The book of Proverbs reminds us that “there is a time for everything, there is a time for dying and a time for rising...” We need courage to enter into the transformation stage and this gift is available to us.

The month of November is a time when we are invited to enter into this process. It is never too late to change. The grace of God is always present and from our youth we have always been invited to tap into this grace in a special way during this month.

It is good to know that we are not alone in this world and I know this from a special experience enjoyed in the Church of Santa Prisca in Rome, when I was present before the altar of Repose on Good Friday. There the Communion of Saints became a reality for me.

I was conscious of being present before the Throne of God. We were all there - Angels, Saints canonized by the Church and the uncanonized members of our families, ancestors, friends, the living and the dead praising God together.

Let us not forget this great mystery of interconnection among us humans too..

Our God is a God of love and compassion, who reaches out to each person irrespective of creed, colour or race. His love is unconditional and we meet that love in every human being, despite our faults and sinfulness. Are we ready this November to reach out in prayer and interconnectedness to those who have gone before us and to our multicultural villages, towns and cities of Ireland and the whole world?

Joyce Rupp reminds us that in Autumn the trees are saying goodbye to their green, letting go of what has been. In this moment of our great history of Dominican life we too have our moments of surrender, with all their insecurity and risk. Maybe we are being asked to die to ourselves, to let go of our boundaries, and to be more conscious of God’s wonderful presence in us.

Maybe we are being asked too, like our Dominican forebears, to think big, living in the power of the present moment, knowing that God believes in us, enriching us and entrusting us with the freedom to choose life for ourselves and the world, despite the weakness and frailty we are experiencing today.

We belong to the great Order of Preachers and are asked to share the Word of God with the whole world. We don’t need much physical energy to do this. This apostolate can be carried out in a very simple way from our own doorstep through prayer, signing email requests to stop violence, to end the awful trafficking of women and children, writing of letters to politicians to give but a few examples,. asking them to do their part in the promotion of justice..

The Dominican Concert in the National Concert Hall made a deep impact on students, parents, teachers and all of us present. We are now more aware than ever that, even though people are being chained, the “Word of God can’t be chained.”

What we think impossible God can make possible. Let us never forget that we are in communion with the living and the dead and still have the strength to pass on the legacy of those who have gone before us “marked with the sign of peace.”

Sr Teresa Cunningham, OP