Carla Mae's Blog

… ’Tis the best of times, and the worst of times… The glow of the Christmas season is celebrated one more time on Candlemas Day…a short taste of Ordinary Time, and before we know it, we are summoned into the Lenten desert. Lent means springtime. As the people who are God’s own, this season of the soul invites us to till the soil of our personal soul-garden, so that the wonder of what has been planted in us in baptism can grow. I’m going to suggest this “tilling” is like a spring tune-up of our consciousness. There are four steps. ·         First, notice things. Be very present to what is going on with you at this moment. Be attentive to people, and to situations. This is a real discipline! ·         Second, question everything…with compassion. That means your doctor, your mayor, and yes, your politicians and your newscasts. Find out if they are a good reliable source of truth. ·    ...

The Dominicans and the Jubilee of Mercy It’s Anniversary time. We’re 800 years old! It’s a time for looking back at what has been, and looking forward for what can be. It’s also a time for reclaiming who we are and what we are all about. For Dominicans that means being something first, then doing something. We are the Holy Preaching. We don’t just imitate the Word of God. We identify with it. We are first of all a word of hope, then of joy, then of peace. We are worded women and men, and in this celebration year we are also called to be a word of mercy. How so? Dominicans walk a tightrope. (This image comes from Edward Schillebeeckx, OP.) We walk through history with a balance pole. On each end is a pail. One pail holds the Gospels, the Documents of the Church, and the Creeds. In the other we carry the New York Times, the Economist, the Science News, and the New Internationalist. If we let either go, we fall off the tightrope. Because we identify with the Incarnate Word, ...

"...Mater Misericordiae..." "Mother of Mercy..." How often these words have crossed our lips when reciting the "Hail, Holy Queen." In this Year of Jubilee of Mercy perhaps it is time to ask what we mean by this title that we give to the Mother of God. Miseri: the poor ones; Cordiae: of the heart. She is heartsick for the poor miserable ones. How and why is Mary the Mother of Mercy? Pope Francis tells us in his letter on Mercy (Misericordiae Vultus, The Face of Mercy) that Jesus is the face of mercy. So Jesus is heartsick too. It would be a challenging reflection to ponder that dear face being formed in the womb of Mary, his mother. In fact, he delighted in spending nine months confined in that small space, no larger than a man's fist...he, the God of the cosmos. He delights being intimately united with small things, so I guess you and I have a chance. Mary is the former and shaper of the human face of God's own mercy shown to us so we can see it,...