By Sister Rachel Marie, O.P.
Recently, one of the sisters was going on a trip While she was waiting for her flight, she sat at
. . . .the gate near a young boy with his mother. The little boy was extraordinarily patient whiling away the minutes under his mother’s gaze. After a time, his mother gave him a small snack from her bag He ate it and then looked up at his mother and said innocently, “ What should I do now? ” She gave him a small game He played for a few minutes and then grew tired Looking up again he said, “ What should I do now? ” She provided him with another diversion for a time and the pattern continued until the flight boarded and all were on their way
So often in our lives we face a moment of decision or change, and we ask the question “ What should I do now? ” And whether this decision is big or small, where we look for advice in finding our next step is a moment of great importance Saint Dominic too would have asked this question many times during the early days of the Order that he was to found And Saint Dominic gives a perfect example of where to turn with this question Yes, he was surrounded by a saintly family, true and honest friends and examples of faithful religious life with the canons regular, but for Dominic the place to turn first was always the Mother of His Lord.
Dominic was always devoted to Our Lady. In her very womb the Word became flesh, and the mission that flowed from the charism Dominic received would be to love and preach the truth of His Incarnation Without Mary – well, the thought of a world without Mary is one too dismal to reckon From the early days of the Order, Mary had shown a predilection for its members Around the year 1216, Mary was the means of the miraculous healing of Bl. Reginald of Orleans to whom she also gave the Dominican scapular. She would visit the brethren at night to bless their sleeping quarters. She entrusted the Rosary to Dominic for his preaching and ministry To her ministrations Saint Dominic and his sons responded in kind During a trip from Rome to Madrid, Dominic stopped at Rocamadour, a rocky outcropping and pilgrimage site in southwest France Here he would find a pilgrim chapel built to Our Lady which, according to tradition, was first established by the hermit Amadour, who was identified with Zaccheus himself. Dominic would pay homage to the Virgin as he made his way across Europe. Following a period of intense spiritual combat in the days after Dominic's death, the Order took up the practice of entrusting themselves to Our Lady each night with the singing of the Salve Regina Rare is the Dominican who does not jump at any opportunity to preach the love of Mary It has been said that “the more devoted a soul is to Mary, the more Dominican it is.”
In one of our prayers, we address St. Dominic as “the favorite of Mary.” And while we know that Mary does not really have favorites, it seems the prerogative of each child to believe that he or she truly holds that position Dominicans feel the love of Mary so deeply that, following Dominic’s example, we strive to entrust everything to her Our community life, our preaching, our specific apostolate - everything that passes through her hands becomes more beautiful and pleasing to her Son, and this increases our devotion and love for her. She is called “Queen of Preachers” because she teaches us, just as she taught Dominic, to love the Word and bring Him to all of her children In our Dominican life, we are blessed to encounter and love so many people from so many places and backgrounds – all of God’s children But this also presents a challenge to the Dominican who must be ready to respond to the constantly shifting sands of the culture and times. And so frequently we find ourselves asking: “ What do I do now? ” “How do I respond here in love? ” “How do I preach your Word here, to these souls before me? ” Our devotion to Mary in these moments keeps us rooted and focused in the right direction – first on Jesus and then on those to whom Jesus wants us to bring His love A prayer to Mary before we speak, a hand on the rosary when a thorny moment comes our way, a heartfelt prayer of the Salve before we rest each night – all of these things root us deeply in Dominic’s way of remaining close to Our Lady, who is always close to us When we turn to her our way is sure
The little boy at the airport gate had exactly the right idea In moments big and small may we turn to our Mother and ask her, “ What do I do now? ” She will always answer, and her answer will most certainly bring us closer to her Son.
D o m i n i c a n S a i n t s
