O.P. First Profession

This Sunday, I will officially complete my candidacy (aka "novitiate") as a Lay Dominican and will make my first profession, which is a 3-year temporary profession. Superficially, it means that I will no longer be a novice and, in committing myself to live out the Rule of the Laity, I will also have also been granted the privilege of adding the "O.P" post-nominal initials to my name. The spiritual reality, however, it is much more deep. This is my vocation. This is my mission: to preach - in every way a person can really preach without actually mounting a pulpit. In studying and reading the writings of so many great Dominicans, I am truly humbled to have even made it to this point. I pale in comparison to so many of the great giants of the Dominican Order, particularly those of the Third Order such as Catherine of Siena and Rose of Lima. It's almost as though I'm sneaking in the back door. Who am I to even ask? Please pray for me!