Catherine's Cafe Vocation Blog

Often, a day spent in D.C.—living in a diverse community of 14 and working on Capitol Hill—feels like a multi-chapter chronicle.  Life hasn’t felt this full, ever.   Any given day is rife with interpersonal encounters and dynamics.  I’m almost always engaging with others or navigating relationships and interactions between them.  Multiple encounters with strangers—scheduled and ad hoc—add a delightful element of surprise to a day.  I often show-up at special, powerful events—whether intentionally or by happenstance.  I attend meetings with a variety of people—I may know some of them and I might know the reason we’re meeting (but not always).  Several circles of people welcome me as a member.  I could spend time in multiple locations throughout the District in very different environments in a day.  There’s also a constant buzzing of political intrigue and activity that’s consuming “the background”.  At the end of the day, I’m ...

Often when we greet one another, especially if it’s been a while, we ask the question, “What’s new?” “What’s happened since we last met?” “How has your world changed in the meantime?” I believe that we humans love to hear news, hot news. Being the first to know makes us feel special. Knowledge is power, isn't it! As the character Emma said in the movie by that name, “I have news and know how you love news!”  If you asked me that question these days I’d say, “Everything is new!” A couple of months ago I moved to a new home in northern Wisconsin and began a new ministry…new geography, new climate, new friends, new everything…what a gift! Now if I can just keep it all straight and be attentive to how these new experiences are shaping me, how I am being challenged to grow… So what’s new in your life? In your world? What books are you reading? Seen any good movies? How’s your family? Your spiritual life? Has God spoken to recently? Christ said, “Behold I make all things new.”...

How do you say “Thanksgiving”? “THANKSgiving” or “ThanksGIVING”? According to an article in  Mental Floss , if Thanksgiving, which is thoroughly an English word, actually behaved like an English word, the stress would be on the first syllable. (Think of words like SEAfaring, BABYsitting, HANDwriting, ALMSgiving, etc.) Linguist John McWhorter believes a shift to stressing the second syllable of Thanksgiving is reflective of the way our view of the holiday has shifted, that we “don’t truly think about Thanksgiving as being about thankfulness anymore.” I don’t know if I buy that…the word has always been “ThanksGIVING” for me and about gratitude. Maybe it’s a Midwestern thing.  However you pronounce it, Thanksgiving is about giving thanks for the grace and abundance in our lives. In these turbulent times, it’s often easy to overlook our abundance and focus on scarcity and what we think we need. I am reminded of this quote, attributed to a variety of people:...

So often this time of year there is a lot of focus on gratitude. However I have been pondering differences and acceptance. Perhaps the more pointed question is How to celebrate and appreciate what is?  All does not have to be a seen solely through ‘my lens’.   I visited a couple recently who had been bickering with each other. ‘Why doesn’t he compliment me?, Why does she not do things my way?’  Such opportunities to pause and to remember the goodness we see in the other. Just as we each have acquired talents or taste, so too we can explore differences and deepen acceptance.  In our congregation we post remembrances of a sister who has gone before us. What an acceptance treat!  Let’s glory in who we each are. KC Young OP Kirkland, WA

This past week as I drove to a meeting, I saw trees with colorful autumn leaves peeking through snow laden branches and thought “This isn’t right!”  This past week I worked through my November calendar and kept adding lines for meetings and events and “to do” items that have seemingly popped up out of nowhere and thought, “This isn’t right!”  This past week I determined to tackle that closet with doors that can barely close but it is still a mess and I say to myself, “This isn’t right!”  Do you too ever think there is too much to do in your life, too much stuff in your life, too little time in your life, and it isn’t right? Ain’t it great to be human!  When we get stuck on this track of grousing about all there is to do and wondering how to find time (it’s normal and natural), we must stop and find the deep calming center in it all.  We must stop to breathe in and breathe out the Spirit, to realize that all the “whats” are because of the ...

I just got back from the downtown Austin parade celebrating “El Día de la Muerte,”  The Day of the Dead.  The theme was “Viva la Vida,”  Long Live Life, a challenging combination of Life and Death.  What a wonderful celebration it was, full of color, music, dance, giant butterflies and puppets.   Coupled with all these symbols of joy and happiness were skeleton masks and painted faces symbolizing death.  Interesting. What were these symbols of the Mexican-American culture saying?  Were they laughing at death?  Were they reconnecting with their deceased friends and relatives?   Were they saying that Life overcomes Death?  Were they reaching deep into their beliefs about life and death and the Communion of Saints?   How do you express in symbol your deep beliefs?   LouAnne Willette OP Austin, TX

Early Morning Exercise Class In these last days of October, we see that the Holy Spirit is closer than we can ever imagine.  The feasts of All Hallow’s Eve (October 31) and All Saints (November 1) remind us of the thin veil between life and death, body and Spirit, heaven and earth. As Dominicans, we are called to persistently strive to live in that space that keeps the Spirit alive in us, in order to share our experience of God with others.  In this desire for unity, we are constantly challenged to let go of any polarity that separates body and soul, Spirit and life.  We strive to reflect God’s beauty.       I have found that exercise, whether it is a dip in the pool, a long walk, or an early morning exercise class brings me to a deeper awareness of this call.  Rumi, the 13th  century  Persian poets says, "Just as the water reflects the stars  and  the moon, the body reflects the mi...