Catherine's Cafe Vocation Blog

On the return home from a very long international flight I found myself standing at O’Hare baggage claim with the rest of the passengers waiting for my bag to slip down the chute onto the carousel. I became alert once the mechanism activated and the first of the bags started their descent onto the carousel. Everyone crowding around the edge, eyes all focused on each piece of luggage. Would mine be there? Did it make the tight connection?  Hundreds of bags slowly presented themselves, slipped down the chute and onto the carousel. All bags as different as the passengers. Different sizes, shapes, softness, colors. Each containing the belongings of those tired travelers. No sign of mine.   Slowly bags are claimed and removed. Less people now and I’m trying not to worry. I’m looking for a large, soft sided, dark blue case with some red yarn tied to the handle. Lots of dark blue cases but  not mine. I found myself mesmerized by the slowly circling bags and reflecting ...

Within the past several days alone, I have had a conversation with a single mom of 4 who has been newly diagnosed with physical and mental limitations that render her unable to work and worried; one with my biological sister about the controversy over the removal and relocation of Confederate monuments in New Orleans; one with a resident in a correctional facility who will likely face homelessness when he is released; one with a fellow coworker of color about unconscious bias and a situation that happened at work; and another this past weekend involving sister-friends about our Dominican identity as preachers in the 21 st century. These are just a few. There is so much going on these days and so much to talk about, including some things I am taking a break from! The past several weeks and months have been particularly full of questions and serious conversations that deserve deep listening – conversations of the heart. I am grateful for the people with whom I have had them. Some...