Catherine's Cafe Vocation Blog

Although autumn isn’t happening here in Texas yet, I know that up north fall has come with all its splendid colors.  I have often reflected how trees change their colors from the green of spring and summer to the golds, reds, and browns of fall, then let go of their leaves, one by one.  It’s a beautiful image of our life and death.   Fall is a season of letting go. This last week five of our sisters went home to God.  Each of them, Meg, Jessica, Philip Mary, Dorothea, and Pat, led wonderful lives of prayer and service.  Each of them was unique and reflected God’s image in different ways.  Each of them was loved.   So, as we are now in the process of saying goodbye to each of these lovely sisters, celebrating all the seasons of their lives, we thank God for each of them and rejoice at the many colors of their letting go.   LouAnne Willette, OP Austin, TX

In our Constitution we say that we open ourselves to be changed by a  new member who wishes to join us, and we also open ourselves to the  Spirit speaking in her. Recently our local community was blessed with  a new member. Are we ready to be open to being changed by her? This is one of the challenges of community life.  We know she will  bring her gifts and share them with us. But what about her food  preferences?  Is she vegetarian? Allergic to gluten? Since she is  Vietnamese she will want to prepare some food she is familiar with. We  need to be willing to eat what she prepares. She is a student, so will  she need more quiet in the house?  Does she have any art work she  would like to display on our walls?  These are just some of the  beginning questions we explore with her. The pace of our prayer needs to be slower since she still struggles  with some English words.  One way we are showing her that we a...

In her book  See No Stranger,  Valerie Kaur   declares revolutionary love as the call of our times and asks us to "see no stranger." This week in her online reflection for   The Revolutionary Love Project,  she wrote about the above image from Del Rio. “I focus on the face of the Black man running from the horse. I am numb. I want to look away. But I look into his eyes and say ‘Brother’ in my mind a few times. The word ‘refugee’ melts away and slowly his full humanity comes into view. I imagine his children, the home he left behind, why he has risked everything to seek asylum, the fear in his heart as he runs. I wonder if his children will eat tonight. I feel hot rage in my veins at what our nation is doing to him; my numbness melts and my rage is stirring me to act. “I slowly turn to the sneering white officer on the horse. I say ‘Brother’ in my mind. My body immediately seizes with disdain and revulsion. Such a man ...

Then he took a little child and put it among them; and taking it in his arms, he said to them, “Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me…”   Mk 9:36-37a Sunday’s gospel brings to mind a teaching memory from years ago.  Kenny was in my 4 th  grade once a week art class and he was, to put it mildly, a handful.  He was hyper, always moving, unable to focus – his classroom teacher couldn’t wait to send him to the art room. Although so exasperating he created some great artwork, and I displayed a drawing of his for the fall Open House knowing he would not have any other papers posted with wonderful comments or good grades.  Greeting parents and students that night saw I saw Kenny with an older man, gray haired, wearing bib overalls. I pointed to Kenny’s drawing and said to him, “Did you see Kenny’s picture?”  The man looked up at it with a huge smile and then putting his arms around this youngster looked up at me and said, ...

The pandemic has distinctively changed my perspective on life. I find blessings that I used to take for granted and welcome new learnings. Relationships have strengthened and new ones formed. My spiritual life is deepening as well.   Each summer for the past 20 years I have participated in a retreat entitled  Nurturing Life’s Blessings . Last year we had a “virtual” retreat and I missed being together, in person, in a place that is  extra  holy ground at Siena Retreat Center in Racine, WI.    This summer we gathered at Siena Retreat Center. What a difference! We adapted to the new protocols for safety and also appreciated being together. The gifts of nature and being with others truly nurtured my spirit. I celebrate this sacred time. Being on the team and creating the rituals for each day expands my love of life. I am also privileged to companion women on their journey and learn from them. The Spirit’s presence was palpable.   Lake Michigan graces the ...

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...