Catherine's Cafe Vocation Blog

“What if at the Apple store, as part of the display, we saw a photo of the factory worker who made the iPhones?” This question was posed in class by one of my Clarke undergraduate students as we discussed Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato Si , (On Care for Our Common Home) and the social and ecological impacts of consumerism.   “Yeah, and what about clothes?”   Another student chimed in.   “We see the label that says ‘made in El Salvador,’ or whatever, but what does it mean?” We live in an interconnected world.   When we get up each day, we may put on pants made in Haiti and a shirt made in Bangladesh. Then for breakfast we eat a banana grown in Costa Rica and drink coffee from beans grown in Kenya.   That’s three continents before we even step out the front door! Yet, as my students astutely noted, it’s easy to be oblivious to these connections.   It’s easy to find the bargain and not ask questions about the people and systems behind our pu...

Remember when you made or bought a Valentine for everyone in your class?   A little older and it was only for favorites.   And then…?   What was it like this year? For us who are neither what can it mean?   What must Valentine’s Day be like for people who are alone, or worse, in prison?   Valentine’s Day has become inflated beyond its original intent.   It’s become associated with chocolates, flower and cards.    ‘St. Valentine was a priest in Rome who was known for assisting martyrs.   When he was arrested and refused to give up his faith he was beheaded.   Because he was willing to give his heart he was considered true to the God of Love.' It’s easy to say that Valentine’s Day is for kids – or for lovers.   Pope Francis, in his recent encyclical, Laudato Si, says in Para. 228:   “Care for nature is part of a lifestyle [which includes the capacity for living together and communion].” How would you describe yo...