Solemnity of Saint Dominic 2017

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Feast of St Dominic - preaching on 1 Samuel 3:1-10

8 August 2017

Team KADML 2017 - photo credit: Fr Philip McShane OP


On the Feast of St. Dominic, it was my great joy to preside and preach at Morning Prayer at the Knockadoon Music and Liturgy Week. 
Our theme was "Seek the Lord" and the chosen Scripture that morning was 1 Sam. 3:1-10, recounting the call of Samuel.
Here is what I said to those gathered.


We begin this day as we begin all things,
+In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.

Today, the 8th of August, is a very important and joyous day for Dominicans all over the world.
Today, we celebrate the Solemnity or Feast Day of St. Dominic de Guzman, the man who founded the Dominican Order, the Order of Preachers.
For us Dominicans, today is celebrated as a Solemnity – that’s the biggest type of celebration there is!!

One of my Dominican sisters often teaches people that if they are involved with us they are, in their own way, part of our Dominican family - so because you are here on a Dominican Camp and listening to a Dominican sister, you’re becoming part of the Dominican family too – so Happy Feast Day!

What made St. Dominic so special? What did he do?
In his time, St. Dominic saw people all around him who were seeking God and seeking to live holy lives.
But those people were living with a complete misunderstanding of God … one that tied them in knots …
St. Dominic spent time talking with people wherever he found them and showing them who God really is - a God who loves us, a God who seeks relationship with us, a God who chose to live among us, who chose to be a physical embodied person in Jesus …
St. Dominic was a man who studied but was also a man of deep prayer … he knew about God not just from his head, but from his heart … from faith, from his experiences of God …
What St. Dominic wanted to do was to free people from a view of God that imprisoned them and to show them a God of love and mercy … he listened to what his heart told him ... he founded a new way of living religious life ... an Order of Preachers ... men and women who would know God and teach about God

St. Dominic listened and responded to God’s call …


So, to today’s Scripture: the call of Samuel ... if we look, we can find our lives in the Scriptures.
All through human history, God has continually sought relationship with human beings … God called Samuel. God called St. Dominic. God called me. God calls you.

God calls, always, but not for His sake I think.
He seeks relationship for our sake … somewhere, deep inside us, we know too that we need relationship with God … John talked last night about material things not being enough to fill our heart … as St. Augustine said, our hearts are restless until they rest in God - there is a God-shaped hole in each of us that only God can fill … our ultimate happiness and fulfilment is only to be found in God.

God breaks through into our lives to allow us to encounter Him and be changed …
And you cannot encounter God without being changed …
You will not leave here the same person as you were when you arrived!

This God called Samuel by name - and all the prophets - and St. Dominic - and each one of us here.
How do I know he called each one of you?
And how can I say that you have said yes to his call?
Because you are here. You felt, and answered, some inner prompting to come here - maybe your choir encouraged you or made you ... but you responded and you're here.
You're taking part.
You're taking this time to seek the Lord … as Rebekah said there are many ways to seek the Lord and to allow God to find us … in community, prayer, singing, meals together, in conversations, enjoying each other's company, laughing and crying together, in the beauty of Knockadoon, in chocolate, in the sheer sound of silence (maybe you even pop in here to the chapel sometimes) …
So I’m fairly certain you said yes to God’s call ...

So what next …?
* Listen to what happens in you this week
* See if you feel God call you to more - an inner prompting or a tug if not an actual voice like Samuel!
* Continue to say yes to God
* Come back next year
* Encourage others
* Share your gifts and your experiences
* Keep courageously asking questions and trust that one day you will find the answers

* Above all, know that God loves you insanely.
St. Catherine of Siena says that God is like a mad lover who runs after us.
* So ... know you are loved and live in that knowledge … Live loved.

Follow St. Dominic’s advice: Go confidently, trusting in the Lord …. He will be with you and you will lack nothing.

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