Catherine's Cafe Vocation Blog

"Whenever the divine favor chooses someone to receive a special grace or to accept a lofty vocation, God adorns the person chosen with all the gifts of the Spirit needed to fulfill the task at hand."  St. Bernardine of Siena I came across this quote recently and I thought it would be a good one for me to keep on hand during this year that has just begun. When I am chosen to lead a group or undertake a project I often have to deal with my fear, especially the fear that I don't have the skills to do what has been asked of me or that I will fail. At times like these I am thinking only of my limited, human abilities.  This quote reminds me that if I am chosen then I don't have to rely only on my own gifts, but that God will give me all the resources that I will need.  But I must be open to God's grace and to trust that I will receive all that I need to accomplish the task I am given. Then I can proceed with great confidence! Fear, begone, and let God's g...

“So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect…” (Matt 5:48)   I’ve never liked this passage.  Perfection??  That’s not a message a perfectionist like me needs to hear!  Luke’s version uses “merciful,” and scholars tell us that a better translation of Matthew’s version would be “whole.”  Let me tell you about my friend Sharon.   Sharon has an easy laugh, the gift of gab, and a slight southern drawl.   She is loving and maternal, and gives great hugs.   She also has a cerebral palsy and a mild intellectual disability.   Sharon struggles with her weight, so over the course of a year I accompanied her to weekly Weight Watchers meetings.   We would arrive early and walk for 15 minutes before the meeting.   Sharon walks with leg braces and a walker, which can make walking a slow endeavor.   On the days Sharon felt sad or angry, she struggled to motivate herself to walk, so I would make up songs and silly rhymes...

When I am in a large group I prefer to be in the background.  It's not that I don't want to be involved, but I don't like the focus of attention to be on me.  All of this changed last month when I went to our motherhouse to celebrate my jubilee.  For three days twelve other sisters and I were the focus of attention as we gathered with family and friends to celebrate our jubilees.  As I began to read the overflowing abundance of cards and well-wishes I received I realized that the focus was not so much on me personally as it was on the witness of 50 years of living a life of faithfulness and dedication to God, the Giver of all our gifts.  What we were really celebrating was all the good accomplished through us by our Creator. After that realization I stopped thinking about being in the spotlight and joined in celebrating with gratitude the presence of God in our lives during these past years and the many blessings and graces we have each received. ...