Catherine's Cafe Vocation Blog

One member of my Dominican community made a special effort to buy  Pączki  so we could have them for Pączki  Day or Fat Tuesday, the day before the 40 days of fasting we call Lent. My Polish ancestors could have told me how to pronounce Pączki , the delightful Polish filled donuts, but now I had to look it up on the internet. Pączki , but then 40 days!  What should I do for those long 40 days? When I was teaching religion in a school in Tulsa, I encouraged the students to reflect on 40 days of Lent, but I delighted more in telling them to celebrate the 40 days after  Easter. Now I am appreciating that both 40 days are important and go together like vinegar and honey. It’s not all a bowl of cherries.  Community life itself has Pączki  days and searching days.  Days to struggle with knowing how to be intentional in our antiracist actions and days to rejoice when we realize transformation and celebrate all people ...

This time of year has mixed messages for me. “Hurry up and get ready for Christmas.”  “Slow down and “be” attentive to the season of Advent waiting.” This week the message is “Rejoice!” My heart likes the feel of finding joy. In our Dominican congregation we are in a time of transition. How blessed we are to have assistance in how to “be” in transition in a healthy way. In September we had a virtual assembly, an opportunity to tend to our heart and spirit in our transition. Our facilitators, Dominican Sisters Joye Gros and Teresa Tuite,  inspired us in a process of prayer, reflection, with music and story. At the end they left us with a song: “We Can Be Kind.”  This song is taking root in me. In my pastoral ministry at the Mound and Villa I promote  Mindfulness.  One of the aspects in living in the NOW is to have a daily intention. Since our September assembly I have encouraged the sisters to set an intention to “Be Kind.” Focusing on kindne...