Author: Ms. Debra Weldon, OP

… And They Laid Him In The Tomb

On 2022-04-16

Yesterday, while waiting for the Good Friday service to begin, I was really struck by the impact the bare altar had on me. All of the candles were gone. The altar cloth had been removed. Crucifixes were wrapped in purple cloth. The tabernacle was there with its doors wide open, and it was empty. It really brought home the fact that we were remembering the day Jesus was crucified and buried for our sins.

As I pondered sin and its grievous nature, I realized how little I appreciate the depth of my sins. While a part of me knows that my sin is grievous, a part of me wants to think, I’m a good person. I only do small, venial sins. I’m only responsible for a thorn in his crown, one that is just scratching his skin. Nothing could be further from the truth.

I know I’m telling myself a lie, but I have yet to find the eject button that would clear the decks and allow me to more fully appreciate the extent my sins played in his death. I have yet to find the key to this deeper appreciation for what he did for me, which would lead to a deeper conversion, and a closer walk with him. I am still too proud to take responsibility for that which I knowingly do.

I have gotten close a few times. For instance, yesterday, I was reading from Knowing the Love of God by Fr. Garrigou-Lagrange. He promoted a reflection on the malice of sin, even venial sin. By this he meant that God calls us to live the divine life. He is there beckoning us to him, and we choose earthly treasures over the amazing gift that he offers. How appalling is that – that I would choose a metaphorical bobble over the glory, power, and might of the Lord our God who created me to be in union with him? He also talks about how sin blinds us to the malice of sin. Unfortunately, he also talks about the fact that the conscience always knows when we are choosing incorrectly, even when we ignore our conscience. We are culpable, even though we lie to ourselves about the grievousness of even the slightest sin.

Still, the part of me that longs to balance between the things of the world and the things of Jesus’ kingdom struggles to admit my guilt. To experience something that leads to deeper conversion requires change, change that I resist. So, the blindness to the malice of sin continues.

At the same time, Jesus preaches a message of hope. In fact, he sent the Holy Spirit to dwell within us. The Holy Spirit is a source of grace, and grace is the answer to our sinful nature. Grace is something that beckons gently without overriding a person’s will. It is easy to overlook unless we build habits of looking for it and following its lead. So today, let us commit or renew our commitment to relying on grace to lead us from sin; to bolster us in the pain of changing from things of the world in favor of God who is love and the ultimate fulfillment of all of our needs.

Spend some time with the Holy Spirit sitting in awareness of the stark reality that he died for you. Invite him to melt your heart at least a little today and every day as you learn to take more responsibility for your sinfulness. Ask him to show you how to cooperate with grace and move towards a less and less sinful life. Ask him to help you suffer your own crosses as you make changes in your life, and learn to live a life in Christ more and more fully.

In Him,

Dominican Life is Contemplative

By Ms. Debra Weldon, OP

On 2021-09-11

In Books, Lay Dominican, prayer, spirituality

This is Part 2 of a series. Part 1 is HERE

Undertaking the task of explaining how “Dominican Life is Contemplative” has been a real challenge (just ask Mark who has read a variety of drafts). While explaining what it means to me is hard enough, trying to find a way of expressing a more global view is another. Contemplation means too many things to too many people. So, I think it is important to start out with the truth that my article will not be a full expression of how Dominican life is contemplative, but I think through prayer, I may have stumbled onto a means of explaining contemplation in a way that is relatable to most people.

Let us start with coming to a decision about how we will define contemplation for purposes of this article. Some people say that it is the equivalent of meditation. Others describe it as a higher form of prayer. The truth is, it is all these things and more. In order to expand my personal view, I reached out to other Lay Dominicans. After some discussion, one friend said that our discussion on the issue was contemplative, and that rang true. As I later pondered why the search for an answer was contemplative, I came to see that contemplation includes all forms of seeking Truth, which explains why it is so many different things to different people.

How does this definition shape the explanation of how Dominican life is contemplative? By answering the call to join the Dominican Order, we have chosen to follow Dominic’s example of how we search for God. Luckily, his example is rich and diverse. As the last article in this series said, Dominic was priestly, and we were encouraged in ways to live out our priesthood, the priesthood of the faithful. We also know that St. Dominic sought God in private and public prayer. He sought God in his apostolic works. He sought God in his fight against the heresies of his day. He sought God in all things.

