Catherine's Cafe Vocation Blog

Three songs describe the discovery of my call to religious life. In grade school: "No, No, a Thousand Times NO!" In high school: "Going My Way?" In college: "You Are My Sunshine." The idea of a religious vocation was always in the back of my mind, but I never "wanted to." Shortly before college graduation, it became "I want to WANT TO."   I had been taught that we should develop whatever talents God has given us. Early in my life, I liked music and mathematics the best.  I enjoyed being able to keep them in my studies.  I attended Catholic schools, taught by Ursuline Nuns (8 years) and Sinsinawa Dominican Sisters (8 years).  Prayer was a daily routine at first but became more important to me as the years progressed.   It will not be the same in someone else's call to serve God. One of our popular hymns these days says it all:  "Will You Come and Follow Me?"   Sr. Rosa Rauth

Here at Sinsinawa, we have been in community meetings for the better part of a week. As is true with any group, while we may agree on many things, there are always points of dissonance. I think that on the whole, we often view dissonance as a negative thing and tend to avoid it, minimize it, or make it into a source of division (just think of our current political climate!). However, a recent conversation with sisters gave me an image that helps me understand dissonance in a whole new way. Some of the most beautiful pieces of music are those with chords that include a note of dissonance. While they’re more difficult to compose and perform, songs with tight chord clusters are so much more interesting than standard major chords. (Listen to one of my all-time favorite examples of this  here .) Can’t the same be true in our interactions with one another? Sure, there are times when dissonance is just plain ugly and painful, especially when our root values seem to collide. But...

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 ...

Music and singing have especially been such vital aspects of my life. My Mom had always said that I was singing and cooing even as a baby. I grew up in a parish on the South Side of Chicago in which I sang in the choir during my youth and teen years. I then went on to sing in three choirs at Queen of Peace and the Liturgical choir at Dominican University. So, when I arrived at Whitefish Bay, I had this constant feeling of emptiness. Something was missing, but I did not know what it was. Then, I joined All Saints Church in Milwaukee, and as I attended my first Liturgy, I heard their Gospel Choir... AND I WEPT! That is what I was missing, the music! I did not realize until that moment, that music fills my soul in such an indescribable way.   I just needed to sing. That experience reminded me of one of my favorite hymnals first sung by the Gospel Queen, Mahalia Jackson, His Eye Is on the Sparrow , which says "and I sing because I'm happy, and I sing because I'm free. His eye...