Carla Mae's Blog

Why do we have an entire liturgical season dedicated to longing for Someone who is already here? Yes, Jesus has come, and he has returned to his Father. But he has also said, “I am with you until the end of the age.” So which is it? Ah…or is it both?   The Eternal Word really never left his Father. But in his “coming” he bent down and entered space-time, and dwelt with us, taking on a physicality we can see and touch. But that isn’t all. He bent way down, into our grief, our corruption, our dying, and our crying. He got himself all bound-up in more than swaddling bands. More, now risen from all this dying, he will return, clothed with the cosmos, and wearing every atom, for he has not lost anything the Father gave him. I believe this.   So what is Advent all about? All this might be true, but it might not be true for me. It is one thing to know about this, and another to know it because it has made its home in me. This is the mysterious “coming” that Advent is al...

Common Life, Common Prayer, Study, and finally, Mission (Ministry), the pillars on which the lampstand of Dominican life stands as it shines in the midst of the Church; or if you prefer, the varied prism of the charism as shines with the Spirit’s light. For the vowed Dominican, and for those who journey with us in the light of this charism, a startling fact emerges. True, we are immersed in the Word, in person, and in the scriptures. But there is an effect that flows from this immersion. We become worded ourselves. We take on the very Word that entrances us. We gradually become worded women and men personally. We become what is called the holy preaching. The mission of Jesus, who is robed in our humble humanness, is two-fold. His mission often is voiced in the Alleluia verse of the liturgy: Jesus proclaims the kingdom and heals . This twofold mission is the Church’s mission as it travels through time, expressing itself in the rich ministries of the spiritual and corporal w...

The autumn is here in earnest, and the trees are ridding themselves of their leaves with abandon, knowing in some secret way that they will be back…all new and green. Harvests are in. We are getting ready for the winter sleep. The pace of the year slows down. It’s time to take stock. The readings of November are pointing to a way to do that. Their target will be the Feast of Christ the King as the liturgical year comes to a triumphant close, but on the way there we will be called to check out what takes top place in our lives. Baptism has firmly positioned us in Christ – that’s the truth. But we struggle with the day-to-day hangover of the sin-of-the-world trying to suck us back into the sin-sense of isolation from him – and that’s the lie. Nothing can separate us from him, no matter if we feel that way. So we are challenged to claim the deepest truth of our lives: I am clothed with Christ, and nothing…really absolutely nothing, can separate me from him. My s...