Palm Sunday Preaching by Mary Margaret Pachucki, OP

April 5, 2020

Isaiah 50:4-7
Philippians 2:6-11
Matthew 26: 14-27:66

Today marks the beginning of Holy Week, a time of remembering the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Jesus though sacred rituals, readings from Scripture and shared prayer. This year we will journey through Holy Week in a much different way because of the “social distancing“ that is necessary to turn the tide of the spread of the coronavirus in our world. Instead of gathering together as a faith community in a church or chapel on these sacred days, we will spend Holy Week on our designated floors, in our rooms or in our homes. In these places, many of us will able to connect with each other through technology for these liturgical celebrations and prayer. However, we come together, we are and remain a community of faith joined by our shared belief in the Risen Christ.

With the start each year of Holy Week, we turn intently toward Jesus. We are not just remembering an historical event that happened over two thousand years ago. We are celebrating and taking part in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus as it happens today to us and for us.

The blessing of this week is that it calls us to look carefully at Jesus. We watch, not just to admire, but also to learn, to penetrate the mind, the thinking, the attitudes and the values of Jesus so that we, in the very different circumstances of our own lives, may walk in his footsteps. In a way the real key to Holy Week is given in today’s Second Reading, which seems to be a hymn, incorporated by Paul in his letter to the Christians at Philippi. It expresses the “mind,” the thinking of Jesus, a “mind” which Paul urges us to have also if we want to identify fully with Jesus as disciples. “Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus.”

Elisabeth Johnson in her commentary on this passage writes, “Paul envisions the life of the community being formed by the mind of Christ – by a spirit of humility and loving service to one another rather than competition and grasping for power and control.” On this Sunday marking Jesus' passion, we are called to reflect on what it means to bear this name above all other names. Does our life together reflect "the same mind that was in Christ Jesus"? Are we looking to the interests of others rather than our own interests? Are humility and servanthood evident among us?

Having the mind of Christ ought to shape not only the internal life of a congregation, but its relationship with its community and the world. By following Jesus in identifying with the lowly and giving ourselves away in humble service to a suffering world, we honor "the name that is above every name."

If we are to be Jesus’ disciples, we are invited us to walk in his way, to share his sufferings, to imitate his attitudes, to “empty” ourselves, to live in service of others – in short, to love others as he loves us. This is not at all a call to a life of pain and misery. Quite the contrary, it is an invitation to a life of deep freedom, peace and happiness. If it were anything else, it would not be worth considering.

Let this week give us divine hope. No hardship, no burden, no cross not even the Coronavirus can conquer us if we remain steadfast in Christ Jesus, letting Him transform all we endure in life by His glorious embrace of His own Cross.

Please enjoy this video from Sister Rebecca Hodge, OP, who recently interviewed Sister Janice Brown, OP, about study — one of the four pillars of Dominican life.

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Fz1umxCqQo

At this time of year, many cultures have unique traditions that help them to celebrate the meaning of Jesus’ birth. One such tradition in Latin American countries and among the Hispanic culture in the United States is the Posada.

Posadas are a novena procession and drama, re-enacting the story of Mary and Joseph seeking shelter in Bethlehem. The word posada means shelter. 

The tradition originated in Spain and was brought by the Spanish missionaries to help teach the story of Jesus’ birth. Celebrated from December 16 through Noche Buena (Christmas Eve), the procession is led by persons dressed as Mary and Joseph, accompanied by others who may be dressed as angels and shepherds. The participants sing the traditional song, asking for shelter, in front of a number of houses. The verses go back and forth, with the people in the procession asking for permission to enter and the people in the home refusing admission. The procession goes from house to house until a selected family opens their door to Mary and Joseph. The people in the procession enter the welcoming house, where the whole group prays, sings traditional songs, and tell part of the nativity story.

Sister Kitty Bethea, OP
Adrian, Michigan

 

Image purchased from Shutterstock

Sister Patricia Harvat, OP, offers a reflection (in English and Spanish) on Our Lady of Guadalupe in the latest Praedicare video by Sister Rebecca Hodge, OP.

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Weh_F33bnq8

Sister Elise García, OP, offers an Advent reflection in the latest Praedicare video by Sister Rebecca Hodge, OP.

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GN0IEZ7lAq0

Please enjoy this video from Sister Rebecca Hodge, OP, who recently interviewed Sister Mary Jones, OP, about the Dominican Pillar of Study.

