What Divine Love Accomplish?

            The lives of St. Dominic and St. Catherine of Siena are evidence of what Divine Love can accomplish.  As God called them to be who he created them to be, they listened and responded to that Divine Love.  The result was a deep intimacy to Christ that enabled them to bring about results that they could not have imagined in their most hopeful dreams. They entered into the mystery into which we are all called.  Combining their great love of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit with a devotion to Mary, the Mother of God, they were able to detaching themselves of the things of this world and focus on the things of heaven.

               In a time before “screens”, yet a time filled with significant temptations and distractions to pull individuals away from God and into sinful living, both St. Dominic and St. Catherine were able to be in touch with the movement of the Holy Spirit within their souls.  Their love for God gave them the courage and fortitude to follow those movements, resulting in a personal relationship with our Triune God.

               The spiritual journey of this ordained priest and lay woman had many things in common of which I would like to focus on two.  They each spent significant time in prayer and contemplation and they each had a devotion to Mary and the rosary.

               St. Dominic reportedly spent many nights on the ground praying for the salvation of souls.  He prayed and fasted and did penance, binding his sufferings to the sufferings of Christ.  It was during a time of praying for the conversion of souls that he was given the Rosary by Mary.  He continued his active apostolate preaching and forming men to become Dominican priests and brothers while advancing the use of the Rosary throughout Europe. 

               St. Catherine, early in her adulthood, spent three years in solitary prayer.   During this time, the Lord must have formed her for the active work he had planned for her.  She knew at an early age that she was made to be devoted to Christ and had the courage to defy her parents.  Once she began her active life of service, it continued to be sustained by frequent daily prayer and contemplation. 

               The lives of both of these saints illustrate the absolute need for an active apostolate to be supported by a vibrant life of prayer.  They also illustrate lives filled with joy as a result of their relationship with Christ.

It is a mystery!

               Recently, on an absolutely perfect May evening, I spent time in the courtyard of the Dominican House of Studies (DHS) in Washington D.C. enjoying libations and thoughtful conversation.  The occasion was the graduation of a friend of mine from the Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception at the DHS. Two degrees were conferred on my friend, who is a brother in the Order of Preachers. This evening was a milestone on his journey to become a priest in the order founded by St. Dominic nearly 800 years ago. 

               In the courtyard, there were dozens of men dressed in the white habit of the Dominican’s, many of them, like my friend, who are in the process of discerning their vocation as a priest.  I turned to my friend and commented, “Why do you think so many men are joining the Dominicans?”  “It’s a mystery,” was his comment.  At first I wanted to shrug off his comment, thinking that it is something that someone in religious life might say.  He began to discuss cause and effect, and at this point I knew I was way over my head trying to follow a line of thought by a philosophy major.  But he was insistent, in today’s culture, why would so many intelligent, talented, men be drawn to a life of obedience, poverty and chastity?  “It is a mystery” he emphatically declared.  Who understands how the Holy Spirit works?

               Those words have followed me since that conversation.  It especially crossed my mind today as I think about the Solemn High Mass in the Extraordinary Form for Corpus Christi that will be held at my church tonight.  It will be the first Latin mass that I have attended in two years. 

               I could make the case that attending a Latin mass four years ago is the reason I am a member of a Lay Dominican community today.  At that time in my life, I was exploring my Catholic faith, and interested in trying new experiences that could bring me closer to God.  My interest in learning more about the Latin mass led me to take a class offered in my parish to help lay members learn Latin for the mass.  The young man who taught the class was considering a vocation and introduced me to the Order of Preachers.  When my regular confessor left the DC area and I was seeking formation, I ran across information about Lay Dominican communities.  I would have not followed this journey without listening to and following the urgings of the Holy Spirit. What mystery is planned for me today?