Catherine's Cafe Vocation Blog

On the return home from a very long international flight I found myself standing at O’Hare baggage claim with the rest of the passengers waiting for my bag to slip down the chute onto the carousel. I became alert once the mechanism activated and the first of the bags started their descent onto the carousel. Everyone crowding around the edge, eyes all focused on each piece of luggage. Would mine be there? Did it make the tight connection?  Hundreds of bags slowly presented themselves, slipped down the chute and onto the carousel. All bags as different as the passengers. Different sizes, shapes, softness, colors. Each containing the belongings of those tired travelers. No sign of mine.   Slowly bags are claimed and removed. Less people now and I’m trying not to worry. I’m looking for a large, soft sided, dark blue case with some red yarn tied to the handle. Lots of dark blue cases but  not mine. I found myself mesmerized by the slowly circling bags and reflecting ...

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...

It was an ordinary event, a village wedding, one where everyone knew everyone else and no one expected any surprises, just a good time and some decent wine.  Except that wedding at Cana, told by the writer of John’s gospel, was far from ordinary, for Mary, for Jesus, for the wine steward, for the happy couple who pleased their guests beyond expectation – and for us.  Although we call this liturgical season “Ordinary Time” do we need to adjust our vision, our thinking, our attitude to see   beyond   what is right in front of us, to see   into   what is right in front of us, to see with the heart? Can our faith help our vision not to be completely obscured by covid exhaustion, mask frustration, absent friends and family, economic struggle – the list could go on and on.  Mary says to the steward, “Do whatever he tells you.”  We must interpret that line, that mandate, for ourselves, in our ordinary events, our time.  Love, patience, risk taking, ...

I live in a four unit apartment building own by my congregation.   There are eight Sisters here. When the shut down came last March - we declared we would be together in the building.  We didn't have a name for it but later came the term:  Covid Bubble.  Grace appeared! During this time we have supported those who would need to come and go in ministry, found creative ways to celebrate, and had the great opportunities to practice patience!  Grace appeared! Each of us had to find ways to cope that fit our personalities.  Two of us love doing jigsaw puzzles and have passed along hints with a puzzle the other had not done.  Some play cards - win or lose - it didn't matter. Grace appeared! I continue seeing people for Spiritual Direction, thanks to technology.  And, because of this same technology, have "attended" Mass & panel discussions, taken classes, joined events with people around the globe as well as p...

When I was a child I loved the song that began “All I want for Christmas,” and the answer was “my two front teeth…so I could wish you merry Christmas.” This got me to thinking, what do I really want for Christmas this year, this year that has been so challenging for everybody, a year that has called for patience, for reconciliation, for hope, for new ways of imagining being together.    I guess what I really want is what is on the front of the cards I am sending:  Peace—inner peace, peace in families, in our country and in our world.   May God’s peace surround all of us, despite the difficulties. LouAnne Willette, OP Austin, TX  

“Practice” – how many times as kids were we told how important it was to practice if we wanted to learn something new!  From piano scales to riding a two-wheeler, from driving a car in the church parking lot to secretly learning new dance moves in our bedrooms, we all had to learn that it took a lot of practice to truly master something we cared about.   We also well remember the tasks or skills we didn’t practice, because we just didn’t care about them! So now we come to this time of an upside down world, where we are called to practice the holy intangibles of patience, charity, and faith in the unknown as well as the personal challenges of self-control and self-discipline.  Probably the best admonition for this season of both Easter and the pandemic is a line from a poem by Wendell Berry:  “ Be joyful, though   you have considered all the facts.  Practice resurrection.”   How we practice  that  is a life-long task, I believe, ...

Henry Ossawa Tanner, The Annunciation Every year, it’s the same: the intensifying liturgical readings, the weekly lighting of another candle, building anticipation. For all its predictability, Advent is my favorite season. It never ceases to awaken something that lies dormant deep within me. But why? After all, I already know what’s waiting at the end, so why go through the annual charade of suspense? For starters, it’s the way that Advent invites me to practice patience and presence before rushing headlong into parties and presents. It’s the balance between darkness and light, and the reminder that the former is every bit as important as the latter. It’s the silence and the longing. It’s because each Advent takes me deeper into the mystery of a God who loves us enough to meet us on our turf, becoming human so that we might come to know God. It’s the already-not-yet paradox of Advent: even as we stand in awe of past and present incarnation, our souls long for a union w...

I don’t know about you, but this time of the year tends to be exceptionally intense for me.  Keeping the “wheels on” in everyday life in addition to preparing for Christmas leads me down the path of overwhelming.  During my daily commute to the Mound, morning reflection time, and before I go to sleep each night I am praying, “God, let me serve with joy, and let me know your peace.”  Fortunately, our good and gracious God, in infinite kindness has bestowed peace and patience upon me.   In addition, God has used both ordinary and exceptional events during Advent to remind me of what is really important.  One of those exceptional events occurred yesterday on Gaudete Sunday.  We were blessed with the perpetual profession ceremony of our Sr. Kathy Flynn.  What joy, peace, and excitement we experienced through the music, Word of God, preaching, and words of commitment during that ritual! In the program distribut...

Potting around in the garden could prove risky if one is not properly attired.   Inevitably, I would return from the garden with a thorn in my finger, more that a few injections of formic acid from ants resulting in swollen fingers.  Not to mention numerous scrapes and scratches from thorny branches. These garden creatures resent my intrusion into their space, and so up comes these various defense mechanisms. So I have taken to wearing gloves and long sleeved shirts and I cover myself with a generous amount of insect repellant, organic if you please! So what's the lesson there you must be saying.  I am just guessing (smile) that it is the same with us in our human relationships!   It helps to wear gloves of forgiveness and compassion, long sleeves of loving kindness and to cover ourselves with a generous amount of patience! The season of Lent is a good time to 'shop' for these if we don't have them already. Have a blessed Lent. Gail Jagr...

I’ve lived in four communities of sisters during my discernment with the Sinsinawa Dominicans: my local community at the Mound, as a Candidate in Atlanta, as a Novice in St. Louis, and now as a second year Novice in Denver.  As I begin this third year in community, I’m reminded how creating community is a somewhat awkward process—especially at first.  Learning about each sister—her personality, how she adds to the “mix” of the community and how I can best relate to her—is often a trial-and-error process requiring patience and intention.  Developing new relationships is a time of great excitement, requiring both openness and vigilance.      Today it strikes me how integral community-building is to being human, not just a woman religious.  Right now I’m visiting my cousin in California during the birth of her second child—yesterday she and her husband had a beautiful, healthy baby boy.  I spent the day with their 3-year-old daughter, Gabrie...