PREACHING AT MASS
In today's Gospel reading from Mark, we hear the story of a man who approaches Jesus with a question: "What must I do to inherit eternal life?" After Jesus reminds him of the commandments, the man tells Jesus that he has observed them since his youth. This elicits from Jesus one of the most awesome, life-challenging, and poignant sentences in all of the Christian scriptures: " Jesus looked at him and loved him!" Jesus' love for the man and his love for all sinners is a love that prompts love in return. Would the man -could the man -love Jesus enough to do the one thing more that Jesus invited him to do? Would he -could he -love Jesus more than his possessions? We will never know the answers to these questions as regards the man in today's gospel. However, the challenge of this gospel requires that we turn those same questions on ourselves and do whatever is necessary to answer them appropriately each day of our lives.

Many years ago, I had an experience with a friend. She and I were discussing some topic that I have long forgotten and she said to me, "Marie, it's easy for you to say that, because you know God loves you!" I was shocked and said to her , "Don't you believe that God loves you too?" "No!" was her reply. What a tragedy! My friend has since gone to God and now rests in God's eternal embrace. She now knows that God loves her and that God has loved her from the moment of her conception.

Perhaps that was the case with the man in the Gospel. Jesus looked at him and loved him but apparently the man did not comprehend Jesus' love and hence was not ready to accept the invitation to "Come follow me!" Just as the love of Jesus invited him to do one thing more, so does the love of Jesus make it possible to fulfill the demands of discipleship for all who will let themselves be loved and will become loving and giving in kind. The man with many possessions did not allow Jesus' look and love to change his mind, upset his values, rearrange his priorities and transform his life, but the disciples who did allow Jesus' gaze to penetrate their hearts and minds began to live their lives anew.

Jesus looks at all of us here today with love and hence all of us have experienced moments when God has called us to something greater than what we have experienced in the past. We have heard Jesus say, "One thing more you must do..."

Judy, Janice and Myrna have experienced such a call from God. Jesus has looked at them and loved them. He has offered them the invitation to "Come follow me!" They have heard him say, "One thing more you must do..." and the one thing more for them is the call to follow Jesus more closely by becoming a Dominican Associate. "

The call to be a Dominican is to follow the charism of St. Dominic. His road map to follow Jesus contains four direction posts: prayer, study, community, and ministry.

Prayer calls Dominicans to actively pursue a life of prayer and contemplation whereby we come to know God's love for us and pass that love on to one another.

Study calls us to pursue study as a means toward seeking truth in our contemporary world. For the past 800 years study has remained an essential component of Dominican life.

Community calls us to share ourselves with one another, reaching out to others with hospitality and discovering our connectedness within the entire web of life.

Preaching is at the heart of the Dominican call to Ministry .This is done through living the gospel message in our daily lives, through the spirit of truth and love brought to the workplace and relationships, and through involvement in efforts for justice.

For those of you who are not familiar with the Dominican charism, you might be wondering what those words are up on the canopy over the altar: Laudare, Benedicere, Praedicare, Veritas. These Latin words mean: to praise, to bless, to preach and truth. The first three are the motto of the Dominican Order. The last is the virtue all Dominicans strive for. "

Laudare: We praise God for God's great love for us.

Benedicere: Because God loves us, we pass that love on to others.

Praedicare: We preach God's word and demonstrate God's love for us by the way we live our lives and therefore our very actions proclaim God's truth.

As we listen to Judy, Janice and Myna's covenants we will hear how each one uniquely has answered the call of Jesus: "One thing more you must do..." The completion of the sentence varies for each one of them as they prayed for prudence and wisdom.

The first reading from the Book of Wisdom today teaches that if we seek wisdom with a pure heart, we will see how best to live our lives. "They prayed and prudence was given them. They pleaded and the spirit of wisdom came to them".

I pray that as Judy, Janice and Myrna begin their journey with us as Dominican Associates that paraphrasing the final verse from today's Wisdom reading" that "All good things together will come to them as Dominican Associates and countless riches at God's hands." ... Sister Marie Jeanne Surrette,OP