Catherine's Cafe Vocation Blog

I recently read a reflection that has really impacted my thinking, attitude, and prayer.  The author Fr. Herbert McCabe, an English Dominican theologian and philosopher, wrote “What matters first is that we are loved.  We matter, not first because of what we have made of ourselves, but because of what God has made of us.  To serve God is to … begin to love ourselves as God loves us: not for being rich or clever or powerful, but just for being ourselves.” This week promises to be a very busy one that could, in fact, be stressful.   What will be needed from all of us is compassion for ourselves and each other as we move through the activities of the week.   I don’t know about you, but when life happens and things don’t go as I thought they would, I tend to “stress” rather than remembering perfection doesn’t matter.   What does matter is that we are loved no matter what happens in life.   So let’s make a pact today and tomorrow to be gentle with o...

We are in the Easter season and spring has finally come to the Midwest.  The temps are warmer and Earth is greening everywhere you look.  Gentle rain lulls you to sleep at night.  What a marvel to see the new growth of leaves, the green grass, and the unbelievable color in the recently budded flowers and bushes and trees.  I especially love the newness of the leaves…they look all wrinkly and squishy…. Elizabeth Schussler Fiorenza says, “Resurrection does not simply spell the survival of the soul but requires the transformation of the world as we know it.”   (Jesus:   Miriam’s Child, Sophia’s Prophet: Critical Issues in Feminist Christology, 121) Springtime reminds me of transformation.   Can I be present to this newness all around me?   What do I notice? Where do I see beauty?      Springtime is such a gift.   With this new season comes amazing change.   All I need to do is open my eyes and ears and hear...

In April, Pope Francis issued a document referred to as an Apostolic Exhortation entitled:   Rejoice and be Glad .   The subtitle indicates his focus: “ On the Call to Holiness in Today’s World .” His goal in the letter “is to re-propose the call to holiness in a practical way for our own time…” He is writing to our global church.   For those of us living in and as a very secular culture the document is both a reminder of our call to holiness and some ways to get there.   He names five:     ** Perseverance, Patience & Meekness     ** Joy and a Sense of Humor     ** Boldness & Passion     ** In Community     ** In Constant Prayer Hopefully all of these both call you in your life and challenge you to grow in holiness.   Is there one that stands out for you right now, today?   Find out what Pope Francis says about all of these. To read the whole exhortation, fo...

"Our Calling" For some people, the question of their calling is very difficult to decipher; for others, it follows from an early intuition and practically unfolds of its own accord.  For some, it can be the singular and exclusive direction their life takes; for others, it can change and follow new directions.  Again, some people never seem to find what they are called to do; this can burden them with a continual restlessness and dissatisfaction.  When you find what you are called to do, your life takes on a focus and purpose.  You come into rhythm with the deeper longing of your heart. The nature of the calling can change over time, taking a person down pathways never anticipated.  The calling opens new territories within the heart; this in turn deepens the calling itself.  The faces of the calling change; what at the beginning seemed simple and dear can become ambivalent and complex as it unfolds.  To develop a heart that is generous and equa...

I t will all come to us one day even though we have probably experienced it many times in our own lives-receiving. We have learned how to give, how to minister. We’ve learned to “be of help.” It’s appears to be a different set of skills yet they may be strangely connected. To receive. To welcome the other in. It is never to early to learn. To receive and to allow the other to be of service. To welcome the help as a gift and with a smile allows the other to be enhanced. To let go of being and doing and to embrace being and receiving can be a challenge and opens the heart in ways that we could never ask for or imagine. Yes, giving and receiving are strangely connected. Kathy Brady, OP Milwaukee, WI

Easter is such a tender day.  Children remember the eggs and chocolate bunnies, but as we mature we learn that Easter begins with remembering death and suffering before we remember forgiveness, mercy, new life and love. Today I am remembering my Polish Grandma, Magdalene. Who came to the US with adopted parents, her own parents having died in a flu epidemic.   Sometimes I would sit with her for afternoon coffee.   Of course, we always had a cookie or a piece of cake to share as well.   She taught the art of welcoming.   “It doesn’t matter what you have, always treat the visitor with kindness.   If all you have to offer is a piece of bread and a cup of coffee, offer that,” she would say. Our community has been so blessed to welcome to our house, not far from where Grandma and I shared coffee—people from China, Peru, and Colombia, --people of Lakota, Navaho, and Mohican nations, people who are African American, Turkish, and of course people like ours...

As a kid, I loved spring vacation or Easter break as we called it then, but I also remember whining to my wonderful mother that “all we ever do is go to church!”   I didn’t get it then; I hope I get it now.   I hope I get how truly holy this week is – that, as a wise woman said, --   “… is NOT business as usual.”   This week is so special, this week plunges us so deeply into mystery, it can only be called “holy.”   This week has to be experienced, I believe, the way we experience a poem or a painting or dance….it touches us in the deepest parts of soul, of experience, of memory, of emotion –no words, only symbols can speak its truth.   Thursday night’s washing of feet, breaking of bread and drinking the wine, Friday’s cross with blood and water pouring out, Saturday’s new fire and new water all flow seamlessly from one into another until they unite in the image of a rolled stone and an empty tomb.   Just be with these images, sounds, light and darkn...