By Leon Bent –
Dominic, founder of the great order of preaching friars which bears his name, was born in the year 1170, at Calaruega, Castile, Spain. On August 13, 1217, the Friars Preachers, popularly known in later times as Dominicans, first met as an order at Prouille. Membership in the order includes friars, nuns, active sisters, and affiliated lay or secular Dominicans. Mary Magdalene and Saint Catherine of Alexandria are the co-patronesses of the Order.
In 1220, Pope Honorius confirmed Dominic’s title as Master General of the Order of Brothers Preachers, and the first general chapter was held at Bologna. The final constitutions were then drawn up, which made the order what it has since been called, “the most perfect of all the monastic organizations produced by the Middle Ages.”
Fr. Paul Murray OP notes, “The primary concern of the early Dominicans was not to announce the arrival of a new spirituality, but rather… to preach the Good News of the Gospel.” Fundamentally, the Order is defined by its preaching mission. “All of life is a ‘Word from God’, so our urge is to preach it”.
When we speak of a Christian spirituality we simply mean life in the Holy Spirit given us by the Father through His Son Jesus Christ, lived with an emphasis on certain values. Within the community of the Church there have always been, even in New Testament times, a variety of such spiritualities.
Four fundamentals of the Dominican life:
(1) the Order’s mission of the Ministry of the Word;
(2) Community life;
(3) Prayer; and
(4) Study of the Word.
John Cassian was born around 360 A.D. His two major works – the Institutes and the Conferences – were designed to assist the monastery, and others, like it. These two books were critical for developing Dominic’s spiritual life.
The spirituality of Cassian is a path of renunciation, that is, infinitely austere. The following of Jesus Christ means emptying oneself, renouncing more and more of what we have been, so that, God can fill us more and more with Himself. Cassian stresses complete reliance on God, and one example of this is the regular praying of the verse, “O God, come to my assistance; O Lord, make haste to help me,” which St. Benedict integrated into the praying of the psalms. Today, we pray this verse at the start of each office in the Liturgy of the Hours.
By using the “Conferences”, St. Dominic “strove to explore the ways of salvation and to follow them with all the power of his mind.” The end result, as we see, is one of great joy and overflowing charity, weeping for sinners, praying for the salvation of their souls. It is not an easy or a simple path, but St. Dominic prepared for his great preaching mission to the world by more than a decade of silent prayer and growth in the spiritual life. It is the life of steady virtue that preaches loudest, emphasizing the reality of the great hope and joy of the words which we proclaim: Jesus Christ is risen, truly He is risen!
The Dominican contemplative aspect was manifested especially in the assiduous study of sacred truth, and in the liturgical worship of God. The greatest contribution which the Dominicans have made to the Church through the centuries has been in the area of sacred doctrine, whether from the pulpit of the preacher, the platform of the teacher or the books of the writer.
St. Dominic’s love for Christ appears in his prayer. According to Jordan of Saxony, “he gave the day to his neighbour, the nights to God.” He spent all night in church, praying. There he found the altar and the Blessed Sacrament. If Dominic grew weary, Jordan tells us, he would lean against the altar; against his Lord, represented by the altar.
Dominicans! Go to Dominic! When the friars came sorrowfully to his deathbed, recommending themselves to his prayers, his reassuring words were: “Where I am going, I will be of more use to you than I have ever been on earth.” Fulfil, O Father, what thou hast said!
This final flourish! Truly, Dominic was so great a saint that he left behind a glistening trail of towering saints. They were also to be “lights of the world,” keeping alive the spark of revealed doctrine and kindling the fire of charity.
Leon contributes articles to myriad Catholic periodicals/journals and web portals, worldwide – occasional the reach is over 5 million online readers.