Catherine's Cafe Vocation Blog

Even after over 2 weeks have passed, I am still savoring the joy of the Jubilee celebration. During the weekend close to the feast of the Most Holy Rosary, those of us who have been professed for 50 (Golden), 40 (Ruby), 25 (Silver) or 15 years (Crystal) gathered with family, friends, and the Mound community of Sisters to commemorate our professions. We participated in beautiful liturgies, shared a bounteous meal, and visited with each other, family, and friends. Due to everyone’s generosity, each of us received a large gift bag filled to overflowing with cards, notes, and other momenta. Even after 2 weeks, I am still opening and reading messages in cards and basking in the love of each sender.  I remember saying once or twice, that we need to tell each other how much we appreciate each other before the remembering service after our death. The notes the Sisters have written to me do just that.     As Dominicans of Sinsinawa, we say, “Relationship is at the heart ...

As we began Community Days 2022 this week with great anticipation of being together – albeit virtually - we were challenged by this statement of Parker Palmer:   “Before you tell your life what you intend to do with it,  ask your life what it intends to do with you.”   It really is an illusion to think we are in total control of our lives. We are part of the unfolding universe, living in relationship with everything that makes up the Earth community, spinning in a tiny part of the Milky Way Galaxy, among millions of galaxies, some of which are coming into view for the first time through the lens of the James Webb Telescope.   Can we learn from the universe what our lives intend to do with us? We are inextricably tied to  planet Earth, and we are called to be her caregivers and life-givers and co-creators with our God. Whatever else we intend to do with our lives, it will be in the context of that primary responsibility. May we accept it with gratitude and j...

At this moment, I am joyfully looking forward to a week of vacation with my youngest sister.     I live in Wisconsin and she in Florida.     Though we are 6 years apart in age and have very different personalities, we have come to be each other’s best supporter.     She called me last night to ask a couple of questions that could easily have been answered when I arrived, but I think she, like me, just wanted to connect in anticipation of my arrival.     Though she as hostess looks for a “fun” event or two in her geographical area during our visit, mostly we just enjoy being with each other - sharing stories, teasing each other, offering support to each other through life’s challenges, and laughing a lot.  We have come to respect and honor our unique personalities and life choices.     My relationship with my biological sisters (there were 5 of us growing up together) has prepared me well for being sister with my nearly 300...

The song that best describes my call to religious life is   Amazing Grace . I never felt I had a call to religious life, despite some Ursuline and Dominican Sisters having suggested it to me. So how did I end up here?  First, I had started a novena to the Mother of Perpetual Help because they always did that novena at my church, Holy Names in Omaha, NE.  My intention in making the novena had nothing to do with discerning religious life but was to ask for help in finding me a job because I was just graduating from college at the University of Omaha with a degree in Home Economics and a minor in Education. I was praying to the Blessed Mother to help me find an appropriate job.  As I waited for the bus to “the U”, a young man passed me at the bus stop. He could see that I was going to the University, and I could see by the stack of books in his car that he was, too. He offered me a ride so I wouldn’t have to take the bus. One morning, he had his car radio on, and I...

If you haven't read the previous blog for July 20th - I encourage you to take time to read it.  The Sister who wrote it is part of my "crowd" - we entered/joined the congregation together. As I considered what to share for this blog entry, I wanted to see what Sisters wrote in recent blogs as we continue to live in these days of pandemic and calls for racial justice.  Seeing Peggy's beautiful posting had me turn toward a constellation (yes, stars) of memories and ways our lives have crisscrossed.  It was a good journey - an arc of our particular relationship. During these days, weeks, and now months of living through pandemic(s), we might find our world closing in and forget the many people who have "populated" and indeed, enlivened our hearts and minds. There is a long arc of relationships worth nurturing.  Who has crisscrossed through your life?  Are there some whom you haven't seen for a long while?  Reach out - be in touc...

When we can’t understand the behavior of another, and perhaps judge them without knowing their situation, we may find it helpful to get to know them and understand them by walking in their shoes. That’s not easy to do. My home and ministry is at the Mound and Villa at Sinsinawa. The ages of the sisters range from 31 to 100 (with most in their 80s). The life experiences of our sisters are awe-inspiring. I have imbibed their wisdom as they tell their stories. We are changing in many ways and I am learning how to accept what’s going on in me and the sisters I love. Some of our sisters are mentally sharp while others are becoming more forgetful and even mixed up. Hearing and sight losses have greatly affected how they perceive what’s going on.  A key belief our sisters share is that “at the heart of everything is relationship.” A way to be in relationship is to be able to enter into the world of the other. I’m learning more about dementia and how to live in the world of ...

