Catherine's Cafe Vocation Blog

This week the university where I minister is celebrating graduation.     And, it is also the week in which the United States celebrates Mother’s Day.     I saw so many ties between these two events in the past few days.  Students remembering and praising their mothers (and fathers and other family members) for the love and support they received.   Gratitude, study, and the sharing of life with another are examples of what we are called to as followers of Christ.  It is dates like graduation and Mother’s Day that remind us of the gift and privilege that is ours when we pass on what we receive.   When we allow the hope and grace and goodness that we are filled with to overflow onto and into the lives of those around us.  The Catholic Worker Founder, Dorothy Day, said, “the best things to do with the best things in life is to give them away.”   This past week I saw such great examples of what our lives can...

This is the time of year when commencement addresses go viral.  We see pictures of the First Lady, Mrs. Obama, read tweets about Tina Fey, and view videos of Gwen Ifill, as well as other celebrities addressing the classes of 2014.  Using humor, experience, and good old practical advice these speakers offer clues into a successful life for graduates.  I heard an address to the Senior Class of 2014 at Dominican High School this past week.  These students were told to go make the world Dominican !!!  The speaker challenged the students to dare to dream the future, dare to live without fear, dare to change lives. Using examples such as Malala Yousafzai, the young Pakistani girl who challenged the Taliban, Jack Andraka, who took what inspired him in freshman biology to develop a diagnostic test for pancreatic cancer, and Blake Mycoskie, the young owner of TOMS shoes who uses his success to give away shoes all over the world. ...