More importantly in my mind is that St. Dominic created the order around four pillars: study, prayer, preaching, and community. Thus, as Dominicans, our spirituality, the way in which we quest for God is strongly rooted in living out these pillars. This does not mean that our spiritual lives are identical for there are many ways of living out the four pillars. For instance, a single person will have to live them differently than a married person because the aspects of community are different in each lifestyle.

If contemplation is one’s search for Truth, then we would do well to found our search in the Holy Spirit, who is the Spirit of Truth. He was sent to teach us everything that Jesus said and more. Jn 14:26.

But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.
Jn 14:26.

Thus, the next question we need to ask is – how do we tap into this Truth? Over the last two thousand years of studying the Bible and learning to live it in each and every age, we have learned that it is through all forms of prayer that we are educated in the way of Truth.

Through vocal prayers, we make our petitions to God, and in so doing, we grow in humility. We learn our proper relationship to God and our utter dependence on him.

In praying the scriptures through activities like meditation and lectio divina, we look to understand the words revealed to us by God. Anyone who has so studied the Bible can attest to the fact that such study reveals deeper and deeper awareness and understanding of these holy texts. This is especially true when we seek to study these words with the Spirit of Truth who helps us to properly interpret these words and the greater contexts in which these words were written. These practices can become for each of us a personal walk to Emmaus where scripture enlightens our hearts.

Similarly, daily living can be studied like scripture. When we take life experiences and questions to God through prayer or discussion with others, our understanding of Truth is enhanced.

Those who have gone before us tell us that in these and similar prayers we find ourselves drawn to silence. We find ourselves like Mary pondering these things in our heart. Lk 2:19. This is important because through baptism the Holy Spirit has taken up residence in our hearts, and it is in this inner chamber with him that we have the potential of reaching the loftier forms of prayer.

Through those who have gone before us, we also know that it is only through the Holy Spirit that we can ascend to such heights. However, it is likely that in extending our hand to the Holy Spirit, He may lead us where we do not want to go. John 21:18. Going deeper will show us things about ourselves that will be hard to see. The Bible tells us that only God is good. Mk 10:18. Encountering this truth is bound to bring each of us to a place where we will have to choose between being humbled or turning away.

When we have such encounters, it is important to know that the Holy Spirit is leading us on these paths not to humiliate us, but to heal us; to more fully unite us to himself. One cannot stand in the presence of Light and remain in darkness. One cannot seek Truth without seeing truth through the eyes of Him who is all truth.

While all of this is difficult to endure, when we allow the Holy Spirit to guide us and to heal us, we find peace, love, and joy. This makes no sense from a worldly point of viewpoint, which views brokenness as a reason for rejection. No. Divine love understands how we became broken, empathizes with us, and then seeks to repair the damage done. Unfortunately, he chooses not to override our free will, and it is only in surrendering to him, inviting him in to do his work, that we can achieve the new person spoken of by Paul. 2 Cor 5:17.

In closing, contemplative living is a life lived in an ever-increasing awareness of the indwelling Spirit of Truth, and through such awareness of his presence, all untruth is purged. As Dominicans this awareness is grown through the practice of our four pillars. He is with us when we pray, study, preach, and engage with all layers of our community (those in our Dominican Chapter, our family, friends, co-workers, and others we know through our apostolic works). It is in living our four pillars that we are not only sanctified (which can be defined as the process of healing all within us that is not Godly) but help lead others to sanctification.

Of course, there is more to the story because the fullness of Dominican contemplation includes all aspects of study, prayer, preaching, and community. Throughout this series on Dominican spirituality, we will continue to see how this quest for Truth, rooted in four pillars, includes a love of doctrine, liturgy, apostolic works, and more.

As I mentioned in the very first paragraph, there are many ways to view Lay Dominican life as contemplative, and I hope you will continue building on this concept by adding your own experiences in the comments section below.

