“How many ways to preach?”
“How many people on Earth?”

A lay Dominican student told the following story:

“The student had recently moved from California to Houston. On the second day of his arrival, it rained heavily, and the area in which he lived was flooded. There was a big hole in the street in front of his apartment. A motorist’s car landed right in that hole, causing a good deal of damage to the vehicle and some injuries to the passengers. Neither the student nor his roommates could think of anything to do other than to report the accident to city authorities.

Their neighbor, Mr. David, took positive action. He stood very close to the hole, one hand holding an umbrella, and the other hand waiving a flag to warn approaching motorists away from the hazard. Through hard rain and wind, Mr. David maintained his post for more than two hours. Because of his service to others, many cars avoided an accident in rush-hour traffic.

That student was very impressed by Mr. David’s actions. He was even more impressed when he learned that Mr. David was seventy-two years old. Mr. David seemed to him to be even more courageous than Hemingway’s character in “The Old Man and the Sea”. The following day, the student visited him to express his admiration and gratitude. They talked of many things, and learned much about each other. Mr. David invited the student to go with him to his church the next Sunday.

“What is your church,” he asked?

Mr. David replied: “I am a member of the Second Baptist Church.”

When the student told his priest this story, he concluded: “I am a Catholic, and I do not want to be anything else. But, just imagine if I were searching for a religion; what better choice could I make than a faith that produces a caring man like Mr. David!”

Taken from Dominican Laity And The Year 2000 by Anthony Dao Quang Chinh, O.P.

How do Lay Dominicans preach? One way could be through the homily of our lives.

###