Novena to St Dominic - Day 2

This reflection concerns prayer and spirituality in the lives of St. Dominic and the early Dominicans and I will quote some passages from the book ‘ Early Dominicans’ (The classics of Western Spirituality) – from the Introduction by Fr. Simon Tugwell O.P.

Fr. Simon says :

“ that the early Dominicans were not particularly concerned either for themselves or for others with what has come to be called the “interior life”. Some of them, certainly, were great men of prayer, but their prayer was simple, devotional and largely petitionary. They retained the monastic practice of spending some time in private prayer after Compline and Matins, though this was not put into any constitutional text as an obligation. There is no hint at all of any methodical ‘mental prayer’, such as we find in later centuries, nor is there any sign of any theory of mystical progress attached to their simple prayers.”

Fr. Simon goes on to say:

“What we know of the prayer of St. Dominic shows that it was habitually intercessory and his meditations and contemplations are shown as resulting typically in preaching of one kind or another. This suggests that even the prayers and devotions of the Dominicans have an apostolic quality and this impression is reinforced by the discovery that Jordan of Saxony, Dominic’s immediate successor, who was regarded by his brethren, as a powerful man of prayer, says of himself, “I hardly ever pray”, a complaint echoed in other early Dominican writings. The all-absorbing ambition of the friars was “to be useful to the souls of others”. Their own spiritual exercises were designed to make them better preachers, and their own spiritual progress was not sought as a goal in its own right but rather as a kind of spin-off from their service of others. This service of others was determined by the needs of others. And in the thirteenth century what was needed most was catechesis, doctrinal and especially moral.”

I think this same spiritual need is the greatest in today’s world and I pray that through the intercession of St. Dominic and all our Dominican saints, that we, and all those already in the Order as well as those entering, will respond to this need, following the example of the early Dominicans, by being graced by God with that selfless all-absorbing ambition of being useful to the souls of others, according to each one’s particular vocation in the Order.

I conclude with Timothy Radcliffe’s definition of Dominican Spirituality, which has always impressed me and sums up the points I have been trying to make. He says :

“ Dominican Spirituality is about being alive in God and for others”.

Novena to St Dominic - Day 1

A Reflection on St Dominic and Prayer, given by one of our sisters, for first day of our Novena to St Dominic

Taken from The Life of St. Dominic (1170 – 1221) by Bede Jarrett O.P.

For St. Dominic, Prayer was a simple converse of the soul with God; and converse is easier and fuller when it is between two friends.

The more, then, the mind can realise friendship with God, which is the essence of religion, the more facile is the heart’s opening of itself, for the problem of prayer is always how to make God the friend not only accepted and believed in, but to form part of the familiar circumstance of life.

Everything that could help to produce this truth vividly was made use of: vocal prayer, gestures, beads; and, since he found that a dialogue of speech and silence, a chorus of praise, could be more easily secured by a devotion to the sacramental Presence, it was around the altar that St. Dominic grouped his interests. The Mass was the highest expression of it; the crucifix its homeliest representation. The gospels most wonderfully depict that perfect life and character, and show up against background of hill and lake and field and village and cobbled streets the moving figure of the true and loyal friend. Hence the Mass became his most particular devotion; the crucifix his daily companion, his “ever open book”; and the New Testament his favourite study, carried always, learnt by heart, made the textbook of life. “He spoke only of and to God,” said a follower of Dominic; and we feel that he did this naturally because God was the central object of his daily work and nightly watching. As Dante observingly notes of him, he was “the athlete” of Christ, “kindly to his friends, fierce to his foes”; he was the “torrential” preacher just because he was “fast knit to Christ,” and he was fast knit to Christ by means of his vivid and intensely personal prayer.

Is there any need to add that St. Dominic’s devotion to the maiden mother of God was particularly vivid? His friars were “her friars” needing and receiving her special help. Visions were seen, it was reported, of his sons preaching from books held before them by our Lady’s hands; she corrected them, protected them, blessed them sleeping; and was seen in Cambridge to send fire on them when they prayed; at death she comforted them. The spirit of the saint descended, then, on his children, says Gerard de Frachet, to sum up all his record of devotion, “so that studying and praying and sleeping they had her before their eyes and she turned her eyes of mercy ever towards them”.

