Catholic Spirituality Part 3 – Dominicans
As a born and raised Protestant, Catholicism and Catholic religious orders are a bit of a mystery. In the interests of self-education, following is the third in a three-part series on prominent Catholic orders and their distinctives.
Who Are the Dominicans?
A passion for God and a conviction that God’s love was meant for all characterized the preaching of Dominic de Guzman in the 13th century. When he founded the Order of Preachers (Dominicans), Dominic was committed to preaching that would be effective. His desire was to help people hear God’s word within the context of their own reality; and his devotion to prayer and study as the necessary preparation for preaching ensured that he words he spoke would reflect the Truth of the Word. Today, many Dominicans would say that they preach with the Sacred Scripture in one hand and the newspaper in the other. In this way, their preaching makes the connection between the Word of God and the world around us. The twofold motto of the Order continues to be Veritas, in a world hungering for truth; and Caritas , the equally urgent need for human compassion and mercy.
The single mission of the Order of Preachers embraces many ministries, developed as needed to bring the Word of God to persons in varying societies and circumstances. St. Dominic had this in mind when he urged the first members to identify with each culture through the use of the vernacular languages. For the same purpose he asked the preachers to meet all people as mendicants, ready to exchange gifts and necessities with others in the spirit of Jesus and the apostles.
Dominican History
St. Dominic, a cathedral canon from the city of Osma in Spain, gathered around himself a band of men who would live lives that were truly apostolic: in fidelity of teaching, in manner of life, and in zeal for mission – the preaching of the Gospel for the salvation of souls. What Dominic produced might look something like two half measures, a community in part dedicated to a life in common, with common prayer and classic observances of cloister and penance, in part dedicated to an external mission and apostolate. In truth, the Dominican vision is something quite different. Dominic knew that that the only effective preaching is one which is unapologetically faithful to the apostolic tradition of the Church, but also one which comes from a life which resembles the life actually lived by the apostles themselves. He saw that no apostolic work, no life of mission, would have anything to offer the world if it was not the fruit of a life of contemplation lived in the “school of charity” that makes up the life of common prayer and observance within the community. Yet, he also saw that no common life, prayer, or observance was truly apostolic if it did not flow over as mission into the world.
Dominic also saw that the faithful needed not only a community dedicated to preaching the Gospel and committed to the apostolic life. It also needed preachers committed to a life of study. At its root, Dominican study was from its beginnings a zeal for the Gospel – the word “study” itself comes from the Latin studium, meaning “zeal.” However, Dominic saw that there were many people who preached, many who even preached knowing the texts of the Scriptures, but who led others into error. He also understood that many hearers of the Gospel needed more than exhortation; they needed preachers who could explain the difficulties and doubts which arise in the minds both of the faithful and those hearing the Good News for the first time. So, from its beginnings, the Order of Preachers was dedicated to the study of all of the human sciences, both to enrich their understanding of the Word and to enrich their own flourishing through the contemplation of all truths which find their origin in Truth himself.
So it was that in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, the Order of Preachers quickly gained a reputation as a body of poor, dedicated, highly-learned preachers. They came to dominate, along with the Franciscans, the university teaching of theology, even while jealously maintaining their own tradition of teaching both their own students and all who would listen in their own priories. This was the great era of Dominican “giants” – St. Albert the Great and St. Thomas Aquinas among the friars, but also St. Catherine of Siena among the sisters. Still, they were also equally energetic in the work of mission, learning Hebrew, Arabic, and a whole array of languages as they sought to engage the peoples of the East, as far East as China, in spreading the Gospel.
From its beginnings, the Order of Preachers was dedicated to the study of all of the human sciences, both to enrich their understanding of the Word and to enrich their own flourishing through the contemplation of all truths which find their origin in Truth himself.
Dominican spirituality is centered in the Word of God.
