Catherine's Cafe Vocation Blog

Historical perspectives offered through celebrations of the 50 th anniversary of the “March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom” and the release of Lee Daniels’ The Butler have prompted many conversations about racism, racial divides and a persistent call in this country for equality for all. I have been captivated by the old footage and freedom songs of the Civil Rights movement and the March on Washington. Voices from artists like Marian Anderson, Odetta and Mahalia Jackson will be heard throughout history and inspire prayer, as the human rights movement continues. “…Dere is trouble all over dis worl’….  I ain’ gwine lay my ‘ligion down….” “I’ve Been ‘Buked,” a Negro Spiritual sung by Mahalia Jackson just before Martin Luther King Jr’s inspiring “I Have a Dream” speech captures the essence of our collective call as women religious and people of God. There is indeed trouble all over this world. How do we continue to fight t...

At this moment, I am joyfully anticipating a week we have called “Sister Week.”  Once a year, my 4 biological sisters and I gather together to celebrate our sisterhood with each other.  After our first gathering, we said to each other, “We have to do this every year.  We don’t know how long we’ll have each other on this earth.”  Though each year’s hostess usually looks for a “fun” event or two in her geographical area, mostly we just enjoy each others’ company - playing games, sharing stories, teasing one another, offering support to each other through life’s challenges, and laughing a lot.  We have come to respect and honor our unique personalities.  Who would ever think that 5 babies coming from the same parents and same culture could be so different from one another?  Fortunately, we have all worked through the sibling rivalry and jealousies from our childhood. My relationship with my biological sisters has prepared me well...

This summer, in the city of Milwaukee, the number of violent deaths has escalated to record proportions.  There is fear and sadness in many neighborhoods.  The Sinsinawa Dominicans in Milwaukee joined the Amani neighborhood for a prayer vigil.  A libation prayer was made by an elder of the community calling upon the ancestors to bless us and guide us to the path of peace.  This prayer called for trust and reminded each neighbor of their importance.  Brotherhood and sisterhood were named as cherished relationships.  Unity and compassion were evoked as answers to prayer.  Each of us left having promised to be a light of peace for all we meet.  Where are you this summer?  With whom are you praying?  And, for what do you prayer? Peggy Ryan, OP Whitefish Bay, WI

This weekend our novice, Sr. Kathy Flynn, joined 4 other novices to begin 10 months of their canonical novitiate at the Collaborative Dominican Novitiate (CDN). Each year a new group of novices comes together to create its own unique experience of community with fresh spirit, abundant gifts, and eagerness to grow in the Dominican tradition.  This group has already begun! The CDN provides a quality experience of Dominican community life, prayer, study, ministry, exposure to and practice of preaching skills, and personal growth for the novices of the member groups. The process of this collaborative experience is intended to: offer a rich novitiate experience, encourage a supportive peer group, share the giftedness and resources of the congregations involved, and promote the charism of the Order.  Like any new beginning this one requires a leap of faith for this is no ordinary year.  It’s a transformational time of opening oneself and learning about God, ...