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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.
Monday, October 7, 2024 Zecharaiah 2:14-17 Acts 1:12-14 Luke 1:26-38
What’s in a name? A lot! Dominican Sisters always have a longer name attached to them in addition to the place they are located:
♦ Mission San Jose Sisters are the Congregation of the Queen of the Most Holy Rosary. ♦ Amityville, Sparkhill, and the Cabra Dominican congregations also have names related to the rosary. ♦ Dominican Sisters of San Rafael are the Congregation of the Most Holy Name of Jesus. ♦ Edmund Dominicans were the Congregation of Holy Cross. ♦ New Orleans were the St. Mary’s Dominicans and Eucharistic Missionaries. ♦ There are the Dominican Sisters of the Presentation of Mary in Columbia. ♦ Our Filippino Sisters were Our Lady of Remedies, and now that is their Chapter name. ♦ And of course, our Congregation of the Most Holy Rosary.
My sense is that the titles reflect Dominic’s devotion to Mary and to the Passion and death of Jesus. One of Dominic’s favorite ways of praying was kneeling or standing before the crucifix. Also I wonder if Doña Juana, his mother, had some influence on his devotion to Mother Mary! Two years ago, Joan Delaplane, OP, preached on this feast. Joan quoted the words of Edward Schillebeeckx, OP, “For the most part, people live by stories…. Without stories we should lose our memories, fail to find our own place in the present, and remain without hope or expectation for the future.”
The history of this feast goes back to October 7, 1571, when the Ottoman Empire was defeated in the Battle of Lepanto. It was through the intercession of Mary and prayer of the rosary that Christians overcame the Turkish forces. One year ago today, October 7, 2023, the deadliest attack against the Jews since the Holocaust occurred and has escalated beyond Israel and Palestine. And today we still pray – pray our rosary, pray our litanies to Mary, and light our candles to end this horrific story of humankind.
There was a short video on Richard Rohr’s email meditation by the author Adam Bucko, and the title was, “What would happen if you let heartbreak be your guide?”
Today’s heartbreak of warring nations frames our prayer. It’s the space out of which we pray. We turn to Mary, who also lived out of that space of heartbreak as she watched her Son be misunderstood, retaliated against, scourged and put to death. Like Mary at the Anunciation and in the upper room, we too are frightened, humbled, full of doubts, full of so many questions, but something stronger than those feelings enables us to trust, as did all our founding mothers and women in our war-torn countries. We, like them, “let heartbreak be our guide” as we finger the beads of our rosary.
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