Part 3: Dominican Life is Apostolic

About the Author: Debra is a permanently professed Lay Dominican who made her final profession in early 2023. She spent several years studying Carmelite and Jesuit spirituality both by attending classes at the local monasteries and independently studying books written by or about saints from these orders. She always felt called to join an order as a lay person but did not find her home until someone introduced her to the Dominicans where the four pillars rooted her and made her feel at home. She endeavors to structure her day around a format that supports her goal of prayerful study before preaching to community. You can find more fruit of her labors in her blog, Thoughts of a Crazy Woman.

What Does It Mean To Say, “I am a Lay Dominican?”

By Ms. Debra Weldon, OP

On 2021-08-28

In Four Pillars, Lay Dominican

BY: Ms. Debra Weldon, OP, MTS

Introduction to a 7 part series on “Dominican Spirituality, Principles and Practices” by Fr. Hennebusch

Mark, one of my Dominican brothers, and I have found ourselves discussing what it means to be a Lay Dominican these last few months. For me, the desire to go deeper began when I was sitting in mass not too long ago, and someone offered up a prayer for the religious. It hit me for the first time – I am a religious, and that prayer was for me. Of course, I knew that I was a member of a religious order, but that day, it really hit home. I got chills.

Shortly thereafter, Mark was filling me in on the discussion from a general meeting of our Chapter that I was unable to attend. He told me that Fr. Jude had asked the question to all who were present: why are you here? He gave me a sampling of some of the responses, and the two of us have continued to seek ways to better answer the very important questions, why am I here, and what does it mean to me?

What we know is that being Dominican is not being a part of a philosophical group. Neither is it a book club where people study biblical and theological materials as an intellectual pursuit. It is a way of partaking in a lifestyle that led St. Dominic and many other Dominicans before us to sanctification. It is something that one lives and breaths every moment of their life from the time they start formation, through making final vows, and to that person’s last breath. The question before us is – how do we live that lifestyle in the world, in our marriages, in our single vocations, in raising our kids, and in our work and personal time? How do we live and breath it when we are not waking up in a community that prays the Liturgy of the Hours together, gathering around a common altar to pray mass, and closing the day once again in community with the Liturgy of the Hours and a communal meal?

Therefore, we have proposed a series of articles that will be our attempt to not only seek and find a deeper understanding of our vocation, but to seek, find, and preach that which is found. We have chosen to structure this series around the contents of a book written by Fr. William A. Hennebusch, O.P., called “Dominican Spirituality, Principles and Practices.” This book is a compilation of a series of talks that Fr. Hennebusch gave to Dominican Sisters. So, it was originally written by a friar for sisters. An introductory chapter was written to provide a framework, and the reader is encouraged to download the book and read this introductory chapter.

While Fr. Hennebusch does a wonderful job painting a picture of Dominican Spirituality for all members of the Order, we want to supplement his work with thoughts from the Dominican Laity.

This book is structured as a series of chapters titled as Dominican life is:

Part 1: The Image of St. Dominic;

Part 2: Contemplative;

Part 3: Apostolic;

Part 4: Liturgical;

Part 5: Doctrinal; (under construction)

Part 6: Fraternal; (under construction) and

Part 7: Sacrificial. (under construction)

These chapter headings will be the basis for our series of articles.

In addition, this series of articles will make the most sense when one understands that the Dominican Order is founded on four pillars: prayer, study, preaching, and community. These pillars will likely be addressed throughout the series since they are an integral part of our daily lives.

None of the authors in this series thinks that we have all of the answers, and we invite anyone to share their ideas of living life as a Lay Dominican in the comments section below each article. We hope to learn from others how we can more fully live out our exciting vocation as lay members in the Order of Preachers.

If you are interested in learning more about becoming a Lay Dominican, please reach out to us by clicking on this link: Contact
Even if you do not live near our Chapter, we can assist you in making contact with a Chapter closer to your home.

Part 1: Dominican Life Is The Image of St. Dominic

About the Author: Debra is a permanently professed Lay Dominican from early 2023. She spent several years studying Carmelite and Jesuit spirituality both by attending classes at the local monasteries and independently studying books written by or about saints from these orders. She always felt called to join an order as a lay person, but did not find her home until someone introduced her to the Dominicans where the four pillars rooted her, and made her feel at home. She endeavors to structure her day around a format that supports her goal of prayerful study before preaching to community. You can find more fruit of her labors in her blog, Thoughts of a Crazy Woman.