Catherine's Cafe Vocation Blog

As a kid, I loved spring vacation or Easter break as we called it then, but I also remember whining to my wonderful mother that “all we ever do is go to church!”   I didn’t get it then; I hope I get it now.   I hope I get how truly holy this week is – that, as a wise woman said, --   “… is NOT business as usual.”   This week is so special, this week plunges us so deeply into mystery, it can only be called “holy.”   This week has to be experienced, I believe, the way we experience a poem or a painting or dance….it touches us in the deepest parts of soul, of experience, of memory, of emotion –no words, only symbols can speak its truth.   Thursday night’s washing of feet, breaking of bread and drinking the wine, Friday’s cross with blood and water pouring out, Saturday’s new fire and new water all flow seamlessly from one into another until they unite in the image of a rolled stone and an empty tomb.   Just be with these images, sounds, light and darkn...

When is the last time you washed someone’s feet?  Or, had your own feet washed?  Or, in other words, when is the last time you made an effort to go out of your way to do something for someone?  When did you give of your time, your energy, your sustenance? I believe that as Dominican women, living in community, we have the opportunity to live Holy Thursday or wash the feet of one another every single day.  Each day is a chance to go the extra mile, say the supportive word, take the time to listen deeply, forgive, find the humor in a situation, move beyond our comfort zone, or just be ourselves together. I am convinced without a doubt that living in community has been and continues to be in the top three of my greatest, hardest, most joyful and meaningful experiences in life.  So, how will you wash another’s feet this Holy Week? Peggy Ryan, OP Whitefish Bay, WI