Catherine's Cafe Vocation Blog

This past Thursday, on November 4 th , we celebrated the 215 th  birthday of our cherished founder, Samuel Mazzuchelli. Reports of celebrations came in from far and wide.  Of course, the Motherhouse and skilled care centers had a special Mass and dinner.  Our colleges and high schools reported special events as well.  Here at Dominican University, we had a study day and cake.  Doesn’t get much better than that!!! An Italian Dominican, from a wealthy Milan family, he came to this country at the age of 22, just a few years after entering the Dominican Order.  Father Samuel preached a gospel of radical inclusivity.  All found a friend and good listener in our brother.  As his sisters, to this day, we feel a closeness and bond to our dear founder.  He left us a legacy of tireless service, deep prayer, and a joy for life.  This is our prayer for him, for ourselves, and for our church.  LORD JE...

The motto of the Dominican Order is veritas…truth. We are truth-seekers. This week could be called a week of veritas, of truth-seeking. June 14 is Flag Day, a day celebrating the first flag resolution passed by the Second Continental Congress, made official later in 1949; a day regarded as one way to teach children about history. June 19, also known as Juneteenth, is the oldest known celebration honoring the end of slavery in the United States, the day when the Civil War ended and slaves were ‘set free’, even though people of color are still fighting for equality and justice. The problem I see is that our history has most often been taught through the lens of those holding power, through the perspective of white people. In our pursuit of truth, we must ask what history is  not  being taught? Who/what people are invisible in our telling of ‘history’? Whose very real and painful stories are not being told?  I wasn’t taught about white supremacy (except in relationship to Hi...

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 ...