OPreach
Dominican Preaching through Word and Image
They’re singing our song!
How wonderful it was to hear the strong and clear voices of the Prima Voce Choir from St. Mary’s High School in Stockton on Sunday at our celebration of 135 years of presence and ministry in the Diocese of Stockton. They sang a song that is special to the Dominican Sisters of San Rafael, “Hail Holy Queen,” and English translation of a special arrangement of the Latin “Assumpta Est.” It was a delightful surprise to the sisters, and a culmination of an afternoon of celebrating our heritage in Stockton. (Here’s the You Tube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f01-H8ksA9M)
We also enjoyed a surprise visit from our foundress, Mother Mary Goemaere – remarkably well-preserved for a woman 202 years of age! Bishop Blaire presided over Mass. And as we listened to stories from our history, we were reminded that “the more things change, the more they stay the same.
What a joyous occasion!
Counterpoint Images – Photo Montage as Preaching
Sunday’s second reading from Philippians tells us:
“Have in you the same attitude that is also in Christ Jesus, Who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God something to be grasped. Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness; and found human in appearance, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”
In Sister Adele’s words (some forty years ago):
“My fifty years of life fall into nearly equal parts: a quarter of a century at Dominican college in the ministry of teaching, and a second quarter of a century at the same location in a ministry of preaching -“preaching” that is via the visual arts.
While awed by the world’s natural beauty, a real reflection of the Divine, I feel my kind of art must present more than a straight picture of nature. For this reason, I fracture my original image with another, carefully chosen one, enabling me to utilize the counterpoint capability of the montage technique, to create my Counterpoint Imagery.”
To fulfill the preaching component of this art ministry, the art must be made available for public viewing, hence it is available at this link:
- Sister Adele Rowland, OP
The Artist
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