Dominic: An Example of Prayer

ST. DOMINIC’S NINE WAYS OF PRAYER

            St. Dominic’s ways of prayer stirred the curiosity of his brothers.  It is said that they would watch him pray.  They did so from an upper window. They saw what was recorded as Dominic’s nine ways of prayer, nine different postures or gestures.  They often heard him recite or cry out the words of scripture.  The nine ways are uncommon to our present time; therefore a brief preface may be helpful. From a historical perspective, there emerged in the late 12th century Church in Spain a religious group that had a great influence upon the people.  Their belief that the body was evil and that the soul was good was preached in word and action.  This religious group was very austere, and self-punishing.  Some of Dominic’s ways of prayer were reflective of that thinking. From a philosophical perspective, the Dominican Thomas Aquinas taught that certain attitudes and gestures of the body can dispose us for prayer and, conversely, that intense prayer can burst forth in a bodily expression. From a psychological perspective, Sister Catherine Aubin, author of On Praying With the Body, According to St. Dominic, suggests that when one loves, that love is manifested with gestures, words, smiles.  This also happens in prayer.From a biblical anthropological perspective, Aubin recalls that specific, dynamic functions are given to the different parts of the body.  For example, the neck may symbolize the place of honor, of weight, but also of affection or humility; hence, the bow.  It is within these various contexts that we examine Dominic’s nine ways of prayer.

 THE FIRST WAY OF PRAYER IS THE BOW

            In the Dominican Tradition,there are three forms of this gesture:the simple bow of the head,a bow from the shoulders, and the profound bow from the waist.

             Early drawings of Dominic at prayer before the altar of the crucified Christ show him bowing profoundly.  Various texts say that standing erect; Dominic bowed his head and humbly considered the bowed head of the crucified Christ.  He humbled himself before the Christ who took on the humiliation of the cross.  And the brothers would hear him praying:  “I am not worthy that you should come under my roof.” [Mt 8:8]

            “I have been humbled before you exceedingly, Oh Lord.” [Ps 118:107]“Oh, Lord, God, the prayer of the humble and meek has always pleased you.” [Jd 9:16]Dominic taught the brothers to humble themselves before the crucified Christ and to humble themselves before the Trinity as they chanted the Glory Be.  This same gesture continues in some Dominican congregations today.

IN THE SECOND WAY OF PRAYER

            Dominic laid face down, outstretched on the floor. It was said that he assumed this posture when overtaken with great sorrow, and he wept.  Sometimes in a voice loud enough to be heard, he would pray, “O God, be merciful to me, a sinner.” [Luke 18:13]

            Dominic prayed with his entire body. This is how Dominic taught his brothers to pray for God’s mercy.

             He further admonished, “If you cannot weep for your own sins, weep for the sins of others.”  In this way Dominic called upon God’s mercy for all.

            Rising to his knees from prostration as described in the second way of prayer, Dominic would scourge himself with an iron chain. 

THIS THIRD WAY OF PRAYER was one of repentance. We need to remember the context of the time in which Dominic lived which provides an understanding of what would now appear an unacceptable form of prayer.

            In memory of his example, the Order decreed that all the brothers should receive the discipline with wooden switches upon the shoulders.  This was to be practiced on days without feasts while bowing and reciting, “Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness; …wipe out my offenses.” [Miserere, PS 51]; or, “Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord; Lord, hear my voice!” [De Profundis, Psalm130] 

            The scourging was done in repentance for the brother’s own faults and for the faults of others.

            Humility, mercy and self-discipline characterize Dominic’s first three ways of praying.

THIS FORTH WAY OF PRAYER

            Genuflection became Dominic's fourth way of prayer.And in these postures a change would come over him and he would feel great confidence in God’s mercy toward himself, toward his brothers, toward all sinners.  He could sometimes be heard murmuring, “Unto you will I cry, O Lord:  O my God, be not silent to me…” [Ps. 27:1]

            At other times he would remain in silent genuflection and it appeared as though a great joy brought him to tears.  Then again he would rise and again kneel.  It became Dominic’s intimate and personal form of worship.  He taught his brothers to pray in this way by his example as he prayed this way not only in his room but also as he traveled.

            Dominic, sometimes called “athlete of Christ,” prayed in ways that were physically demanding, physically disciplined.  And he prayed with great grace and agility.

