Catherine's Cafe Vocation Blog

Three years ago I began to journey with a Juneau-ite who was interested in exploring Associate membership in our congregation.  He filled out the initial questionnaire and downloaded the Associate Handbook.  We began meeting on a regular basis to go over the material in each of the chapters. After we finished working with the Handbook I asked him if he would like to begin the application process, but he wasn't ready for that step. Since I am the only Dominican of Sinsinawa he knew I made it a point to introduce him to anyone from our congregation who visited Juneau--at this point he has met 3-4 others.   We continued to meet periodically and had good conversations about the church, his faith life, and spirituality in general. During these conversations he never again brought up the subject of Associate membership, so one day I asked him where he was with a decision. He said he needed more time but to continue to check in with him, so this is what I have been doin...

An understanding I learned rather early (in the 1950’s) is the meaning of the word catholic (small ‘c’) as universal.   In fact, in the creeds Roman Catholics ordinarily pray, we use the small ‘c’ catholic. What my first teachers got across to us in our young lives is how wide and broad and deep the church is in the world. We learned the Church held together a global community. In time, I have also sadly learned, that as a Church, we still have lots to learn.   In the US, racism is a sin we still cannot rid ourselves from and so blacks and browns and, yes, whites suffer – in different ways.   This is true not only in the wider society but also among members of the US Catholic Church. The recent horrifying massacre at a gay bar in Orlando, Florida reminded me of another group that is the source of hatred in my country and even, for some, in the Church.   LGBTQ are God’s children loved into being and capable of manifesting God’s love.   Yet this universal a...

Like many people, I am fascinated by Pope Francis.  I know that he most likely won't change church doctrine.  However, I am drawn to his philosophy of encounter and living into the abundant joy of the gospel.  Our belief in the resurrection of Jesus Christ is the foundation of this joy. In the days that he was in Cuba and the United States of America I remember feeling proud to be a Catholic and proud of the pope.  There have been few times in the past when I have felt this way and few times when I have felt like this about a pope. I know that Pope Francis and the church are far from perfect.  I know that there are many sins that the church have committed against those it has been called to protect and love.  In spite of this Pope Francis makes me want to experience that joy of the gospel that he so often speaks of.   He experiences people as opportunities of encounter were we are called to not look at our differences, but the way that we are ...

Being in the hope business can be both life giving and downright frustrating at times.  One would think that managing a small country parish would seem less difficult than being in a large city one.  However,  this is not true,  because people are people no matter where they are and  they  deal with similar issues on a regular basis. Being a religious sister and a parish administrator daily ,  means that I am called upon to continuously share hope with the people who are minister with.  It means always being open, compassionate and a good listener.  I must confess that I am not always these things.   P arish ministry calls me to be continuously stre tched  and challenged to grow into my best s elf , something I know would not have been possible if I was  not a Dominican of Sinsinawa sister. On a regular basis I share in the life of my parishioners who share their joys,  griefs , hopes, dreams and failures.   T...

We live in a postmodern world where we often hear the lament of people claiming to be “spiritual, but not religious.”  I have often asked myself what they mean by this.  I now understand that this may mean that they probably believe in a supreme being, but they do not believe in institutional religion or they have been disappointed, hurt or embarrassed by a particular institutional religion. To say that I have been disappointed, hurt or embarrassed by institutional religion would be an understatement.  I have felt all these things and more at various occasions in my life, both before and after I entered religious life.  What makes me remain part of institutional religion and not choose something else is because I believe in a Trinitarian God, which is to say I believe in a relational God.  I also believe in a God who sent God’s Son for sinners and a church that is made up of sinners. As Sinsinawa Dominicans we believe, “At the heart of minist...