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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.
Thursday, March 28, 2024 Exodus 12:1-14 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 John 13:1-15
Tonight we gather on this most holy night which begins the Triduum – the sacred three days that mark our faith. In the Gospel, it is, as John says, the festival of Passover and Jesus knows his hour has come.
This is the climax of a life lived in faithfulness to God who called him into public ministry with the words “You are my son/my child in whom I am delighted.“
No doubt these words were a game changer for Jesus. And indeed, he changed the game. Time and again he broke rules, broke protocol, and upset the status quo. He challenged anyone or anything that diminished life.
He did this knowing he was loved by God and he chose to bring the fullness of that love to others, no matter the cost.
And on this night with his disciples, he knew his hour had come. He had to make this moment count. One last time, he needed his disciples to understand and embrace his world, his ministry, his work – not as followers or disciples, but as one with him. As friends. As a Beloved Community.
It was his time – once and for all – to act one more time in a way that showed his disciples God’s kingdom was breaking in and they would be full participants in this.
And so, he washes their feet. He upsets the status quo. He breaks the rules. He the teacher, the leader, the chosen one – upsets the way things are supposed to be. And they object. We hear Peter object, and I dare say the others did as well. This is discomforting for them.
As Beatrice Bruteau indicates in her book Holy Thursday Revolution, the disciples liked things the way things were. Jesus did the heavy lifting and they were behind him all the way.
Jesus, however, does not agree with this, and so he chooses tonight to once and for all show them another way. Recognizing their discomfort, he does what he has always done; he extends a loving and affirming invitation. Whatever I can do, you can also do. You can break boundaries, you can expand vision, you can wash feet, you can eat of my body and drink of my blood and be fully in me and in the One who sent me. You can for I am with you.
As Bruteau says about Jesus’ actions, they are meant to tell us that "The power of God is vested in you – hidden in you, perhaps, but it is there. Believe in it, let it shine!"
As we now re-enact the washing of feet, I invite us to take this time to feel the power of God in us, to allow what is hidden to come forth, to prepare ourselves for the sharing of the Eucharist where we enter fully into the being of Jesus.
This night is indeed a revolution – a revolution of love so needed in our world.
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