Catherine's Cafe Vocation Blog

It was an ordinary event, a village wedding, one where everyone knew everyone else and no one expected any surprises, just a good time and some decent wine.  Except that wedding at Cana, told by the writer of John’s gospel, was far from ordinary, for Mary, for Jesus, for the wine steward, for the happy couple who pleased their guests beyond expectation – and for us.  Although we call this liturgical season “Ordinary Time” do we need to adjust our vision, our thinking, our attitude to see   beyond   what is right in front of us, to see   into   what is right in front of us, to see with the heart? Can our faith help our vision not to be completely obscured by covid exhaustion, mask frustration, absent friends and family, economic struggle – the list could go on and on.  Mary says to the steward, “Do whatever he tells you.”  We must interpret that line, that mandate, for ourselves, in our ordinary events, our time.  Love, patience, risk taking, ...

Soon and very soon we will be stepping into the Advent Season. I love this time of year when the whole universe waits in tingling anticipation for the birth of our Savior. Of course, you might say, He was born already a long time ago. He entered into the human race at a specific moment in time and in a specific place – of course! Our time is here and now and our challenge and gift is to trust that He is being born again in us. Our Dominican brother Meister Eckhart says, “What good is it that Christ was born in a stable in Bethlehem over 2,000 years ago if he is not also born in me?”   When Mary was invited to give birth to Jesus her response was, “How can this be?” and we might also respond in kind. Let us remind ourselves that the power is in God and not in us and with God all things are possible. For our part, we are being invited to open our whole being to that power in order to cultivate a spirit of gratitude and a heart filled with compassion. “We are all meant to be mothers o...

Yesterday, at a gathering of some members of my crowd – current and former, I was truly overcome with sheer joy and gratitude at being together and experiencing again the goodness of these women I have known and loved for so many years. As we shared stories, I was so moved at how we have not been afraid of the kinds of questions posed by Liz Sully in her preaching on this Sunday’s gospel.  What's our heart quotient? How's the hosting of love going? Where are we serving up compassion? Are we really present to the wounds, our own and others? What's our healing touch availability? Is the listening ear in desperate need of hearing aid? Where are we exercising the power of the word, individually and communally? How is justice in action being manifest?   Today I continue the celebration of gratitude that began yesterday. Before I climbed out of bed this morning, I said to myself the words of e.e. cummings, the only poem I know entirely by heart: “I thank you God for most this ama...

Since I was seven years old I’ve worn glasses to correct a severe myopic condition.  I still remember my astonishment when I put on my first pair of glasses.  It was a whole new world! A few years ago I had cataract surgery and again I was astounded at the miracle of sight. For the first time in my life I could wake up and see what time it was without help from my glasses.  At that time I was told that I had “2020 vision.” What a miracle! Now the miracle is that with the past year behind us, ALL of us have 2020 vision! That means we can see things we had never seen before, such as a worldwide human family suffering together the horrors of a pandemic .Now we can see more clearly than ever the dreadfulness of racism and the vileness of a broken political system. On the other hand, we can now see more clearly the generous response of people helping people in need, sharing their resources and comforting the afflicted. Now we can see not only the potential depra...

Well, hello. It’s Monday, January 4 and I was just very gently reminded that my blog post is due today!   There is a real ‘thing’ called pandemic cognitive ‘slippage’. It’s been documented by psychologists across the country who themselves have suffered from it. In my particular case, I am finding that days run together and melt into weeks, even months. I lose track of time.   When I made my perpetual profession two short years ago, I placed my hands in the hands of our prioress and asked, “for the mercy of God and yours.” Never has that been more true than now.   One gift of this unusual time is the opportunity to become more self-reflective, more self-forgiving, more merciful to ourselves and to each other.    My wish for you is to be gentle with yourself, to practice compassion and empathy toward others, and to breathe mercy into a world so desperately in need of it.   Kathy Flynn OP Madison, WI

Didn’t it seem like spring would never arrive this year.  And while we were waiting, COVID-19 came to our world and began to wreak havoc among us.  As we watch news reports, we see so much suffering and devastation, and yet at the same time we witness the best in human beings’ care and compassion for one another.  As we ponder the dark days in our lives and continue to hope for more light at the end of this tunnel, we grasp for hope, faith, and ever more insight.   A breakfast conversation with some of our sisters some time ago (before social distancing) led me to believe that suffering does, in fact, make us stronger, give us wisdom, and in the end, enables us to be the women we are today – powerful, durable, intelligent, prudent, hopeful women of faith able to share the “Good News” that God is indeed with us throughout all we are experiencing. So I’ve continued searching for the signs of spring, and I have begun to see my favorite image...

