Contemplative House of Preaching
On 24 May2008, Joan Bennett, Judith Anne and Kevin Toomey set up residence at 10 Scotland Street, Dunedin to inaugurate the Dominican Family Contemplative House of Preaching. Mike and Maria Noonan, who are also part of the Community will have a room at Scotland Street but at this stage are not free to move in totally. The life of this community will evolve as they live out the rhythm of contemplation and preaching and engage with others who seek to share in a more contemplative life. This is a joint initiative of the Dominican Family, that is the Laity, Sisters and Friars. Every blessing on this new venture.
Maura Toomey 9.3.43 - 28.3.08
friend and companion of many Dominicans
Maura was a wonderful story teller. She recounted childhood stories; summers with cousins at Karitane; long periods of illness at many times of her life; days at St Philomena's and uniiversity; teaching years at Gore, Lawrence and elsewhere; her time in Vanuatu and at Teschemakers; trips to Australia, Europe, Africa, India and North America.
Her sense of adventure and challenge overflowed into a love of learning. When she wasn't teaching or having adventures, she was reading or studying - literature, theology, spirituality, history, psychology, counselling.
Maura will be remembered for her faithful friendship, generosity, irrepressible forthrightness, inner strength and forbearance in suffering. She worked for and yearned for justice, love, truth, healing, freedom and peace - all values which are signs of God's reign - all of which she now richly deserves to enjoy in their fullness.
adapted from an obituary by Mary Betz in Tui Motu.
WAIHOPAI - 2008
Why are we not shocked that there is a terrorist base in New Zealand, fully controlled by the United States of America though nominally under our Government Communications Security Bureau? This base at Waihopai near Blenheim, is one of six in the world-wide Echelon spying network.
But terrorist ? Yes, it can be truly called this, for it gathers immense quantities of finformation that may be put to many uses, but tometimes leads to people being imprisioned without charge or fair trial in prisons like Guantanamo Bay or 'renditioned' to be tortured abroad. To name only those close to us, several Austsralian residents have been so treated recently, but there are hundreds of other examples. These abuses of people's rights are nothing less than government-sponsored terrorism.
Do we Christians have any obligation about this situation ? If we heed Jesus' warning that whatever we do to the least human beings we do to Him, can we shut our eyes to the presence in our country of this essential link in the huge network that perpetrates such horrors ? Why do we host on our soil this base which continues to feed the corruption of an Empire that is doing great damage to the world ?
Peter Murnane in Tui Motu May 2008
A Message to the Members of the Dominican Family
from Fanjeaux
We, members of the international commissions of the Dominican Order, meeting with the Master of the Order in Fanjeaux to celebrate the 800th anniversary of St Dominic’s founding of Prouilhe, wish to share with the worldwide Dominican family our reflections, ideas and commitments to enrich the holy preaching at this momentous time in the Order’s history.
1. We commit ourselves to renewing Dominic’s vision of a family together in mission.
2. We commit ourselves to knowing all branches of the family better and to working together in harmony, mutual respect and truth.
3. We commit ourselves to finding spaces to preach together as Dominic’s family.
4. We commit ourselves to finding new, innovative ways of preaching that will especially touch the poor, the young and the aged.
5. We commit ourselves to finding ways to link and nourish our prayer and mission.
6. We commit ourselves to be more welcoming to all the other branches of the Order.
7. We commit ourselves to a more attentive listening to the world as a fundamental Dominican value.
8. We commit ourselves to working for justice together as a family.
9. We commit ourselves to being in solidarity with those at the margins of society.
From these general commitments, kindled by the fire of Dominic’s vision by being present in these holy places, we urge all branches of the Dominican family in this period of jubilee, to:-
10. Be involved in mission by adopting local projects developed and implemented by all branches of the
Order together
11. Deepen our prayer life by praying the jubilee prayer prepared for us by the nuns of the Order and joining their liturgies in their monasteries wherever possible
12. Work for justice by joining the rest of the Church in realizing the Millennium Development Goals, signed by all governments in 2000, to relieve our world of dehumanizing poverty and to promote integral human development.
These are some of the fruits of our contemplation over these days in Fanjeaux where Dominic first had his vision of establishing what became the first foundation of the Order and where he dreamed of how to set the world on evangelical fire by praising, blessing and preaching. We encourage you all to take up these challenges, to give them flesh and to implement them, following in the footsteps of St Dominic, as ways of witnessing to the Gospel in our time.
nformation depends on each one of us |
