Richness in the Mystery of God

 By Sr. Terri Schell

One and a half Mexicans, two southerners, one Vietnamese, one Zimbabwean, and one Vermonter all show up at a Greek Festival to try feta fries.

This is not the beginning of a joke; it was just a recent Saturday night with this year’s Collaborative Dominican Novitiate. After two very full weeks of CDN orientation, we were all eager to get to know our new city and let loose a little. Chicago’s Greektown Festival enticed us with the smells of rotisserie lamb, excitement of Greek dancing, and curiosities of foods like baklava sundaes. The event was buzzing with people greeting each other in Greek, drumming music, and dancing.

The previous twelve days and beyond had been full of transition, getting to know one another, lessons on Dominican life, prayer, and liturgy. Like good Dominicans, we had been praying, reflecting, and attempting to integrate these learnings. Earlier that week, Adrian Dominican Sr. Pat Walter led us in a conversation on our shared charism in which we discussed, among many things, the richness held within the mystery of God. She shared that Aquinas taught that God is infinitely knowable, but what we don’t know about God is infinitely more than all of our intellect together. This mystery of God leads to diversity of thought and an openness to dialogue in pursuit of truth.

Upon reflection, I was taken with this way of getting to know our God: to seek the divine in varying traditions, cultures, and perspectives with curiosity, openness, and joy. How rich we are when we are open to the mystery of God! As Paul writes to the Romans (11:33), “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God!” It is truly something to celebrate.

How rich we are when we are open to the mystery of God! 

One of the thrills of our time here in Chicago is to do just that: experience and celebrate the abundance of God and all that God creates. It took us no time to commence with this exploration. Firstly, in getting to know each other, sharing our full selves, experiences, culture, and hopes with increasing openness. We are women of varying backgrounds all attempting to create an intercultural community. Chicago parishes in our area also offer a feast of cultural liturgies. Some liturgical samplings include: Beethoven performed as a prelude to mass at St. Thomas the Apostle, a display of world flags at St. James, and soulful Gospel music at Our Lady of Africa. The student body at the Catholic Theological Union and our Inter-Community Novitiate Program offer, too, a diversity of language, country of origin, race, religious order, and faith tradition promising lively conversation and learning. An adventure of divine discovery is only beginning.

An adventure of divine discovery is only beginning.

We had just taken the last bites of our gyros at the Greek festival when Angela spotted a nearby Asian market. At her urging, we visited to sample yet another continent’s food items. The smell of fresh fish greeted us and we surveyed the colorful varieties of produce. We all scoured the aisles of sweet treats, noodles, and dumplings to make our selection before gathering to enjoy them. Still full from lamb and feta fries while sipping bubble tea, we experienced a moment together. A moment full of gratitude and joy for the richness of our mysterious, wonderful God.

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