Catherine's Cafe Vocation Blog

As we celebrate the 800 th anniversary of the Dominican Order, I find myself over and over again noticing the many reasons why I feel so fortunate to have been called to this life.   Last evening I had one of those moments of recognizing one of the graces and being filled with gratitude.   I was having dinner with a group of six other Dominicans from five different Congregations: Dominicans of Amityville, Peace, Sinsinawa, Sparkill and Bui Chu, Vietnam.     Some I knew well while others were acquaintances.    We came together as sisters who share in the same mission and way of life.   We knew without articulating it that prayer, study, community, ministry, preaching, justice and searching for the truth are important to each one of us.    They are essentials of our lives as Dominicans.    We each had a desire to know one another better.    In hearing each one’s experience, ideas, and opinions, we stretched one an...

Pope Francis in the beginning of his papal letter on mercy states that, “Jesus is the visible face of God’s mercy.”  This Advent I have been reflecting and reading about what that really means.  Pope Francis has designated from December 8 th – November 20 th 2016 the Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy.  To me this begs the question what is mercy?  A few months ago I had a traumatic encounter with someone who publically insulted and lied about me.  I was very hurt that this person would think that way about me.  Yet I knew that mercy called me to love and more importantly forgive that person; not only for their sake, but for my own sake.  So that I could be completely free of the hurt that it had caused within me.  With the help of the Holy Spirit I am still working on forgiving that person.  My way of dealing with the pain was to pity the person.  I had thought that pity was being merciful; feeling sorry for the person becaus...

Advent is always a special time for me. The spirit of this season, expressed through the scriptures, deepens my sense of hope and living fully the present moment. For about a year now I have been practicing mindfulness. For me Advent is a call to live mindfully as we are encouraged to “Wake up!” It is a time of hopeful waiting. This past Wednesday, I received a call from my brother that Dad was not doing well. I live in the Chicago area and Dad lives in the Minneapolis area.  Dad is 98 and living in assisted living with Hospice care. Naturally, I thought this was his special time for passing into life after life to join Mom and three of my siblings and many other loved ones. That night I had a dream that had a significant message. In the dream I remember singing “Eye has not seen, ear has not heard what God has ready for those who love him.” When I awoke the message in my heart was “Dad is experiencing a very important waiting and we cannot even imagine how magnificent i...

In this season of slumber… Pregnant pauses… Dormant possibilities… We wait. Grieving leave-takings Celebrating homecomings And Home-goings. In stillness We wait. Longing for His coming And, with His coming, Our awakening. Be still And know He is already here… Peace to you this holy season of Advent. Kathy Flynn, OP Whitefish Bay, WI

I have been reading Hope Sings, So Beautiful; Graced Encounters Across The Color Line by Christopher Pramuk. It is beautifully written and illustrated. Today, I find myself reflecting on the title of one of its chapters, “Entry Points.” Many times during the work day, I and my co-workers talk about ‘meeting clients where they are’ so that we can hopefully begin our best work. Recently, I saw a film “Paper Tigers” about an alternative high school that works with students who have been victims of trauma for most of their lives and the critical importance of hearing their stories to learn what happened to them (contrasted to what’s wrong with them) so that teaching can begin. For the past few days I have been thinking of a very special friend who had a stroke during the Thanksgiving holidays and underwent surgery to remove pressure on her brain. We are all waiting, hoping to know where to meet her in her recovery. There are so many ‘entry point’ opportunities throughout our days...