If you have a question, please direct it to S. Brenda Walsh at bwalsh@racinedominicans.org.
 

August

What is the Mission of Preaching of the Dominican Order?
Sister Brenda Walsh, OP, Racine Dominican

As Dominicans celebrate Jubilee Year 2010, we are invited to reflect on the “Mission of Preaching.” This brings to mind a retreat I made three decades ago, directed by a priest from India. The event left an indelible mark on my mind. The director emphasized that the coming of the Spirit is constitutive of the church in mission. The Spirit comes in many different forms – as dove, as fire and wind, as whisper and hurricane. Participants were given three questions to ponder and consider daily to focus our mission and ministry engagement. The questions are these:

     1. By whom are we sent?
     2. To whom are we sent?
     3. For what are we sent?

By Whom Are We Sent?
This question reminds us that our engagement in mission and ministry is ultimately the work of the Spirit. It re-enforces the words in Luke’s Gospel, 24:49: “Remain here in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.” Our Dominican call to prayer, contemplation and study and the fruits derived from our Dominican way of life come to us as recipients of the gifts of the Spirit. Sharpening this awareness will allow us to be living witnesses to the life, death and Resurrection of Jesus in our daily lives. We will be empowered to preach the Word without fear and bring challenge and hope to the hearers in our day.

To Whom Are We Sent?
If we believe and live in the power of the Spirit, there is no area of life that is beyond the power and action of the Spirit. Jesus and Dominic addressed the heresies of their time. They wanted all people to know and experience the justice, mercy and compassion of God, especially in the midst of life’s confusions, wars, scandals, a sense of hopelessness and homelessness in both a physical and spiritual sense. They wanted people to live in right relationship to the Divine, to other people and to their environment. They also addressed people with power and influence and urged them to create systems and structures according to God’s design. We are invited to do the same in our time and place, to speak and live the full Gospel message wherever we find ourselves – in the classroom, on the pulpit, in the halls of government, in office or factory, at board meetings or simply interacting with people in their daily lives. We can bring Gospel values into every situation in every day life. The Gospel message is not just to comfort. It is also to challenge. We can ask ourselves “Who are the untouchables today, the despairing we need to reach out to as Jesus did? Who are the despairing in need of a word of hope and help? Who are the left out, the forgotten, the disenfranchised of this time?

For What Are We Sent?
In pulpit preaching, do we offer the full Gospel message, or do we withhold some of it or water it down to avoid conflict or loss of membership in the church? Do we urge people and ourselves to be more concerned about being morally correct and less concerned about being politically correct? We are sent to walk with the struggling poor, to listen to their call for help and empower them to find their own voice and express it. Our daily reflection on the Word will disturb any sense of self-importance that may slip into our minds or disrupt our need for our own comfort and convenience. Albert Nolan, OP, once reminded participants at a meeting of Dominicans in the US that a change of lifestyle is needed to live more like the poor and be more effective preachers of the Word. We need to read the contemporary signs of the times and bring a moral perspective to issues such as Immigration, care for the earth, war and violence as a means of solving problems.

We must follow up and call on the Spirit of God to help us individually and communally to live and act the Gospel message in our time. We preach not just by our words but also by the witness of our lives. The church has told us in recent times that action for justice has been confirmed as a constitutive element of Gospel living and preaching. Then we will clearly be an Order of Preachers as Dominic had in mind. Our motto is “Veritas” which calls us to preach the truth of the Gospel and take a prophetic stance as Jesus and Dominic did. It is not enough to preach abstract truth or offer a message that pleases the majority present. We have many heresies to address: militarism, materialism, consumerism and many more. We need to be prepared through prayer, contemplation, study and community support. Then we will truly be sent in Spirit power to light the world with hope.

I believe we are living in a privileged moment, a time of breakthrough as well as breakdown. Something new is about to be born. The Spirit of God is alive and well, operating within my life and your life, and inviting us to make secure connections with the Divine that will never let us down. Let us begin today to take up this challenge with courage, conviction and hope.

July

The Power of Positive Feedback (Why is it important?)
By Dr. Tom Keller of Keller Chiropractic
(Used with permission)

We seem especially skilled at pointing out the deficiencies in others, but we often seem to forget to give praise when things go well. The old adage, “What gets rewarded is what gets done” is at work here. Giving positive feedback can be a powerful tool to reinforce a desired behavior. And it is a skill anyone can learn. Keep these things in mind:

Do It Now. Positive feedback is most effective when it is delivered as quickly after the desired behavior as possible. Don’t save up all your kudos for the end of the day.
Do It Publicly. While negative feedback should always be delivered privately, positive feedback is more effective when given in front of others, multiplying its effect.
Be Specific. Don’t give a general, “Well done, Sally.” Instead identify a specific reason or detail that’s prompting your acknowledgment. “Great presentation in the meeting today!”
Do It Often. Since positive feedback is “emotional fuel,” don’t neglect the small victories. Celebrate them too. 
Be Authentic. Don’t offer empty praise. People can see right through you. Mean it when you give positive feedback.

