Carla Mae's Blog

The Alleluia verse for the 25 th Sunday in Ordinary Time puts a finger on a nerve: we are to possess God's very glory. Period. Then comes reality right in our faces. All hell is going to break loose to destroy the innocence that has been won back for us. We are going to be under siege. That is the fate of the new humanity. Clear? "Get 'em!" "Destroy him!" "She's lying...he's the best for the court!" Children are going to figure in the Word these next weeks. Back in the days of the gospel, a child was of little or no account. A child had no rights until about age 12. So what Jesus is doing is really insulting the apostles in their conversation about prestige. He is saying, "Sorry, Boys, it's going to be different for us." Yes, he is about forming a new humanity. The least are going to be first for us. This upstart Word-in-our-flesh is going to restore our innocence and trust us to protect it. So, get ready. Listen up....

As Ordinary Time comes to a close this month with the Feast of Christ the King, we are challenged by the scriptural texts to face the reality of death. We do it, but we don’t like it. Why? For a lot of reasons. We don’t feel ready. There is so much yet undone. We feel guilty of “not doing enough. We are not close enough to God…and it goes on and on.   Deep down we sense we will never really be ready. So what are we to do? We have some valuable hints. Give it up, for one. Give up trying to program our own life. Give up being terrified because we can’t pull it off. Give up the inner tension that is always a sign that I’m on an ego trip. It’s a waste of time. So as we prepare to meet the King, whether that means the feast or face to face, it’s wise to face facts. First, the Easter mysteries have taught me that the Risen One is now present among us in a different way. He is wherever I am. “You in me and I in you.” What if I remembered this in the morning when I put my fee...

Both our Charism/Mission Statement and our new Focus Statement call for a type of “presence.” There are quality ways of “being present.” But there is a type of presence that grounds them all for the Dominican worded-woman or man. It’s the challenge of a contemplative presence. If we are honest, many of us have to admit that we really haven’t received much training in contemplative prayer. We say, “Well, I go to chapel or sit down in my room, and then I fidget. I really don’t know what to do next.”* First, we need to become clear about what we can do, and what we can’t do.   Acquired contemplation is what we can do. Infused contemplation is what God does. This kind of presence can be uncomfortable at first, and that’s why many of us avoid it. We feel so useless, so helpless, and so we pick up our book or our rosary, and that’s how we spend the time of prayer. Contemplative presence is coming before the gaze of love and “sitting in the Son” just as one would do outdoors...