News | Live Stream | Video Library
Contact Us | Employment | Donate
The OP after our names stands for “Order of Preachers,” the formal name of the religious order founded in 1216 by St. Dominic. As Dominicans, we preach with our lives—in both word and deed—guided by a search for truth (veritas) and a commitment to contemplate and share the fruits of our contemplation (contemplate et aliis tradere).
Our Dominican lives are shaped by the interconnecting movements of study, prayer, communal life, and ministry.
Dominic so firmly believed in the importance of study to the preaching mission that he provided a rule of “dispensation” from other responsibilities in the event they interfered with study. We are women committed to study. Through prayer and contemplation we interiorize our learnings and enter into communion with the Source of all truth. Our communal life orients us to the common good of the whole Earth community. And in ministry, our preaching takes effect.
As women of the Gospel, our preaching is also expressed in word. Read reflections on the Word of God posted by Adrian Dominican Sisters and Associates on the Praedicare Blog below.
Wednesday, December 25, 2024 Isaiah 52:7-10 Hebrews 1:1-6 John 1:1-18
I typed in the word “Word” on YouTube, and I got a lot of tutorials for Microsoft Word. That’s not the Word we’re hearing about here.
Then I thought of the expression “word.” You might not all be familiar with this one – it’s a slang way to let someone know you’ve heard them and received their message. For example, “I want you to come to my house tonight.” The response is “Word” – that means I got it – I’m coming.
That’s a little bit closer – it is receiving and acknowledging a message, a word.
Then there is the expression we all know, “You have my word.” That’s a serious promise. A commitment to be faithful to one’s word.
And isn’t that what God is saying to us in this Gospel: “You have my Word” literally. My very Word, my very self, became one of you, dwelt among you. You literally have my Word.
The world may not always accept that Word, and indeed, there are many forces against the word of life.
How many yearn for that word Isaiah speaks of in the first reading, a word of peace, good news, and salvation – We can’t help but think of the many struggling places around our world, and of Earth herself. The promise of the messenger can seem so far away.
And yet the Word became flesh in a time as desperate as our own. The Word chose to dwell with those who were oppressed. No doubt had the Word instead become incarnate in our time, it would have been in a place like Gaza, or Ukraine, or Haiti. Or some of the more impoverished and neglected areas of this country.
It's a long-haul promise. Can we trust it? Do we believe in ultimate peace, good news, and salvation for all people and creation?
More importantly, can we witness to it? Can we be witnesses with our word, our light – or rather the Word and light of God that can shine through us?
We are all probably familiar with the quote from Meister Eckhart, the 14th century Dominican mystic, who said, “What good is it to me if Mary gave birth to Jesus fourteen hundred years ago and I do not also give birth to Jesus in my time and culture?”
The Word came into the world and joined with us and all of creation in a unique way, through very intimate and personal relationships and connections.
We are now part of that family. The Gospel refers to us as becoming “children of God.” That is not referring to our innocence or our infantile role. On the contrary. In the Hebrew culture, adult adoption was a practice and seen as a real and sacred relationship.
God has adopted us to be adult children, part of the family going forward to continue what was begun – to also be ‘words’ that bring light, peace, and truth.
Just like Jesus, we can do that through our personal relationships and connections.
Do you remember the theme of the Adrian Dominican Sisters’ tree at Comstock Park this year? It was “Won’t you be our neighbor?” We are planning more ways to truly connect with our local neighbors.
We have Sisters who are members of the NAACP and the Diversity Circle, who recognize that we need to journey together to achieve authentic racial equality and interculturality.
We have Sisters and Associates around the country who bring a word of peace and hope through literacy, peace education, serving the formerly incarcerated, and so much more.
We have a committee to welcome Sisters new to campus, helping make what can be a big transition go a little smoother, in a spirit of care and love.
And we have among us many of you here who express a word of gratitude to our coworkers, who offer prayer and encouragement to those who work hard to care for us.
Wherever we find ourselves, we can join with the Word of God to shine a light of hope and peace. Our world is yearning for this message. Our world needs people who witness to a belief in peace, a belief that this world is not ultimately heading toward destruction, but, somehow, is being called from the future by the God of life and hope.
This life in God started from the primordial beginning with a Word that brought all into being.
It continued as that Word took on flesh and began life as a baby – a sign of hope and life and trust in a future – and grew into a human and divine figure who showed us how to live and love.
It is our turn – we are to speak, to live, a Word of light and life and hope in our world. What Word is God wanting to say through you this day, this year, with the rest of your life?
I close with a prayer from a group of contemplative Dominican Sisters:
May the Word of God Spoken through each of our lives Bring love and peace to the world.
Merry Christmas!
word.op.org - International Dominican Preaching Page
Catholic Women Preach - Featuring deep spirituality and insights from women
Preach With Your Life - Video series by Adrian Dominican Sisters