A Bird in the Hand

There she was

On the ground

Hurt

Frightened

Vulnerable.

I took her in my hands

She clung to my finger

Breathing, resting.

There I was

Talking to her

Stroking her breast, her back

Feeling her wings.

Are you hurt? How can I help?

Silence

Presence

Ministering

Being ministered to.

Connection

Compassion

Love.

A while passed.

In humble adoration.

Then she turned her head

Looked me straight in the eye

And flew away.

A bird in the hand…

A word of God.

Broken,

Spoken,

Received.

With Gratitude.

“This is the season for letting our prayer be inspired anew by closeness to nature, which spontaneously leads us to give thanks to God the Creator. Saint Bonaventure, that eloquent witness to Franciscan wisdom, said that creation is the first “book” that God opens before our eyes, so that, marveling at its order, its variety and its beauty, we can come to love and praise its Creator (cf. Breviloquium, II, 5, 11). In this book, every creature becomes for us “a word of God” (cf. Commentarius in Librum Ecclesiastes, I,”

(Pope Francis Message for World Day of Prayer for Care of Creation, 2019)

Gail Jagroop OP

Woodbrook, Trinidad

The Global Grace of Being Dominican

One of the joys of being in Washington DC is the international diversity.  This diversity includes the men and women religious studying at Catholic University.  I’ve formed an intimate, ad hoc Dominican community of sisters.  We gather periodically to break bread and share about our lives.  Raghad Saeed is an Iraqi Dominican earning her PhD in nanophysics.  Lien Do is a Vietnamese Dominican earning her Licienciate for Canon Law. I am a Sinsinawa Dominican lobbying for social justice on Capitol Hill.  

Each of us is here without family or other members of our congregation.  Our personal histories are dramatically different.  Our ministries are totally unalike.  We live in very different local community contexts.   In our daily lived experiences we don’t have much in common.

But we have a common bond in our Dominican charism and our conversations are rooted in sisterhood.  Each time we gather the conversation moves quickly from “How are you doing?” to meaningful sharing about our struggles, our questions and our joys.  

These moments with Raghad and Lien are beautiful gifts of grace available to me as part of the charism.  There is an exquisite harmony in how we come together.  Where three are gathered, Christ is present.   

Quincy Howard OP 

Washington, DC