Catherine's Cafe Vocation Blog

She was beatified by Pope John XXIII and he called her ‘the apostle of the Holy Spirit.’  She was a 19 th  Century Mystic who founded an Order in Italy, called the Oblates of the Holy Spirit.  She shared with others her love for and promoted a devotion to the Holy Spirit in their everyday lives.  She petitioned Pope Leo XIII many times, asking him to invite the whole Church to grow in this devotion.  Moved by her passion he mandated that the entire Church pray the Novena to the Holy Spirit leading up to Pentecost.  In one sense Jesus himself instituted this Novena when, at his Ascension he said to the disciples: “Stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.” Luke 24:49. The apostles returned to the city and spent the whole time in prayer with Mary the Mother of Jesus.  We all know what happened!   Today is the 4 th  day of this Novena which begins on the Friday of the Sixth Week of Easter.  You can find t...

Last month I had the opportunity to travel to Poland to touch base with my Polish roots. The first city we visited was Warsaw, the scene of the 1944 Warsaw Uprising. In retaliation for this uprising 85% of the city was systematically destroyed by the Nazis. Old Town with buildings that had dated back to the 13th century were completely demolished. After the war this area was painstakingly rebuilt using photographs and drawings of the buildings. Today Old Town truly feels like an old town. I was deeply moved as I walked through the area. After such devastation to their country the Polish people could have given up any idea of rebuilding or perhaps only have planned for a partial rebuild.  Instead they had hope--hope that they could once again touch base with the past while passing on a legacy to their children.  What an unquenchable hope in the face of such challenges!   We have just celebrated the Feast of Pentecost, the coming of the Holy Spirit. Though these da...

I am writing this blog between the Solemnities of Ascension & Pentecost – between a promise and a gift.  At Christ’s Ascension, he promises us the Paraclete, the Holy Spirit, will come to us.  At Pentecost, the Holy Spirit unleashes abundant gifts. Actually, these Solemnities remind us of this ongoing divine work of promise and gift of each day and in each breath.  We are always moving between the promise and the gift of God’s grace, the deeper DNA of the cosmic life force.  I am constantly reminded of these twin movements as I live my days of community, ministry, prayer, relationships, and, yes, the Dominican way of study. For the past nine months, with a few other sisters, I have accompanied one of our candidates as she joined us to study Dominican life.  In our mutual commitment to be present to each other, we were living out God’s work of promise and gift.  And we have had fun in the process.  In what ways have you experienced God’s prom...

During these days leading up to the Feast of Pentecost, I am praying the Novena to the Holy Spirit.  After His Ascension, the disciples spent time in prayer, following Jesus' command to " stay in the city, until you are clothed with power from on high." (Luke 24)  Please pray with me:   Come Holy Spirit, come!   Draw us into the circle of your embrace, immerse us in the ocean of your love;  Move among us to unite us, as we collaborate with others to help build  a holy and just society and Church.  Amen!  On Pentecost day, the disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit, and began a powerful ministry of preaching and teaching, healing people and freeing them from evil.   Our life and ministry as Dominicans of Sinsinawa flows out of the action of this same Spirit!  How might the Spirit be inviting you to collaborate with us?  Gail Jagroop, OP St. Joseph, Trinidad

We hear during this season that ‘the wind blows where it will’.  I have been witnessing that in my garden these days.  The week before Pentecost we had lots of breezy weather.  Flower petals were strewn all around.  The sugar peas definitely needed tying up.  The asparagus gave up and lay horizontal.  The peonies wobbled in disarray. And then this week we saw the immense power of wind in Oklahoma. How do we deal with the impact of a soft breeze, a stormy breeze, a thunderous wind?  So many opportunities to discover and name grace.  How amazing to witness resilience, stamina, community, courage in the face of such surprise, destruction, calamity.  And what of the breezes in your life?  How do you name them grace? KC Young, OP Kirkland, Washington

Picture this:   a circle of Dominican women all gathered around a fire in western Montana breaking open the Word of God   present in the Clark Fork River rolling by, the songs of many birds surrounding us, many wildflowers blooming.   Once again God’s Spirit birthing Church in our midst.   These are uneasy days for sisters in the Church.   Yet what a gift to come together and renew hope in the vision, service, promise of Gospel living.   There we were, members of the Intermountain Region claiming our place as Pentecost partners with God’s People. Twice each year we come together to share our experience, strength and hope in our common life together.   Each month we log onto our computers and update one another on the happenings, the opportunities, the challenges and the laughs we have had these past weeks.   Some of us Skype with one another regularly. Why all this emphasis on connecting you might ask?   We share a commo...