Catherine's Cafe Vocation Blog

Life can get rather busy these days as I continue to combine theology and pastoral ministry studies with jail ministry. For the past two months, I’ve come home on Fridays spiritually filled and physically exhausted. This past weekend, however, I had energy for one more thing: joining another of my Sinsinawa Dominican sisters to meet with the counselors and staff at Camp WeHaKee. This is a Camp for girls founded by the Dominican Sisters of Sinsinawa in 1923. Last Saturday, about 35 of us sat in circles and talked about the values of community, compassion, justice, truth, and peace. We read and exchanged stories, dramatized what values might look like when people are fully present to and with one another, and had fun. I felt re-energized after just one day with the young women who come to serve as counselors from various parts of the United States and places abroad! After a weekend of conversation, story-telling, visiting the horses (one in particular), and relaxing on the shores of Hunt...

So ... do you like these colorful beads? They are made in Somanya, Ghana from recycled glass. This picture reminds me, each time I look at it, of my participation in (maybe I really mean "belonging to") a colorful web of connections. I am part of a group of women who support this mission in Ghana. I was invited to join this group through a friend who took spirituality classes with me at Spring Hill College. Almost like looking in a series of mirrors, that connection was fostered through other connections, and on in a seemingly unending pattern. I am enriched beyond measure by those connections. I am influenced for the good, affirmed, and called to stretch beyond my comfort zone. The strands of my web stretch back, long before I was born, to my birth family, my Sinsinawa sisters, my Dominican family. I believe that through these connections, my connection to God is revealed. What does your "web" look like? How does it sustain you? Sr. Ann Henkel, OP Mobile, Alabama

Every once in a while I find myself being cranky and out of sorts. For some reason it is easier for me to do that with my sisters while I will put on the ‘happy face’ at work. I was reminded of a very helpful way to deal with this. If I have an irritation I want to be free of…I pray for that person or thing that is bugging me. I ask in prayer for everything I want/need for myself to be given to that other. I do this over and over again…even when I do the words are only words, I just keep doing this. It is amazing how my attitude towards the other and towards life begins to change. It is one of the gifts of community and growing that keeps me growing in truth. Sr. K.C. Young, OP Seattle, WA

In second grade my class was doing a song routine of “Deep In The Heart of Texas”. I couldn’t wait to get my cow-girl costume replete with gun holster. Later, I was devastated to find that we were moving before my grand debut. Many years later our Atlanta community was laughing and talking around the dinner table. Our Dominican Volunteer told us that she was to prepare something for her DV retreat in Texas that combined the theme of community life and Texas. My missed performance sprung to mind and what crazy fun we had re-enacting the scene. This led to gathering costumes at the local thrift store and practicing the song for a video presentation. Check out the photo and you will see the result minus the gun holster which has since been replaced with a passion for a peaceful world. Community life around the dinner table moves all of us deep into the heart of life, even redeeming sad moments and transforming them into creative ones. Sr. Patty Caraher, OP Atlanta, Georgia

Classes at the Global Village School in Decatur, GA for teenage refugee women from Afghanistan, Iraq, Burma, Somalia, Sudan, Eritria, Kenya, Thailand, Nigeria, and more, where I teach nonviolent communication, concluded this week. I was presented with a hand made card which all 31 of the young women had signed, each with her name and a note in her own language. I couldn't read what was written however I'm fluent in translating gratitude. This specific card was made by a Burmese refugee student. The outside of the card pictured a tree in full bloom and read: "You Thank." I smiled, first knowing that this teenager in her native script writes from right to left and secondly, enjoying "You Thank." I do. It's been a year of learning and growing and thanksgiving. Sr. Liz Sully, OP Atlanta, Georgia

In conversation with our Novice who is preparing to make her first profession in August, I began to reflect on how my life has changed from being a Novice to being a Professed Sister. In Augustof this year, even though I have been a Religious Sister for four years, it will just be one year since I made my first profession. Let me explain first profession. In the simplest terms it is when you profess your vows to God and formally become a member of the congregation. Please understand though that it implies much more. Being professed is different. It is most definitely different in that I have become more aware of my rights and responsibilities as a member of the congregation. But, it is much more still. For me, professing my vows and the commitment of those vows to my God somehow took root in me. The phrase that best explains is “a tree is only as strong as its roots.” God’s love for me is like the root of a tree and forms the foundation for my full commitment to God. In reflecting on t...

The last time I blogged I was experiencing spring and discernment. This is also the season for spring concerts and art exhibits, so this is the topic for this month's blog. I have attended the Spring dance and Musical recital, the Pops Concert and the Fine Arts Night at Dominican High School, Whitefish Bay. My heart is bursting with pride and gratitude for the many students who danced and sang their hearts out, and for the students who created from their souls in the art classes. But most of all I'm grateful for the school that considers the arts programs an essential part of the school academic program. From my perspective it is the heart and soul of Dominican High School. It also is a value statement of the school and the Sinsinawa Dominican tradition of the arts in its schools. This is especially significant during this economic climate, where many schools need to make serious cuts. Unfortunately, the arts are often the first to be eliminated because they are considered non...