Catherine's Cafe Vocation Blog

  The Quest Never Loses Its Savor   Who was this young student-sister whose final essay in English comp at Rosary College she titled “The Image of Man in Western Civilization” (Sister Julie said, “Let Christopher Dawson do this.”) And whose final paper for her MA she titled “Man in Search.” (inclusive language had not yet been invented.)   It could only be the daughter of a mother and father, Third Order Dominicans, whose daily reading as she grew up was publications like  America ,  Commonweal ,  Integrity , and  The Catholic Worker . Not that I understood a word of it--though I did try, once…   But I did catch the Dominican quest-bug, even as we children crouched near the radio for “Nick Carter Master Detective” and “The Shadow” while our parents went off on Sunday afternoons to Marquette Poetry Teas and meetings of the Thomist Association they started for the theological education of laity.   Thus, I found myself, three years after my sist...

A few weeks ago I was in Skagway for a few days.  It's a beautiful, serene area nestled in the mountains with ocean access at its feet.  At least now it is.  But in the late 1800s it was a bustling area because gold had been discovered  in Canada.  The quickest access to the gold was through the Alaskan mountains, and the long, arduous trail began here.  Gold seekers climbed mountains in the winter on foot with huge packs to pull.   Many died but finding gold kept them going no matter what the cost.  Imagine their disappointment, their devastation when they reached Dawson City in Canada and found out that all the land had already been claimed.  All that they had gone through and not a fleck of gold to show for their brutal journey. These men were seeking a treasure--they went to unbelievable lengths in their quest--and they ended up empty-handed.  I reflected on the fact that I need the same kind of persistence, acceptance of hardsh...