Our Common Life

Praveen Montheiro II Phil

The common life that we share is the witness to Christ whom we follow in the footsteps of St. Dominic.  As the constitution states: "the main reason that we are gathered together is that we live in harmony in one heart and one mind in God."  Our community consists of twenty one brothers and four priests.We always cherish the spirit of St. Dominic in all our daily activities. Ample opportunities to get together at the fellowship table, playground, during manual work and other group activities give us a unique experience to express oneself before one another. Day today experiences of being together enrich and strengthen our bond. Lot of things we learn from each other in a filial understanding than listening and reading some materials.

Though study is the main focus of the institution, it never hampers the community or spiritual life. The practice of regular observance such as silence, apostolic ministry and private prayers, with responsibility, helps us to discipline ourselves and form ourselves into better persons.

Study in Dominican Life

Br. Roshan Thomas II Phil

One of the pillars of the Dominican Order is Study. St. Dominic, himself being an assiduous student and a voracious reader, realized the importance of study.

From his childhood he loved reading. He would sit on a beautifully carved footstool at his mother’s feet with a book before him. When he began the Order of Preachers he replaced the then monastic observance of manual work with study. He even dared to scatter the brethren into different universities to study.

He intimately linked study to the ministry of salvation. “Assiduous study nourishes contemplation and fosters with a lucid fidelity the living of the evangelical counsels. The very perseverance it demands of its difficulty makes of it a form of asceticism. Being an essential part of our life, it is an excellent religious observance.” (LCO 83) So study has to be our passion and an integral part of our system. In present day scenario everyone likes to engage themselves in so many activities but study. So it is a responsibility to have reflective studies in the context of today’s world.

Happiness and the monastic life