Giving positive feedback takes practice. Today, be on the lookout and try to catch someone doing something great. You’ll make their day, and probably your own too.

S. Brenda adds: Give thanks to God for all the ways that God can use our gifts and talents to do good.

June

What are some things we can do to become a peacemaker?
Network offers these ideas and asked us to “Spread the Word.”

1. Spend some time each day quietly reflecting on how we would like to relate to ourselves and others.

2. Remember that all human beings have the same needs.

3. Check our intention to see if we are as interested in others getting their needs met as our own.

4. When asking someone to do something, check first to see if we are making a request or a demand.

5. Instead of saying what we don’t want someone to do, say what we do want the person to do.

6. Instead of saying what we want someone to be, say what action we would like the person to take that we hope will help the person be that way.

7. Before agreeing or disagreeing with anyone’s opinions, try to tune in to what the person is feeling and needing.

8. Instead of saying NO, say what need of ours prevents us from saying YES.

9. If we are feeling upset, think about what need of ours is not being met, and what we could do to meet it, instead of thinking about what’s wrong with others or ourselves.

10. Instead of praising someone who did something we like, express our gratitude by telling the person what need of ours that action met.

We seek a world where human needs are addressed and where differences are settled in dialogue, not violence.

 May

How do I “Let Go and Let God?”
S. Clarice Sevegney, OP 

Some years ago, I had an experience, which upon reflection after it was over, enriched my spiritual life. I was in parish ministry near the beautiful Tahquamenon Falls in Upper Michigan. One day I was feeling down and went to Tahquamenon Falls alone. When I got there, I wanted to sit near the water. So I went down a steep bank to get to the water’s edge. After an hour or so, it was time to go home. I tried to climb the bank and could not make it. On my hands and knees I am struggling to get up this bank. Two young men walk by and keep going. They double back and ask me if I need help. I do. In a two man chain, they came down for me. I am hanging on to a bush with all my strength. I need to let go of the bush in order to be pulled up and over the top of the bank. The eyes of the young man closest to me lock with mine. He assures me that he has the strength to get me to the top of the bank. I let go. He had the strength.

It is our lived experience of trust and faith in our daily lives that open us to God’s grace of trusting and believing in the testimony of Jesus. The strength and authority of the works of Jesus manifest God’s favor upon him. It is in this experience within the Christian community that we realize the power of the name of Jesus in our everyday lives.

As we let to of our own perceived reality and journey into the heart of the testimony of Jesus, we come to know the favor and intimacy of our God. In this special intimacy, we experience the tenderness of a mother for the child in her womb. The tender love of God becomes our reality. It is our gift to each human person.

April

How do we create a culture of peace in a world of violence?

Some time ago Jack Jezreel offered this solution at a Pax Christi Conference. Jack is the founder and director of Just Faith Ministries. Reprinted with permission

These ideas are drawn from my own experience. In our world today, there are looming wars over water, violence in the name of oil, and battles
I will begin by drawing from Pope Paul V1’s words – there will be no peace without justice. The two are closely tied together. There are six ingredients I want to propose that critical, all essential for the church to be a potent agent of peace and justice.

1. The Church must always be deliberate about its relationship with those who are at risk in the world. Catholic social teaching describes this as “option for the poor and vulnerable” and as “solidarity.” One problem is the way we have segregated the poor and oppressed and downtrodden, and the exploited. The biggest obstacle is a lack of compassion, of agape. We do not care much about what we do not see. If we cared enough, it would drive us to active engagement.  We must see the world through the lens of those who see it from the bottom. Kinship is essential to justice.

2. The second critical ingredient is what we call justice and peace education. Jesus called it the “reign of God.” The reign of God is a reign of service, justice, generosity, compassion and peacemaking. We must provide many opportunities for justice and peace education in all of these areas. People need to know that church is not primarily about bingo, picnics or basketball leagues. We need the excitement, passion, energy and draw of the Gospel.

3. We must learn new lifestyles, simple lifestyles. Wendell Berry said “We must learn to live poorer than we do. The world is at war because parts of the world are literally sucking the life out of other parts. This also puts us at war with the natural order. Think about global warming which is very sobering. It is not enough to reduce, reuse and recycle. We need to find a very different way of living. We need to reduce by ¾ what we consume. We need to encourage each other to consume less, to buy less, to need less.

4. We must pray, learn to pray and take time to pray. Prayer is a way of connecting with our source. It is about being centered, mindful of the holy, the presence of the sacred and the precious. This will help us to be integrated, to be single in purpose, and open to a deepening relationship and a deepening commitment.

