Catherine's Cafe Vocation Blog

Did you catch these two shows in the last couple of weeks?   They both featured interviews with Catholic women – The Daily Show had a moral theologian and law professor from Notre Dame, Cathleen Kevany, and Stephen Colbert interviewed House Minority Leader, Nancy Pelosi, on Ash Wednesday. It’s a political season and so Jon Stewart’s interest had been picqued by several controversial topics related to religious issues brought up by a Catholic Republican candidate.   Yet, the conversation was amazingly thoughtful (and also very entertaining J - including when he spoofed the Pope setting up a Twitter account!). I was reminded of how important it is to stay abreast of what others find important, even – or, especially – when they are from a different background or a different generation.    This is a great Lenten practice, to say nothing of an essential practice for anyone who is serious about preaching God’s love for all. Being open to change, to b...

Hi my name is Joan. After many years with the Dominicans and seeing quite a bit of the world, I have been able to be back in Madison Wisconsin, my hometown.  I left to be a Dominican when I was very young, and so getting to know Madison as an adult is eye opening. You might have seen Madison in the news last year when thousands gathered day after day at the capitol to protest changes the new governor was demanding.  People even stayed over night. A couple of weeks ago four of us Dominicans joined a demonstration at the capitol of another kind.  A group called Moses is asking us to spread the word that we have too many people imprisoned in our state, and they are disproportionately poor, mentally ill or people of color.  Our Sister Esther Heffernen an emeritus sociology professor at Edgewood College was invited to be one of the speakers when we gathered in the rotunda. I was so proud of her.  She has been spreading the word about prison reform all of he...

Last August, I began working for a non-profit agency that serves individuals and families in eight west suburban communities of Minneapolis. We respond to emergency needs (such as food, housing, employment, childcare, etc.) and work hard to move people from poverty toward stability and positive change. Two nights ago, there was an event at our facility where over 150 people from 18 different worship communities in the immediate area came together. We learned about the dramatic rise of poverty in the suburbs and the complexity of issues we face. Until recently, I had a certain naiveté about poverty in the suburbs. It is, after all, mostly invisible. It wasn’t until preparing for my first interview with Interfaith Outreach and Community Partners that I began to seriously think about poverty in the suburban areas of this beautiful city. Now that I work there, I am in relationships with real people ...

Today, we begin the second week of Lent with the Spirit driving Jesus out into the desert for forty days.   Lent is an intentional desert time to reflect on God and deepen our relationship with God.   It requires a change from ordinary life.   Today’s society is so busy there is no desert time.    It is easy to see why you don’t realize the deterioration of a relationship until you run into a problem.   Recently, I came across a rough patch.   I failed to see God’s blessing in the midst of it, because I was doing all the talking.   I failed to stop and listen to what God might be saying to me.   Just like a human relationship, our relationship with God requires intentional time and listening.   Sometimes we let our own agendas and other things distract us from listening to God or take precedence over God. This Lent, I feel the Spirit driving me into the desert for deeper listening.   Where is the Spirit leading y...

Yesterday, as we prayed together on Ash Wednesday, “Have Mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love,” I recalled my own reactions to that word – mercy.   As a child, I had no idea what I was asking for.   I prayed the words because they were there, and that is what one did.   When I was an adolescent, I actually had an adverse reaction to that word.   Asking for mercy meant that I was less than perfect.   What adolescent is ready to admit that! By the time I had lived life for some years as an adult and the question was asked of me in the Profession Ceremony of the Dominicans of Sinsinawa, “What do you ask?” I replied with the standard response with my whole heart and soul, “The mercy of God and yours.”   Life had taught me about the gift of giving and receiving mercy and forgiveness.    Last night we celebrated the life of one of our sisters.   The wake and remembering service is always a source of encourageme...