About a year ago I shared a reflection about the practice of living mindfully. Here I am choosing to share more about how mindfulness has challenged me to live more compassionately. I look at life through the lens of compassion. What a difference this makes! The goal of mindfulness in its essence is to live compassionately. Each breath I take is an opportunity to consciously breathe in the love of our God, the Source of all life and love, and to intentionally receive that love and breathe out the gift of “loving-kindness” to self and others. My prayer intention for each day is that I may live compassionately. My awareness of being an instrument of compassion for our world has made a significant difference in my life.  At times I focus only on breathing in God’s love for me and sending that love out from me. Other times I breathe in God’s grace and send it to people I love, to those I may find difficult to love, and to places in our world in need of grace. On occasion whe...

I recently read a reflection that has really impacted my thinking, attitude, and prayer.  The author Fr. Herbert McCabe, an English Dominican theologian and philosopher, wrote “What matters first is that we are loved.  We matter, not first because of what we have made of ourselves, but because of what God has made of us.  To serve God is to … begin to love ourselves as God loves us: not for being rich or clever or powerful, but just for being ourselves.” This week promises to be a very busy one that could, in fact, be stressful.   What will be needed from all of us is compassion for ourselves and each other as we move through the activities of the week.   I don’t know about you, but when life happens and things don’t go as I thought they would, I tend to “stress” rather than remembering perfection doesn’t matter.   What does matter is that we are loved no matter what happens in life.   So let’s make a pact today and tomorrow to be gentle with o...

Potting around in the garden could prove risky if one is not properly attired.   Inevitably, I would return from the garden with a thorn in my finger, more that a few injections of formic acid from ants resulting in swollen fingers.  Not to mention numerous scrapes and scratches from thorny branches. These garden creatures resent my intrusion into their space, and so up comes these various defense mechanisms. So I have taken to wearing gloves and long sleeved shirts and I cover myself with a generous amount of insect repellant, organic if you please! So what's the lesson there you must be saying.  I am just guessing (smile) that it is the same with us in our human relationships!   It helps to wear gloves of forgiveness and compassion, long sleeves of loving kindness and to cover ourselves with a generous amount of patience! The season of Lent is a good time to 'shop' for these if we don't have them already. Have a blessed Lent. Gail Jagr...

The title of this reflection may lead you to believe I am musing about the sunlight that has peeked through the cold, cold winter days of freezing rain, sleet, snow, and heavy clouds.  Though this pattern has described the last several weeks of the weather we’ve experienced lately, I am really contemplating a conversation I encountered with several of my Dominican sisters during breakfast recently. A couple of sisters shared stories about difficult times (dark, dark days, weeks, months, and even years) from their early lives in the congregation.   Though I didn’t share my own story at that particular time, I understood the pain and anguish those sisters must have undergone. As we continued pondering those experiences, one sister noted that the suffering did, in fact, make us stronger, gave us wisdom, and in the end enabled us to be who are today – powerful, durable, intelligent, prudent, hopeful women of faith able to share the “Good News” of Jesus with those who wi...

This past weekend, I participated in a special Mass and reception to mark the closing of one of our community’s high schools in the Chicago area.  Queen of Peace High School opened fifty-five years ago and about 15,000 young women were educated there.  Due to declining enrollment and related financial challenges, it is not feasible to continue to operate the school. The closing event was bittersweet: alumnae were saddened to see the school close but grateful for all that the school had meant in their lives. One of the many aspects of life at Queen of Peace High School that touched me most was the deliberate effort to empower each student become a “Woman of Peace”. The school environment emphasized “being peace” and “bringing peace”. An annual award was given to the student who best exemplified this quality. I was inspired as I read the words and phrases used to describe those students awarded in this final year: dedicated to building community; treating others with ...

Being a Dominican means being open.   I find this openness a great gift.   Being a guest and witnessing another culture’s traditions widens my tent poles and calls me to new truths.   What a privilege.   When I fail to be open to a new idea or another’s way of life, I feel it.   I have to admit that I sense my judgmental nature.        Recently, I attended a dance recital by a Mexican Folkloric Dance Troupe.   It was spectacular - full of color and music and joy.   I was aware of experiencing something ancient and deeply rooted in a people’s love for God, for nature, and for each other.         Jesus walked with openness to others everywhere he went.   He taught us how.   Our Dominican lifestyle offers our world this reflection of his compassion and mercy.   Each of us has the opportunity of being the healing presence our Earth so badly needs right now. How about you, ...

Feast day of Catherine of Siena, April 29th I humbly admit to my simple Catholic background; I went to public schools, Sunday and Holy day mass, and rudimentary catechism classes in our rural church on Saturday mornings.  I never opened a Bible until I went to a Catholic college – and even then I slept through a lot of that class!  So when I entered the Congregation I was in left field when it came to knowing my roots.  That was especially true when it came to learning about Catherine of Siena.  A) I’d never heard of her and B) after hearing of her all I could think was “What was she thinking?” – all that solitude and crazy fasting and extreme self-denial and dialogues with Jesus and…I could go on.  So here we are on her feast day all these years later and thanks to great contemporary scholarship by Dominican women and others, I have new and deeper insights into Catherine’s life of faith, her intense and loving service to the Church and ...