15th Sunday of Ordinary Time

"Blessed be God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ ... before the world was made he chose us, chose us in Christ to be holy and spotless, and to live through love in his presence." (Eph 1:3-14)

This doctrine of our faith inspired and sustained me during my first years of Religious Life - and still does. It fired me to learn more about Christ, to enter fully into the mystery of the person of Christ. Jesus says, "Father, this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent", and again, "no one can come to the Father except through me".

"God chose us" but first Jesus himself within the loving communion of the Blessed Trinity is chosen and sent by the Father, He who is so madly in love with His creatures, as St Catherine expresses it, to tell the world of this love, to redeem us even thoug we were/are sinners. The Incarnation cost Him dearly. He poured out every drop of blood for love of us and of His Father - in return rose gloriously from the dead.

The wonder of it all is that you and I are in this same Christ - we make one with Him in the Divine thought. Jesus reveals to St Catherine in her 'Dialogue', "I created souls in my image and likeness, even more, in taking human nature I made myself like one of you. Consequently, I do not cease working to make your souls like to me, as far as they are capable of it and I endeavor to renew in them, when they are tending towards heaven, all that took place in my Body". It is mind boggling but a reality - a divine reality. Faith alone can receive it as love alone has given it, Dom Marmion says.

Our life revolves around the Eucharist, the Liturgy and here we have the supreme reality of being in Christ. Fr. Barden OP, in his inspiring book "What happens at the Mass", says "in our movement to God, that we go to God in Christ is found only in the Mass and to a lesser extent in all the Sacraments. The Mass is a profession of faith, hope and charity, of that faith, hope and charity by which we move towards the Father through Christ and with Christ. But the special glory of the Mass is that by it we also move towards the Father in Christ, glorifying Him and propiating Him in Christ. O wonder of wonders, because of our baptism we can claim as our own the merit of that priestly act of oblation in Christ's mind and will by which he surrendered His living body and blood through death into the possession of His Father."

Let us answer the call of our whole being to bow down in loving surrender, adoration and awe.

50th International Eucharistic Congress - More Photos

Lunchtime at the RDS - with our Brothers

With Cardinal Brady

'Plastic Nuns' - waiting for the Procession on Wednesday

Sunday Morning - ready to leave for the Final Mass

Sunday Morning - waving goodbye to the Pilgrims

On our way to Croke Park

After Mass - greetings from our Brothers

Some food to keep us going!

50th International Eucharistic Congress

The 50th International Eucharistic Congress opened in Dublin on Sunday the 10th June - Solemnity of Corpus Christi.  Three of our sisters were privileged to be among those who had been invited to represent the diocese of Armagh at the entrance procession - Sr Natallia, Sr Mary Teresa and Sr Mary Cathy returned home all sun burnt!  What a change in weather from last week when  one would think that we were in the midst of winter  - not approaching mid summer.  The photos we share here speak for themselves

Waiting for the bus - with our Pilgrim Bags



Arriving at the RDS







Srs M Cathy, Teresa and Natallia holding banner with image of St Oliver Plunkett



Waiting to Process in

Our Patron Saint speaks to the Congress

With the 'Red Nuns' and Sisters from Canada

At the end of the day - with our Dominican Brothers







Something about JESUS

We’ve come out of Retreat (well, a week ago now) and I’ve noticed again how it happens that the sense that I haven’t even begun to know the Lord, is so strong. How do you meet Jesus, at that level or in that place where we most need to know Him, and to meet and be reached by Him?

The Sermon on the Mount (cf Mt 5) – I decided to start again at the ‘beginning’ and try and meet Him again. … ‘his fame spread throughout all Syria …’ (Mt 4:24); … ‘And great crowds followed him …’ (Mt 4:25) What would it have been like to have been one of the crowd? How did it happen that a person became one of the crowd: if they followed him not because they were sick or in need of any kind of healing? What was it about Him that drew so many people to Him?

It can be a lonely business, choosing God even when at the same time, on the other hand, it is a most wondrous and joy-filled experience – that moment when you say ‘yes’ to Jesus, because you just know that what He wants is not anything you can do or be, but purely and simply you. And He understands the loneliness: He’s in it too.

