Catherine's Cafe Vocation Blog

I hope that you are experiencing spring time in your spirit, as well as in the weather. Today I’d like to share an experience of discernment. I don’t want to share thewhat or why, but rather, the experience of entering into a process of discernment of a life issue. The dictionary meanings of discernment are: 1: to detect with the eyes: DISTINGUISH; 2: DISCRIMINATE;3: to come to know or recognize mentally. The third definition is what I've experienced. When you need to make an important life decision it is important to take the process seriously and be totally open to whatever might unfold... Tune into all of the external and internal stirrings... Be AWARE, turn up your antennae to those vibes and sensations. .. MEDITATE with an open heart and mind... Be willing to SHARE your discernment with those whose insight you value, as well as those close to you and those that may bring a totally different take on this... Be willing to LISTEN to those who might give you new insights and under...

I encountered this all familiar question once again. The next question is: are you happy as a Religious Sister? I find it funny because these are the same questions I have been asked over the past four years since I entered religious life. As often as I am asked, I still have to smile because it is always the same answer. “I’m a sister because God called me. I have said “yes” out of my own free will. Religious life is something I would have never envisioned for myself and it is the most glorious blessing and gift I could have received.” I usually receive the same responses “you are so young” and sometimes “but, you are pretty.” I happily share….. God does not discriminate on age or looks. We are all beautiful and beloved by God. These questions always provide me the opportunity to share how happy and content I am with my life and that it is not for the fainthearted. Like any other vocation, marriage or single life, it includes struggle and work. It is by prayer, a faithful community o...

In my many years in religious life I have been amazed at all the ways God continues to lead me. There are many forms of ministry and I have found that education has been rooted in my call to follow Jesus as a vowed religious. Since 2001 I have been serving as a mission educator and promoter for a missionary society. I find myself in classrooms, at catechetical conferences, youth gatherings, as well as presenter, retreat director, and writer. All are called by our baptism to stand on the side of those who are poor, dispossessed, and vulnerable. I have crossed borders intellectually, spiritually, and physically. My deep faith and dedication to Catholic social teaching principles fuels my ministry and enables me to connect with people of all ages who have a passion for mission and missionary endeavors here in the U.S. and around the world. Sr. Colleen Nolan, OP

One month ago I started my pastoral ministry practicum at the correctional facility where I have worked part-time for almost three years. I meet individually with inmates for “spiritual care” sessions and co-facilitate two groups: an anger management group with the men and a grief group with the women. I am very excited about this opportunity! A lot of life happens before and beyond the iron gates, electronic doors, and concrete walls. There is also much suffering. The details of our personal stories may be different but we are more alike than not. I identify with their feelings of loss, grief, remorse, and anger toward injustices that occur in the world in which we live, including the criminal justice system. The inmates help me become more honest, compassionate, and present in the moment. We also find occasion to laugh and work together to put dreams in action toward a brighter tomorrow. Five days a week I encounter God beyond steel bars and concrete. Will you help me pray for all o...

I am chewing on the question: “How we (vowed religious) are different from say, the consecrated virgins, other than we have a congregation to fall back on? In today’s gospel, April 20, the people ask Jesus for a sign that they might believe in him. The desire today as well, seems to be for outward, external signs-dress, way of prayer. For me vocation is relationship. I explained Dominican life to the 5th grade as a desire to “tell the word about Jesus” like St Dominic did; and to do that with others that like each other so much we call ourselves brothers and sisters. Our Order- our club is also called a family. The energy of this “band of sisters” changes lives: those we serve as well as our own. In a parish prayer group, someone asked me was it hard to leave behind things like sex and a family. I answered that I did not feel so much like I was leaving behind as much as I was moving toward something that my heart sought. Happy seeking, Sr. Mary Mc Nulty OP

This past weekend we had a fundraiser for the ministry I direct. We did a Fun Run and it was a great success. I was amazed at the number of people who came simply because they wanted the tee shirt which stated “I Run with Nuns”! Now initially I was not crazy about the title but the more I think about it the more I like it. I do ‘run with nuns’. And they are wonderfully made persons. The nuns I run with are so genuine and are so committed to the Gospel. They take great joy in serving the People of God. They teach, the console, they preach, they administer, they listen, and they give. Indeed what a neat group of people to be running with. It is these women who renew my faith in God and who renew my commitment as a vowed religious. We are not perfect. Sometimes in the run we stumble but we help one another get up and continue on in the run. Want to run with nuns? Sr. K. C. Young

Where can I find God’s presence? What signs can I count on? How will I know when I’ve found God? These questions have been hidden deep inside my heart for as long as I can remember. They’ve meant different things to me over the years, but the questions haven’t changed all that much. When I was a child I was confused by the preaching I heard Sunday after Sunday. God seemed like a powerful judge, and I was errant at best. One answer I grasped at a fairly early age was that I could immerse myself in “God-friendly” activities. It wasn’t until many years later that I discovered the most God-friendly activity was being my own best self, not someone else’s idea of what it meant to be good, and definitely not undermining my own self by living in fear. The great thing about this discovery is that it’s something I can live into for the rest of my life, and I can count myself in the crowd of all the wrong people Jesus chose to show the scope of his love! Learning to live in love has shown me the ...