Catherine's Cafe Vocation Blog

It has been such a strange Lent Everything seems turned on its head. I have been home for four weeks  socially distancing. Privileged to have a home in which to stay safe. I have been out for a solitary walk each day noticing as the signs of Spring begin to show themselves. Robins come to my balcony,  still the juncos and chickadees and woodpeckers and purple finches and nuthatches. I’ve seen green creeping into the tops of trees, buds  barely visible, yet all waiting. I have been trying to focus on what is important.  Staying connected through FaceTime.  Praying with our sisters via Zoom.  Trying to connect with and teach my students online. It’s still surreal.  Watching the liturgies streamed from our mother house Praying for their safety and for all who are working so hard to support us during this pandemic. No end in sight. We wait. We all wait as we move through these holiest of days. We wait in expectation...

What a time we are in and how creative we are called to be. How prayerful we need to be of those globally who have contracted COVID-19.  But I have an issue... with the phrase "social distancing." As this time of sheltering in place and paying attention to potential symptoms, I realized what I am asked to do is be  physically distant .  With limited physical shared space besides the Sisters with whom I live, it is interesting to see how staff at the grocery stores & pharmacies do their jobs with and for us and also keep distance. We need not be unsocial in our interactions but cautious with our physical presence. We all need social, spiritual, emotional and soul-filled connections. Where I live, we may take walks and be mindful of physical space, but a greeting and wave is a way to socially acknowledge the other we see. Some of my walks are silent meditations, some I listen to a podcast or a radio station.  The best are those when I call a frien...

For the past two Sundays the Mass celebrated at our motherhouse was video-streamed to all of us. Whether we were on the east or west coast, somewhere in between, or in Bolivia, we were able to participate in the liturgy. Here in our Madison home the three of us lit a candle and joined in the singing and prayer responses. The sisters at the Mound were in the chapel but left an empty seat between them, so it almost seemed like a normal Sunday except no peace greeting and only the priest received Communion.  Sisters from all over the country and Bolivia commented on how in this time of separation we felt more united and together than we normally do. We come together in prayer because in our helplessness and vulnerability these days we know God is with us, will never leave us,  and will give us the peace we so need. How are you dealing with these days of social distancing? How do you experience togetherness? Marie Lucek OP Madison, WI