Catherine's Cafe Vocation Blog

So begins the prayer of our morning group on Wednesdays. It comes from the pastoral of the US Catholic Bishops,  Brothers and Sisters to Us ,  1979. So many traumatic things are presented to us lately—virus, violence, climate change and on and on.  “Wake us up, Lord”  is a good prayer for  2020. The above traumas can be related to the next phrase of the prayer—"so that the evil of racism finds no home within me.”  Through listening and discerning with anti-racism groups, I wake up.  I realize that power over others is a disease that is part of all the traumas of our lives. If I think and act as if I am better than another it causes violence. If the organizations to which I belong are based on being more deserving and hoarding energy and material goods, they contribute to climate disasters. Even virus is exacerbated when some people’s dignity and health are regarded as less important than others. How can our waking up bring healing to ourselves and...

Rest easy, friend. (Tanya and Dillon at Camp We-Ha-Kee)   Today is Sunday. Morning routine: woke early, made coffee, took a shower, and settled into my prayer corner, ready to enter into contemplative silence. God had other ideas regarding structure. I was sad, missing my Dominican  sister and friend, Tanya Williams, who had herself settled into God’s loving , eternal embrace just a few short days ago. Tanya was so vibrant, so full of life, her personality and integrity so large, that her absence feels both surreal and impossible. So, rather than contemplative silence, I opened my computer to email correspondence to/from Tanya that began in April, 2011 when I was discerning a call to religious life. Tanya quickly became a friend who was willing, even eager, to explore with me  matters of faith and justice and ‘late r- life’ transformation and call . Her email are full of wisdom and wit and perspectives that challenge me even to this day. They also reflect p...

Earlier this week I watched the “Contemplative Dialogue” around the habit that the congregation hosted and livestreamed.  I was unclear what to expect and—perhaps like many of the sisters that tuned-in—felt a tad anxious about how such a charged discussion would go.  The group discussion demonstrated a model of interaction and engagement that was inspiring: of respect, diverse expression, articulate sharing, and unity.  How wonderful to be a part of this congregation!  I watched it with my community, which includes as diverse a set of experiences with the habit as the group of women on the panel.  The dialogue was a success in that it stimulated our own conversation on the topic; we shared our experiences, opinions and perspectives about how, when, where, and what the habit can and does represent.  While we had our share of differences, there was consensus that the habit is a powerful and complex symbol that has multi-layered meanings to us, as women...