Catherine's Cafe Vocation Blog

In her book  See No Stranger,  Valerie Kaur   declares revolutionary love as the call of our times and asks us to "see no stranger." This week in her online reflection for   The Revolutionary Love Project,  she wrote about the above image from Del Rio. “I focus on the face of the Black man running from the horse. I am numb. I want to look away. But I look into his eyes and say ‘Brother’ in my mind a few times. The word ‘refugee’ melts away and slowly his full humanity comes into view. I imagine his children, the home he left behind, why he has risked everything to seek asylum, the fear in his heart as he runs. I wonder if his children will eat tonight. I feel hot rage in my veins at what our nation is doing to him; my numbness melts and my rage is stirring me to act. “I slowly turn to the sneering white officer on the horse. I say ‘Brother’ in my mind. My body immediately seizes with disdain and revulsion. Such a man ...

In one of her short stories, Barbara Kingsolver’s character, Great Mam, who is of the Bird Clan, asks the question, “Why are there state lines on the map if you can’t see them?”  What a great question.  Why do we label borders that are not there?   How do we decide who is a neighbor and who is not? How do we decide who is a sister or brother and who is not?   As Dominicans, we are called to offer our lives in community with a selflessness that mirrors that of Christ.  Who do we see?  How do we offer our gifts and talents?  What are our priorities?  Dominicans have to ask the question, in the midst of all our own troubles and brokenness, “How does my life relieve the misery of another?”  Whether the suffering of another falls within our borders, within the lines of our map, or takes place across the globe, we are called to accompaniment.   Love knows no border. Peggy R...