Catherine's Cafe Vocation Blog

A few days ago, I celebrated my seventy-fifth birthday. Seventy-five is a robust number, a solid number. After all, it’s three quarters of a century, isn’t it! I have nothing against the number, but to have to attach it to my person seems bizarre.     When I think of a seventy-five-year-old woman I think of my grandmother, but that’s not who I am. There must have been some mistake in the records. But wait! What’s wrong with being seventy-five? I now have seven and a half decades of experiences to hold onto. I have, as we say, been there and done that. My bucket list is getting shorter, and I feel a deep sense of satisfaction in the realization that my life has been fruitful. I give thanks for friends and family and for my Dominican Congregation that supports me more than I deserve. Seventy-five is a ripe age and it’s time for the harvest – drawing in the wisdom and the gifts as well as the challenges that have shaped me into the woman I am. Come to think of it, I like being se...

Did you awake this morning wondering “Where am I called this day? this week? This life?” In 1170 Jane de Guzman had a vision that the child in her womb was like a dog running with a torch to set the world on fire.  After his death in 1221 the world knew this child as Dominic, the hound of God, and the order that grew out of Dominic’s adventures as the order of preachers. The Order is to proclaim the word of God by preaching, teaching and example, while being sustained by community.  In 2021 preaching takes on many forms. How are you called to preach?   On this day I awoke remembering that today is my turn to write the blog for Catherine’s Café.  What a wonderful call to preach!   I began by praying to God’s Spirit.  “What do you want of me to preach today?   I found a life of Dominic.*    It is an adventure story and a mystery story too.  The events that led to the beginning of the order of preache...

In the past two weeks, I’ve been to a dentist and was privileged to be with a dying sister. Although certainly not comparable circumstances, one is often (for me) filled with some fear (dentist), the other with sadness.   The dental hygienist was new to me. She spoke softly. Somehow, our limited conversation turned to the existence of spirits, blessings and to a providential God. She shared a beautiful story of her mother’s death and the many ways God spoke to her in the months leading up to it. I was deeply touched and grateful that she felt moved to share her story. From the unlikely place of a dentist’s chair, I was fed by the Spirit through this woman.    Faced unexpectedly with her impending death, a sister wondered how she was to prepare for it. I pondered that for a long time, later sharing that wondering with a sister residing at the facility where I minister. After some thought, she quietly said, “I don’t know…I guess we prepare with our entire life.” How true! W...

The gardener in me is always grateful for the resilience of Spring. Each springtime I marvel how plants that in their dormancy looked nearly dead rebound back.     However, this year with the merciless reality of climate change I have discovered another side of nature’s resilience.     This summer with 108 plus degrees I have witnessed both the cruelty and tenacity of earth.     As I sit in silence with plants unable to receive their fill of moisture I   pause to enter more deeply into the mystery of recovery.     We are all learning more about recovery from a devastating pandemic.  We are actively pondering the devastation of centuries of white supremacy.  We are engaged in understanding the fragility of our republic.  Where do you find your resilience these days?  Me?  I gently observe how even a little water is slowly healing my garden.  And you?   KC Young, OP Kirkland, WA

One morning I was on my 8:00am weekly transformational leadership growth group conference call.   Where some of us who are leaders in the local Catholic Church were sharing on what was our mission and purpose in our life.     When it was his turn to share the youngest member of our group who was in his early 30’s then proceeded to tell us that he did not subscribe to having a mission and purpose for his life.       Well, to say the least I could not believe what I was hearing.     Why would this thirty something year old not think that there was a purpose for his life?   It made me think of myself and my journey to discovering my purpose.  I did not always know what it was until I realized that you and I are here on this earth now for a reason.  It is not by chance or coincidence, it is to fulfill our purpose.  We are not called to merely exist, but to thrive.  Figuring out and living our purpose in lif...

Yesterday, at a gathering of some members of my crowd – current and former, I was truly overcome with sheer joy and gratitude at being together and experiencing again the goodness of these women I have known and loved for so many years. As we shared stories, I was so moved at how we have not been afraid of the kinds of questions posed by Liz Sully in her preaching on this Sunday’s gospel.  What's our heart quotient? How's the hosting of love going? Where are we serving up compassion? Are we really present to the wounds, our own and others? What's our healing touch availability? Is the listening ear in desperate need of hearing aid? Where are we exercising the power of the word, individually and communally? How is justice in action being manifest?   Today I continue the celebration of gratitude that began yesterday. Before I climbed out of bed this morning, I said to myself the words of e.e. cummings, the only poem I know entirely by heart: “I thank you God for most this ama...

I’m spending the summer at our Camp WeHaKee in northern Wisconsin, far from my home in Austin, Texas.  The setting is gorgeous, and the camp is full of the laughter and struggles of girls as they navigate new relationships as well as develop new skills in such things as teamwork, arts, music, horseback riding, sailing and archery.  While there are still some Covid protocols in place, we have been able to enjoy seeing one another in person again, sharing meals outside and singing our favorite camp songs.  I am especially impressed with the camp counselors, young women mostly college age, who bring energy, enthusiasm, and many talents they can share with their campers Surely,  This is holy ground; we’re standing on holy ground, For our God is with us, and where God is is holy.   LouAnne Willette Austin, TX