There’s something about Jesus.

There – on the ‘Mount’ – surrounded by the crowds of people, telling them who they are: building them up and encouraging them to keep reaching out for what it was they sought, that something that compelled them to go after Him. And He said:

‘Blessed are the poor in spirit …; those who mourn …; the meek …

those who hunger and thirst for righteousness …; the merciful …

the pure in heart …; the peacemakers …; the persecuted …

Blessed are you when men revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account …’

Someone in the crowd was there, because you had heard Jesus, or maybe only heard about Him – and it wasn’t easy to come. You came alone because when leaving home, you hadn’t been able to put words on this force within you, drawing you powerfully on. It was hard to leave, but not possible not to. If they could only see what you saw – down there where you now know how everything at last fits, everything matters immensely – Jesus seems to have all the answers: more than that …
He is the answer to everything.

You were expecting them, maybe, to be full of joy for you, or at least to be happy for you; and at times, instead, the reverse seems to be the reality. And then the questions and even doubt begin to chip away at the certainty. Maybe they’re right. You know what you’re walking away from, you belong there; there you are acceptable, loved, happy.
… But there’s something about Jesus. …

He has changed the colour of everything and now the only way to live is by going after Him, though only He knows the way, and you don’t even really know what lies ahead. … But you do … He it is. And He is there on the mount, looking at you: speaking to you – ‘Blessed are you when men revile you and persecute you … rejoice and be glad …’

He can see into your soul, He knows exactly how you long to follow Him, and yet want to stay – He knows how agonising the choice can sometimes be (though there really isn’t a choice). But maybe, … just maybe, He wants to be the One you lean on; the One whom you turn to for support; the One who understands.
His loneliness is greater than yours, because it’s not really you who is misunderstood, sure it isn’t?

… It’s Him.

Feast of the Holy Trinity

The antiphons in the Divine Office today give expression to our wonder and awe before the mystery Blessed Trinity, Three persons in one God. They keep circling round this mystery so incomprehensible to us. The plain chant melodies especially make our hearts swell with something beyond our capacity to put into words, giving voice to an awareness of the majesty and utter transcendence of God, the beauty of which almost hurts. The mystery of the Godhead, of God as he is in Himself Father, Son and Holy Spirit the most ineffable of all mysteries draws us, creates yearnings in us, leaves us restless even frustrated in our inability to worship God as He deserves. I am captivated by the ‘Otherness’ of God. On this Feast I long for Heaven where this ache to worship will be satisfied and I will know even as I am Known.

And yet when we come to the Mass readings for today’s Liturgy- God’s own Word about Himself given to us today to celebrate the mystery of the Trinity we are invited to reflect not on His Transcendence but on His immanence. In fact the focus seems to be more on us than on God. It seems that what God wants is for us to see Him as Love, love that has no other desire than to share Himself, pour Himself out, draw us in to Himself. The inner mystery of the God head is the mystery of love poured out. This mystery is made manifest to us in Jesus in whom we see our God made visible and who by His life death and Resurrection makes it possible for us through baptism in to Him to become heirs with Him and in and through him to enter into the heart of the Trinity The breath taking reality is that our God, totally sufficient in Himself and having no intrinsic need of us longs to share his life with us. As the spear entered Jesus side and blood and water flowed out, He received us into his heart. In Jesus we are taken up into the life of God. Hidden with Christ in God, immersed and enfolded in the love of the Trinity we too now experience God’s own desire for all peoples to know his love and our hearts burn with a longing to make disciples of all nations.

God who so loves the world has entrusted to us the awesome and privileged task of reflecting His love to all whom we encounter. In this time and place we are called to witness to Him, to be a place where his love can be seen in our world. We have the mission of making disciples, through our presence, our prayer, our words and our deeds. In this context ‘I am with you always until the end of time’ takes on a new dimension. In a very real way, God depends on us to make Him visibly present in our world, until the end of time.

We may not be able to find words to adequately extol the greatness of our God or to express our gratitude for the wonder of His love but actions speak louder than words.

Perhaps like Mary and with Mary we as the poet G.M. Hopkins so beautifully expresses it have only this one work to do

Let all God’s glory through,

God’s glory which would go

Through her and from her flow

Off, and no way but so.