Catherine's Cafe Vocation Blog

A few days ago as a nation we celebrated Independence Day. As an immigrant of over forty years it has become almost second nature to me. Nowadays however I see that independence is a necessary developmental stage but it isn’t the fullness of maturation. Wouldn’t it be great to celebrate an   interdependence   day ? None of us exist in a vacuum. We are all connected. We are really all one. Everything on earth teaches us this connection, this   interdependence . Looking out my window at a beautiful mature tree I see that each leaf is connected to a twig, which is part of the branch, which connects to the trunk whose roots go deep into earth and all are nourished by its water, minerals and sunlight.  Nothing exists in isolation. How are you part of the whole? What are your many circles of connectedness? Isabel Rafferty, OP Madison, WI

Every Saturday when I arrive at my first communion class, this little girl runs to the car and presents me with a little note.   I smile every time.  More often than not she gives me an idea for a future lesson!  But I am also deeply touched that she takes the time to write the note, decorate it and give it to me.   So, before I begin the lesson, I sit and converse with her and the others about their lives, how their week was for them, their joys and sorrows, in their families and at school.   It is my hope that taking the time to cultivate real relationships with these kids, and to encourage them in their little acts of kindness and love is providing a model for them to value and cultivate other relationships in a world where, as Pope Francis has indicated, people have become so increasingly connected by the media, yet at the same time confess to becoming so increasingly isolated.   What drives you more in ministry, completing the task or cu...