Catherine's Cafe Vocation Blog

I recently read an article by a young sister called “10 Things You Gain By Entering Religious Life.”   I have been reflecting on this and I have come up with a different list.   I have listed 10 ‘Aha’ moments in Religious Life.   These are some significant things over the course of my 8 years in the congregation. These are not in any specific order. This was not an easy list to make because there have been so many surprises. 1.      God as my beloved.   Not like a spouse nor a parent. 2.      Experience of communal centering prayer. 3.      Living in community is hard and a gift. 4.      Introduction to theology class 5.      Love my OP Sisters   6.      Realized I have been a Dominican all my life 7.      Internovitiate Crowd in St. Louis 8.      Giving Voice – Young Sisters 9. ...

Our congregation is fond of the saying: “Providence can provide, Providence did provide, Providence will provide.” Recently I came to appreciate this saying in an unexpected way, when a group of other young sisters and I participated in a half marathon.   Although we prepared together by designing t-shirts for our “nun run” (Team 13.nun… get it??) and having a pasta party the night before, we were all planning to run at different paces.   I had never run a half marathon without a buddy before and wasn’t thrilled about running alone. As I found my place in the starting corral on race morning, I heard someone call my name.   I turned around to see a guy I had met almost five years ago at an orientation for our international volunteer programs.   We had spent two weeks together and gone off to our respective countries of service and hadn’t seen each other since. “So, what are you up to these days?” I asked him.   “I’m a Jesuit now,” he said.   “Ho...

I have always believed that living in community allows one to become an Easter person, or a person dedicated to resurrection and hope.   As Dominican women, we are offered the great gift of living in community “for the sake of our mission.”   In other words, our lives at home should give us all we need to be gospel women.   We live together to cherish gifts, inspire prayerful hearts, accompany each other in whatever struggle arises, learn to laugh, dream and act to make the world a better place, as well as occasionally love off the rough edges.   We can let each one become new, no matter what the circumstance.   Where do you find resurrection happening?   Where do you hear hopeful voices these days? Peggy Ryan, OP Whitefish Bay, WI

One of the challenges of our American culture is sustaining attention to what is slow moving or thinking something is over when it has only begun.   The Easter Season is one of those times in our liturgical church calendar that is hardly noticed by most of us. There is Easter Sunday – with all the trimmings – whatever that may mean for parish communities, families, vowed religious, etc.   But once the sun sets on that Sunday, am I – are we – noticing the season we are in? It is during the Easter Season we hear readings from the Acts of the Apostles – considered part 2 of St Luke’s writings.   I appreciate this New Testament book because it is the story of us – of our beginning as church. Even so, I need more than this one book of scripture to keep me focused and all the unfolding of this season.   In some of the eastern Christian churches people greet one another with this exchange:   “Christ is Risen” with the response: “He is Risen indeed.”   While...

What does it really mean to offer your day to God?  When I was a child I learned a prayer called the Morning Offering.  In that prayer I offered my whole day to God, my joys, my sufferings, my prayers and my works, all to the one who gave me the day in the first place.  I'm not sure I fully understood what I was saying but I do believe that praying this prayer day after day instilled in me a desire to do God's will.  So when at the age of 21 I heard the call of God so clearly that I could no longer ignore it, I sent in my application to the Dominican Sisters in Sinsinawa.  Once I made this decision I promised to try to follow God’s will in all that I do. I offer each day to God.  Some days are better than others.  During the days of loneliness, the times of challenges, the feelings of failure, I continue to offer these to God along with the joys, and acts of service and compassion I am called to do.  On some days I feel I have nothing to ...