5. We need a firm commitment to nonviolence. The presumption against violence is a critical dimension of our faith. Violence is the saddest of human acts. We ask ourselves where is live honored and where is it betrayed?  Think of all the violence in greed and power. What needs to be done to address them?

6. Community is an important ingredient of effective peacemaking. Jesus, Jean Vanier, Dorothy Day and other drew people into relationship, into a relationship of meaning. This is difficult in our culture where we worship independence, individualism and autonomy.

By community, I mean an intentional community with commitments, including all the ingredients I have mentioned above. Small faith communities without a mission are just pious potlucks.

Remember these ways of culturing peace – engagement with those on the margins, peace and justice education and formation, simplicity, prayer, and peacemaking. Let us begin today with courage and hope.

March

How Do Racine Dominicans
Address Human Trafficking?
S. Ruth Schaaf, OP

In 2001, in Rome, the religious leaders of 1 million Catholic Sisters worldwide publicly declared their determination to work in solidarity with one another, both within their own communities and in the countries in which they reside and serve. Their commitment was to address, insistently at every level, the abuse and sexual exploitation of women and children, with particular attention to human trafficking.  Out of that determination many communities of sisters in the United States began to raise awareness of the growing criminal activities surrounding human trafficking.  The Racine Dominicans have been part of this endeavor, taking their own corporate stance for human rights and dignity, and against human trafficking.  

The United States is one of the receiver countries of a huge flow of impoverished vulnerable persons who have been promised good jobs in this country by persons who intend to control and enslave those very persons, while taking all the profits of their work.  Recruitment of persons for this slave trade also takes place in the United States as young people running away from home or drifting from school are solicited by traffickers or predators, in some areas within 48 hours of their departure from home or school.

Recent studies done by Professor Margo Kleinfeld of the University of Wisconsin, Whitewater show that Wisconsin does have a growing incidence of human trafficking.  MSNBC, in its documentary on human trafficking within the United States, outlined the flow of trafficked persons from the west coast through the south and up through the east coast cities, westward through Ohio, and especially through Toledo where the incidence of trafficking is significant, onward through Chicago to Minneapolis where one of the most lucrative trafficking markets in the United States thrives.

Racine County lies on the route between the two big markets of Chicago and Minneapolis.  Truck routes figure prominently in the growing business of trafficking.  Given this picture of a criminal activity, multi-faceted and covert, yet all around us and very difficult to bring to justice, the Racine Dominicans ask themselves, “What can we do?  How can we help bring this problem to light and to justice?”  To date we have just one event scheduled, a presentation March 9, 2010 by representatives of Rescue and Restore on human trafficking in southeastern Wisconsin.

In conversation with Rescue and Restore Coalition in Milwaukee, an agency established out of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to address the care of survivors of trafficking, we are told that awareness-building in the public is of prime importance as a grassroots support for law enforcement. Many questions rise out of our own position statement which can best be addressed in collaboration with the frontline agencies of law enforcement, healthcare and social services.

As educators with nearly 150 years of educational leadership in Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois and many other states, the Racine Dominicans see an opportunity to contribute to the pursuit of this problem in a way that would be helpful to the frontline agencies.  We hopefully anticipate collaboration with these agencies. 

The following are some ways people can get involved in the issue:

1. Check out the websites for information: stopenslavement.org or stophumantrafficking.org

2. Read the book, “In Contempt of Fate.”

3. Check your own awareness of the suffering of the people around you in the bus station, at a rest stop, in the grocery store, or at church. Do you know the signs of stress, fear, confusion, extreme insecurity, total control by another?

4. Memorize the hotline number for victims of human trafficking –
1-888-373-7888. Feel free to call this number even if you are not sure of the signs of trafficking you note. The hotline is managed by people who are well trained on how to protect the people involved.

February

What Is Our Response as People of Faith
to Immigration Reform?
S. Joyce Quintana, OP

Last month there was a presentation at St. Mary’s Catholic Faith Community in Hales Corners titled: Immigration Reform: a Faith Mandate. This summarizes for me why each of us needs to become involved in the upcoming immigration debate. Our faith is the basis for our action – as it should be for any social justice activity.

Our Catholic faith teaches us that all persons have the right to live in dignity and to achieve a full life. We’re taught that all persons (including immigrants) possess inherent dignity and that all goods of the earth belong to all people. Our Catholic Social Justice also teaches that an individual has the right to find work elsewhere if there is none in his/her country. And we’re also taught that sovereign nations have the right to control its borders. However, nations must recognize they have a stronger obligation to accommodate migration flows.

Our present immigration situation in this country is puzzling to most of us. It’s a complex system fraught with misunderstanding and suspicion. But one thing is clear: the basic problem is the system itself: The law is broken! We need to fix it! The problem is not with the immigrants! For example, one thing needing to be fixed is that there are too few legal channels for immigration under our current system. As a result, each year thousands of individuals cross the border without documentation or they overstay their visitor visas.