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O48cYnVa9N0

If you search the Internet for Marian feast days, you will find a calendar celebrating Mary every day of the year. How can a woman whose words were so sparsely captured in the New Testament be so spectacularly honored? I suggest three endearing qualities: faithful humility, simple obedience, and complete trust. Mary was a young girl of 13 when the Angel Gabriel appeared to her. With faithful humility, simple obedience and complete trust in the divine, she gave her fiat to be the Mother of our Lord. She was a faithful Jewish girl who had learned her faith well, she was obedient to the inclinations of the spiritual, and obedient to her God. From her haste to visit her cousin Elizabeth to the birth of her Son, to the flight into Egypt and to the walk down Calvary, she remained what she always was: faithfully humble, simply obedient, and completely trusting in God’s divine plan. We would be well served to model ourselves after her.

The Vatican has approved 16 Marian apparitions as authentic; thousands more are under consideration. Mary’s urgent message is nearly always the same: pray (the rosary), fast, and do penance, as she can no longer hold back the arm of her Son.

A renewed return to the rosary or even the Hail Mary will remind us that it is Mary, our Mother and God’s Mother, who is praying for us. I can’t imagine a better prayer warrior “now and at the hour of our death."

Peggy Rowe-Linn
WPB, Associate

Please enjoy this video from Sister Rebecca Hodge, OP, who recently interviewed Sister Sara Fairbanks, OP, about St. Dominic and why he is important to her personally and to the Dominican Order.

Link: https://youtu.be/ZX-A1mmDDag

Hello, I am Sister Rebecca Hodge, OP, and I am delighted to be coordinating the Praedicare blog. I am inviting Sisters and Associates to write a short reflection or record a video reflection, and possibly do a podcast on topics related to the liturgical year, Dominican charism, or current concerns. I hope that the items chosen will enliven, challenge, and possibly transform one’s understanding of faith and action.

For more information, contact me at [email protected]. 

Please enjoy the following reflection from Sister Patricia McDonald, OP.

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The Intersection of Scripture and Study

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, of God.
2 Timothy 3:16

Scripture gives rise to new thinking. As 2 Timothy 3:16-17 implies … we read, study, ponder, reflect and pray about the deeper meaning of words, thoughts, message, gestures, implications, and corresponding actions. 

We are challenged to make the Scriptural messages come alive! We reflect on our faith and think about what this means personally, professionally, societally, and realistically.

A definition of faith that I reflect upon:

FAITH: Finding Alternative Insight Through Hope (SIFT, McDonald, www.trafford.com, 2004)

In this definition I focus on hope. How do we help others to see, believe, and participate in human togetherness when hopelessness is prevalent in their reality?

What must we do to equalize opportunities for all persons? Scriptures command that we construct acts, actions, rules, regulations, and laws for the betterment of all humanity. By engaging in the art form of study we go to the basics of life for all persons and impart knowledge so as to assist in the creation of equal opportunity for all.

Scripture is designed, taught, and spread to internalize the messages so all have opportunity for growth and development. Through educating others by thought, word, deed, and action we come to new awakenings to make the sacred words come alive. Scripture is designed to be transformative in life, living, and outcome.

STOP, LOOK, LISTEN! “Love God, love your neighbor.”

It doesn’t get any clearer than that. TAG, you’re it!

Contemplate and give to others the fruits of your contemplation!

Sister Patricia McDonald, OP

Detail of a door at Maison St. Dominic, Fanjeaux, France, by Suzie Wong. Used with permission.

(Jeremiah 31:1-7; Responsorial: Jeremiah 31:10, 11-12AB, 13; Matthew 15:21-28)

Today’s readings are fitting as we celebrate the Feast of our Joyful Friar, St. Dominic because they capture both his spirit and his mission.

The first reading calls us to rejoice with festive tambourines and dancing as we celebrate God’s promise of restoration of the people of Israel and, by extension, of the people of Earth today. We can find much darkness and many reasons for concern, but we are called to trust in the God who keeps promises and who will – with our help – restore the fortunes of the people. Dominic dealt with a difficult ministry and powerful heresies, but he remained joyful as he proclaimed the truth of God’s love. We, too, must deal with the challenges of our times and, with the joy of Dominic, dispel the heresies, proclaiming God’s love.

The Gospel reminds us that we are also called to preach through our actions, by bringing healing to the people we encounter. Jesus seems reluctant to cast the demon from the Canaanite woman’s daughter, but the mother gently but cleverly helped him to see that she, too, was worthy of at least the scraps of healing. As Dominicans, we are called to extend healing and compassion to people on the margins – whether they’re immigrants seeking safety in the United States or local people who suffer from poverty or rejection. Let us, like Jesus and like Dominic, sow compassion and service to all who are in need.

Sister Barbara Kelley, OP
Adrian, Michigan

P.S. Stay tuned! We will be releasing reflections on St. Dominic throughout the month of August.