January 2020 Vocation Office E-Newsletter

laudare, benedicere, praedicare TO PRAISE, TO BLESS, TO PREACH

New Year of Grace

INSIDE THIS ISSUE: Reflection: Saint Dominic, Evangelical Man Recommended Reading: Grace in Season: The Riches of the Gospel in Seventy Sermons by Archbishop Di Noia

January 2020 Solemnity of Christmas Recent Travels and Events

Example of Constancy A Reflection on Saint Dominic, Evangelical Man The early texts about the life of St. Dominic refer to him as vir evangelicus, the evangelical man. He is seen to be a model “man of the Gospel,” preaching the Good News in imitation of the Savior. Recognizing with sadness that so many people did not know the truth about Jesus Christ, St. Dominic was fired by supernatural charity to share the Good News of salvation with them, and in 1216 was inspired to found an Order of Preachers whose unique mission was preaching for the salvation of souls.

As a religious, St. Dominic lived the evangelical counsels, prizing poverty and living a life of noteworthy simplicity and austerity; his chastity and purity of life were often commented on by his fellow Dominicans; and his biographer, Blessed Jordan of Saxony, said that he was always obedient to the will of God, welcoming His commandments “so warmly” and “with such loyalty and pleasure” out of a zealous love for God. One might imagine such a life of renunciation would render St. Dominic dour or rigid, but on the contrary he was known to be a joyful soul who was a true ambassador of the Good News of Jesus Christ. As Blessed Jordan reports, “During the daytime nobody was more sociable and happy with his brethren or companions, but at night nobody was more thoroughly dedicated to keeping vigil and to prayer.” In summary, says Blessed Jordan, “While he was living with us in the flesh, he walked by the Spirit, not only not fulfilling the desires of the flesh (Gal. 5:16), but actually quenching them at the source. He displayed true poverty in his food, his clothing and his behavior. He prayed constantly, was outstandingly compassionate, used to shed copious tears, and was zealous for the good of souls. Success did not make him slack, adversity did not worry him. We could see from the works he accomplished, from his virtues and miracles, what a great man he was on earth.”

More than 800 years later, St. Dominic’s life and example continue to inspire us. As we begin a new year and a new decade, probably many of us are making resolutions and goals about how we can improve in various aspects of our lives.

Reflecting on the lives of specific saints can call us on. We can certainly look to a man like St. Dominic for guidance in living particular virtues, and we can ask his intercession to help us be faithful in carrying out our good resolutions. His example of constancy motivates us to go forward with courage in this new year of grace, and we conclude with the words of Blessed Jordan: “In every reasonable purpose his mind conceived, in accordance with God’s will, Dominic maintained such constancy that he hardly ever, if ever, consented to change any plan which he had formulated with due deliberation.” St.Dominic, evangelical man, pray for us to be true men and women of the Gospel!

Belmont University December 2 Father Gervan Menezes invited Sister Peter Marie and Sister Bernadette Marie to be a part of a convocation on vocations at Belmont University. Together with Father Menezes and two of the FOCUS Missionaries at Belmont University, Quinn and Emily Cowan, the sisters spoke about their own vocation and answered questions from the more than seventy-five students. It was a blessing to take part in this event.

After the convocation, the sisters enjoyed meeting Dr. Todd Lake, Vice President for Spiritual Development at Belmont (above). This was followed by lunch with some students (left).

Christmas Preparations Anticipating the birth of Christ, our sisters spent the week before Christmas cleaning and decorating the Motherhouse. It is both a joyful and tangible way to prepare for Christmas.

Below and Left: On December 21, we welcomed Mr. Jimmy McLeod, his family, and his employees from Santa's Trees to the Motherhouse as they delivered Christmas trees.

As a sign of our gratitude, some sisters sang an original composition for them.

Christmas Liturgies

"For in the mystery of the Word made flesh a new light of your glory has shone upon the eyes of our mind, so that, as we recognize in him God made visible, we may be caught up through him in love of things invisible. " - From the Preface of the Nativity of the Lord

Lift up your gates, O princes, Open wide, eternal gates, That the King of Glory may enter in.

- Psalm 24:7

Christmas at the Motherhouse

During the Christmas season, the sisters enjoyed spending extra time with one another while also continuing formation discussions.

FOCUS SLS20 Conference Phoenix, Arizona | December 30 - January 3 Sister Peter Marie, Sister Maris Stella, Sister Bernadette Marie, and Sister Regina Ann joined nearly 9,000 FOCUS Missionaries, college students and others as they learned about missionary discipleship, evangelization, and prayer. Throughout the week, there was also time to visit with old friends and meet new ones.

Left: The Dominican Friars and Sisters pray Compline at the FOCUS SLS Conference with over seventy-five people and other religious.

Right:Â The sisters pose for a photo after enjoying dinner and fellowship with women from Kansas State University.

Recommended Reading Grace in Season

The Riches of the Gospel in Seventy Sermons

By: ArchbishopJ. Augustine Di Noia, O.P.

“Preach the word…in season and out of season…” Grace in Season: The Riches of the Gospel in Seventy Sermons joyfully fulfills these words of St. Paul. This matchless collection of Archbishop J. Augustine Di Noia’s preaching, alive with the the wisdom of the Dominican tradition, the Church Fathers, and the Communion of Saints, opens Sacred Scripture and shows forth the unchanging glory of the Good News. The light of that glory illuminates every season of human life, revealing the loving hand of God’s providence at work in both the extraordinary events and the ordinary moments of salvation history. A ready and refreshing tonic for those who thirst for the living water of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, Grace in Season also provides for other preachers, as Aquinas Guilbeau, O.P., writes in his Foreword, “a model for gently but effectively subjecting the vain restlessness of the world to the merciful restlessness of the Word.”

- Taken from the back cover of the book

"God, who desires to share the love and communion of his life with us, makes himself accessible in the incarnate humanity of his onlybegotten Son — “that we might share in the divinity of Christ who humbled himself to share in our humanity” (Collect of Christmas Mass)."

- From one of the sermons

Click on the photo above to purchase this book.