OPreach
Dominican Preaching through Word and Image
Eye of the Beholder
People often say that “beauty is in the eye of the beholder,” and I say that the most liberating thing about beauty is realizing that you are the beholder.
- Salma Hayek
You Are a Child of the Universe
You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.
- Frederick Buechner
Happy Christmas
It is still Christmas and it will be until January 6.
My mother did not think so. On the evening of December 25 she tossed the tree, put away the decorations, fed the family the leftovers and announced it was 365 days until Christmas. For her the Depression stole Christmas, widening the gulf between those who have those who do not.
But today is Christmas, and so is tomorrow and tomorrow. We need every day of it to reflect on what God has done among us.
- Fred Craddock, The Christian Century (Dec. 14, 2010)
Just the Beginning
For outlandish creatures like us, on our way to a heart, a brain, and courage, Bethlehem is not the end of our journey but only the beginning–not home but the place through which we must pass if ever we are to reach home at last.
- Frederick Buechner
The Word Manifest
The Word is living, being, spirit, all verdant greening, all creativity. This Word manifests itself in every creature.
- Hildegard of Bingen
True Treasure
Treasure this day and treasure yourself truly, neither will ever happen again.
- Ray Bradbury
True Generosity
Real generosity toward the future lies in giving all to the present.
- Albert Camus
Why Rainbows?
God puts rainbows in the clouds so that each of us — in the dreariest and most dreaded moments — can see a possibility of hope.
- Maya Angelou
To learn about and/or register for Santa Sabina Center retreats and offerings, please go to: http://www.santasabinacenter.org/retreats-page.
We Are Part of One Another
The whole idea of compassion is based on a keen awareness of the interdependence of all these living beings, which are all part of one another, and all involved in one another.
- Thomas Merton
To learn about and/or register for Santa Sabina Center retreats and offerings, please go to: http://www.santasabinacenter.org/retreats-page.
First Sunday of Advent
Maybe we should start making Advent lists – they’d be like Christmas lists, but instead of listing things we want Santa to bring us we could write down things we want Christ to break in and take from us. In the hopes he could pickpocket the stupid junk in our houses or abscond with our self-loathing or resentment… maybe break in in the middle of the night and take off with our compulsive eating or our love of money. That’s how God works sometimes. Not through the things we are prepared for but through the things we don’t expect.
- Nadia Bolz-Weber, Accidental Saints
To learn about and/or register for Santa Sabina Center retreats and offerings, please go to: http://www.santasabinacenter.org/retreats-page.
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