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December 19, 2021All Dominican friars before they are professed or ordained (in fact all men and women in religious orders and congregations) spend their first year in the Order as novices. This novitiate year is dedicated to living Dominican life in a focused way. The men learn our way of life through communal and personal prayer, time in study and contemplation, community life at meals and time together, ministry, and classes in Dominican history, spirituality, the vows, and other topics. Whatever the novice was doing before he entered, whether he was a college student or was working full time, he now follows a different schedule. He learns obedience and becomes obedient to God’s call in his life.
In last sentence of today’s Gospel, Elizabeth tells Mary, “Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.” Mary’s obedience is a blessing, a blessing for her, but also a blessing for us. When someone is obedient to God’s call in their life, it is a blessing for them, but also for all of us! God works in us and through us, but that work of God requires our cooperation, our yes, our obedience. Obedience is not a value praised by popular culture these days. Many people even see obedience as insulting to creativity and individuality. But what God asks of us is the obedience of love and wisdom. As Advent draws closer to Christmas, we unite our hearts and minds to Christ’s. His obedience to his Father freed us from sin. Let’s see what our obedience to the Father will do.
