Catherine's Cafe Vocation Blog

When I was a child fall/autumn was my least favorite season.     It was too cold to go swimming and too warm to go ice skating—my two favorite activities.     Now as an adult, I love fall.     It tells me so much about life.     The trees are radiant with reds, oranges, yellows and browns.     Then they graciously drop those leaves, and give them back to the soil.     In these days of change and challenge, we, too, are asked to drop our radiant adornment, to let go of what would not survive the winter so we can be transformed in the spring.     It’s a perfect season for long walks, of enjoying the colors of October, then the letting go of November.     What will you be challenged to let go of this fall?     LouAnne Willette, OP Austin, TX

As I was trying to decide on what to write for this blog my mind took to me to the book some of us sisters are presently reading. Ted Dunn’s book,   Graced Crossroads .     In his book Ted writes about religious life today in U.S women congregations.     Ted shares about the “Great Turning.”     In one chapter in which he is considering all that is happening and changing in the world today.     In the book he examines how U.S. women religious congregations are fearing and are they going to survive or not with all the challenges they are facing today.     I see religious life like a living and breathing organic system that is an organization and like many organisms it goes through various changes and how it handles those changes will decide if it survives, dies, or thrive.     This living organism goes through mountain tops and valley experiences.     Now we appear to be in a valley experience.     What ...

I’ve been thinking about edges lately. The edge of night and the new day. The edges of land and water and all the life forms that find home at the edge. Are you walking by the edge of a road? Are you on the edge of a decision? Are you between this and that? We all walk the edge between what is and what is not yet.   How are you navigating those edges? These places of transition and transformation? Such liminal spaces, full of beauty and possibilities.  Can be scary. The edge of the proverbial cliff springs to mind. Can be lonely.   My own physical edges have grown much more rounded than sharp, thanks in some way to the pandemic.   And perhaps also thanks to Covid I am now more appreciative of life living itself in me and inviting me to playfully explore the edge of all things.   Along which edges do you walk?   Isabel Rafferty OP Madison, WI

One member of my Dominican community made a special effort to buy  Pączki  so we could have them for Pączki  Day or Fat Tuesday, the day before the 40 days of fasting we call Lent. My Polish ancestors could have told me how to pronounce Pączki , the delightful Polish filled donuts, but now I had to look it up on the internet. Pączki , but then 40 days!  What should I do for those long 40 days? When I was teaching religion in a school in Tulsa, I encouraged the students to reflect on 40 days of Lent, but I delighted more in telling them to celebrate the 40 days after  Easter. Now I am appreciating that both 40 days are important and go together like vinegar and honey. It’s not all a bowl of cherries.  Community life itself has Pączki  days and searching days.  Days to struggle with knowing how to be intentional in our antiracist actions and days to rejoice when we realize transformation and celebrate all people ...

 Each year, I try to observe this national day of recognition by joining with others in some kind of anti-racism action.  Some years, I have attended church services or prayer events.  I have volunteered on other years.  I have participated in marches.   This year, I will be part of a growing movement in this country to bring restoration in our cities.  This year, I will participate in a racial healing circle.  These circles embrace our shared human journey.  The dynamic of the circle operates out of the truth that we are one.  Deep listening, attention, and focus create experiences of truth and transformation.  This work touches into the very heart of our Dominican vocation to praise, to bless, and to preach.   This year, I will join with others to imagine and bring about a desired change that our world hungers for.  What will you do to honor our national holiday, Dr....

We are in the Easter season and spring has finally come to the Midwest.  The temps are warmer and Earth is greening everywhere you look.  Gentle rain lulls you to sleep at night.  What a marvel to see the new growth of leaves, the green grass, and the unbelievable color in the recently budded flowers and bushes and trees.  I especially love the newness of the leaves…they look all wrinkly and squishy…. Elizabeth Schussler Fiorenza says, “Resurrection does not simply spell the survival of the soul but requires the transformation of the world as we know it.”   (Jesus:   Miriam’s Child, Sophia’s Prophet: Critical Issues in Feminist Christology, 121) Springtime reminds me of transformation.   Can I be present to this newness all around me?   What do I notice? Where do I see beauty?      Springtime is such a gift.   With this new season comes amazing change.   All I need to do is open my eyes and ears and hear...

When I think about where I was at this time last year, I'm amazed both by how my life has been transformed...and also by how familiar it feels.  Early last March, I was freshly recovered after a 4-day hospitalization and month long leave of absence from my job after getting hit by a car while riding my bike.  I was beginning the last month of a 7 year career as a disaster recovery consultant and everyone I knew was asking me if I was having second thoughts about "leaving my life behind to join the nuns."  I had some second thoughts, it's true--but since arriving at the Mound last summer I haven't once regretted my decision to become a Candidate with the Sinsinawa Dominicans. Now I'm in Atlanta: living in community, reading the Old Testament, studying theology, deepening my prayer life, reconnecting with old friends, participating in Just Faith Ministries, and riding my bike all over the place!  On the one hand, the familiar, secure life that I'd estab...

As I prepare for Lent this year, one phrase keeps coming into my mind: I want this to be “a Lent that matters.”   Yes, theoretically every Lent should matter, but this year feels different.   Perhaps because I’m in the midst of my canonical novitiate, I feel an extra draw to let this Lent be a truly holy and transformative time. This week I read an article entitled “ A Lent Where #BlackLivesMatter: 10 Ideas for Black History Month and the White Church .”   I’d highly recommend reading it; it’s challenging, relevant, and practical.   The point is this: Lent is about much, much more than giving up chocolate or facebook.   A good resolution will draw me outside myself and challenge me to transformation.   As a white Christian, part of that transformation is learning to listen (even when it’s hard… especially when it’s hard) to the stories of those who suffer on the flipside of my privilege. Some of Pope Francis’ tips for Lent really drive the point h...