Catherine of Siena Institute’s eScribe

Just Joan (and God) | by Joan Carey, Wauwatosa, WI
I love to golf. I play best when I swing freely and let the club do the work. When I don’t try with my own power to control things, those shots are the ones that fly straight and far and sometimes go beyond my wildest dreams. The same principle holds true when we are using our charisms. The truly extraordinary results come when we freely use our charisms, letting the Holy Spirit do the work. We let go of control and let God show us how and where he intends us to use our gifts. That is when the real adventure begins! Click here for more…

Three Steps to a Charism-Based Parish Ministry Fair | by Mary Sharon Moore
So now you’ve gone through the Called & Gifted workshop, and you’ve discerned what charisms seem to be at work in your life. Maybe there’s still a buzz in the parish about what you and some of your fellow parishioners have learned, and you might be feeling restless to take this “Called & Gifted” experience beyond discovery to real action.
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Learning How to Evangelize Effectively | by Fr. Michael Fones, O.P.
It would come as a shock to most cradle Catholics to learn that evangelization is intrinsic to the vocation of lay Christians, and that “All the laity are missionaries by baptism. (Redemptoris Missio, 71)”   Yet the Vatican II document on the laity says just that!
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Touching the Reign of God: A Review of Mary Sharon Moore’s Book | by Fr. Michael Fones, O.P.
“You are not far from the kingdom of God,” Jesus tells a scribe who responds wisely to his pronouncement that love of God and love of neighbor are intimately connected.  Mary Sharon Moore begins her book, Touching the Reign of God, by exclaiming, “I don’t want to be ‘not far’ from the kingdom of God. I don’t even want to be near the kingdom of God. I want to make my home in the kingdom of God and live every aspect of my life inside the reign of God.”Click here for more…

Discerning Priestly and Religious Calls Online (Not!) | by Fr. Michael Fones, O.P.
Awhile back I came across VocationsPlacement.org , self-described as "a Religious Careers Placement Service" with one mission: "to assist those who are investigating a call to religious life in the Roman Catholic Church." They schedule and facilitate "retreats for those in the discernment process, with diocesan and monastic" (perhaps they mean religious, I don't know) "vocational directors in the area of their choice."
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Survey Request from the Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology
The Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology (Berkeley, CA) is a ministry of the Western Dominican Province. The School is looking for people to participate in a survey intended to evaluate the current demand for a possible new graduate program – a Master of Theological Studies (MTS) - and to gather input to fully define the specifics of the program.
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