Catherine's Cafe Vocation Blog

Preparing to leave water in the desert for travelers   How do we live today as citizens of our global village?  How do our decisions and choices create or hinder a future for others?  Some of our state governments have decided that our newly arrived brothers and sisters can be treated like chattel and loaded on buses or planes to be dropped off in cities all over the country.       What are Dominicans called to do when we witness injustice?     Can we use our voices to bring the oppressive practices to light, such as writing editorials to local papers or joining GET OUT THE VOTE campaigns?     Can we join with others to eliminate suffering?     Can we offer time and energy as volunteers at respite sites?     How will this suffering of our brothers and sisters enter into our prayer?     We have a line in our Constitution:   “Present to God’s people whose hopes and sufferings are our own, w...

I’m sure you, like me, can tell by the change in the air, the amount of sunlight, that summer is leaving us again.  This ease into autumn is a gift that triggers reflection on change, on time, on journeys ended and begun.     I’m reading a memoir by Kathryn Schulz entitled   Lost & Found .     She divides her small book into three sections:   “Lost” – “Found” – “And.”     I relish those divisions, especially the last one.     How much of our lives is filled with “and” – we think we are headed one way and then we realize we need to rethink; we are absolutely sure we are right about an issue or a plan and then something reaches our mindset and we realize we need to rethink.     I hear echoes of the Gospels in these three words…how many encounters of Jesus embrace “lost, found, and” – choices laid out before cured lepers and rich young people and sophisticated Pharisees and those possessed by the evils of their day. ...

One of my ministries at the parish where I work is to coordinate the Food Pantry.   It is a daunting task to organize this service.   But even more overwhelming is to sit weekly with families who do not have enough food to eat three meals a day.   Just this past week, a dad said to me, “Sister, I have gone without dinner many a night this past month so my kids could eat.”   I immediately thought of the words of Christ spoken during the Eucharist, “This is my body given for you.”     Christ is truly risen and present in the love we share with our sisters and brothers in need.   As Dominicans, our role is to serve and to address the systemic issues behind hunger wherever we find ourselves.   What choices do I need to make so others can have what they need?   How do we join with others to create new systems of just distribution of resources? And, how about you, where are you encountering the risen Christ today? Peggy Ryan, OP ...

Today is an extra day!!    2016 is a leap year.   Every four years or so, February has an extra day, just to keep our calendar synchronized with the movement of the earth around the sun. Without leap year, our holidays would slowly drift through the seasons.   How will you use this extra day?   Since it’s Monday, most of us will be at work or school today.   However, we do have this extra time before and/or afterwards.   It's important to me to be intentional in how I use this day.   What is it that I’ve wanted to do, but haven’t had or made the time for.  It could be for yourself or someone else? I want to choose what will be life-giving and bring positive energy to me and the universe.   There’s volunteering or in some way giving back, learning a new skill or exercising, taking a road trip or taking it easy, getting centered or getting organized.   Start a tradition of your own this year or embark on some new customs....... ...