Being a Dominican in Springtime

I wake up each morning to a love affair.  Outside my window, in the early morning hours, a cardinal calls to a far-off mate.  And, if I listen very carefully, I can hear the mate answer.  Rain or shine, the darlings are out there.  What a grace!  What a privilege!  I believe that in those waking moments, I am a witness to God’s word.  It is our calling as Dominicans to first hear, and secondly, preach God’s word.  Meister Eckhart, the thirteenth-century Dominican mystic says:  “Every creature is a word of God.”

So, this Spring, I want to put on my “listening cap,” as we did in Kindergarten when it was story time.  As you have probably noticed, good listening hears more than just words.  I listen when I get up early to see the alignment of the planets in the sky, or notice the red bud tree on my evening walk, or stop to converse with the man who has asked for bus fare, or sit with a community member as we try to hear each other into understanding.

    

What if I approached all of life knowing that I was about to hear the very word of God?

Now, all I have to do is learn to listen, to really listen!

Where are you hearing God’s voice these days?  

Peggy Ryan, O.P.

Whitefish Bay, WI