OPreach
Dominican Preaching through Word and Image
Let Us Make Hope Together
It is a huge danger to pretend that awful things do not happen. But you need enough hope to keep going. I am trying to make hope. Flowers grow out of darkness.
– Corita Kent
When I was in high school I admired the art work, the serigraphs, of Sister Corita Kent. She was one of the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in Los Angeles who were censured by Cardinal McIntyre in 1970, resulting in about 90 per cent of the sisters being dispensed from their vows because they remained true to the call of Vatican II to modernize their lives and the charism of their founders, rather than allow the cardinal to dictate their attire and the horarium of their community and prayer life.
We still live in hope, regardless of our circumstances. May we always, as Corita suggests, “make hope”.
Corita’s art work can bee seen on her website.
Be Extravagantly Generous!
Being extravagantly generous is an enchanting way to become holy and Godlike, for God is awesomely extravagant – as is revealed by even a casual glance at creation.
– Edward Hays
More on Prayer
What is real prayer?
Praise to God.
And the meaning of prayer?
Appreciating; thus opening the heart
more and more to the Divine beauty
on sees in manifestation.-Pir_O-Murshid Hazrat Inayat Khan
Bowl of Saki
What is Prayer?
According to Richard Rohr,
Prayer is sitting in the silence until it silences us, choosing gratitude until we are grateful, praising God until we ourselves are a constant act of praise.
– From Radical Grace: Daily Meditations
In other words, we become what we do.
Where Do We Find Ourselves?
In Thursday’s Gospel reading (Luke 15:1-10) we read:
Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.I tell you . . . there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need of repentance.
So with whom do I identify? Do I need my life to be turned around? Or am I among the self-satisfied? Am among the lost or the found? How do I know the difference?
What Do We Long to See?
Wednesday’s Responsorial Psalm (from Psalm 27) speaks of the deepest longings of our hearts:
One thing I ask of God;
this I seek:
to dwell in the house of God
all the days of my life,
that I may gaze on
the loveliness of God
and contemplate
God’s dwelling place.
Tomorrow is Election Day
Yes, Tuesday, November 6th, is Election Day. No matter who is elected, we remember the words from Tuesday’s Responsorial Psalm (Psalm 22):
All the ends of the earth
shall remember and turn to the Most High;
All the families of the nations
shall bow down before God.
Let us remember this whether we are happy or disappointed with the results of the election!
Where Can We Find Peace?
Monday’s Responsorial Psalm (Psalm 131:1,2,3) leads us to peace.
In you, O God, I have found my peace.
O God, my heart is not proud,
nor are my eyes haughty;
I do not busy myself with great things,
nor with things too sublime for me.In you, O God, I have found my peace.
Rather, I have stilled and quieted
my soul like a weaned child.
Like a weaned child on its mother’s lap,
so is my soul within me.In you, O God, I have found my peace.
O Israel, hope in God
both now and forever.In you, O God, I have found my peace.
Weekly Photo Challenge: Geometry
Albert Einstein is quoted as saying,
The pursuit of truth and beauty is a sphere of activity in which we are permitted to remain children all our lives.
What Is God’s Desire . . . My Desire?
Saturday’s Responsorial Psalm from Psalm 42 reminds us of our longing for God. And since we are made in the image and likeness of God, it also tells us of God’s longing for us.
My soul is thirsting for the living God.
As the deer longs for the running waters,
so my soul long for you, O God.My soul is thirsting for the living God.
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