Preacher of Grace

For the Dominicans, annunciation is a favourite scene to contemplate in relation to their life of preaching. It was a time of darkness as people were victims of economic, political and religious exploitation. As prophet Isiah says ‘raise your head high’ in hope in a world afraid of future, Mary was able to ‘raise her head high’ to see new horizons of hope, and open new doors to enter into unfamiliar ways that the Word spoke to her.

Historians state that the world was in darkness in the time of St. Dominic. There was famine, hunger, wrong teaching of faith and different spiritualities taking advantage of the situation. The dark ages can emerge in different forms at any time of crisis and conflict. What is important is that we see the light of the presence of God. These moments of darkness are those of renewal, and of revelation (of insights, learning the lessons from history, available hope and courage for the future). Such is the mystery we live today that deserves graceful contemplation.

Only in hope and courage we can converse with a time where God seems not to be found. If the conversation is made possible, we will be able to see not just the Word spoken but the Word incarnate among us. This conversation is what we hear about St. Dominic as “He spoke to God and spoke about God.” Ability to converse to a time requires enormous courage, hope, and communion with God and communion with people.

Preaching involves listening. We need a sincere spirit of seeking the truth of humanity, godliness, divinity, and the truth of history, culture and the biosystems in order to give an incarnated form to the Word we receive. What do they speak in me? Preaching without hearing is only a data transfer which may not offer life. Let us also reflect that the night with the inn keeper was a night of listening. The inn keeper’s beliefs were speaking to Dominic what the innkeeper pathetically disposed his humanity to. We listen together to the truth in dialogue. Preachers of the truth have a responsibility to identify the dominant lies (even in matters of faith) and to train people to search for truth. A teaching is to be seen erroneous not because it is differing from my rightness, but because if it exploits humanity. Even the error about God leads to manipulations of human status and exploitation.

Contemplation on the realities we encounter in our ministry itself is the ‘eyes to see with and ears to hear with’ that open our depths into insights and in-voice. That contemplation is impossible if we do not have a ‘heart to feel with.’ If Dominic spent the whole night in prayer, the lives of his people were alive in them. Their lives show the enfleshed mysteries of salvation which are to be contemplated and to be raised in prayer.

Dominic’s cry for salvation reflects even deeper about the outcome of sinful structures. Our ministry of compassion extends beyond ‘helping’ the poor. It is also about active participation in efforts to destroy the structures that create such miseries for them. Pope Francis brought the dominant structures of evil into four words: Indifference, self-centeredness, division and forgetfulness. They are institutionalised and are part of the system both in public and in religious life. These structures deserve meditation if we are to encounter truth amongst turmoil, rediscover God and humanity that we announce the good news to the poor. Because evil structures are facilitated with some forms of lies. Presenting of reality in dual nature is found not only in teaching, they repeat every time in perspectives and devotions. Any condemnation of the world and body repeats the heresy that Dominic and companions fought, and condemn God who created everything good. A God who finds pleasure when we take up pain is not a God of love and goodness and truth.

So, what has it to do with our charism of ‘veritas’? If conversion, reparation, salvation … continue to originate from a guilty conscience of humanity for the atrocities we have done in history, they remain non-functional and fruitless. It has to reveal to us how we have contributed to the larger structure of sinfulness, and make sure that even our smallest gesture enable the humanity to act for peace and justice. In our sermons, writings, discussions…we need to encourage models of growth “capable of guaranteeing openness to life, concern for the family, social equality, the dignity of workers, respect for the environment, and the rights of future generations.” Is it not there where we want the Word incarnate? It is possible for us to introduce, collaborate, and integrate the new model “of a culture of communion based on fraternity and equality.” When our economic and social system no longer produces even a single victim, a single person cast aside, we will be able to celebrate the feast of universal fraternity. So we pray, preacher of grace, unite us with the blessed.