Reflections of the Director | |
Being the Holy Preaching: Embodying the Dominican Charism
By Nancy Mason Bordley
Director, Office of Dominican Charism
In our Dominican tradition, the phrase “holy preaching” (Latin: sacra praedicatio) is not just about words. It is a profound call to embody the Gospel in such a way that our very lives become a proclamation of truth. While many of us speak of carrying the Dominican Charism, there is a deeper invitation: not merely to bear it or transmit it like a message, but to become it – to be the preaching itself.
Charism is a gift of the Spirit, given for the good of the Church and the world. The Dominican Charism – truth, contemplation, study, preaching, community, compassion – has been handed down from Dominic de Guzmán and continually renewed by those who follow in his footsteps. But to only “carry” it suggests a kind of detachment, as if it is something outside of ourselves. We risk treating the charism as a tool or a badge, rather than a transformative identity.
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Being the holy preaching means allowing the charism to take flesh in us. It is no longer something we possess; it is who we are. As Paul wrote, “It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me” (Gal 2:20). For Dominicans, we could say: It is no longer I who speak, but the preaching lives in me.
The world is saturated with voices, messages, and noise. It thirsts for lives that speak without speaking. The holy preaching is found in the Sister who listens deeply, the Brother who walks with the marginalized, the lay partner who brings justice into their profession, the student who studies truth not for power but for love.
To be the preaching is to live in such a way that others encounter God’s truth, compassion, and mercy in us before we ever say a word.
Dominic was itinerant not only geographically, but spiritually. He moved with the needs of the people, always discerning where the truth needed to be spoken and lived. To be the holy preaching means cultivating an itinerancy of the heart, a readiness to move beyond comfort zones, to go where the Spirit leads, and to be transformed as we seek the transformation of others.
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In this Issue
News
- Deepening the Mission Grounded in the Dominican Charism
- Partners Leadership Team: Moving Associate Life into the Future
Living the
Dominican Charism
- Farewell, a Grateful Heart, and Responding to the Signs of the Times
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This kind of preaching cannot be taught in classrooms or contained in a mission statement. It is formed in contemplation, forged in community, tested in the struggle for justice, and revealed in daily acts of love.
St. Catherine of Siena said, “Be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire.” When we become the preaching, the fire is not in our eloquence, but in our authenticity. We do not simply deliver a message. We are the message. We become a living echo of the Word made flesh.
This is our call: not to carry the charism like a relic, but to let it transform us into living sacraments of God’s truth. We are not just preachers. We are the holy preaching.
So, what should we call ourselves?
Let’s look back at what the early followers of Jesus called themselves. Jesus was crucified and the broken-hearted disciples were hiding. Mary Magdalen meets the resurrected Jesus in the garden. When she tries to hug him, he tells her, “Do not cling to me” and asks that his disciples go to Galilee. On the road to Emmaus, Jesus opened their eyes to what his life and death meant. In his life, he mentored them as servants. In his death, he sent them as friends to continue his work of preaching the Word of God. Then at Pentecost, the disciples realized and celebrated the gifts that they were given. This gift of the Holy Spirit, this charism, transformed the disciples into preachers of the word throughout the world. Their preaching did set the world on fire and converted much of the known world.
What did they call themselves? They called each other disciples. But that name doesn’t tell others who they were following. So the people of Antioch called them “Christians,” which meant “followers of the teachings of Christ.” In the same way, we might refer to each other in many ways. But I think others may want to call us “Dominicans” because we are the Dominican Charism!
