Catherine's Cafe Vocation Blog

As Dominican women, we are called to be aware of the signs of the times.  These signs are meant to open us up to where God is present.  We listen and look.  We study and ask questions.  We pray and reflect.  If we are open, these signs of the times can be found anywhere.  For me, God’s creation, such as our Holy Family Food Pantry community garden, is one such place.     Our community garden, which occupies a corner lot, is surrounded by tagged buildings and pot-holed streets.   The garden brings together families of all shapes and sizes, as well as master gardeners and community workers throughout the summer months.     We are filled with communal wonder as we marvel at God’s creation unfolding before us.   Our senses are bursting with a beauty beyond compare.      In these past few months, the signs of the times have come in unexpected events that shatter our most basic beliefs.   There is no...

Why? That’s a question I ask myself often these days. Why do I have Parkinson’s? People are very kind to me, yet still I wonder. One problem is that I hate to ask, yet I have to!  At a meeting this week,  I even had to ask for a hand getting out of a chair! I feel like I’m still young – and I’m now 71!  Older than I ever imagined I’d be!!   As a “Baby Boomer” I imagine lots of us are asking the same question.  If it’s not Parkinson’s, it’s something else. I am lucky, though.  I live in Madison and the University of Wisconsin offers many resources for Parkinson’s sufferers.  On Wednesdays and Fridays I’m learning how to Tango!  In addition to our instructor, we have help from graduate students in Physical Therapy.  Plus I’m learning how to Box!  (Which I love!!)  And during the month of July I am rowing on Lake Mendota in an 8-person boat with a coxswain. Once a month there is a free lecture by a person from ...

This Saturday we celebrate the Feast of St. Mary of Magdala – the first witness to the Resurrection, Apostle to the Apostles, and one of the patrons of the Order of Preachers.  Unfortunately, this preacher and faithful Christ-follower is one of the most misunderstood women in Christian history.   For centuries, Mary of Magdala has all too often been seen as repentant prostitute and public sinner – an image reinforced by artistic representations of her.   Books and movies like The Da Vinci Code which present her as Jesus’ wife add to the confusion. So who is the real Mary of Magdala? The Gospels describe her as accompanying Jesus during his ministry in Galilee and supporting the mission from her means.   She is at the foot of the cross during the crucifixion - in contrast to Jesus’ male follower who fled or hid. She is among the myrrh-bearing women who go to Jesus’ tomb early on Easter morning – and there she has a powerful encounter with the Risen Chr...

It's raining again today!  We are well over our average for this month and it's only half-over! Groan. However, I must tell you I live in a rain forest so rain is part of our life, but when the rainfall goes over the usual amount it causes us all to groan. We expect rain but we don't let it stop us from doing things. We have parades in the rain, children go out for recess in the rain, soccer and baseball games go on when it rains. We know which vegetables and flowers to plant and which ones will rot.  We adjust to what we cannot change and we make the best of what we have. But because of the rain and also the darkness of winter the people of Juneau have created a great sense of community.  More activities happen indoors and neighbors know each other better and look out for one another, especially when a need arises. With only 30 days of sunshine a year we could be a grumpy people and complainers. Instead, we truly rejoice when we have one of those rare sunny ...

Yesterday I traveled 50 kms by car, 35 kms by train, and more than 8000 kms by plane.  It took me just under 18 hours in fits-and-starts of waiting to board high-speed modes of transportation to arrive in Chicago.  That’s a stark contrast to the last month in which I walked 550 kms in 25 days—just over a half-marathon each day.  I’m struck by how different these experiences of travel were and how poignant the metaphor for moving through life. Each leg of my journey yesterday was meticulously planned based on exact arrival/departure times.  At the airport, I joined the elbow-to-elbow crowds of people waiting in line and avoiding eye-contact or personal interaction.  Airport lines have a way of blending stagnation with rushed anxiety to meet check-in deadlines.   I then spent hours in a tightly packed space moving at inhumanly high speeds to most efficiently arrive at a specific destination.  While flying, the only way to know where you a...

I can honestly say I have never experienced God as a gendered Being. God has always been a mysterious presence, a constant – sometimes loud, sometimes deathly still - powerful, loving presence that I could experience anywhere, everywhere.  Sometimes, I have experienced God as an absent presence, when I have longed to know God as a “being” that could be physically clung to.  Have there been times in your life when you absolutely wanted to physically hug God, to feel God’s tender caress? Have there been times when, truthfully, you just wanted to grab God by the ankles and never let go? Maybe that’s where community steps in – not to fill a void – but to stand in as the physical presence of God.   I am grateful for all of the many types of community into which God has either placed or led me – my family of origin, the four other women with whom I currently live, the broader Sinsinawa Dominican family, and the many people with whom I have worshipped, played and mini...

July is for picnics, fireworks and family.   In my youth, I felt God calling me to be part of a big family.   This July I am thinking of my family that includes: ·       -   a Chinese woman who we quizzed on civics questions, as she prepares for her citizenship interview ·       -   a friend who, with one of our sisters, is spending time making her Hogan in Navaho country more livable (We stayed home to dog sit.)          - men and women of EXPO (Ex Prisoners Organizing)      -  my blood sister’s family, where we share great stories of today and yesterday. A New York Times article Sunday, July 2 caught my eye.   “Wary When Alone With Worker of Opposite Sex? Join the crowd.” By Clair Cain Miller, who made the question come to life through a survey of 5,300 people. As a Dominican Sister who has made a permanent commitment to God through the gift of celibacy, I f...