RBWords - Volume 37 - Number 7: July 2024
Something to Think About
R.B.WORDS - VOL. 37 - NO. 7 - JULY 2025 @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT - Next month, on August 16th, I will mark 60 years since my First Profession of vows in the Dominican Order (the Order of Preachers)! The ceremony took place at the novitiate of the Central Dominican Province in Winona, MN! (There was no Southern Province at that time. It would not be founded until 1979.) At that time, First Profession was usually made for three years, at which time one might make Solemn, or lifetime, Profession of vows. I use the word “vows” - plural - but we Dominicans actually make only one vow - OBEDIENCE - to the Master of the Order (our head honcho in Rome) according to the Rule of St. Augustine and the Constitutions of the Friars of the Order of Preachers. Among other things, it meant I could put the initials “O.P.” after my name. But the other two vows of chastity and poverty are included in the constitutions. One of the first Dominican vocation directors I met warned me that the hardest vow would not be, as some might think, that of chastity, but rather it would be OBEDIENCE! He was right! 60 years allows for a lot of memories! When I began the novitiate in August of 1964, the Second Vatican Council was still going on! English was just beginning to make its way into the Mass and our community prayer! The various changes to liturgical practice and in Catholic identity were (and continue to be) challenging, Most of the friars who began formation with me are no longer members of the Order. Of the class of 24 who began formation with me, only two remain - myself and one other! Some left during formation but several others even left after ordination to the priesthood! I was ordained in 1971. Those of my Beloved Readers who have received this newsletter over the years since 1988, when I first began to send it, know that “obedience” has meant a lot of moves and occasionally positions of responsibility that I would not have chosen for myself. But if someone were to ask me which were the best years and which were the most difficult, I would have to say, “The first sixty!” IT’S SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT!
It Has Been Said
“Christianity is not an assembly of hard truths and curious miracles turning creation topsy-turvy. The events of Jesus’ preaching and ministry occurring long ago can be understood by people today: his triumph of life over death tells us of a further reality and future for men and women. The choices made by Peter and Mary Magdalen are not unlike our quests for meaning. When the gospel parables speak of God’s love we understand that love through the moments of human love we have enjoyed.”
From THOMAS AQUINAS - THEOLOGIAN by Thomas F. O’Meara, O.P.