A Special Thank You to Liz Keith
It is with deep gratitude that I bid so long to Liz Keith, who has served as the Coordinator of the Office of Dominican Charism for the past two-and-a-half years. Liz has worked closely with me in setting up the office structure and organizing communication and special projects with our sponsored and legacy institutions. Liz also took the lead on setting up our Dominican Charism newsletters and has been active on our Formation Committee and the Partners Leadership Team. In addition to her wonderful facilitation skills, Liz has been a valued Co-worker who has truly embodied our Dominican Charism. I will miss working with Liz and wish her many blessings of happiness and good health in the future.
| | News from the Dominican Family | | Deepening the Mission Grounded in the Dominican Charism | | |
Co-workers from Barry University and Siena Heights University joined together for a retreat focused on Deepening the Mission Grounded in the Dominican Charism at Weber Center April 23-25, 2025.
The group of close to 25 participants spent quality time together exploring the Dominican Charism using the lens of the mission of their respective institutions. The retreat offered time for input, quiet reflection, shared conversation, brainstorming ideas for the future, a reception with the Sisters who ministered at both universities, some wonderful meals, and a traditional trip to the Spotted Cow for an ice cream dessert!
Here’s what two of our participants had to say about their experience.
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Mark Vroman, Assistant Professor of Correction Education Program, Siena Heights University
This past February I received a very special invitation to attend the Dominican Charism Retreat sponsored by the Adrian Dominican Sisters and coordinated by its Office of Dominican Charism. Upon receiving the invitation, I immediately and enthusiastically accepted. My decision to attend the retreat was based on a variety of factors. Most important was the incredible opportunity to deepen my understanding of the Dominican tradition as well as the four pillars of community, prayer, study, and ministry. My most beneficial takeaway from the retreat is that I feel strengthened by the Holy Spirit to live out my calling as an educator with wisdom, courage, and love, while at the same time embracing the mission of truth, contemplation, and service.
I must also mention the fact that the retreat provided me with the wonderful opportunity to deepen the connection with my SHU colleagues and, at the same time, build community with my sisters and brothers from Barry University. I left the Charism Retreat with energy, motivation, and a renewed sense of purpose. As a result, I will seek truth, make peace, and reverence life each and every day. As I move forward in my role with Siena Heights University, I am truly inspired to teach with passion, lead with integrity, and love with a compassionate heart. In closing, I am eternally grateful for this tremendous blessing. Thank you.
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Elisa M. Giordano, PhD, Director of the Center for Academic Success and Advising, Barry University
Last month, I had the privilege of attending a retreat at the Adrian Dominican Motherhouse in Michigan. I chose to participate not for rest or escape, but out of a desire to learn more about the Dominican Charism – to better understand the roots of our university’s mission and explore how I can continue to weave Dominican values more intentionally into the work we do in academic support and advising.
As Director of the Center for Academic Success and Advising (CASA) at Barry University, I work closely with students navigating academic challenges and milestones. While this work is deeply rewarding, I’ve come to realize that fostering student success means more than meeting benchmarks. It means cultivating a culture of care, equity, justice, and reflection. This retreat helped me deepen that vision through the lens of our Dominican heritage and core values.
What I encountered in Adrian was both powerful and humbling. The Adrian Dominican Sisters — inspirational women — with their steadfast commitment to truth, justice, and the dignity of all people, embody the charism that grounds our institution, something that is needed now more than ever. Their personal stories and history — rooted in decades of education, advocacy, and community-building — showed me what it looks like to live the Dominican values with consistency and joy. Their lives are testimonies to the impact of faithful, mission-centered leadership.
A theme that particularly resonated with me during the retreat was Sister Elise [D. García, Prioress] sharing Pope Francis’s invitation for us to become “social poets.” She shared that he called us to be leaders who imagine and build a better world through compassion, courage, and creativity. It’s a vision that beautifully aligns with our call as Dominican educators – especially in a student success context. To be a “social poet” means fostering spaces where students don’t just survive but thrive; where they are empowered to grow intellectually, emotionally, and ethically.
The retreat also offered time for us to reflect on the synodal process Pope Francis has called the Church into, an approach rooted in listening, collaboration, and discernment. This model resonates deeply with the work we do in CASA. Our students each come with unique voices, stories, and needs, and our role is not to dictate, but to walk with them, to help them discover their path with support, insight, and care.
