Catherine's Cafe Vocation Blog

If you haven't read the previous blog for July 20th - I encourage you to take time to read it.  The Sister who wrote it is part of my "crowd" - we entered/joined the congregation together. As I considered what to share for this blog entry, I wanted to see what Sisters wrote in recent blogs as we continue to live in these days of pandemic and calls for racial justice.  Seeing Peggy's beautiful posting had me turn toward a constellation (yes, stars) of memories and ways our lives have crisscrossed.  It was a good journey - an arc of our particular relationship. During these days, weeks, and now months of living through pandemic(s), we might find our world closing in and forget the many people who have "populated" and indeed, enlivened our hearts and minds. There is a long arc of relationships worth nurturing.  Who has crisscrossed through your life?  Are there some whom you haven't seen for a long while?  Reach out - be in touc...

I am a star gazer.  There is nothing more stirring than the summer night sky full of stars.   I relish in those rare opportunities offered to see the sky without artificial light.  Peering into the night’s sky, I am moved to wonder.   As Dominicans, God’s creation, at any time of year, calls us to reflect upon our vision.  How wide is my own understanding of God?   The American theologian, Ilia Delio, asked in her book,  Emergent Christ (2011) , “How deep is the divine mystery for us? (138)  Am I open to the interrelatedness creation invites?  Being willing to participate in the furthering of truth, beauty, and goodness, is co-creating with God.  Even in the midst of a pandemic, when we are locked down and missing so much, each day offers us a number of opportunities to share in and spread the generous giftedness through which all flourishes and grows.  We can actually turn ...

Recently I was part of a Zoom sharing on what elements of life-giving Dominican Community we are currently experiencing,  Of course, everyone mentioned praying together, eating together, sharing household tasks and showing care for one another. Study was mentioned, too, either together or sharing what one has learned with the other members. In addition, I shared my experience of living in a multicultural, intergenerational community. Two of us are older and two are quite a bit younger. We find it enriching to learn from each other as we share life together. The younger members are so considerate of our limitations, but we older members are able to contribute quite a bit to our common life.  One sister is from Vietnam, so as she is getting to know our culture we are getting to know hers. We pray the Our Father in Vietnamese each night and we are treated some days to Vietnamese-based meals, such as spring rolls with peanut sauce. Artwork from Vietnam adorns our walls an...

I am guessing that many of us may or may not be tired of hearing about this this time being referred to as the “new normal”.  You may have asked yourself what does this even mean?  Maybe just another nice phrase.  Before COVID-19 things were business as usual for me and for many others I am sure.  I was not really taking enough time to reflect on the preciousness and fragility of life.  I was so totally consumed by ministry and all that I had to get done within any given day.  Hardly taking the time to smell the proverbial roses.  This time of COVID has taught me than in this global reality I live in, that we all need each other.  What I do way over here in Trinidad & Tobago can have an impact on others in other parts of the world and universe.  We are so intimately connected and made to be interdependent, called upon to help each other in our good times and in our trying times.  It is thr...

In a terrifying way, the twin pandemics of Racism and Covid-19 may bring us to the brink of all that could save us as a people. Jan Richardson’s reflection in  Circle of Grace , invites us to see a blessing in this moment. “This Grace That Scorches Us” Here’s one thing you must understand about this blessing: it is not for you alone. It is stubborn about this. Do not even try to lay hold of it if you are by yourself, thinking you can carry it on your own. To bear this blessing, you must first take yourself to a place where everyone does not look like you or think like you, a place where they do not believe precisely as you believe, where their thoughts and ideas and gestures are not exact echoes of your own. Bring your sorrow. Bring your grief. Bring your fear. Bring your weariness, your pain, your disgust at how broken the world is, how fractured, how fragmented by its fighting, its wars, its hungers, its penchant for power, its ceaseless repetition of the his...

In my last blog, March 15, I wrote about my passion for being a life-long learner. Then my learning experience took a sharp curve with two pandemics—the corona virus and the 400 year deadly racism virus. The blatant killing of Mr. George Floyd on May 25, 2020 set the world on fire. We cannot and must not ignore the urgent cry for justice. Learning, for me, now focuses intensely on this deadly racism virus. Over the past two weeks our sisters shared articles, videos, took part in teach-ins and dialogs about “Where do we go from here?” (Oprah’s question).  Our congregation made a public statement expressing our outrage, sympathy, and solidarity with people of color. We stand on the side of justice for all. On June 8 th  Joan Duerst, OP wrote in her blog about ways she has engaged in action for justice now. Our congregation’s commitment to being anti-racist and multicultural has reignited our resolve. Learning is not always enjoyable. Bryan Massingale, SJ has put a “fi...

"Ultimately, we have just one moral duty:  To reclaim large areas of peace in ourselves,  More and more peace,  And to reflect it towards others.  And the more peace there is in us,  The more peace there will be In our troubled world." —Etty Hillesum What areas of peace in yourself need reclaiming? How are you reflecting peace towards others? Gail Jagroop OP Sinsinawa, WI