Carla Mae's Blog

How we Do it... The word contemplation can mean different things to different people. How do Dominicans understand it? As we continue to more intentionally reclaim this core of our spirituality in all our deliberations, it is good to revisit the distinctive take we Dominicans have on contemplation. Clarifying this would be an important step as we complete the celebration of our 800 th Anniversary. The recently deceased Paul Philibert, OP, in his research has uncovered something rather interesting. The way Dominicans understand contemplation is revealed in Dominic’s Nine Ways of Prayer. For the perceptive eye, there is a flow in these ways of prayer. First, there is reverencing, shown in our customs of bows and prostrations. Then there is pleading, in the raised and outstretched arms, and finally there is the silent and absorbed meditative reading and study which ends up witnessing. The movement is a bit like breathing… reverencing, pleading, witnessing . The Dominican...

A Sign will be given you…a baby… Carla Mae Streeter, OP, Promoter of Preaching What?! A baby??? A baby is the long-awaited sign of God’s answer to millions of prayers for a redeemer…for thousands of years? Yes. And come to think of it, how ingenious. Not lightning from Mt. Saini, not a warrior on a white stallion, not even a powerful prophet thundering words of warning. A baby…a baby as a sign of God. What newness might grasp us as we gaze at the crib? What might we see that we haven’t noticed before? If this baby is the visible sign of the invisible God, we need to take a long, loving look. This child is the bridge, the restored link between the Divine and our humanness. This baby, wanting to play patty-cake on my cheeks until I scoop it up and cover it with kisses…is this the peek-a-boo God who knows just how to get a rise out of me? A rise out of its mother? An anonymous writer put it this way…      “ The soul’s prayer of union is someth...

                                                                        A Prudent Vote… Amid the noise and insults, the lies and accusations, what’s a responsible Dominican to do as this election draws near? It is tempting indeed to simply say, “I’m just not going to vote.” Yet we all know this is an abdication of one of our most treasured rights and responsibilities as citizens. Dominicans preach first from the pulpit of their lives, so our lives must speak from the voting booth too. The updated 2016 Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship from the American bishops can be of help to us. (USCCB website) The bishops call u...

More Than a Day…. Carla Mae Streeter, OP ‘Tis the month of Thanksgiving. It’s also the time of harvest, not only from the fields but in the community we call church. We gather the harvest of the fields, and we are approaching the end of Ordinary Time. This long series of weeks in the church’s celebration of time is the time of greening, the time of growth from the Paschal Mystery. The Easter glow is like Sonshine, cultivating the fruits of the Spirit in our souls. But thanksgiving for all the richness of field and human flourishing is not just for a day. It can be a way…of life. Scripture says it best: “In all circumstances, give thanks, for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.” (1Thess. 5:18 ) Now I don’t know about you, but a typical response to this is, “You’ve got to be kidding! Give thanks for a cancer diagnosis, for someone rear-ending me?” Yes. Scripture doesn’t mince words: “In all circumstances…” So for the past three years I’ve been tryin...

…back to Basics… We have just come from an intense weekend of reflection on contemplation. We have always known it is the rich ground of our ministries. It is a fact that many of us never have had real training in its meaning or practice in our Dominican formation. So why is contemplation so significant in present-day religious life, especially among active religious? Let’s get very concrete. Rational analytic consciousness, the way our minds work in day-to-day thinking, is grounded in a more basic type of consciousness. This basic awareness is just plain wonder. It’s awe. It’s surprise, like the child on Christmas morn. As we grow, we get scolded if we “wonder” too much. We need to be responsible, you know. We need to get things done, and not be lazy. We need to accomplish something. This is the measure of our worth, right? Really? The gospel has another suggestion: “…unless you turn and become as a little child…” Wonder reclaimed has the ability to clarify our thinking. ...

Mercy me! But what about Justice? We will soon be completing the Jubilee Year of Mercy. The Dominicans will seal this special 800 th Anniversary year with final celebrations. The liturgical year is nearing end. The harvest time is upon us. Where is the fruit? What growth can we find in the rich loam of our humanness, in our very earthy human struggle? Lord, have mercy! Yes, indeed. When we learn that real mercy means compassion for one who does not deserve it, the shoe fits. This is not about somebody else. This is about me. I try, I really do. But inevitably I come up short. Always. So scripture these days seems to understand. We really want to “…do something beautiful for God…” as Mother Theresa would say, but we don’t quite make it. So I don’t know about you, but I come before God, holding the thimble of my puny efforts. I stand helpless, so much lacking. Then a voice next to me speaks up…”I will supply what is lacking, Father…” Then it clicks. I know how it works....