Catherine's Cafe Vocation Blog

One would think that this extended time of sheltering in place might teach me more about patience. However, I am finding that once again my garden is teaching me about taking time. One instance of this was planting my cucumber seedlings outside too early. I was so eager to get parts of my garden in that I placed my light-grown cucumbers in the soil before they were strong enough to deal with the outdoors. Hmmm…back to planting more cucumbers beneath my grow light. I have begun to see this grow light to be like grace in my life. Aren’t we all invited to settle in and let the Light of God’s time nurture us and invite us to grow stronger in love, patience, listening? I have also discovered another value of God’s Grow Light. Rather than chide myself about my impatience, I was able to grin and know I can keep on learning and rest assured that God’s Grow Light is ever with me.   What teaches you about gently watching your patience and presence grow? What do you know about God’s Grow Ligh...

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...

In my last blog, March 15, I wrote about my passion for being a life-long learner. Then my learning experience took a sharp curve with two pandemics—the corona virus and the 400 year deadly racism virus. The blatant killing of Mr. George Floyd on May 25, 2020 set the world on fire. We cannot and must not ignore the urgent cry for justice. Learning, for me, now focuses intensely on this deadly racism virus. Over the past two weeks our sisters shared articles, videos, took part in teach-ins and dialogs about “Where do we go from here?” (Oprah’s question).  Our congregation made a public statement expressing our outrage, sympathy, and solidarity with people of color. We stand on the side of justice for all. On June 8 th  Joan Duerst, OP wrote in her blog about ways she has engaged in action for justice now. Our congregation’s commitment to being anti-racist and multicultural has reignited our resolve. Learning is not always enjoyable. Bryan Massingale, SJ has put a “fi...

I was away over the Christmas and just came back late on Sunday. One of the first things I did was to turn the page of my calendar from December to January. My calendar is an old one, I bought it in 2003 at the Monastery in Prouille when I made the Lands of Dominic trip. I keep it because it has large beautiful Fra Angelico images for each month. January is an image of the Annunciation. It is a detail of the original fresco. It does not show the Angel, just Mary seated with her posture open, face and hands upturned. Waiting. We have crossed the threshold into this new year, this new decade. I look at the image and wonder. Do I sit poised with anticipation, with openness to receive whatever this new year brings? Time is a precious gift and such a mystery. At the threshold of each new day...

Did you ever have “one of those days”?  When you think “ if one more thing goes wrong I’m going to…” Fill in the blank!  Recently I found myself stressing out about all the interruptions at work, growling at a driver so slow and overly cautious he/she braked driving UPHILL, and trying to smile at someone who walked in with “You’re not doing anything right now, are you?”  When this happens I remember the words of one of our wise women, who, when I was complaining years ago, said to me, “The interruptions ARE your work, often more so than what you think you are about.” Thank God, with those words, grace steps in.  Writer Ann Lamott  quotes a friend of hers:  “Grace is WD40 for the soul.”  When soul/spirit gets stuck, gets painfully locked in a negative place, grace appears and offers a way up and out.  It is stronger than any problem, more present than any deadline, more soothing than zooming along at top speed.  How do I know it is grace? N...

It has been almost two years since my congregation's General Chapter in which Sisters gather to set the direction for the next five years and to elect leadership to enable us to move in that direction. What comes from the Chapter are Enactments mostly directed to leadership to take on and help Sisters to accomplish.   But one Enactment was to the Sisters directly to gather among themselves using the practice of contemplative study in order to decide together what issue they want to work on. With so many needs among the people where we serve as well as global issues and care of the earth, how do we choose?   It is the call to contemplative common study that will assist each group which calls for each Sister to both bring the issues they are passionate about and a deep listening heart to the others with whom she will decide on an issue and how to proceed. This work include prayer, study, listening, leadership and willingness to let go and follow - all together! If y...

In the past week, I’ve received the gift of diversity in music by listening to a ten-piece brass ensemble, a symphony orchestra, and a chamber choir.  As my ears, my head, and my heart resonate with all the kinds of music I heard I’ve been pondering the connection between these experiences and being a person of faith.  One of the singers said to me, after I complimented her on the great sound her group created, that it is “as much about listening as it is about singing.”  As Dominicans we pay special attention to listening – for that is the root meaning of obedience. I can listen to music mindlessly – it’s simply background noise -- but I can also listen mindfully – trying to hear the different voices of viola, cello, French horn or the altos and tenors amid the sopranos and basses.  When I do that kind of listening, I am awarded with an “aha!” moment when the multiple layers stand out and then blend together, when I realize how rich and deep is the sound because ...

A dear parishioner, invited me to bless her home.  She said that she wasn’t sleeping well and she kept misplacing things.  It didn’t help her peace of mind to have been told that a house nearby was reputed to be haunted!  Not withstanding this, or the fact that the woman was in her eighties and lived alone, or even that I showed symptoms of the same ‘maladies’, I gladly consented to her wish.  When I arrived at her home she promptly sat me down and, 2 1/2 hours later, we were still conversing!  The house blessing seemed secondary to the blessing that my presence and companionship brought to her.  In fact, when we did get around to the blessing of the house, it took all of 10 minutes.   The experience got me thinking that to be a blessing isn’t only about what we do for others but also about who we are for them: a presence, a listening ear, a companion, available and willing to go the extra mile.   This dear older woman indic...

Recently I was asked to do a reflection on Mary, the listening virgin. As I pondered what I would say I reflected on how much our society today needs good listeners who show respect for the person speaking. It seems almost everyone has an opinion and expresses it, sometimes shamelessly, on social media—often what is said is degrading and hateful. Are they really listening to one another? Yesterday a woman came to my office saying she didn’t think anyone cared about her; no one loved her—she didn’t even think God loved her. She felt very alone. What could I do; what could I say? I listened to her and reminded her that God loved her into existence and will never stop loving her. We prayed together and she left. I don’t know what I did for her, but I knew she needed someone to listen to her. Maybe she needed the reminder that God loved her, but she didn’t need my advice nor did she need me to resolve her angst. I listened; was that enough? I hope so. It has been said that we have...