The creative Word has been proclaimed by such members as Thomas Aquinas and Meister Eickhart. The incarnate Word has been proclaimed by Catherine of Siena and all who contemplate and preach the mystery of Jesus Christ. The revealed Word has engaged those who have studied and taught theology and Scripture in every century.
The single mission of the Order of Preachers embraces many ministries, developed as needed to bring the Word of God to people in varying societies and circumstances. St. Dominic had this in mind when he urged the first members of the Order to identify with each culture, to listen to the voice of the poor, to those who sought deeper meaning in life and who sought to know God.
The Four Pillars
The four pillars are the way in which the Dominican life is divided; yet the life of a Dominican is not divided at all. All four of these areas must be lived in a faithful and rich way in order for the Holy Preaching to be accomplished. Living a balanced life placing proper emphasis on each area when appropriate helps them do the work that their founder Dominic and the Church have asked them to do: preach Jesus Christ!
PRAYER
Dominicans center their lives on Jesus Christ, the true light, and are moved by the Holy Spirit who radiates God’s healing presence in the world today. They celebrate the Word in daily common prayer, meditation, study, and in the proclamation that is preaching. Their lives are nourished by God’s Word as spoken in sacred scripture, celebrated in the Eucharist, and encountered in everday life.
According to the desire of St. Dominic, the solemn and common celebration of the liturgy must be maintained among the principal duties of their vocation. In the liturgy, especially in the Eucharist, the mystery of salvation is present and at work, a mystery in which they share and which they contemplate and proclaim in preaching to others so that they may be incorporated into Christ through the sacraments of faith. In the liturgy, together with Christ, the Domnicans glorify God for the eternal plan of the divine will and for the wonderful order of grace, and they intercede with the Father of mercies for the entire Church as well as for the needs and the salvation of the whole world. Therefore, the celebration of the liturgy is the center and heart of their whole life, whose unity especially is rooted in it.
Each Dominican is called to balance in his own life the two dimensions of the Dominican life, the contemplative and the active. The balance is something for which they strive, it is not something that they achieve once and for all.
COMMON LIFE
Dominicans live together in large (as many as 30) and small (as few as 2 or 3) communities. The basic idea of community is not just people living together under one roof. Rather, community living is about the willingness to share their lives with one another.
For Dominicans, the communal dimension of their religious life challenges to them to be of “one mind and one heart in God.” Profession into the Order of Preachers includes the promise to hold all things in common. They live together and pray together and share a common vision in the ministry of Preaching. It was St. Dominic’s desire to imitate the apostolic poverty of Jesus and the early church, so they “call nothing our own.” As Dominicans, they share their blessings with the rest of the world.
They live a vowed life, that is, making public promises to live according to the ideals counseled by Jesus. Their vow of poverty calls them to live a simple life, free from the need to possess many things. Their vow of chastity is a deliberate choice on their part not to limit their life to a spouse and family, but to allow themselves to be witnesses to the unlimited love of God. Their vow of obedience puts them at the service of the Church, free from the need to always have the last word about what they will do and where they will live. The vowed life is a challenge, but an exciting and fulfilling challenge.
STUDY
St. Dominic made study an essential part of the “Sacred Preaching.” This was no small innovation in the thirteenth century when most of the clergy were uneducated. St. Dominic sent the friars to the universities to study, to preach, and to establish places of learning. The dedication to study and teaching continues today. The Dominican emphasis on study opens their hearts and minds more fully to the human condition today, continues to build on a rich history and tradition and has its ultimate effect on their preaching and teaching.
MINISTRY
As Dominican Friars, they continue the work of St. Dominic today in an active and contemplative life. Their mission includes preaching, teaching, and works of social justice in a variety of settings: campus ministry, parishes, high schools, colleges, universites, and retreats. They are involved in full-time itinerant preaching, health care as chaplains and ethicists, and in the arts. In their outreach to the poor Dominicans work for truth, justice, and peace in today’s society though their parishes, campus ministries, and involvement in the local and universal church.
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