Catherine's Cafe Vocation Blog

One of the Dominican charisms is preaching the Word, but since I moved to Madison, I have not had many opportunities to preach.  So, when I was asked to be one of the preachers and leaders of Eucharistic Word services at an assisted living facility where many of our sisters are in residence I said yes. Though I appreciate the chance I have now to preach it doesn't mean this is an easy thing for me to do.  I spend time in prayer with the readings; I check the internet for the reflections of others; I sometimes agonize over what I will say.  However, as soon as I allow the Holy Spirit to guide me and trust that the Holy Spirit knows what the sisters need to hear, the words start to flow. Sometimes I'm surprised at what I am writing but I know I can trust the Spirit.  With the guidance of the Spirit, I will continue to say yes to preaching, difficult as it can be at times.   How have you known the guidance of the Holy Spirit in your life?    Marie Lu...

Recently I was part of a Zoom sharing on what elements of life-giving Dominican Community we are currently experiencing,  Of course, everyone mentioned praying together, eating together, sharing household tasks and showing care for one another. Study was mentioned, too, either together or sharing what one has learned with the other members. In addition, I shared my experience of living in a multicultural, intergenerational community. Two of us are older and two are quite a bit younger. We find it enriching to learn from each other as we share life together. The younger members are so considerate of our limitations, but we older members are able to contribute quite a bit to our common life.  One sister is from Vietnam, so as she is getting to know our culture we are getting to know hers. We pray the Our Father in Vietnamese each night and we are treated some days to Vietnamese-based meals, such as spring rolls with peanut sauce. Artwork from Vietnam adorns our walls an...

One of the joys of being in Washington DC is the international diversity.  This diversity includes the men and women religious studying at Catholic University.  I’ve formed an intimate, ad hoc Dominican community of sisters.  We gather periodically to break bread and share about our lives.  Raghad Saeed is an Iraqi Dominican earning her PhD in nanophysics.  Lien Do is a Vietnamese Dominican earning her  Licienciate for Canon Law .  I am a Sinsinawa Dominican lobbying for social justice on Capitol Hill.   Each of us is here without family or other members of our congregation.  Our personal histories are dramatically different.  Our ministries are totally unalike.  We live in very different local community contexts.   In our daily lived experiences we don’t have much in common. But we have a common bond in our Dominican charism and our conversations are rooted in sisterhood.  Each time we gather the conver...

I walked into the locker room, my stomach in a tangle of excitement and trepidation.  It was my first swim practice as a high school freshman.  A girl sporting a swim t-shirt and a smile waved to me.  “Hi, I’m Kristin,” she said.  I laughed.  “I am, too!” Kristin and I quickly discovered that we had more in common than our names, and we became good friends.  Eventually we both entered religious life.  She entered a different Dominican congregation, and shortly afterward I came to Sinsinawa.  We gradually fell out of touch. At first glance, our lives look different.  She chose a congregation whose sisters wear full traditional habits all the time; I didn’t.  Her name has changed; mine is still Christin, with a “Sister” before it.  She taught in a Catholic school and is now studying philosophy; I live on a farm and promote care of creation.  To be honest, these differences often made me feel uncomfortable. Recently, our oth...