Catherine's Cafe Vocation Blog

One of my favorite songs lately is “God of Day and God of Darkness.”  Not only is the tune beautiful, but behind the lilting Celtic melody are some pretty powerful words: “Come and wake us from our sleeping so our hearts cannot ignore all your people lost and broken all your children at our door.” I love the inclusivity of these lines: “ALL your people,” the song proclaims.  We’re all lost and broken, and there’s a beautiful kinship in that.  I also love the image of being awoken: all of us, no matter how socially conscious we might consider ourselves, are “asleep” in some ways.  But asking God to wake us up is both bold and risky; once we’re aware of a need or an injustice, we can no longer ignore it.  Our congregation’s founder, Fr. Samuel Mazzuchelli, took a great risk when he joined the dwindling Dominican order in Italy, then moved to the “new frontier” at age 22.  He took risks in the form of ministering to and...

Recently, I heard an 83 year old woman share her story of how she came to discover her vocation.  She began at a very early age asking questions for which she never ceased seeking answers.  In describing her journey, she spoke with passion using words like 'attraction' 'allurement' 'call' and 'full potential self.'  She also talked about finding people with a similar passion with whom to form 'hubs.' It occurred to me how much her language mirrors language we use to describe the call of a woman to religious life.  She experiences the allurement of God, is attracted to Gospel living and seeks out a community (hub) with whom to live that call, to her fullest potential, for the rest of her life. Today, almost 800 years later, women and men still feel the allurement - the attraction - to preaching the gospel as a member of the Dominican Order according to the charism of Dominic our founder. Such is the case with Kathy F...

What must it be like to leave the family you were born into, and to leave behind the language and culture of your country to go halfway around the world?  Frightening!  That was the experience of our immigrant ancestors.  My parents, for example, came to this country as children, my father from Armenia and my mother from Turkey.  They had so much to learn! Sister Vong, O.P. and Sister Lien, O.P. are currently living at our motherhouse at Sinsinawa WI.  They left their Dominican Convent in North Vietnam and accepted a mission in obedience to come to the U.S., to learn English and then to acquire degrees in order to go back to their sisters in North Vietnam to teach them.  Their teachers? Many of the retired ( former teachers) who reside at Sinsinawa. Several weeks ago, Sister Vong renewed her vows as a Dominican.  The ceremony was a truly bi-lingual experience.  Lien welcomed everyone – in both Vietnamese and English – with a...

A few days ago one of our sisters died. Her name was Victoire Beausoleil. Some sisters had known her as their second-grade teacher. I came to know her in the later years of her life. I was then a candidate for the congregation and she was living at our mother-house. Her welcome was an inspiration and source of encouragement to me. And it was not only Victoire. I remember Consuelo Fissler  - with whom I had a special bond as we shared the same birthday –and so many others whose names I have forgotten. They lived their commitment as joyful, contemplative women of the Gospel as they built relationship with the newer members. This year, as I go back once more, several of my friends will no longer be there. And yet there will be others. Our congregation is alive. Sisters, who were out on mission before, are now at the Mound and Villa. As we renew our relationships, we drink deep of the energy that flows in us and through us. We know that ‘at the heart of minis...

With two part-time ministries, teaching employment skills and offering job counseling and support to people on the margins and in crisis, my life is enriched and challenged. Other commitments such as on-going study, professional development, Congregation and community matters, family and friends, and more also get my attention. Life, like music, consists of many contrasting “voices” and relationships of melodic lines, modulations, dissonance, changing rhythms, etc. Most of the time, things in my life flow easily and harmonic chords are the result. Sometimes rhythms and melodies compete. In musical terms, that is defined as counterpoint. Commitments and relationships often “compete” for my attention and energy, with days occasionally turning into weeks of counterpoint. As Sinsinawa Dominicans, we make a vow of obedience and ‘strive to have one heart and one soul in God, bearing witness to the gospel we preach and teach.’ To better listen and serve...