Catherine's Cafe Vocation Blog

Are you awake to the  sacrament of the present moment? What a gift to really live in the NOW! That’s all we have. The more I choose to practice mindfulness, I am able to “wake up” and welcome each day with a grateful heart. What a privilege to assist our sisters in these uncertain times as we learn to “be” and live more fully in the present moment. Together we are “waking up” to this day, discovering the sacredness of each moment.    Brother David Steindl-Rast shares a simple practice  that leads to grateful living. He encourages us to:           Stop!  Be present. . . awake. . .alert . . .aware!   Look!  Gain perspective. . .let go of judgment. . .be open. . .live in awe!      Go!  Cultivate a sense of possibility. . .deepen your appreciation for life. . .             be creative. . .make a difference!   Brother David’s “A Network for Grateful...

Tense, anxious, afraid, hopeful, cautious and now relief and joyfully optimism. These are some of the feelings that have recycled through my system since last Tuesday. I’ve tried to let go but these feelings kept coming back.   It has been difficult to live with the unknown, to let go of a deeply desired outcome.   And yet I do know that change is a constant part of this ever evolving life on earth. I realize how attached I am to the illusion of being in control and am humbly aware that with Covid and election results, how little control I really have.   So I take refuge with a merciful God in whose cosmic embrace I am given life. I walk amongst the trees and by the lakeside and my perspective adjusts. I watch the birds feeding from the seed I have scattered outside my window. I watch them drink and fluff their feathers in the bird bath. They have no concerns about the elections or Covid. They go about their lives expressing in their very being the mystery of God.   ...

During this Lenten season this year, I have been focusing on Conversion – turning around, looking at a life situation from a different perspective, moving on.   I’ve seen several different examples, some in surprising circumstances.   For example, I viewed one of my favorite classic movies on TCM network recently – National Velvet .   It is the story of a teenage girl, played by twelve-year-old Elizabeth Taylor, who believed a rogue horse she won in a lottery could win the Grand National.   At the end of the movie, her mother, a very wise woman, told Velvet she was proud of her because she recognized that she had pursued her dream, but now knew it was time to move on.   There is a season.   If you’ve never seen this movie, it’s worth a trip to the local library or Netflix to find the DVD.   There are multiple examples of conversion in the movie. Watching the NCAA tournament this past weekend I realized that 68 teams and coaches began the jou...