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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.
Homeless and Wandering By Sister Christa Marsik, OP
O God, our loving God, where are you? We have been driven from our homes, driven from our lands. And where shall we go? Who will welcome us? Who will love us?
Aleppo no longer wants us. And she buses us to the other side of her city. We suffer, waiting, waiting while the powerful fight for our homes, and while no one else wants us.
Mosul lies in rubble. Can we claim her rocks and stones as ours? The once beautiful ancient churches where we prayed begging your loving care. We suffer, waiting, waiting as ISIS battles other believers laying waste to our lives and our homeland.
How long, O God, how long?
Standing Rock, yes, you do stand as a symbol, a symbol of the lands that were once ours, the lands out of which we were driven, driven into boundary reserves so that the powerful could claim these lands as their own. We suffer, waiting, waiting for those in charge to know their greed and grant us our natural rights.
Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, beautiful jewels of the South. We no longer feel safe in you, our lands. Our lives are in jeopardy, stolen from us by the greedy. Our families are separated, kidnapped, killed. Where can we go? Who will welcome us? We suffer, waiting, waiting while the wealthy take our lives, our money and leave us poor without sustenance. Oh God, where are you?
“No wonder the prophet weeps yet— We begin again but not innocent…
And we feebly watch for you and wait. Teach us how to weep while we wait, and how to hope while we weep, and how to care while we hope.”
~ From “Teach Us How To Weep” in Awed to Heaven, Rooted in Earth: Prayers of Walter Brueggemann
Christa, thank you for this timely and powerful poem! I will continue to return to it when I pray.
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