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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.
Saturday, August 10, 2024 Matthew 5:1-12
There’s always a story behind the story.
A story of woman preparing for her wedding (told by Sister Barbara Kane, OP) has the church, food, and the cake; the only thing missing is the dress. The bride met with several seamstresses. “I need a dress that will rustle,” she said. But no seamstress understood what she meant. One seamstress said, “I can do it. It won’t be comfortable or pretty, but it would rustle.” The woman was elated. “My fiancé is blind and I want him to know I am right by his side.”
The novitiate is the place where the soft rustle of God’s movement assures you of God’s presence beside you. The novitiate is a place to cultivate inner silence. A place to experience your experiences.
I wonder if that isn’t the story behind the story of the Beatitudes that you have chosen for our Vespers reading. Men, women and children were hushed in silence as they sat and listened to the Teacher speak. The Beatitudes are the center piece of Matthew’s gospel. The first four reference people who are suffering but favored by God: the poor in spirit, those mourning, the meek, those hungering for justice, the widow, orphan, sojourner. The next four refer to the people who reach out in compassion to the suffering. This was to be the unfolding mission of Jesus among the people. This is the unfolding mission in your life.
John of the Cross wrote, “The language of God is the experience God writes in our lives.” You are ready, Jamie, for God to write the next chapter in your life. The margins are clean and space open for the unfolding words of love, mercy and hope. Your desire to continue this Dominican journey is bold. As the poet Goethe wrote, “Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. Begin it now.” You can do no less than our founder St. Dominic, to begin it now!
You bring your trust in God, your tenderness with others and your truthfulness with yourself to this journey.
Like St. Augustine and like each one of your sisters, may you discover ... “To fall in love with God is the greatest romance. To seek God, the greatest adventure. To find God, the greatest human achievement.”
This is the story of us. It is your story waiting to be written by you as you listen in hushed silence to the rustle of God beside you.
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