Catherine's Cafe Vocation Blog

As I prepare to vote tomorrow, I am thinking about all of the choices we have in our lives.  In the case of voting we each have both a choice to vote and then for whom.   And these choices impact us personally, as a nation, and as a member of the global community. That’s just one example.  Our lives are full of these choices!!  There are so many choices that we make about:  what to eat, where to shop and for what, where to live and with whom, who to love, with whom to be friends, developing a spiritual life, what work to do, what to read, how to spend leisure time, what to do with your life.  And the list could go on and on……. The thing is we make choices whether we make them intentionally or not.  By not deciding we decide.  So, my hope is to be intentional in making decisions based on my values.  My hope is that my choices will be life-giving for myself, others and the planet.  For every choice has implicat...

I was in prayer/bible study with resident moms at the Divine Mercy House (a maternity home) this past week.  We were sharing about how we are one family in Christ.  One resident shared how DMH is home and family to her and the other residents agreed, too.  I can see why, DMH is a life-giving community. It is where resident moms’ can belong, be accepted, loved, supported and challenged.  This beautiful community is made up of moms who have chosen life for their babies and who are learning to respect and see the dignity of life in themselves, too.  Community is essential for Religious Life.  I have realized life-giving gifts in community.  Community nourishes my faith, helps me to live out of my vows and reminds me of my interdependence on others.   It is where I am loved, supported, and challenged to grow and develop into, who God calls me to be.  It is essential for my life journey in living o...

A prominent Dominican characteristic is joy.  Many of our sisters will tell you that one of the things that initially attracted them to the Congregation was the infectious laughter of our sisters.  Saint Dominic was called not only called a gospel man of prayer, but a joyful preacher as well. Life is never easy and bumps along the way throw us many reasons to be full of despair.  The fate of many is another reason to be vigilant and serious.  What a gift we have to offer each other and ourselves with our desire to be joyful.  Let’s just let it spill over and ooze out the edges of our lives, insisting that we walk lightly and with open arms.  Let’s let joy govern our decision-making processes and infect our way of thinking.   What keeps you laughing these days?    Peggy Ryan, OP Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin

I’ve just returned from a Dominican Sisters Convocation.  These events, which occur every few years, brings Sisters from most of the Dominican congregations in the US and are another way of deepening our lives together. For me this is important because women religious are living through major shifts for our lives and future.  This is fine and events such as this brings friends together and forges new ones.  We celebrated the particularities of our congregations and the ‘mutualities’ of our Dominican life.  We come to know one another which will help us as there is increased collaboration among the congregations - not only among leadership but among members as well. I joined the choir during the convocation days and there is one song that continues to play in my mind and dance in my heart:  “I Am for You.”  It speaks of God being for us, Mary’s “yes” at the Annunciation, Jesus’ with us to the end and more. In the vowed li...

Last weekend Dominican Sisters from all over the U.S. came together in Chicago to listen deeply to one another and to talks – by Judi Neal ( http://www.edgewalkers.org ) and by Timothy Radcliffe, former Master of the Order (1992-2001). Unfortunately, at the last minute Timothy could not make the trip from England, so his paper was delivered by magnificently as only Ann Willits, O.P. (Sinsinawa) could do it!  And we went on from there. What became clear is that religious have dedicated their lives to making the poor, the marginalized, the voiceless and the invisible better known to the rest of the world! Why? It’s what the Gospel calls us to do – to walk on the edges, where we can be free. “Why aren’t you in the classroom, like you used to be?”  “Why aren’t you teaching our children?”  Why?  Because that was then and this is now.  It’s a new day!  And one of the things we are learning is that many of those skills, honed in classro...