Catherine's Cafe Vocation Blog

When the feast St Andrew was announced before morning Mass, bells went off inside me.  I suddenly remembered that it was on the evening of St Andrew I received the sacrament of Confirmation with other members of my sixth-grade class. It came to me that the bishop that confirmed us also commissioned building the Parish where I belong now.  I was smiling at this wonderful intersection when an older man, Tony, offered to walk me home so I would be “safe” on my long walk from the church to the sisters’ house where I live.  We both laughed, since it is about 50 feet away.   I learned that my escort had worked as a landscaper and had helped prepare the land where the Diocesan office now stands.  It is named for the same bishop! Tony talked about trees, and the gift of nature which provides us with clean air and nutritious soil.      I encouraged Tony to preach his truth. What truth are  we  called to preach these days?...

Is there a word that can express how we feel as we witness war and horrific destruction in Ukraine? Our hearts break as we watch the endless flow of refugees into the surrounding countries – and our hearts are moved by the welcome they are receiving. We are so grateful that they are being received and cared for, and we worry about their futures.   Can we also get in touch with another reality - the lack of welcome of refugees from Syria and Africa into the countries that border the Mediterranean?  And in our own country, the treatment of asylum seekers from Central and South America, Mexico, Haiti, and those from Muslim-majority countries? Could it be that we fear those who do not look like us or believe as we do?   I read recently that the Cheyenne believe that the Great Spirit gives each person a certain number of words at birth. When the last of those words is spoken, the person dies.* In this turbulent and frightening time in our world, if we had one more word to...

The motto of the Dominican Order is veritas…truth. We are truth-seekers. This week could be called a week of veritas, of truth-seeking. June 14 is Flag Day, a day celebrating the first flag resolution passed by the Second Continental Congress, made official later in 1949; a day regarded as one way to teach children about history. June 19, also known as Juneteenth, is the oldest known celebration honoring the end of slavery in the United States, the day when the Civil War ended and slaves were ‘set free’, even though people of color are still fighting for equality and justice. The problem I see is that our history has most often been taught through the lens of those holding power, through the perspective of white people. In our pursuit of truth, we must ask what history is  not  being taught? Who/what people are invisible in our telling of ‘history’? Whose very real and painful stories are not being told?  I wasn’t taught about white supremacy (except in relationship to Hi...

Very angry feelings welled up inside of me when I heard and saw news of the insurrection at the Capitol building in Washington D.C. two Wednesdays ago.     I asked myself why?  Why are a few people allowed to flaunt downright inhuman, evil, selfish, rude, cruel, violent behavior in the face of goodness, beauty, truth, innocence, decency and the common good?  This led me to reflect on how I respond in the face of similar atrocities in my sphere of influence.  I confess that sometimes, too often, I choose silence.     Catherine of Siena had something to say about this: “Speak up! It’s silence that kills the world.”  This year, I want to have the courage to seek out truth and to speak truth in the face of lies, to defend  innocence in the face of corruption, to laud beauty where there is ugliness, to acclaim goodness where there is evil and to fight for the common good where-ever I see selfishness and greed.  This has got to stop! Let it be...

  REALIZE DEEPLY THAT THE PRESENT MOMENT IS ALL YOU HAVE.  MAKE THE NOW THE PRIMARY FOCUS OF YOUR LIFE.       Eckhart Tolle COVID-19 has stolen so much from so many.  How many had an empty chair at the Thanksgiving Day table?  Who had to search for food or shelter this Thanksgiving because of the economic crisis this disease has brought upon us?  The Center for Disease Control tells us that long-standing systemic health and social inequities have put many people from racial and ethnic minority groups at increased risk of getting sick and dying from COVID-19. This week begins Advent, the liturgical season in which our church joins together to wait for the coming anew of God in our midst.   It is such a struggle in our COVID-ridden world to wait for anything. Eckhart Tolle, spiritual guide and author, calls us to stay in the present moment.  All we have, he says, is the “now.”  Looking...

 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....

Every year as Christmas approaches, I remember Howard Thurman’s reflection about the challenges laid down like a gauntlet by the arrival of Jesus in our world.  When the song of the angels is stilled, When the star in the sky is gone, When the Kings and princes are home, When the shepherds are back with their flock, The work of Christmas begins: To find the lost, To heal the broken, To feed the hungry To release the prisoner, To rebuild the nations, To bring peace among people, To make music in the heart. We know the truth of this. Even while we celebrate with family and friends and colleagues during this season, we are aware underneath it all that our world is hurting:  refugees are without homes and welcome, people are starving in spite of abundance, our border with Mexico is a place of fear and violence for asylum seekers, politicians have forgotten their responsibility for the common good, our beloved Earth suffers from our refusal to ...

Recently, our country experienced one of the most devastating floods in its history.  In three days 250.2 mm of rain fell!  Many homes were inundated with water.  Numerous families lost everything as flood waters rose to as high as 7 feet in some areas!  But almost instantly, floods of relief poured in.  Persons heroically braved the weather and the water to rescue those trapped in their homes using every which way imaginable.  Others in the private and corporate sectors provided free goods and services for the victims of the flood, to a degree that far exceeded the level of the flood waters!   How hopeful I became when I saw goodness, truth and beauty shining out in the faces of the thousands who came out to help their fellow citizens in a time of need.  A little girl wondered what a saint might be. One day her mother took her to a great cathedral to see the gorgeous stained-glass windows with scenes from the Bible. When she saw th...

At a celebration of the Eucharist recently I was paying less than strict attention to the words of the first reading until I heard “and women of some influence”… who “threw in their lot” to help Paul and Silas (Acts 17:3-4).  I wondered who these women were and how did they influence? Who did they influence?  And how did they find the courage to use that influence to promote this startling new message?  I think we are all capable of being women of some influence – even when we think we make no difference at all. An act of kindness, paying attention to one who rarely receives any, the risk of speaking truth, the commitment to study, the courage to face fear and self-doubt – those are acts of influence like the tossing of a pebble in a pond.  As national and world news fills us with painful words and images, we are challenged to use our influence for the good.  As Rilke wrote, “I live my life in ever widening circles that reach out across t...

“Dominic witnessed first-hand the harm that not knowing the truth about God and God’s creation could do to people . . . .”   (www.op.org/en/content/dominican-charism) These words offer a starting point for reflection about a value at the heart of the Order of Preachers: Truth.   During these days following his feast (August 8th), let’s take some time to consider this special preoccupation of Dominic, who was called, “Doctor of Truth”.   At this time in the United States – and perhaps throughout our world – truth seems scarce and elusive.   With expressions like “alternative facts” and “fake news”, some would have us believe that truth itself can be reduced to ideology and opinion.   However, a positive consequence of these times might be that we become more deliberate about seeking information from reliable sources and less casual in our acceptance of the pablum offered by much of the media.   Over the centuries, philosophers have written vol...