“By their hidden life they proclaim prophetically that in Christ alone is true happiness to be found, here by grace and afterwards in glory.” LCM 1: V
In the Order of Preachers, the Dominican Nun is called to give her life totally to Christ for the preaching of the Truth, that is the Gospel, and the eternal salvation of souls. To be as a candle burning brightly, illuminating others near and far and consumed to the end, all for love, by love and with love.
“You did not see him, yet you love him; and still without seeing him you are already filled with a joy so glorious it cannot be described, because you believe...” 1 Peter 1:8
Our vocation – our call – is a call to Love. The life of the cloistered nun is to be ‘love at the heart of the Church’. To be a Bride of Christ is to live a covenant of Love with and for Jesus Christ, the WORD made flesh.
The Spirit that animates our life is zeal for the eternal salvation of souls. It was for this that St. Dominic laboured so strenuously preaching by day and praying through the night. The Nuns, imitating their Father in religion, give continuous praise to God the Creator; to the One Who waits for our love.
Pope St. John Paul II expressed it this way: “In your lives of prayer, Christ’s praise of His Eternal Father goes on. The totality of His love for His Father and His obedience to the Father’s will is reflected in your radical consecration of love. His selfless immolation for His Body, the Church, finds expression in the offering of your lives in union with His sacrifice.”
It would not be possible to speak of our vocation without speaking of Mary. From the earliest accounts of the Order, found in the Lives of the Brethren, we learn of the role played by the Most Holy Virgin in the heavenly origins of the Order.
In addition, through the centuries the Church, in the person of the Vicar of Christ, has recognized the Rosary as the special patronage of the Dominican Order. The Most Holy Virgin was the first contemplative. Mary is our model and guide in the contemplative life. St. Luke tells us that “She pondered all these things in Her Heart.” (Lk 2:19; 2:51) Mary, Mother of the Word Incarnate, pondered the mysteries of Christ in Her Heart. And today, under her gaze, we continue to do the same.
