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Dominican Preaching through Word and Image
All the Earth Cries Out
One of today’s psalms at morning prayer was Psalm 100. It begins: “All the earth cries out to you with shouts of joy, O God.”
All the earth cries out to you with shouts of joy, O God,
Servign you with gladness, coming before you, singing for joy.
You, Creator of all, are God. You made us, we belong to you,
We are your people, the sheep of your pasture.
We enter your gates with thanksgiving, and your courts with songs of praise.
We give you thanks and bless your name.
Indeed, how good you are, enduring your steadfast love.
You are faithful to all generations.
Today is the Feast of St. Martin de Porres
Today is the Feast of our Dominican Brother, Saint Martin de Porres (December 9, 1579 – November 3, 1639). He is known for his care for the poor and vulnerable, and care of the sick. Many are the reports of his gift of healing, and he was skilled in the art of healing herbs. Animals loved Martin, and he they; they were comfortable in one another’s presence.
Though the priests of the Order were far more educated then he, Martin continually taught his brothers through example how Jesus taught us to value one another.
It was recalled by his prior that once when Martin was punished for picking up a destitute elderly beggar and placing him in his own bed at the monastery, Saint Martin went humbly to his superior and asked for forgiveness. He said that he didn’t know that obedience took precedence over charity.
He said, “Compassion is preferable to cleanliness. Reflect that with a little soap I can easily clean my bed covers, but even with a torrent of tears I would never wash from my soul the stain that my harshness toward the unfortunate would create.”
Saint Martin is one whose life was a preaching, and when necessary, he could add the right words.
All Souls Day
Is there not a beautiful thought connected with prayer for the dead? Were it not sad to feel that when our loved ones pass away, they are wholly separated from us? Through prayer we may still hold communion with them; by the spirit of prayer we may gather the inspiration and clothe ourselves with the mantle they were clothed with. In blessing them we receive their blessing….
– Andrew Barrett, The Shakers
Mother Justin was the Prioress General of the Dominican Sisters of Sister of San Rafael from 1953 to 1965. Sister Dominica was the first woman to enter a convent in California.
Taking Jesus Seriously
A few years ago I read a book entitled, Taking Jesus Seriously, by John Cowan. I recall agreeing with the author that we tend to rationalize away many of the things that Jesus said, and thus don’t really take him seriously. Just pay attention, what are the things that many religious people (we) wave their (our) arms about? Then ask yourself, did Jesus talk about these things? And then look at the overwhelming social needs in our country and world. Then ask yourself, what did Jesus say about this?
Today’s Gospel reading from Luke left me wondering.
On a sabbath Jesus went to dine at the home of one of the leading Pharisees. He said to the host who invited him, “When you hold a lunch or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or sisters or your relatives or your wealthy neighbors, in case they may invite you back and you have repayment. Rather, when you hold a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind; blessed indeed will you be because of their inability to repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”
So, if I pay attention to my life, and the banquets and dinners I attend, I see tables of plenty. Then I ask myself, “Who is missing?” How do the guest lists match up with Jesus’ guest list, without my trying to rationalize it with giving time or money to a homeless shelter?
What will it cost me to really take Jesus’ words seriously? And how can we encourage one another to really do just that?
Finding the Cure in a Pumpkin Patch
The only cure is love, by Helen Caldicot
I just walked around my garden. It is a sunny, fall day and white fleecy clouds are scudding across a clear, blue sky.
The air is fresh and clear with no taint of chemical smells, and the mountains in the distance are ringed by shining silver clouds.
Earlier I picked a pan full of ripe cherry guavas to make jam, and the house is filling with the delicate aroma of simmering guavas.
Figs are ripening on the trees and developing that gorgeous deep, red glow at the apex of the fruit.
Huge, orange-colored lemons hang from the citrus trees, and lettuce, beet-roots, and cabbage are growing in the vegetable garden….
It is clear to me that unless we connect directly with the Earth, we will not have the faintest clue why we should save it.
Source: If You Love This Planet
Preacher of Wonder
Always be on the lookout for the presence of wonder.
E.B. White
Charlotte’s Web
Every morning I receive a daily quote from Gratefulness.org. After reading today’s, I knew there were many images that easily preach the presence of wonder. Are we listening?
Everybody is Unique
Everybody is unique.
Do not compare yourself
with anybody else
lest you spoil God’s curriculum.
– Baal Shem Tov
Being at Peace
We are not at peace with others because we are not at peace with ourselves, and we are not at peace with ourselves because we are not at peace with God.
-Thomas Merton
Creation Gives Thanks
It is so thoughtful and commendable to thank those who do us favors that if we glance around, we see that when earth is regaled by heaven’s waters and sunlight, it sends forth grass and flowers in grateful payment for the gift. Very tenderly the gardener cares for the trees so that, having grown quite tall, they bend down their fruit…to pick, almost as if to say: “Take this fruit in return for your kind care.”
– Reading from Tuesday’s Psalter: Francisco de Osuna, The Third Spiritual Alphabet
Bent Over with a Burden
In today’s Gospel reading (Lk 13:10-17), Jesus heals a woman whose back is so bent and deformed, she cannot stand. There are many today who have burdens that keep them from standing and walking freely. How are we working to free and heal them?
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