laudare, benedicere, praedicare TO PRAISE, TO BLESS, TO PREACH
January 2022
J A N U A R Y 2022 1/ 2/ 3/ 4/ 5/ 6/ 7/ 8/ 9/
SOLEMNITY OF MARY, THE HOLY MOTHER OF GOD THE EPIPHANY OF THE LORD Most Holy Name of Jesus Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton Saint John Neumann Saint Raymond of Peñafort, O.P. THE BAPTISM OF THE LORD
10 / 11 / 12 / 13 / 14 / 15 / 16/ SECOND SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME 17 / Saint Anthony, abbot 18 / 19 / 20 / 21 / Saint Agnes 22 / Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children 23/ THIRD SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME 24 / St. Frances de Sales 25 / The Conversion of Saint Paul the Apostle 26/ Saints Timothy and Titus 27 / 28/Saint Thomas Aquinas, O.P. 29 / 30/ FOURTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME 31/ Saint John Bosco
Celebrations from the Dominican calendar appear in italics.
Following the Wise Men to the Wedding By Sister Susanna, O.P. "Today the Bridegroom claims his bride, the Church, since Christ has washed her sins away in Jordan’s waters; the Magi hasten with their gifts to the royal wedding; and the wedding guests rejoice, for Christ has changed water into wine, alleluia." Benedictus antiphon for Morning Prayer of Epiphany
The three wise men travelled quickly this year! Despite traditionally being the twelfth day of Christmas, the Epiphany will be celebrated on January 2nd in many dioceses. But thankfully, for those of us who are too busy still digesting Christmas dinner to appreciate their arrival, the whole month of January provides an extended liturgical rumination on this great feast of Our Lord’s manifestation. The Benedictus antiphon for Morning Prayer of the Epiphany paints a peculiar scene – a wedding with a dripping wet bride, royal gifts, and guests more interested in the wine than the nuptials. It is an attempt to grapple with three moments of manifestation in the life of Our Lord, all of which are traditionally celebrated on the Epiphany: the visit of the Magi, the Baptism of Christ in the Jordan river, and the wedding feast at Cana. Currently, the Church mercifully separates out these three great feasts for us, spreading them across the first three Sundays of every new year. By retaining the traditional Benedictus antiphon, however, she reminds us that their deepest significance can be unlocked only by viewing them sideby-side.
Each of these moments in Jesus’ life raise questions for us. Why celebrate the arrival of the kings separate from the feast of Christmas? (After all, for many households, the kings have been present in the nativity scene since the start of Advent!) Why did Jesus, the sinless one, choose to be baptized? Why was a lack of wine worthy of Jesus’ first public miracle? Viewing all three moments through the lens of Epiphany – manifestation – allows us to glimpse some of the God-logic at work in these mysteries, and the Church’s wisdom in traditionally grouping them into one feast. As the wise men arrive, we sing in our responsorial psalm, “Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.” What a bold claim! Teaching in a school where students argue about which dialect of Arabic is superior and whose mother cooks the best dumplings, I marvel at the audacity of God tying the salvation of all peoples and nations to an event that occurred just once in time and space. How will all nations come to know the tender mercy of the Infant King? Who will be the star to guide their steps into the way of peace? We know that at our Baptism we were each commissioned to be a light; but we also know our weaknesses and struggles. How can we be a light when we feel as if we are drowning under our selfishness and pride? “Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 7:25). The truth is that we can be lights only in reflecting in our lives the true Light, who is Christ. Yes, Jesus didn’t need to be baptized; He chose to be. He descended into the waters of chaos to rescue us from the grip of sin and death, fear and despair, and to fill the waters of Baptism with his own marvelous light. The voice of the Father, manifesting the identity of the Only-Begotten Son, also resounds over the waters of our baptismal fonts: “This is my beloved son, my beloved daughter.” When we allow the grace of Baptism to fill our lives in communion with Him through His Bride, the Church, then we, too, manifest Him to the world.We proclaim, in faith, “Listen to Him!”
And listen they will. When we allow the joy of being claimed by Jesus to fill our hearts with gratitude, we slowly find the “water” of our daily lives being transformed into the wine of the Good News. Builders working in one of our convents before Christmas commented on how peaceful the atmosphere was – a miracle, given that four sisters were all trying to teach from home that week! It was the first time he had been in a place where every detail was ordered towards the glory of God, and he could sense the difference. Every baptized person is called to make that difference. As our lives become more and more oriented to the One who has called us by name, those around us will notice.
"When we allow the joy of being claimed by Jesus to fill our hearts with gratitude, we slowly find the “water” of our daily lives being transformed into the wine of the Good News."
Spreading the Gospel doesn’t require a soap box, but it does require a readiness to “give a reason for the hope” that is in us (1 Peter 3:15), and a commitment to a counter-cultural way of life. After all, we are already guests enjoying the wine of the wedding banquet, and the Bridegroom is coming soon. Let us go out to meet him with lamps alight, and bring many of our friends, co-workers, family members and even chance acquaintances along with us.
Christmas
at the motherhouse
CHRISTMAS PREPARATIONS TOP
/
Sisters
decorate around the
Motherhouse. LEFT
/
Novitiate sisters prepare the
refectory for Christmas by decorating and adding places for the sisters returning from the missions. BELOW / Sister Maria Beatriz trims the Christmas trees in the Recreation Hall.
Benefactor Baking ABOVE / "Chaste Heart of St. Joseph" cookies, one of several St. Joseph themed treats made for
our
benefactors
in
gratitude for their goodness to us. LEFT /
Novices prepare
benefactor gifts. BELOW / Novitiate sisters with packaged benefactor gifts ready to be delivered with assurance of our prayers.
Midnight Mass and Christmas Day
O Come Let Us Adore Him!
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COMMUNITY & PRAYER ABOVE / In the days preceding Christmas, sisters participated in Ongoing Formation sessions. Those abroad were able to participate via Zoom. RIGHT / The sisters enjoying each others' company at dinner on Christmas Day. BELOW / The sisters praying Compline on Christmas.
Thomas, what do you desire?
"Nothing but you, O Lord."
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