Catherine's Cafe Vocation Blog

Since the beginning of 2020 and COVID following shortly thereafter, we Dominicans of Sinsinawa have said good-bye to 53 of our Sisters who entered eternal life.     Three of those Sisters left behind a biological sister who is also a member of the congregation.     This becomes an even more significant loss for those Sisters.     We, both as a community and also as individual human beings, are mourning our losses.     Our beautiful wake/remembering services and funeral liturgies do help.     Since COVID restrictions have become less stringent, we have been able to accompany a Sister’s remains to the cemetery.     This also assists us saying our “good-byes.”   Although we are happy for the Sister who has entered eternity, nevertheless, we are grieving.  Today, I gathered the memorial cards for all of these Sisters, held each of them and all of them in prayer, and recalled my connection and encounters with each Sis...

The cherry tomatoes on my sister Molly’s plant make my mouth water!     The first two tomatoes I pick are so beautiful; I do not want to eat them.     The Saturday morning farmer’s market during these last weeks of August is an experience in abundance.  Each fruit and vegetable demonstrates the mystery of sunlight and rain, of earth and air.  Hidden seeds become luscious food. As Dominicans, we are called to praise and to bless.  The taste of a crunchy cucumber, the tartness of a blueberry, or the drippy sweetness of a slice of watermelon make it so easy to exclaim God’s goodness. This past Sunday’s second reading from the Letter of James says, “Humbly welcome the word that has been planted in you…” Even as this pandemic rages forward and the international scene speaks of injustice and oppression, James reminds us that we are called to be the harvest of God wherever we are, in any way possible.  The harvest of God’s love, mercy...

I’ve been thinking about edges lately. The edge of night and the new day. The edges of land and water and all the life forms that find home at the edge. Are you walking by the edge of a road? Are you on the edge of a decision? Are you between this and that? We all walk the edge between what is and what is not yet.   How are you navigating those edges? These places of transition and transformation? Such liminal spaces, full of beauty and possibilities.  Can be scary. The edge of the proverbial cliff springs to mind. Can be lonely.   My own physical edges have grown much more rounded than sharp, thanks in some way to the pandemic.   And perhaps also thanks to Covid I am now more appreciative of life living itself in me and inviting me to playfully explore the edge of all things.   Along which edges do you walk?   Isabel Rafferty OP Madison, WI

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