Returning to Barry, I feel more grounded in the Dominican mission and more committed than ever to bringing its values to life in our daily work. I want CASA to be a place that reflects the charism of truth, love, and justice, and to be a place where students are not only supported academically but affirmed in their full humanity.
This retreat was a powerful reminder that leadership in a Dominican institution is not just about administration. It’s about formation, accompaniment, and transformation. And that begins by leading with heart, innovation, and the courage to live the mission every day. I am extremely fortunate and eternally grateful for being afforded this opportunity by Barry University.
| | Partners Leadership Team: Moving Associate Life into the Future | | The Partners Leadership Team are, from left, Associates Rosemary Martin, Jo Curran, James Mallare, Dee Joyner, Judi Engel, Director of the Office of Dominican Charism, Nancy Mason Bordley, Jane Bertsch, General Council Liaison Sister Lorraine Réaume, OP, and Associates Kate Woods and Laura Law. | | |
Our Associate Partners Leadership Team met in Adrian on May 7-9, 2025, to plan and discuss ways to support Associate Life into the future. Leaders of our Formation Committee, Associates Judi Engel and Kathy Woods, reported that the Formation Committee will work on a Formation Process for Dominican Life in the coming year. The Spirituality Circle, led by Associates Jane Bertsch and Laura Law, discussed several spiritual formation programs that are being planned. The Social Justice Circle, led by Associates Jo Curran and James Mallare, shared the plans for future Ignite presentations. The Community Circle, led by Associates Dee Joyner and Rosemary Martin, shared news about our growing Sojourner Groups and programs designed to engage Associate input about the future.
The eight leaders, along with Associate Nancy Mason Bordley, Director of the Office of Dominican Charism, and Sister Lorraine Réaume, OP, General Council Liaison, shared many ideas and plans to promote lay Dominican Life into the future.
| | Living the Dominican Charism ... | | |
Farewell, a Grateful Heart, and Responding to the Signs of the Times
By Liz Keith, Coordinator, Office of Dominican Charism
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June 27, 2025, will be my last day with the Office of Dominican Charism and the Adrian Dominican Sisters.
My work with the Adrian Dominican Sisters began in 2015, when they were sponsoring hospitals within Dignity Health. Several years later, I was a consultant to the previous leadership team as they discerned their openness to new ideas and new ways of being community to meet the needs of this ever-changing and very complex society. I have been part of the Office of Dominican Charism since its inception in 2022.
Creating something new in response to the signs of the times requires taking risks and being itinerant. This commitment to itinerancy enables the Office of Dominican Charism to be the catalyst in building a community for all who promote and support the virtues of prayer, study, community, and preaching. It requires taking inventory of both our current gifts and future gifts (material, financial, and human resources) needed for further development.
As I prepare to move on to the next chapter of my life, I want to say thank you! Working with the Adrian Dominican Sisters, the Office of Dominican Charism, and leadership at Weber Center has been an incredible experience, and I am truly grateful for the opportunities, support, and friendships. I have learned a great deal and enjoyed being a part of a talented and dedicated team of religious and lay ministers:
• my Sister friends in Santa Cruz, Las Vegas, and Adrian;
• the Office of Dominican Charism partners, circles, and committee leaders;
• the Weber Center leadership, Human Resources, Communications, Development, and Technology.
I am proud of what we have accomplished together!
I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to work with Nancy Mason Bordley. Her gifts and dedication match what is most needed in forming and nurturing the Dominican Family of the future. I am excited for what lies ahead in answering the call to carry forward the unique gift to the church, the Dominican Charism!
In closing, I quote words from the document Together in Mission, “... we are grounded in prayer, we seek to understand and respond to the signs of our times, and we preach by being living words of love in our community.” I am confident the Dominican Charism will flourish in the unique way God has etched for you.
Wishing you continued success and happiness!
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