What can we do in this situation? Each one of us needs to learn more about immigration and how the rules have changed since our ancestors came to this country. We need to understand a little more about the entire immigration process. One doesn’t just decide to come to the U.S. and get a Visa overnight which would allow them entrance to our country. The wait for a Visa in Mexico is currently 14 years while the wait for one in the Philippines is 22 years!!

How aware are we of the steps immigrants have to take to become legal residents in the U.S. and/or to begin the process toward becoming a citizen? Do we know anything about the costs connected with becoming a citizen? How can we find out?

We can do this by reading, by attending lectures or workshops, by learning from the immigrants themselves about their problems.  We can/must call, fax, or write our Congressperson and Senators and ask them to support comprehensive immigration reform. Ask them to make sure that the following four elements are included:

1) A plan for immigrants already here to regularize their status upon satisfaction of reasonable criteria and pursue an option to become permanent residents and, perhaps, U.S. citizens. (Path to Citizenship)

2) Reforms in our family-based system to significantly reduce waiting time for separated families to be reunited. (Promotion of Family Unity)

3) The creation of legal avenues for workers and their families who wish to migrate to the U.S. to enter our country and work in a safe, legal, and orderly manner with their rights fully protected. (Worker Protections)

4) Border protection policies that are consistent with humanitarian values and with the need to treat all individuals with respect – while still allowing the authorities to carry out their critical task of identifying and preventing entry of terrorists and criminals. (Border Security)

Congressman Luis Gutierrez of Illinois introduced a bill in the House of Representatives in December, 2009.  Urge your Congressperson to support this bill. As of this date, no HR number has been assigned to the bill, but it known as “CIR ASAP” or Comprehensive Immigration Reform for America’s Security and Prosperity Act of 2009.

Suggested web sites:

1) Justice for Immigrants: http://www.justiceforimmigrants.org/  

2) Interfaith Immigration Coalition Platform: http://presbyterian.typepad.com/peacemaking/2009/01/interfaith-platform-on-humane-immigration-reform.html  

3) National Immigration Forum: http://www.immigrationforum.org/

4)  The Advocates for Human Rights: http://www.energyofanation.org/Curriculum.html

Suggested reading material:

Close to Slavery: Guestwork Programs in the U.S. You can request a copy from the Southern Poverty Law Center at 334-956-8200

Strangers No Longer: Together on the Journey of Hope **

Welcoming the Stranger Among Us: Unity in Diversity **

** Both are publications of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Washington, D.C.

January

What Does Dominican Spirituality
Offer to All of Us?

Dominic sent his followers out to by two to live and preach the Good News of the Word of God. At the end of the day, they returned to their communities to be recharged and renewed to continue their call to Praise, to Bless, to Preach. That same call and authority to preach is offered to us, Dominican religious men and women and to the laity in our time and place.

Dominic had radical trust in our God and we are called to that same trust. Dominic and his early followers had an openness to making themselves available for God’s purpose and call. We are called to do the same in order to be Word-bearers and Word-Proclaimers .We need it more today as needs are growing and resources are diminishing in some areas of the world. We must remember it is more about God’s story than about our story.  It is God’s power working in and through each and every one of us.

Dominic preached to people who were seduced by the myths of his day. We need to name and address the myths and false promises of our day. We are discovering some of that now with the collapse of the global economic system. We must remember God’s reservoir of mercy, and goodness and forgiveness will never go bankrupt. We are all called to re -root ourselves in God.

We need to be present to the new frontiers of our culture as Jesus and Dominic were in heir day. We are also called to reject violence and war as a way of solving problems.  We need to contribute to the building of justice and peace as the foundation for our living and relating.

Through our contemplative stance, we learn to share in God’s way of solving personal, national  and international problems. Everywhere people are looking for a deeper meaning in their lives. By helping in the search, we will deepen our own relationship with God and God’s people This calls us to go beyond our comfortable boundaries and bring Gospel hope to people in their pain. This is not a time to grow faint at the magnitude of the problems before us. We are called to be bread blessed, broken and shared with a spiritually starved people in a broken and bleeding world.

Like Dominic, we can do that in classroom, boardroom, street, in halls of government or wherever we find ourselves. We can sit with disillusioned youth and listen to their hungers and lead them in another direction. We can help them reject a freedom that has no truth or moral boundaries.

In our contemplation, we will discover our center of power and life and creativity, and hold up God’s vision of peace, equality and justice for all. Then our message will be prophetic, passionate, productive and powerful.  
God’s truth will set us free.

How can we speak a word of hope and mercy, of truth and meaning in our world today?

We invite your response. Send to bwalsh@racinedominicans.org.