blog, those of us who volunteered to write were challenged to tell the story of what is happening in our everyday lives as Sisters.  So, here is what is going on with me now.    On June 30, I retired from my ministry of providing administrative support for the Prioress and Leadership Council.  In addition, sometime in August, I will be moving from my current residence in East Dubuque to be in community with a group of our Sisters at Chapel Garden in Milwaukee.   There have been some gatherings of Sisters and our staff at the Mound to mark the events for which I am very grateful.  However, needless to say, the angst I am feeling in the midst of two rather significant changes in my everyday life is quite daunting. God and I are conversing about this whole scenario, and I’ve also found having dialogues with other Sisters has been very helpful, reassuring, and comforting.  I am so grat...

  I am fortunate to have an iPhone and I use the maps feature regularly when I travel to different places. What I like best is that on my return journey all I need to do is hit the HOME button and  no matter where I am it routes me safely home. I’ve been thinking about the significance of HOME lately especially as I and so many of our sisters have recently moved and settled into new spaces.  Can you find yourself at home in the gift of this day? Do you find yourself at home in your heart? I have returned to live at Sinsinawa mound and feel deeply at home. It is the space from which our sisters are sent out on mission and to which they return for their final resting place. I think of all who have been forced or bombed out of their homes. All the millions of displaced people searching for a place to call home, all the unhomed peopled on our own city streets especially veterans and those with mental health problems who have no place to call home. How am I called to respond o...

On the way home from grocery shopping I had a flat tire and had to pull over on the shoulder of a ramp.  Needless to say, this was a scary experience with all the cars whizzing by--a two-lane ramp that was now a one-lane ramp. After calling AAA I got out of the car afraid my car could be hit.  A man stopped and wanted to know if he could help. Another got out of his car and helped me to see where the spare tire should be. (There was no spare tire.)  A woman went by and then came back around to see if I was alright.  A woman with a baby stopped and a man who spoke only Spanish stopped.  One man offered to stay with me until AAA arrived, and there were others, too.  All these responses were from total strangers. How blessed I felt!  I was no longer panicky or traumatized.  I was experiencing goodness and the power of kindness and caring. Doesn't that sound like a blessing? Have you ever had the experience of an unwelcome event that became a blessin...

I have a terrible sense of direction, so I don’t drive anywhere without my trusty Garmin stuck to the windshield. It has taken me more places than I could count over a period of many years. It’s a simple gadget to operate...just punch in the address and off you go! There have been a few times, however, when I have ended up in an entirely different place than I had intended. What went wrong??? Usually, the answer is that I went wrong. I failed to input the correct address or made some other human error that got me way off track. As we say, garbage in, garbage out.   I am learning that we can say that about our own lives, right? What I read or watch on TV or listen to on the radio determines what I think about and eventually how I act. Lent is coming soon – always an opportunity for soul-searching and renewal. I need to consider what I am feeding my soul these days. I need to choose some inspiring sources to nourish my mind. Then, come Easter, I will be able to celebrate my chos...

This week I learned that a former member of my “crowd” (novitiate group) has been diagnosed with a terminal illness. Thinking of her brought on a rush of memories of our youthful early years in the congregation, with our unknown futures stretching before us. Our life paths diverged many years ago, but a bond remains. In my note to her, I found myself promising prayers from the Sinsinawa Dominicans, because “we are your family, too.” As I was sitting with the reality of her diagnosis, I found the poem, The Facts of Life, by Padraig O Tuama. Some of the stanzas named the reality that had so stunned me.   That you will learn most from the situations you did not choose.   That you must accept change before you die, but you will die anyway.   So you might as well live And you might as well love, You might as well love. You might as well love   I would like to be able to do this living and loving no matter the circumstances. What will make it possible? Might it have someth...

From the time I was young, I’ve wondered why I exist; why I am me and not a tomato? Always a tomato, for some reason. From October 28, 2023 to January 26, 2024, three women so instrumental in my life, such dear friends and mentors, crossed over into the fullness of Eternal Light and Love. The homegoing of Dorothy Victor, Jeri Cashman and Ann Willits leave a huge void, yet leave me pondering again, with gratitude, the miracle of our connection. Had certain dominos not fallen in my life, had I not attended a “Come and See” event called Dubuque’s Got Sisters, I would probably never have met the Dominicans, these three dear Sisters, or any of the many, many people who have entered my life – whether briefly or long-term. I may never have known they existed. Friends, spiritual guides, co-workers, Dominican Sisters and Brothers, and so many others who have become part of my life are the product of Grace. Think about all the connections in your own life, whether you are a vowed religious, a po...

JOYFUL SOROR At weekly scripture study, members shared about a young woman consecrating her life to God.  A wedding gown and a reception after were symbols of her being a Bride of Christ. Those are not symbols from the day I made the vow of obedience as a Dominican of Sinsinawa. I do not wear a wedding ring.  Jesus is my brother .  What is a symbol for my vocation?   I learn to know many sisters and brothers—   *children, wanting to know creator God,   *antiracists, learning to undo systemic racism   * exincarcerated people organizing for a more human prison system Once a neighbor asked me to drive her to find her husband where they had lived under the bridge .  What a privilege to be sister to her! A song about St Dominic, “Joyful Friar”, is symbolic of my vocation. Joyful Friar, tolerant master Grace filled preacher, Gospel man of prayer. To be a joyful sister, and grace filled preacher is my call. Here’s a version of “Jo...

