Catherine's Cafe Vocation Blog

In the life of any community there are different seasons.  For our Dominican Sisters of Sinsinawa, this is a season of the celebration of dreams becoming reality. It's my privilege and joy to be celebrating with them.  For years, our Sister Glenda Rodriquez dreamed of inviting Trinidadian women to join her community, the Dominican Sisters of Sinsinawa. Ten years ago tomorrow Archbishop Gilbert officially blessed and opened the House of Discernment in St. Joseph.  Since that time Trinidadian women have discerned a call to Sinsinawa Dominican life and today three of them are finally professed members and one is in temporary profession.  The dream of our Sister Glenda Rodriquez became a reality! Our Sister Gail Jagroop had another dream....to create a retreat center.  On Saturday, our house in St. Joseph, formerly known as the House of Discernment,   will be officially rededicated as Dominican WELLSPRING, a retreat center.  Archbishop ...

Did you read about the Nuns on the Bus tour this summer?  (see NunsontheBus.org). As I reflect on this amazing tour through nine states, I marvel at the passion and gospel transparency of women religious all over this land.  It brings to mind an ancient question, first asked by God to Cain, "Where is your brother?". "Where is your sister?" Ultimately the question wants to know, how is your life, how in my life, do I assume responsibility for others?  How do I treat each of the sisters with whom I live?  How do I respond to the student who does not turn in his homework for the third day in a row?How do I pray for our brothers and sisters in Syria?  How does the fact that I have a roof over my head and food on my table make a difference to someone who does not? Sr. Simone Campbell, the nun behind the Nuns on a Bus Tour, recently declared, "I am my Sister's Keeper!". I am too!  What about you? Peggy Ryan, OP Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin

“What plunges have you taken in your life?”  “What incredible things have you seen because of the plunges you’ve taken.”  These were the questions given to participants of Sinsinawa’s recent Health Summit to ponder and sleep on overnight.  They sent me to a review of my life journey! The first significant plunge that came to mind was entering the Dominican Sisters of Sinsinawa.   At 18, I left home and everyone and everything that was familiar to me. I was both excited and terrified about what lay ahead. I could never have imagined the incredible things that I’ve seen because of that plunge and all of the subsequent plunges to which it has led.   I’ve seen: ·       Our world is so much bigger and more complex than I ever recognized growing up in Peoria, Illinois; ·       God’s gifts in the beauty of the natural world that surrounds us and of each person in whom the divine ...

Some of the most interesting people I know live in Wisconsin State Prisons.  I’ve learned many things from them, including this: “They may be ashamed of who they were, but what is important, what really matters, is who they are now and who they want to be.”  And that’s just as it is with all of us, isn’t it? This is a reminder to me of so many things I never would have known, so many people I never would have encountered, so many institutions I had never even noticed or known anything about before I took the risk of going inside the walls. Like many, I went inside with all kinds of preconceived ideas. I first went into a maximum security prison for men about four years ago.  Since then I’ve been inside eight prisons, for men and for women, many times.  Sitting in a circle with them, I never know what they have done in the past, unless they choose to reveal it.  I’ve learned to listen carefully to what they have to say, and to trust the...

When I was young, my family would watch Wonderful World of Disney on Saturday or Sunday nights.  At least once a year, we would see Peter Pan – the real one, with either Mary Martin or Sandy Duncan playing Peter.  I was enthralled.  It was real, I knew it was real and when it ended, I knew I could fly!  No one could tell me otherwise.  So when the movie ended, my Mom moved away any breakables and shoved the coffee table out of the way … because Kath was ready for takeoff!  I would stand on the couch, flapping my arms as fast and as hard as I could.  At just the perfect moment I would jump up and off the couch, arms still flapping … and I would land on the floor.  But not before hanging in mid-air for a second, maybe two.  I would try again, flapping my arms harder and jumping higher until the perfect moment when I would jump up and off the couch, arms still flapping … and land on the floor.  But not before a second, maybe tw...

Did you see Mary McNulty's qualities of religious women list --August 23rd blog? The quality that struck me is "the commitment to seeking the more." B.S. (before sister) I enjoyed the adventure of life.  After a fun day I would come home, close the door, and think, "this day was so special, but I know there is more."   Then I checked out Dominican life, where I am still seeking "the more".  Each day I pray, "What do you want of me today, God?"  There is always more--something to learn, a person to listen to, a moment to especially know God's presence. Religious life gives me a framework in which to experience the more.  There is a time for solitude and a time for sharing in community.  There is the challenge to grow as an individual and the possibility to join my gifts to others. I love being at liturgy in the chapel at the Sinsinawa.  We gather--sisters and friends who are called to the work of the Gospel.  As ...