Catherine's Cafe Vocation Blog

In the Pax Christi USA   Guide Our Feet Into the Way of Peace: Reflections for Advent & Christmas 2021,  the reflection for Epiphany Sunday, January 2, tells a story about Robert Louis Stevenson. When he was a little boy, he “would watch the lamplighter walk through the streets…lighting each of the village street lights. ‘Look, Mother,’ he would say. ‘Here comes the man who punches holes in the darkness.’” What a great image for Christmas! In the Incarnation, God and a woman punched a hole in the darkness in birthing Jesus for the world. It’s a delightful idea to think of us, followers of Jesus, punching holes in the darkness as we do works of justice, when we help bring about reconciliation, when we bring peace and remain calm in the midst of the turmoil and division that swirl around us, when we express a spirit of joy even though the world offers so many reasons to be discouraged. In this season celebrating the coming of the Light of the World, let’s invite each other t...

These are such unusual times for us all.  And while our local freeways may not be as congested, I find my mind and inner spirit can become clogged.  These are times that require deep faith.   Jesus struggled in the garden.  He knew things were way out of the ordinary.  Even some of his close friends were not so trustworthy.  I believe he then knew to turn to the One who is All Trustworthy. He leaned into letting go of fixed ideas and absolutes.  This was a time to step into the unknown and to invite change!  The Jesus of History did not know the how or where of this Change nor do any of us. The key?   Remembering that I am loved and lovable is so vital during these times.  This awareness can then allow me to gradually let go of the way I want things to be and edging into openness, possibility, and Blessed Assurance.   How do you edge into openness? What helps you remember you ar...

The image you see provides us with a focus for our Lenten journey, here at our Sinsinawa Motherhouse.  It points us to that powerful story in John’s Gospel, where Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead.  Lazarus had been in the cave for 4 days! “By now there must be a stench” Martha, his sister remarked to Jesus, when He called Lazarus forth and commanded those around to unbind him and set him free. As I juxtapose this image against the changing images of nature I view from my window, I am filled with jubilant hope!  Winter is giving way to Spring.  The sun is rising earlier, the days are getting longer, the snow is melting from the trees and seeping into the earth.  And we have no part in this!  The earth bound up under layers of snow benefits from the snow as it melts.  The very thing that holds earth bound, unbinds, moistening and softening the soil in the process making it ready for the sowing of new seeds.  When Martha doubted, Jesu...

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...

For many January 6 is just the day to put away the Christmas decorations and/or contribute our tree to the community bonfire.   But wait! What is this thing about some wise folks coming to see and then returning by a different way? When they found Jesus they offered their gifts. January 6, (first Sunday) is the day MOSES, (Madison Organizing in Strength, Equality and Solidarity) invites all to a general meeting.  We catch each other up on how we are doing on the mission to change the criminal justice system.  How can the system honor the dignity of each person? It is my job to find a clergy person to open the meeting with prayer/reflection. This time I feel called to do the opening myself.  I am especially honoring our member congregations that partner with another that is different by race/culture. Then members from two congregations that are currently working on an event together lead us in the song, “Let there be peace on earth.” ...

We have an alarm system on our community car. It’s supposed to deter burglars. I wonder about that. Mostly, I think, it embarrasses us by going off by mistake. There’s a little device on the key ring with a button. As we approach the car we’re supposed to push the button. They tell me that “disarms” the car. “Disarm”…what an interesting word! We use it in a lot of different ways.   We talk about nuclear disarmament and such – the effort to rid the world of deadly weapons. But we also talk about people having a disarming manner about them – a smile or look that’s disarming It’s a way, I suppose, of being defenseless, vulnerable, open… a wonderful quality in a human being, to be disarming, to invite others simply by one’s manner into relationship. Would that all of us could be disarming! Would that the world could be disarmed as easily as a car is, simply by pushing a button on a key ring. Jesus gave us that power, actually. It was his final gift to us: “Peace, I give to y...

I get some of my best insights in the shower. Showering is such a mindless task that it allows my unoccupied mind to wander elsewhere. So I was in the shower one morning and out of the corner of my eye I saw the shampoo bottle: Pantene shampoo for normal hair. I’d seen that bottle so many times before, but had never noticed the label…the word “normal.” I pondered, “What’s normal? Who am I to think my hair is normal enough to buy this kind of shampoo? Is it good to have normal hair? Who defines what’s normal?” By this time my mind was wandering way beyond that bottle of shampoo and even beyond the shower: How do we use the concept of normal in life? Are we the norm and anyone not like us is abnormal? Odd? Strange? Other? It’s so easy to fall into that trap. What did “normal” mean for Jesus? He was open to all kinds of people – the poor, the blind, the sick, the outcast, but also the rich and powerful. He made no distinctions among the people of his world. He lived amo...