Catherine's Cafe Vocation Blog

My year of formation as a Candidate has been filled with amazing blessings. I have grown as a person and as a member of the Dominicans of Sinsinawa. I have shared life with sisters who have taught me what it means to be community and to be ‘sister’ to one another. With Candidates from other countries, I have explored what it means to enter the culture of religious life in the 21 st century. I spent time with sisters whose main ministry is praying for the rest of the community. I participated in the formulation of our direction statement as a congregation for the next five years. These experiences have enriched my life so much and I would not trade them for anything. In fact, I asked to continue in the process…to continue learning about myself, the Dominican Order and more specifically the Dominicans of Sinsinawa. Yesterday morning I was granted that request. In August I will be received as a Novice and move to St. Louis, MO to begin my Canonical Novitiate year at the Collaborativ...

Here I am placed in this soil And covered up So needy yet courageous. Thank you for the water, light and warmth I need to grow. Thank you for helping me! I have energy to sprout! I’m coming up! I see the light! I’m sprouting! I’m growing! How exciting! I feel the energy in every little leaf and stem ! It takes so long, but you give me hope and courage. Together we create miracles. I am a miracle. I am beautiful. I will blossom if I continue receiving and excepting the help I need. Thank you for nurturing me.   Barbara Becker, OP   Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin

Tragedies, such as those suffered by the recent victims of tornadoes and overflowing river banks, can have some of us questioning all sorts of things. One question might be ‘Where is God in all of this?’ A friend and her parents’ homes were seriously damaged by the recent tornado that hit parts of Minneapolis. A few weeks ago I visited a friend in Alabama. The devastation from the tornadoes around the country is overwhelming to many and seems endless. We have also seen pictures of neighbors and complete strangers offering help, support, and prayers. In the midst of tragedies as well as in the mysteries of our daily lives, we can lean into our faith and find peace of mind. Having experienced the horrors, chaos, and massive destruction of Hurricane Katrina through my family who still lives in New Orleans, my heart aches for the victims of recent devastations – in our country and around the world. Being in relationship with other faith-filled contemplative women and men, I am reminde...

I wake up each morning to a love affair.  Outside my window, in the early morning hours, a cardinal calls to a far-off mate.  And, if I listen very carefully, I can hear the mate answer.  Rain or shine, the darlings are out there.  What a grace!  What a privilege!  I believe that in those waking moments, I am a witness to God’s word.  It is our calling as Dominicans to first hear, and secondly, preach God’s word.  Meister Eckhart, the thirteenth-century Dominican mystic says:  “Every creature is a word of God.” So, this Spring, I want to put on my “listening cap,” as we did in Kindergarten when it was story time.  As you have probably noticed, good listening hears more than just words.  I listen when I get up early to see the alignment of the planets in the sky, or notice the red bud tree on my evening walk, or stop to converse with the man who has asked for bus fare, or sit with a community member as we try to hear each other int...

One of the gifts of community life within the context of a congregation of Sisters, is that many voices become one.  The Dominicans Sisters of Sinsinawa have done this in a particular way known as:  Corporate Stance. At this link is an explanation of what is a Corporate Stance and our process toward taking such a stand: http://www.sinsinawa.org/07_Peace_Justice/Corporate_Stances.htm Also on our website is the record of our stances:  http://www.sinsinawa.org/07_Peace_Justice/Sinsinawa_Corporate_Stances.htm Ok. . .This is all just nice to know but “So What?” Behind these stances are ways in which not only the Congregation works to change society but individual sisters may be giving particular energy to projects around these issue. One area that I am becoming more involved in is with the deeply sad issue of human trafficking – or – as one public official said to me recently:  “Let’s call it was it is: slavery.” In a future posting to this blog, I will share...

Relationship is at the heart of our lives and ministry!!   I know that and yet there are moments when I’m struck by just how very important it is to us as Dominican Sisters of Sinsinawa.    We make choices because our relationships are so important to us.   My experience this past weekend is a good example.   I was visiting our four sisters in San Antonio, Texas.   On Saturday, three of us gathered with four more of our sisters for a farewell lunch in Gruene, Texas for our sisters, Priscilla and Yvonne, who'll be leaving Texas soon.   Sisters drove from as far as San Angelo which is a little more than a four hour drive each way……for lunch.    Yes, we had a delicious lunch sitting along the Guadalupe River.   Yet, that wasn’t what made it worth the time and effort it took for each person to get there.   What made it more than worthwhile was that we were with our sisters.   We shared many stories about what was happening ...

Driving to work in a rare, sunny winter morning, the radiance of the sky attracted my attention. (Oh, I did keep my eyes on the road)!   I thought about graphic design and where artists get their inspiration from. If I weren’t on my way to work, I would have parked and paint the creation before me albeit amateurishly. The sunrise was in a clear blue sky with some shades of clouds. The baby blue, light, yellow and lime green rainbow colors splashed in a 90 degree angle across the skyline. The unique appearance of this natural design was that the orange-colored sunrise was slowly opening like a bud through the haze of clouds right under the multicolored skyline. It enhanced the colors with halos. Woo, it was gorgeous!    The scene was like the red hot flames oozing from a volcano (hazardous as volcano is, the natural aesthetic is awesome). Who made this scenic creation possible? God, Yahweh, Allah, Osenebulua. Would you appreciate the maker as I did the next time you s...