Catherine's Cafe Vocation Blog

Is there a word that can express how we feel as we witness war and horrific destruction in Ukraine? Our hearts break as we watch the endless flow of refugees into the surrounding countries – and our hearts are moved by the welcome they are receiving. We are so grateful that they are being received and cared for, and we worry about their futures.   Can we also get in touch with another reality - the lack of welcome of refugees from Syria and Africa into the countries that border the Mediterranean?  And in our own country, the treatment of asylum seekers from Central and South America, Mexico, Haiti, and those from Muslim-majority countries? Could it be that we fear those who do not look like us or believe as we do?   I read recently that the Cheyenne believe that the Great Spirit gives each person a certain number of words at birth. When the last of those words is spoken, the person dies.* In this turbulent and frightening time in our world, if we had one more word to...

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...

The cherry tomatoes on my sister Molly’s plant make my mouth water!     The first two tomatoes I pick are so beautiful; I do not want to eat them.     The Saturday morning farmer’s market during these last weeks of August is an experience in abundance.  Each fruit and vegetable demonstrates the mystery of sunlight and rain, of earth and air.  Hidden seeds become luscious food. As Dominicans, we are called to praise and to bless.  The taste of a crunchy cucumber, the tartness of a blueberry, or the drippy sweetness of a slice of watermelon make it so easy to exclaim God’s goodness. This past Sunday’s second reading from the Letter of James says, “Humbly welcome the word that has been planted in you…” Even as this pandemic rages forward and the international scene speaks of injustice and oppression, James reminds us that we are called to be the harvest of God wherever we are, in any way possible.  The harvest of God’s love, mercy...

Very angry feelings welled up inside of me when I heard and saw news of the insurrection at the Capitol building in Washington D.C. two Wednesdays ago.     I asked myself why?  Why are a few people allowed to flaunt downright inhuman, evil, selfish, rude, cruel, violent behavior in the face of goodness, beauty, truth, innocence, decency and the common good?  This led me to reflect on how I respond in the face of similar atrocities in my sphere of influence.  I confess that sometimes, too often, I choose silence.     Catherine of Siena had something to say about this: “Speak up! It’s silence that kills the world.”  This year, I want to have the courage to seek out truth and to speak truth in the face of lies, to defend  innocence in the face of corruption, to laud beauty where there is ugliness, to acclaim goodness where there is evil and to fight for the common good where-ever I see selfishness and greed.  This has got to stop! Let it be...

By now we are used to signs outside of hospitals and skilled care facilities that state “Heroes Work Here” (and they do).  But as these weeks of Advent have gone by and we have experienced losses, deeper worries, greater anxiety about an unknown future, I think we need to put that sign on our own hearts, on our front doors, on our bathroom mirrors.  To me a hero is a person who exhibits courage without first weighing the cost.  A hero takes a leap of faith and turns it into a tumbling routine of courage plus faith plus love.  Isn’t that what we are all trying to do every day so that the Word of God can be born anew into our world?  So that the Word of God can be born within each of us, and so dwell within us, and help our ordinary lives always proclaim the extraordinary mercy of God?  Let us pray for the courage to give life to that Word, to be midwives of hope and deep peace. Priscilla Wood, OP Dubuque, IA 

When I was a child I loved the song that began “All I want for Christmas,” and the answer was “my two front teeth…so I could wish you merry Christmas.” This got me to thinking, what do I really want for Christmas this year, this year that has been so challenging for everybody, a year that has called for patience, for reconciliation, for hope, for new ways of imagining being together.    I guess what I really want is what is on the front of the cards I am sending:  Peace—inner peace, peace in families, in our country and in our world.   May God’s peace surround all of us, despite the difficulties. LouAnne Willette, OP Austin, TX  

"Ultimately, we have just one moral duty:  To reclaim large areas of peace in ourselves,  More and more peace,  And to reflect it towards others.  And the more peace there is in us,  The more peace there will be In our troubled world." —Etty Hillesum What areas of peace in yourself need reclaiming? How are you reflecting peace towards others? Gail Jagroop OP Sinsinawa, WI

For the past two Sundays the Mass celebrated at our motherhouse was video-streamed to all of us. Whether we were on the east or west coast, somewhere in between, or in Bolivia, we were able to participate in the liturgy. Here in our Madison home the three of us lit a candle and joined in the singing and prayer responses. The sisters at the Mound were in the chapel but left an empty seat between them, so it almost seemed like a normal Sunday except no peace greeting and only the priest received Communion.  Sisters from all over the country and Bolivia commented on how in this time of separation we felt more united and together than we normally do. We come together in prayer because in our helplessness and vulnerability these days we know God is with us, will never leave us,  and will give us the peace we so need. How are you dealing with these days of social distancing? How do you experience togetherness? Marie Lucek OP Madison, WI 

