Catherine's Cafe Vocation Blog

Ok, I am dating myself.   The song, Anticipation , came to mind as I considered this blog entry.   Written in 1971 by the singer, Carly Simon, the first words are: “We can never know about the days to come But we think about them anyway, yay” I am writing this long before it is due because I will be traveling.   And I am having lots to anticipate because I am one of two Sisters from Sinsinawa attending the closing events for 800 th Jubilee Year for the Order of Preachers in Rome. But from the place in time that I am writing, I am trying to temper my anticipation and expectations to be open to each unfolding moment of this global gathering of Dominicans - women and men. While Carly’s song is a love song and speaks of a particular relationship, for me in this moment, I am filled with humility and awe as hundreds of Dominicans from around the world gather and be in relationship with each other. This blog will be posted just as I return and in the future I will ...

Writing a piece for Catherine's Cafe is always a challenge for me. I am never quite sure what to write. I start to reflect on my personal prayer and experiences of the recent past. That's where I begin each time. I have been intrigued with a book entitled Mystical Hope: Trusting in the Mercy of God by Cynthia Bourgeault. Though I read it last year I decided to read it again. This time around, the message of the book has taken me so much deeper, especially since my dad's recent passing. So I was contemplating the notion of "hope" and "mercy," wanting to share some of the insights with you. Then I went to a gathering in celebration of our 800th Jubilee at Dominican University. Timothy Radcliffe, OP, previous Master of the Order and world-renowned speaker and author, was the keynote speaker. I had no idea what his topic would be. He began with these questions: What gives you hope?; How do you communicate that hope to others, especially the youth; a...

Lately, it seems to me that God has been reminding me and calling me even more intentionally to service.   The Scripture readings at liturgies, novels I’m reading, and conversations I engage in all seem to have this thread of service running through them.   In addition to this, we are in the midst of celebrating the 800 th year of the Dominican order.   As we reflect upon the lives of Dominicans who have gone before us, I notice again the role of service in their lives.   Dominic himself was led to see a need in his time to serve the people of God by preaching the Good News.   Actually, he did this by befriending people, engaging in conversation with them, listening to their needs, and telling them the Good News revealed to him.   Our Congregation is preparing for Chapter, an event occurring every 5 years.   Our next Chapter is in early April 2016.   We will engage in significant conversations about the renewal of our life and mission – ...

Each month Pope Francis, as his predecessors also have done, calls the whole church to a particular prayer intention.   This month, he broke with the ordinary way of giving this news by sharing his intention by video.   And he was not the only “star.” At this link is the video. Please watch it before continuing to read this blog: http://www.romereports.com/2016/01/06/this-innovative-video-of-the-pope-is-causing-a-sensation#.Vo2dmHHLtXw.facebook Pope Francis’ intention for the month of January is that we will be part of sincere dialogue with women and men of good will across religious traditions.   Why? So that from our dialogue will come the fruits of peace and justice. For Dominicans – the Order of Preachers – as we continue to celebrate our 800 th Jubilee Year, this intention this has deep meaning.   Around the world we encounter, dialogue, befriend, minister to and with, people of all religious backgrounds and some with no affiliatio...

As we celebrate the 800 th anniversary of the Dominican Order, I find myself over and over again noticing the many reasons why I feel so fortunate to have been called to this life.   Last evening I had one of those moments of recognizing one of the graces and being filled with gratitude.   I was having dinner with a group of six other Dominicans from five different Congregations: Dominicans of Amityville, Peace, Sinsinawa, Sparkill and Bui Chu, Vietnam.     Some I knew well while others were acquaintances.    We came together as sisters who share in the same mission and way of life.   We knew without articulating it that prayer, study, community, ministry, preaching, justice and searching for the truth are important to each one of us.    They are essentials of our lives as Dominicans.    We each had a desire to know one another better.    In hearing each one’s experience, ideas, and opinions, we stretched one an...

This coming Saturday, November 7th, Dominican laity, nuns, sisters and Friars worldwide will officially begin the 800th Jubilee Year of the founding of the Order of Preachers.  Here in Trinidad we have been preparing for this great event for some time now.   Our celebrations will officially kick off on Saturday too with Eucharist at the only monastery here on the island.  In fact most of the celebrations we have planned will take place at the monastery to facilitate the nuns' participation.    The history of Dominicans in Trinidad is as old and as rich as the history of the Church here!  Dominicans Friars, sisters and nuns sent out on mission, built many of our churches and schools.  I have vivid memories of the excitement it generated among us as children when we would see the parish priest, fully robed, coming up the road to visit with us at home.  Those were the days!  As I reflect on this time ...

Already this month, two have written about experiences of the Dominican Sisters Conference Convocation.   This was/is my plan as well. My perspective comes as part of the planning committee.   We began our work more than 2 years ago and as it took form and focus, I came to the event excited and hopeful that those gathered would experience a deepening of our Dominican life and mission across 18 congregations of Sisters. We prayed, studied, celebrated, reconnected to friends and made new ones, we acted as one voice around the issue of Climate Change and blessed four Sisters who will be attending the global conference in Paris later this on this issue.   We did this in the context that as part of the Order of Preachers our upcoming 800 th Jubilee Year calls us to continue the Holy Preaching begun by St. Dominican and the early women and men who joined him. As the days have unfolded since the convocation, I hear from attendees how the experience continues to stir th...