Catherine's Cafe Vocation Blog

This has been an unusual and interesting week.  I was called upon by two acquaintances to accompany them to pre-op, surgery and post op appointments, tasks usually taken care of by family members. I have spent quite a bit of time in hospital or surgical waiting rooms.  It’s been a special time to read and reflect.  It also caused me to remember similar events when I was a younger sister.  One woman invited me to be her labor companion.  Unfortunately, I was getting ready to leave town, and so my ministry partner enjoyed that privilege.  Another time, I drove a neighbor to the hospital and sat with her as she filled out the registration form.  “Who should we call in case of an emergency?” She put down MY name. “What is your relationship?”  “Sister” she stated.   Those events confirm me in my call to be a religious sister.  By saying yes to the call to be a Dominican sister, I ...

I was in the hospital this week.   It was only a brief stay but the lasting impression was that everyone was so NICE !   (It probably helped that it was the hospital where I had done CPE and was a chaplain!)   It’s a teaching hospital so they are accustomed to students coming and going.   Still, I was impressed as an “outsider” this time by the competence of everyone and their friendliness. I appreciated the chaplain visits I had, including the one from Gary, who is older and who I have known for years, and who is from the Evangelical Free Church of America, and Lars, an Episcopal student, who felt intimidated by me.   I was older, a Dominican and an experienced chaplain, after all.   But he did fine and their prayers for me focused on all the right things.   So one of the things I loved about CPE were all the denominations that were present. The mix was great, and we were all able to learn from one another.   (There weren’t any other rel...