Catherine's Cafe Vocation Blog

Tomorrow, Saturday February 2nd, is  World Day for Consecrated Life.  In 1997, Pope Saint John Paul II instituted a day of prayer for women and men in consecrated life. This celebration is attached to the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord on February 2nd. This Feast is also known as Candlemas Day; the day on which candles are blessed symbolizing Christ who is the light of the world. So, too, those in consecrated life are called to reflect the light of  Jesus Christ to all peoples.  We invite you over the next few days to celebrate the joy of religious life by sharing a story of a sister who inspired you!

Waiting…how many times a day do we wait? How much time of our days is spent in waiting? I don’t mean the big things like waiting for a birth or death or news of a new job or a diagnosis. That’s different.  I mean the moments of waiting, minutes or seconds when we have nothing else to do …waiting for the elevator or in line at a store or at a traffic light. I call these “pockets of time.” I try to manage them as opportunities to pray, to plug into the divine energy around me, to pay attention to who and where and when I exist.  Try it sometimes.   Focus intentionally and say a short prayer like this: “Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, your beloved.”  The moments, then, instead of being an annoyance, become infusions of grace that fill us and shape us for the rest of the day.   Does it change everything for you? Mary Ellen Green, OP Sinsinawa, WI

Rest easy, friend. (Tanya and Dillon at Camp We-Ha-Kee)   Today is Sunday. Morning routine: woke early, made coffee, took a shower, and settled into my prayer corner, ready to enter into contemplative silence. God had other ideas regarding structure. I was sad, missing my Dominican  sister and friend, Tanya Williams, who had herself settled into God’s loving , eternal embrace just a few short days ago. Tanya was so vibrant, so full of life, her personality and integrity so large, that her absence feels both surreal and impossible. So, rather than contemplative silence, I opened my computer to email correspondence to/from Tanya that began in April, 2011 when I was discerning a call to religious life. Tanya quickly became a friend who was willing, even eager, to explore with me  matters of faith and justice and ‘late r- life’ transformation and call . Her email are full of wisdom and wit and perspectives that challenge me even to this day. They also reflect p...

For many January 6 is just the day to put away the Christmas decorations and/or contribute our tree to the community bonfire.   But wait! What is this thing about some wise folks coming to see and then returning by a different way? When they found Jesus they offered their gifts. January 6, (first Sunday) is the day MOSES, (Madison Organizing in Strength, Equality and Solidarity) invites all to a general meeting.  We catch each other up on how we are doing on the mission to change the criminal justice system.  How can the system honor the dignity of each person? It is my job to find a clergy person to open the meeting with prayer/reflection. This time I feel called to do the opening myself.  I am especially honoring our member congregations that partner with another that is different by race/culture. Then members from two congregations that are currently working on an event together lead us in the song, “Let there be peace on earth.” ...

Gifts have been opened. Songs have been sung.  I’ve eaten too many cookies this week.  So what has Christmas meant to me this year?   I attended all the Posadas in our parish and couldn’t help but think of the people in many parts of the world, including our own border, who, like Joseph and Mary, are asking for posada, a place of welcome, protection, shelter.  They eventually found shelter in a stable.  I have had the privilege of working in El Paso in a hospitality center for asylum seekers, mainly from Central America, and will be going again in February.   I continue to be  impressed by the graciousness of the people of that city in providing shelter, providing posada.   Christmas this year reminds me, too, that Joseph, Mary and Jesus had to seek asylum in Egypt.  They returned to their own country only after the danger was over.  Later in his life, Jesus gives us this c...

Henry Ossawa Tanner, The Annunciation Every year, it’s the same: the intensifying liturgical readings, the weekly lighting of another candle, building anticipation. For all its predictability, Advent is my favorite season. It never ceases to awaken something that lies dormant deep within me. But why? After all, I already know what’s waiting at the end, so why go through the annual charade of suspense? For starters, it’s the way that Advent invites me to practice patience and presence before rushing headlong into parties and presents. It’s the balance between darkness and light, and the reminder that the former is every bit as important as the latter. It’s the silence and the longing. It’s because each Advent takes me deeper into the mystery of a God who loves us enough to meet us on our turf, becoming human so that we might come to know God. It’s the already-not-yet paradox of Advent: even as we stand in awe of past and present incarnation, our souls long for a union w...

I don’t know about you, but this time of the year tends to be exceptionally intense for me.  Keeping the “wheels on” in everyday life in addition to preparing for Christmas leads me down the path of overwhelming.  During my daily commute to the Mound, morning reflection time, and before I go to sleep each night I am praying, “God, let me serve with joy, and let me know your peace.”  Fortunately, our good and gracious God, in infinite kindness has bestowed peace and patience upon me.   In addition, God has used both ordinary and exceptional events during Advent to remind me of what is really important.  One of those exceptional events occurred yesterday on Gaudete Sunday.  We were blessed with the perpetual profession ceremony of our Sr. Kathy Flynn.  What joy, peace, and excitement we experienced through the music, Word of God, preaching, and words of commitment during that ritual! In the program distribut...