Catherine's Cafe Vocation Blog

During these days of the pandemic I have had a lot of time alone. I live with a younger sister who is currently working on a master's degree in counseling. She has many responsibilities and commitments, so she and I are on two different schedules. We eat and pray together and are grateful for each other's presence in our lives, but other than that we don't connect often during the day. With all this quiet time I was surprised one day when I realized a great desire to get away to a quiet place where I could spend time with God and with nature. Didn't I already have this? Something inside me urged me to think about this seriously and to seek a different environment. I ended up going to a retreat center near me for three days. I brought just one book that would help me to go deeper into my relationship with God. Each day I walked around the grounds, marveled at the various hues of autumn, watched a flock of geese overhead, and thoroughly delighted in God's creation...

As Dominican women, we are called to be aware of the signs of the times.  These signs are meant to open us up to where God is present.  We listen and look.  We study and ask questions.  We pray and reflect.  If we are open, these signs of the times can be found anywhere.  For me, God’s creation, such as our Holy Family Food Pantry community garden, is one such place.     Our community garden, which occupies a corner lot, is surrounded by tagged buildings and pot-holed streets.   The garden brings together families of all shapes and sizes, as well as master gardeners and community workers throughout the summer months.     We are filled with communal wonder as we marvel at God’s creation unfolding before us.   Our senses are bursting with a beauty beyond compare.      In these past few months, the signs of the times have come in unexpected events that shatter our most basic beliefs.   There is no...

I’ve been thinking a lot about ministry lately.  I’ve also been drinking a lot of coffee.  There are a lot of independent coffee roasters and retailers in Spokane, where I’m spending my apostolic year.  One is the “Supreme Bean”.  When I saw it, I was reminded of my childhood when I often wondered why people were called “human beans”. Human beans? Coffee? Ministry?   What’s the connection?   Well, I don’t know about you, but I’ve been very guilty of judging myself by how much or how little I “do” and by how well or how poorly I “do” it.   The truth is, we aren’t called ‘human doers’, ‘human dids’, or ‘human will do-s’. We are called ‘human beings ’.   Being is defined as “the state of existing; the most important or basic part of a person's mind or self.”   We can learn from the past, but we can’t ‘be’ there.   We can think of the future, but we can’t ‘be’ there.   We can only ‘be’ in the present. There’s the connection. ...