Catherine's Cafe Vocation Blog

Recently I looked at a show called “Tidying Up” with Marie Kondo.  As a person who wanted order in her life I was attracted to this show because Marie took a holistic approach to tidying up the clutter in many of her client’s homes and by extension their lives.  It is amazing how attached we become to things, even a seemingly trivial item as clothing.  One guy in the show while they were sorting out clothing and having to let go of some saying that a particular T-shirt was very comfortable and he wanted to keep it and his wife chimed in asking when was the last time had he worn that T-Shirt. It is very easy to become attached to many things and to people and begin to believe that I cannot live without it or them.  This came home to me when I recently changed ministry (job) and I realised how attached I had become to this particular position of the ministry.  In retrospect I now see that I had found my identity in that position and had be...

I’m planning to move!   And for the first time in my life that means “ down sizing.”  I ask myself, when , or why did it come to this? Over the years I’ve helped others move into smaller spaces, but never myself (unless you count when I became a Dominican!).   Over the years, though, I also accumulated “stuff.”   Some of it is related to whatever ministry I had at the time – books and papers, primarily – and for some reason I’ve had a hard time letting go of it all.   Now is the time, though.   So in the next few months I will need to remember , and to let go . Remembering takes me back to those places where I’ve been and to those things I was concerned about.   I was younger then and had what seemed to be an endless lifetime ahead of me.   I never even thought about getting older or not being involved in ministry.   Letting go , on the other hand, means that I need to remember that I am no longer the person I once was. ...

Pope Francis in one of his many addresses asked the question, "How can we proclaim Christ to a generation that is continually changing?" Being on retreat last week gave me much time to reflect on this question.  On my eight days retreat I encountered the great masters in Meister Eckhart, Catherine of Siena and Thich Nhat Hahn. To me they all seem to be answering that question of Pope Francis in their own way: detachment, love and compassion.  The daily readings from 1 John 4 also supported those attributes. How can I empty myself of all that is unnecessary and unite myself with God who's very nature is love? How can I be detached so that I can become who I was born to be?  To welcome Christ being born in me anew each day? I live in a world/generation that is continually changing, yet God remains the same, however, the ways that I encounter this God is always changing.  How do I take the time out of my busyness to recognize this God daily? "God is the sou...