Every year as Christmas approaches, I remember Howard Thurman’s reflection about the challenges laid down like a gauntlet by the arrival of Jesus in our world.  When the song of the angels is stilled, When the star in the sky is gone, When the Kings and princes are home, When the shepherds are back with their flock, The work of Christmas begins: To find the lost, To heal the broken, To feed the hungry To release the prisoner, To rebuild the nations, To bring peace among people, To make music in the heart. We know the truth of this. Even while we celebrate with family and friends and colleagues during this season, we are aware underneath it all that our world is hurting:  refugees are without homes and welcome, people are starving in spite of abundance, our border with Mexico is a place of fear and violence for asylum seekers, politicians have forgotten their responsibility for the common good, our beloved Earth suffers from our refusal to ...

I just finished reading  At Play in the Lions’ Den: A Biography and Memoir of Daniel Berrigan  by Jim Forest (Orbis Books, 2017). Daniel Berrigan, SJ has been a hero of mine for a long time because of his intrepid dedication to the cause of peace and non-violent resistance. Recalling his example reminded me about the importance of “showing up” to oppose whatever militates against the Gospel in our time. “Showing up” means acting even when it is inconvenient or frightening. Action on behalf of justice can be crushing if undertaken by one person, but a group can make it possible to be courageous and to persist when opposition is strong. Participating in communal action for justice can be truly joyous. There’s another kind of showing up that is more muted but is an expression of the love and caring that we have for those who are near and dear to us. It is definitely a high value in the Sinsinawa community that we go the extra mile (often literally) to attend wakes and fu...

I don’t know about you, but this time of the year tends to be exceptionally intense for me.  Keeping the “wheels on” in everyday life in addition to preparing for Christmas leads me down the path of overwhelming.  During my daily commute to the Mound, morning reflection time, and before I go to sleep each night I am praying, “God, let me serve with joy, and let me know your peace.”  Fortunately, our good and gracious God, in infinite kindness has bestowed peace and patience upon me.   In addition, God has used both ordinary and exceptional events during Advent to remind me of what is really important.  One of those exceptional events occurred yesterday on Gaudete Sunday.  We were blessed with the perpetual profession ceremony of our Sr. Kathy Flynn.  What joy, peace, and excitement we experienced through the music, Word of God, preaching, and words of commitment during that ritual! In the program distribut...

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...

This past weekend, I participated in a special Mass and reception to mark the closing of one of our community’s high schools in the Chicago area.  Queen of Peace High School opened fifty-five years ago and about 15,000 young women were educated there.  Due to declining enrollment and related financial challenges, it is not feasible to continue to operate the school. The closing event was bittersweet: alumnae were saddened to see the school close but grateful for all that the school had meant in their lives. One of the many aspects of life at Queen of Peace High School that touched me most was the deliberate effort to empower each student become a “Woman of Peace”. The school environment emphasized “being peace” and “bringing peace”. An annual award was given to the student who best exemplified this quality. I was inspired as I read the words and phrases used to describe those students awarded in this final year: dedicated to building community; treating others with ...

So, I had the students who came on retreat dream about a world where peace prevailed.  What might that world look like?  And they, with crayons and colored pencils began to create that world together.  In their world they did not litter, they shared their snacks with each other, they went to church and some even spent time meditating in beautiful natural surroundings!  In the discussion that followed these 12-year-old kids came to understand that peace takes some doing! That peace began with each of them, one small act of peace at a time.  They recognized that they had to leave behind old habits that did not bring peace and begin to form new habits of love, care and consideration for themselves, for earth, for each other and for God who is our peace.  The reality of Easter with its renewed hope and promise of new life, of deep peace and joy, takes us beyond the violence and hatred around us, to a place where we can dare to dream of a different re...

Last week I had the privilege of being with our Sister Marie Lee in her last days here on earth.   She was 98 years old and spent 71 of those years as a vowed Sinsinawa Dominican Sister.   In her active years of ministry she was a teacher, a band leader, a founder of a sewing program for Hmong immigrants, a spiritual guide and mentor to many women.   Having been given the gift of a long life, she spent the last years of her life in contemplation.   She read the current spiritual books on the “new cosmology” and willingly shared her deep insight into this new understanding of God in the Universe.      When one of the nurses asked, how she as a nurse could achieve her tranquility and peace?   Sister Marie responded, “By being yourself.”   This reminded me of EE Cummings poem To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best, night and day,            ...