  Our little farmhouse in Minnesota had a brick fireplace in the living room and on Sundays we’d have a fire going all day during the winter months.  I remember how carefully my dad would first rumple up newspaper to put under the grate, then arrange the dry kindling in a little triangle shape, and then eventually larger logs on top.  We would watch it grow from a little spark to the crackling flames of the kindling and igniting logs. To keep the house warm, that fire had to constantly be fed. In his letter to Timothy, St. Paul urges his young disciple to “fan into a flame” the gift that God had given him.  That got me thinking about the people and events, the words of encouragement, the phone call or e-mail, that act as the match, the paper, the kindling, and even the logs that build me up, that “fan the flame” of any gift I have been given, that guide me so I do not keep it to myself, or hide it under a bushel basket, or even deny I have a gift at all.  Not on...

The last time I wrote for this blog I mentioned that those of us who serve in our congregational offices were preparing to move to temporary office spaces until the new office spaces in the Stone building are renovated.  During this January of 2024, we are settling in, though I still find myself looking for some files and supplies.  “Where did I put that?” is a question I ask myself frequently.  It’s a good thing we’re in these changing times together.    The Leadership Council met in the “new” temporary conference room for the first time last week; and since there is no longer a staffed kitchen at the Mound, we provided different lunch options for them.  No one went hungry.  You are most likely thinking, “My goodness, I can’t imagine being at the Mound without meals being prepared in the kitchen and served in the dining room.”  What a change! This month also brought the first anniversary of my brother’s death.  I am so touched by Sisters’ re...

January 18, 2024 I am keenly aware that at this very moment, on the other side of the world in the Middle East, extreme suffering is raining down indiscriminately on the human family and on the earth - hatred, revenge, bloodshed, disregard for life, destruction of all that defines safety and home, hardened hearts, and the certainty that peace is impossible and the future holds no hope for reconciliation. The reading from Isaiah for tomorrow’s liturgy declares clearly which side God is on. On this mountain God will provide for all peoples a feast of rich food and choice wines…. On this mountain God will destroy the veil that veils all peoples, the web that is woven over all nations. God will destroy death forever and will wipe away the tears from every face…. (Isaiah 25) It is this God to whom both the Israelis and Palestinians cry out. May God and all who love God destroy the veil over us and the web that prevents us from knowing and loving each other. May God and all who love God wipe...

Okay, I’ve finally learned to put my car/home/office keys in the SAME place when I get home.  But I still haven’t learned to remember where I left my glasses or my latest crossword puzzle or the flyer about a concert I now think I missed or that needed phone number I jotted down on a piece of paper – and I have a LOT of pieces of paper sitting around.  Yes, I am one of those people.  But that litany of “forgets” got me thinking about the important things I forget about until I really need them – like prayer, quiet time, reading something challenging instead of easy, actually calling my elderly cousin instead of saying, “I should really call Ruth,” and never doing it, working through a situation instead of avoiding it.   I challenge myself this week – and you – to take action, one small action, to overcome this very human weakness of losing, forgetting, neglecting something that we know is really important.  Is this easy?  Is there a shortcut I can take?...

  Paradox: A seemingly absurd or contradictory statement or proposition which, when investigated, may prove to be well founded or true. –The Oxford Dictionary   On January 2, 2023 I lived with paradox. My youngest brother, Dan, died and was born into new life. His death is a blessing and at the same time it is a great sorrow. Have you experienced this mystery of paradox in your life? Can you embrace opposites in feelings, thoughts, relationships, in life itself?   Over the years I’ve been intrigued by the reality of holding opposites at the same time. Dwelling in the mystery of paradox is transformative. I have learned by living in the mess of unknowing I discover the gift of wisdom by going through the messiness, arriving with new insights for living.   In the gospel parables Jesus often uses paradoxes. “The first shall be last and the last shall be first.”  “To the one who has, more will be given; from the one who has not, even what s/he has will be taken away...

A couple of Saturdays ago, I attended our local circle meeting.  The hostess Sisters had invited us to their home for brunch.  Both the food and the conversation at the table were delightful and animating, including many compliments for the “chef.”  After the dining room table was cleared, we sat in a circle in the living room for prayer and continuation of “checking in” with one another – “What’s going on in your life and your ministry?” We eight Sisters each had lots to share with one another and much acceptance of and encouragement for one another when a challenging situation was recounted.  We were able to appreciate the humor in many situations and laugh.  When I thought about the day later, what I remember most is what a gift it was to just “be” with each other and to laugh.        I recalled a poem written by Kaye Ashe, OP:   The search – for self, for wisdom, for love, for truth, for justice, for God – is strenuous and ...

  Sisters never miss an opportunity to celebrate Holidays. We take turns gathering at different locations for holiday celebrations. The 2022 Christmas party took place on Braeburn Ln. Sisters gathered with their gift and a Holiday treat.  All gifts were wrapped and placed under the tree.  We started a Christmas celebration tradition in 2021, “the regift exchange”. The rules of the game: pass your gift to the left or right, keep your gift, open your gift, and take any gift, generated a lot of excitement and laughter. As always, there was one coveted gift that circulated through many hands before the game ended.   What gift we received was not the object of the gathering. The gift of celebrating with each other was the only gift desired. Sisters celebrate Holidays with prayer, games, good food and tons of laughs.   Happy New Year!   Patricia Rogers, OP Glendale, WI