Catherine's Cafe Vocation Blog

Here’s a rousing cheer of gratitude for all the wonderful Sinsinawa Dominican women I live among and also all our small “s” sisters whose partnerships make our mission in the world possible and full of meaning and joy. Women seem to share a deep concern for the earth and all earth’s people. Daniel Ladinsky in  Love Poems from God says: “God has a special interest in women for they can lift this world to their breast and help [Him] comfort.”  What an honor to answer the call to vowed religious life in community, have the privilege of ministering with strong committed women, and help God give comfort!  Some of my favorite mission partners are women with whom I do jail visitation as part of the Interfaith Community for Detained Immigrants. We meet with detainees from all over the world, but especially now from Central America and Mexico. We are a compassionate human presence for people who have experienced terrible trauma at home, during their perilous journeys here...

Yesterday I traveled 50 kms by car, 35 kms by train, and more than 8000 kms by plane.  It took me just under 18 hours in fits-and-starts of waiting to board high-speed modes of transportation to arrive in Chicago.  That’s a stark contrast to the last month in which I walked 550 kms in 25 days—just over a half-marathon each day.  I’m struck by how different these experiences of travel were and how poignant the metaphor for moving through life. Each leg of my journey yesterday was meticulously planned based on exact arrival/departure times.  At the airport, I joined the elbow-to-elbow crowds of people waiting in line and avoiding eye-contact or personal interaction.  Airport lines have a way of blending stagnation with rushed anxiety to meet check-in deadlines.   I then spent hours in a tightly packed space moving at inhumanly high speeds to most efficiently arrive at a specific destination.  While flying, the only way to know where you a...