The Word of God
Liturgy, Lectio, & Study
“The friars, sisters and laity of the Order are ‘to preach the name of our Lord Jesus Christ throughout the world;’ the nuns are to seek, ponder and call upon him in solitude so that the word proceeding from the mouth of God may not return to him empty, but may accomplish those things for which it was sent (cf. Is. 55:10).”
Receiving and Pondering the Word
Our Holy Father St. Dominic and the early Dominican friars were known to be appointed for the entire evangelization of the Word of God. As Dominican nuns, we proclaim and celebrate God’s Word in the Liturgy, receive and savor it in our hearts in lectio divina and private prayer, and ponder it in our study of Sacred Truth. In the cloistered ground of our hearts, the Word coming forth from the mouth of God should find the good soil in which to bear fruit a hundred fold, for God’s glory and for the salvation of souls.
Liturgy: The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass & the Divine Office
“The solemn celebration of the liturgy is the heart of our whole life and the chief source of its unity.”
In the liturgy the mystery of salvation is present and at work, especially in the Eucharist, in which Christ is received, the memory of His passion is recalled, the soul is filled with grace and a pledge of future glory is given to us. Each morning in our monastery chapel Our Lord renews His offering to the Father in the Holy Spirit by the hands of the priest. We unite ourselves to Him in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, and receive Him and surrender ourselves to Him in the intimacy of Holy Communion. Truly this is the high point of each day, the source and summit of our monastic life.
Extending the praise and worship of the Lord throughout the day, the Divine Office, or Liturgy of the Hours, gathers all the various times of the day so that they may be truly sanctified. The psalms, hymns, Scripture readings and prayers of the Office permeate each day with the Word of God and unite us with various mysteries of Christ through the rhythm of the liturgical year. In these sacred ceremonies of the liturgy, our monastery becomes a little beginning of the Heavenly Jerusalem, where the virgins in white tunics and with palms in their hands, follow the Lamb wherever He goes, chanting their hymns of praise.
In keeping with the tradition of the Church, we delight to sing the traditional Latin chants of our Dominican Order for various parts of the Mass each day, and for the sung portions of Lauds, Vespers and Compline. Compline, an hour observed with devotion from the early days of the Order, we celebrate with special solemnity. Each night the strains of the Dominican Salve Regina bid goodnight to Our Lady, Queen and Protectress of our Order, as we conclude with the procession to her and to our Holy Father Saint Dominic.
The Dominican soul is urged to live the liturgy, for the liturgy is, as it were, the prolongation of the mysteries of Christ.
—Rev. M-V. Bernadot, O.P.
Liturgy in Our Life
Lectio Divina and Private Prayer
“By shunning the cares and illusions of the world (cf. Mt. 13:22), the nuns allow the seed which is the word of God to grow in their hearts by the power of the Holy Spirit; in so receiving it they are interiorly renewed and more closely conformed to Christ.”
Flowing from our liturgical prayers, our times of private prayer are set aside for silent Adoration, meditation, Stations of the Cross, and lectio divina. In the early days of the Order the friars would eagerly await the time after Compline, when they would carry their devotion with them as they prayed before the side altars in the church, and send up heartfelt sighs to God. Our Holy Father St. Dominic left us an example of an intense interior life, nourished by the sacraments, liturgical prayer, and meditation on the Word of God, and expressing itself in all aspects of his life: in nightly vigils, while travelling, and even in his bodily postures as he prayed.
We imitate him in striving for a continual loving remembrance of God. In our specific times of private prayer, the intimate, silent contact of our soul with God is renewed here to extend throughout the day. Lectio divina in particular, as an ancient monastic practice of meditation on the Word of God, helps purify our hearts and take on the mind of Christ. We also look forward to the monthly and yearly retreats which help foster a deeper contemplative life.
“Keep God’s word in this way. Let it enter into your very being, let it take possession of your desires and your whole way of life.”
Eucharistic Adoration & Perpetual Rosary
Our practice of continual Eucharistic Adoration and the Perpetual Rosary also gives a special tone of constant prayerfulness to our life at Marbury. Throughout the other activities of the day, one or more Sisters is always “on duty” at her Hour of Guard, praying the Rosary at the feet of Our Lady before our Eucharistic Lord. The Aves extend like a leaven throughout the day, uniting us continually to Christ through His Mother, and impelling our hearts to her same response: “Behold, the handmaid of the Lord; be it done unto me according to thy word.”
Study of Sacred Truth
The study of sacred truth is a special element of the Dominican monastic life, given to the nuns by our Holy Father St. Dominic himself. While study for the Dominican friars serves both their contemplative life and the preaching and defense of truth, our study as nuns is urged on by our love and desire for God. As St. Thomas says, “through loving God we are aflame to gaze on his beauty. And since everyone delights when he obtains what he loves, it follows that the contemplative life terminates in delight . . . the result being that love also becomes more intense.”
Of first importance in our study are the Sacred Scriptures, in which we contemplate the mystery of salvation, and the liturgy, in which that same mystery is made unceasingly present and actual. After these, we are to nourish our faith especially on the mystical teaching of the Church Fathers, as well as of other theologians and authors, particularly St. Thomas Aquinas and others such as St. John Paul II. The discipline of study is a fruitful preparation for lectio divina and an aid to human maturity, nourishing contemplation, dispelling ignorance, and encouraging unanimity of mind in following Christ in community life.
On a weekly basis, each Sister pursues her own personal study according to her interest and ability, often sharing the fruits of her contemplation with the community at recreation. In the course of the year individual correspondence courses, community sharing, or classes taught by Dominican friars help us grow in the knowledge of the Faith and in our Dominican life. The initial formation program of novitiate studies provides the novices with a firm foundation for their contemplative vocation.
“In order to lead others to holiness, to those states of prayer so pleasing to God, and so profitable to the Church, it is necessary not only to stimulate their affections, but above all to enlighten their intellects. When this happens in the case of those desiring spiritual progress, it often inspires greater renunciation, for Truth, touching a soul, illuminates and sets it on fire with love.”
Preaching from our Dominican Friars
St. Dominic entrusted his Dominican nuns to the fraternal concern of his sons. Although not given at our monastery, the following retreat and classes are excellent examples of Dominicans preaching the Word for nuns.