Catherine's Cafe Vocation Blog

Lately, it seems to me that God has been reminding me and calling me even more intentionally to service.  Scripture proclamations, novels I’m reading, and conversations I engage in all seem to have this thread of service running through them.   In the Scripture readings for the liturgies of this Holy Week alone, nearly every day there is either a story about service or Jesus speaking of following Him requires being a servant to one another.  During the Holy Thursday liturgy, this is symbolized by the washing of feet (or hands).   We are all called to service in some shape or form. When my biological sisters retired from their full time jobs, each of them very quickly found a volunteer opportunity or part-time job where their interests and skills could help another person, extended family, neighbors, or local population.  When one of my sister friends moved to the Mound this past year, the Prioress of the Mound community a...

As a kid, I loved spring vacation or Easter break as we called it then, but I also remember whining to my wonderful mother that “all we ever do is go to church!”   I didn’t get it then; I hope I get it now.   I hope I get how truly holy this week is – that, as a wise woman said, --   “… is NOT business as usual.”   This week is so special, this week plunges us so deeply into mystery, it can only be called “holy.”   This week has to be experienced, I believe, the way we experience a poem or a painting or dance….it touches us in the deepest parts of soul, of experience, of memory, of emotion –no words, only symbols can speak its truth.   Thursday night’s washing of feet, breaking of bread and drinking the wine, Friday’s cross with blood and water pouring out, Saturday’s new fire and new water all flow seamlessly from one into another until they unite in the image of a rolled stone and an empty tomb.   Just be with these images, sounds, light and darkn...

These past weeks prior to Holy Week, like many others, I’ve been watching the NCAA basketball tournament games leading up to the “Final Four.”   After each game, there is the celebration of the winning team and also the experience of loss for the team that did not “make the Final Four.” It occurred to me as I observed the loss and devastation of the team that did not move on to the next game, Holy Week is a week during which we recognize our losses.   And our losses, as humans, are many:   a game, financial security, health, a job, reputation, dignity, relationships, a child, a parent, life as we once knew it …     The litany is endless.   We remember that Jesus experienced the depth of human loss.   He endured the most excruciating loss of all – the sense of being totally deserted, forsaken.   “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me,” he cried.   But Jesus remembered, and we also remember Abba’s promise to us in the words from Je...

As we turn the corner on Lent - pilgrimage through the Triduum - we arrive  in the season that really marks our lives in Christ - the season of Easter.  We are Resurrection People regardless of the church calendar. I tweet.   I blame it on one of my godchildren.   On Mondays I tweet. The April 14th entry reads: # takewhatyouneed Community ~ Gathering ~ Prayer ~ Remembering ~ Fasting ~ Feasting ~ Singing ~ Alleluia ~ Joy ~~Breathe In ~ Breathe Out ~~ Every Monday it is the same hashtag with different groups of words.   This week the inspiration came easily - Holy Week.   The words emerged as I considered what I needed this week.   The hashtag invitation to others is to consider what they might need.   Some may be included in my list. And then there is always the invitation to purposefully take a breath. Try it right now. What do you need right now?   What groups of words do you need to draw from?   Don't for...

When is the last time you washed someone’s feet?  Or, had your own feet washed?  Or, in other words, when is the last time you made an effort to go out of your way to do something for someone?  When did you give of your time, your energy, your sustenance? I believe that as Dominican women, living in community, we have the opportunity to live Holy Thursday or wash the feet of one another every single day.  Each day is a chance to go the extra mile, say the supportive word, take the time to listen deeply, forgive, find the humor in a situation, move beyond our comfort zone, or just be ourselves together. I am convinced without a doubt that living in community has been and continues to be in the top three of my greatest, hardest, most joyful and meaningful experiences in life.  So, how will you wash another’s feet this Holy Week? Peggy Ryan, OP Whitefish Bay, WI

In my retreat ministry, we (the team) develop a theme and give our individual talks many times from September to June. Recently I did a “wordle” using the words from my main presentation.  The wordle process gives emphasis by size & color to the words in a document. Here is what my presentation looks like with wordle.  What do you see?  Perhaps this could be your Holy Week meditation. Roberta A. Popara, O.P. North Palm Beach, Florida