Catherine's Cafe Vocation Blog

“For where your treasure is, there your heart will also be.” (Luke 12:34) As Dominican Women of Sinsinawa, we have had a practice of giving out low interest loans to not-for-profit organizations who foster our mission to build a holy and just church and society.  Our Congregation’s Alternative Investment Advisory Committee relates with a number of organizations that offer dignity and hope to the underserved all around the globe.  South Africa, Northern California, Florida, Chicago, Denver, and Nicaragua are a few of these places.  Low-income housing, micro-loans, sustainable agricultural programs, and entrepreneurial projects are a few of the ventures we fund.   We believe that these financial commitments allow us to demonstrate to ourselves and to others where our treasure lies and how our hearts are connected to the lives and well-being of others.  I guess you could say we put our money where our mouths are! How about you?  Wh...

One of the challenges of our American culture is sustaining attention to what is slow moving or thinking something is over when it has only begun.   The Easter Season is one of those times in our liturgical church calendar that is hardly noticed by most of us. There is Easter Sunday – with all the trimmings – whatever that may mean for parish communities, families, vowed religious, etc.   But once the sun sets on that Sunday, am I – are we – noticing the season we are in? It is during the Easter Season we hear readings from the Acts of the Apostles – considered part 2 of St Luke’s writings.   I appreciate this New Testament book because it is the story of us – of our beginning as church. Even so, I need more than this one book of scripture to keep me focused and all the unfolding of this season.   In some of the eastern Christian churches people greet one another with this exchange:   “Christ is Risen” with the response: “He is Risen indeed.”   While...

I am in the last four months of a year of full-time study.   I have been writing a thesis relating to the unaccompanied minors who have been crossing our southern borders.   As a Dominican, I have not and cannot just sit behind a desk to study.   Twice during this past year, I have traveled to the borderlands to understand in a deeper way what these young people experience.   During these trips, I have sat in court rooms, hiked into the desert to migrant trails, and spent days welcoming these newcomers at a social service center.   My study has also sent me to a nearby parish where these unaccompanied minors now live with family members.   I have interviewed service providers and organized focus groups with the minors themselves. For the Dominican women of Sinsinawa, study is a way of life.   It happens everywhere we are and everywhere we go.   What we learn is that the mystery of God is unfolding. Study is actually not meant to make us smart...