Ok, I am dating myself.   The song, Anticipation , came to mind as I considered this blog entry.   Written in 1971 by the singer, Carly Simon, the first words are: “We can never know about the days to come But we think about them anyway, yay” I am writing this long before it is due because I will be traveling.   And I am having lots to anticipate because I am one of two Sisters from Sinsinawa attending the closing events for 800 th Jubilee Year for the Order of Preachers in Rome. But from the place in time that I am writing, I am trying to temper my anticipation and expectations to be open to each unfolding moment of this global gathering of Dominicans - women and men. While Carly’s song is a love song and speaks of a particular relationship, for me in this moment, I am filled with humility and awe as hundreds of Dominicans from around the world gather and be in relationship with each other. This blog will be posted just as I return and in the future I will ...

Have you ever after facing a challenging situation in your life in retrospect realized that it had helped you to grow and shaped you into a better person?  It assisted you on the journey of finding the true you? We the Sinsinawa Dominicans believe at the heart of ministry is relationship.  This became a reality for me while being the parish administrator at New Grant R.C. parish.  It was through the challenges of that ministry for four and a half years that assisted in shaping me into who I have become today.   It was through my daily interaction with all types of people, people I was expected to love and through various life situations that required me to lead by example.  I literally had to practice what I had preached on weekends and it was far from easy!Without those experiences my faith and ability to love and forgive would not have been tested.  My prayer life would not have been tested and strengthen.  My relationship with Jesus Chr...

As Dominicans  of Sinsinawa , we  often say, “At the heart of ministry is relationship . ”  In fact , this phrase is in our Constitution,  the document defining  how we live our lives as Dominicans of Sinsinawa.    In early October ,  I attended the marriage celebration of my niece Emily and her husband Nathan.  They worship in  a  faith tradition different from  that of  the rest of our family.  Since we would not be permitted to enter the Temple and witness the actual ceremony, I asked if our family would be interested in engaging in a prayer to bless the wedding of Emily and Nathan while they were in the Temple.  Emily was very excited about this  prospect  and asked if Nathan’s family could also participate.   So  I started asking sisters if they had any resources or knew of resources to help me pull together a blessing for this couple.  The sisters rallied around me and foun...

I planned to write something lighthearted, sharing with you the joy that is religious life.   But then something happened. At our staff meeting this morning at Women’s Hearth, a drop-in day shelter in Spokane, we were told that Stephanie, a regular visitor to the Hearth, had died.   A waste management truck accidentally ran over her as she lay sleeping near the entrance to a treatment plant, hidden from view under plastic sheeting, cardboard, a blanket.   Stephanie was only 53.   She was homeless, but you should know she was so much more than that. I’d like you to meet the Stephanie I came to know through sitting and talking with her, in listening to her.   She didn’t always make sense.   On the other hand, she often did .   She was extremely intelligent; she was genuine; she was real; and she was a fantastic artist.   One day I saw her coloring furiously on an inside-out sweatshirt.   With her permission, I watched as she created th...

At this moment, I am joyfully anticipating a week we have called “Sister Week.”  Once a year, my 4 biological sisters and I gather together to celebrate our sisterhood with each other.  After our first gathering, we said to each other, “We have to do this every year.  We don’t know how long we’ll have each other on this earth.”  Though each year’s hostess usually looks for a “fun” event or two in her geographical area, mostly we just enjoy each others’ company - playing games, sharing stories, teasing one another, offering support to each other through life’s challenges, and laughing a lot.  We have come to respect and honor our unique personalities.  Who would ever think that 5 babies coming from the same parents and same culture could be so different from one another?  Fortunately, we have all worked through the sibling rivalry and jealousies from our childhood. My relationship with my biological sisters has prepared me well...

We live in a postmodern world where we often hear the lament of people claiming to be “spiritual, but not religious.”  I have often asked myself what they mean by this.  I now understand that this may mean that they probably believe in a supreme being, but they do not believe in institutional religion or they have been disappointed, hurt or embarrassed by a particular institutional religion. To say that I have been disappointed, hurt or embarrassed by institutional religion would be an understatement.  I have felt all these things and more at various occasions in my life, both before and after I entered religious life.  What makes me remain part of institutional religion and not choose something else is because I believe in a Trinitarian God, which is to say I believe in a relational God.  I also believe in a God who sent God’s Son for sinners and a church that is made up of sinners. As Sinsinawa Dominicans we believe, “At the heart of minist...