October Dominican Reflection

“They will study…they will need no other penance.”

-     Statement attributed to St. Dominic

When the white light of our charism of preaching a just word shows its colors, we speak of common life, common prayer, study, and  mission/ministry. Study is the characteristic that marks our difference among other religious orders. Other orders study when it is helpful. Dominicans study because it is constitutive to their identity. Ask religious orders who they are, and they answer, “We are vowed persons who live community by common life, common prayer, and a common mission.” (The Benedictines might add “stability in monastic life,” and the Jesuits, “faithfulness to the Holy See”) But that’s not how a Dominican will answer. The Dominican man or woman answers, “We are vowed persons who live community by common life, common prayer, common study, and common mission.” So how do we study together? We understand this pillar of our identity to exempt no one – not the Dominican in the laundry, the administrative office, the classroom, or the jail. It is our common penance. We often study in groups. So what is study for us?

Study is intentional engagement in an issue of truth-seeking. As intentional, it is not haphazard. It is something I choose deliberately to explore. It is not just reading. It is engaging what I have read. It means questioning it, critiquing it, respectfully disagreeing, or offering another view. What issue? Well, it might be an issue of justice. It might be a theological issue. It might have to do with health or science or finance or food. Wherever I am drawn to focus my energy and engage in probing, in exploring, that is where I am to seek truth, understanding, insight, the facts. Above all, study for us is “intellectual compassion.” The head rests in the heart.

The Dominican faithfully does this “penance” for the sake of the Church. Dominicans do this together, no one exempted. So I challenge each of us, and our associates, to identify our “area of intentional engagement, our area of intellectual compassion.” Perhaps one that is scriptural/theological, and one that is a service or justice focus. The “OP” once meant “Order of Penance” because the Dominicans were known for their disciplined minds. Never are we more needed in the Church, in the nation, in our cities, and in our struggling world of “alternative truths.” So, where have you chosen to do your penance?

October Dialogue with the Word

“Think of yourself as a tree…”

       Words of God to Catherine of Siena

            Carla Mae Streeter, OP

The full quotation is
“So think of yourself as a tree made for love and living only by love…
There is a circle in which this tree’s root, your love, must grow.
That circle is true knowledge of yourself, knowledge that is joined to me, God,
who like the circle have neither beginning nor end.
You can go round and round with in this circle,
finding neither end nor beginning, yet never leaving the circle…”     Dialogue 10

It is autumn, and the trees are revealing much to us if we have eyes to see. The Church, the Wisdom Woman, is looking for fruit. Yes, a fruitful tree speaks of rich growth, of fertility. Where does this fruit come from? What feeds it? The tree that is myself is fed by the fruit of another tree, the tree of the cross, which blossoms into resurrection. The life comes from the Paschal Mystery, and the Church never ceases to ponder it, year in, and year out.

These weeks of October will find a certain fruit being called forth as the Church shapes the scriptures put before us. She knows what she is after. It is not chancy. She knows what a beautiful tree looks like, and she will settle for nothing less. We have less than ten weeks left in this season of Ordinary Time. The harvest time is here. It’s time to collect and display our delicious fruit…and what are we asked to show?

First, we will be asked for our ID. We belong to the Shepherd. We listen and follow. Then we are shown that our fruit is not for ourselves, but to be given away. Then we must be dressed properly so we can be identified as disciples. Christ Jesus is himself our wedding garment. Then we will be reminded that we have two sets of relationships: to our Shepherd and to our brothers and sisters, who make claim on us. Finally, we will be asked if our fruit is delicious. Love makes it sweet, not bitter and sour. In the end, love covers a multitude of efforts not as successful as we had hoped. So it is harvest time. Check the fruit of your precious tree.

What would I do if I remembered

that I’m planted in the circle of your love?

How would I feel if I got up in the morning

put my feet in my slippers and remembered?

How do you feed me in this circle?

With the water of your tears as you took our DNA in Mary’s womb?

With the fire of your blood as you emptied yourself out to buy us back on the cross?

With that bread that is yourself hidden away in the tabernacles of our chapels and hearts-

your final bending down to wash our feet

so we can go and do likewise?

With Whom do we Pray?

The Spirit-Light that is the Dominican charism reveals beautiful hues like the rainbow. Also called the “pillars” of Dominican life, these mainstays are Common Life, Common Prayer, Study, and Mission/Ministry. We’ve reflected briefly on the vows which set the context for the charism, and on Common Life as a “Widening of the Tent.” What may be a new way to understand Common Prayer as we move forward in time?

Common Prayer has always meant that praying with others is a part of our Dominican life. Usually it meant the Liturgy of the Hours and the Eucharist. The importance of this “praying together” can be demonstrated with a simple image. Light a candle. Then invite five others to light a candle too. Your candlelight is piercing the darkness, but the power and beauty of the gathered light is even more beautiful to see. “Where two or more are gathered, there am I…”

But in our times the “others” has suddenly become part of the “Widening of our Tent.” So who are these “others” that I might pray with? For some of us praying the Office is our mainstay, and the “others” are those with whom I live. For some of us who live singly, there are no “others” physically present. But make no mistake, there are “others.” We just have to be more intentional

about bonding with them. Wherever you are, you can surround yourself with a “cloud of witnesses” when you pray. Maybe they are the folks on your block or in your apartment building. You may intentionally link your prayer with those at Siena Center. You may bond with the poor you serve, or those struggling in refugee camps, or who are isolated in prisons. How are you going to exercise your Common Prayer. Nothing need prevent you. The “others” need you…and you need the “others.” Common Prayer in a new key…