THE FIFTH WAY OF PRAYER

            In the way fifth of praying, Dominic stood with his hands held before him as if reading from a book. It is said that he stood in such reverence as if to be reading the very presence of God.

            He would then for a time clasp his hands together; at other times he would raise his hands as the priest does at liturgy.  It appeared as though Dominic stood as a prophet who first spoke with God, listened deeply to God’s response and then lingered in silent thought of what had been revealed to him.

THE SIXTH WAY OF PRAYER

            In the sixth way of prayer, Dominic stood with outstretched arms, in the form of a cross.  It is said that he prayed in this way in anticipation of a miracle that God would perform.

            This is the way Dominic entreated God when a boy was raised to life in the Church of St. Sixtus in Rome, when Dominic himself was raised from the ground at the celebration of the Mass, and when a group of pilgrims was delivered from drowning in a river near Toulouse.  So struck were those who observed this form of prayer that they failed to remember what Dominic said.

            Dominic, in this reverent supplication, seemingly knew God’s intent to bring forth from the death of the cross, new life.  “I stretched forth my hands to thee…Hear me speedily, O Lord.”  Ps. 142:1-7)

            In this imitation of Christ on the Cross, Dominic inspired the brethren but he neither encouraged nor discouraged them to pray in this manner.

THE SEVENTH WAY OF PRAYER

            The seventh way of prayer was supplication where Dominic’s whole being was seen as an arrow directed heavenward shot from a bow. 

Raised above his head, Dominic’s hands were either joined together or slightly parted as if to be receiving something from heaven. In this way Dominic acknowledged that all good gifts are from God.

             While in this posture Dominic seemed to enter into a state of bliss, and upon regaining his temporal awareness would pray, “Hear, O Lord, the voice of my supplication which I pray to thee, when I lift up my hands to thy holy temple.”  (Ps. 27:2)

THE EIGHTH WAY OF PRAYER, reflective reading, might be described as Dominic in table conversation with the Word.

            Dominic would go off to some quiet place and seated at a table he would sign himself and begin to read a book. Shortly it seemed that he was discussing something with a friend; he appeared at once to be listening quietly then discussing and arguing, and then laugh and weep, and then bow and speaking quietly beat his breast. It was as though Dominic found God in some way speaking to him through the words he read.

            Dominic, it is said, appeared to move from reading to prayer, from prayer to meditation, from meditation to contemplation.Recall when recently something you read moved you to prayer.What would you require in order to bring your daily reading into conversation with God?  Try this form of prayer!

 THE NINTH WAY OF PRAYER, praying on the journey, is walking in solitude. As Dominic and his companions traveled by foot from country to country, he would remove himself from their company and walk by himself. This was meditative time for Dominic.  It was time for him to meditate upon the scriptures and commune with the Holy Spirit.  About his long solitary walk he would quote to his companions: “I will lead her (my spouse) into the wilderness and I will speak to her ear.” (Hosea 2:16)  This was preparation for Dominic’s holy preaching.Walk.  Alone.  Listen to the sounds of your environment—planes flying overhead, cars in distant traffic, sounds of industry.  Turn your focus to the sounds of nature—birds chirping, leaves fluttering in the wind, crickets.  Move your attention to the sound of your footsteps, your breathing, the sensation of your heartbeat. Walk now into the deepest part of yourself and listen.

WHY DO WE NEED TO PRAY?

            First, when we call ourselves Christians this means that we are taking upon us the name of Christ and trying to be like Him. When Christ was on the earth He set an example for us by praying. He prayed for guidance, He prayed for his disciples and followers, He prayed in gratitude and praise, He prayed when he instituted the sacrament, when He was in the Garden of Gethsemane, and when He was on the Cross. So, if we are calling ourselves Christian, and becoming like Christ, then we should pray, as He did. (Mark 1:35, Luke 5:16, John 17:11, John 17:20-21, Luke 10:21, Mark 14:22, Matthew 26:39, Luke 22:44, Matthew 27:46).

            Prayer is indeed our opportunity to come to know God and build a relationship with Him. However, I think it is critical to understand that in order to build that relationship we must understand that prayer requires two-way communication. Building a relationship with God is similar to building relationships with people around us, conversations need to go both ways; we talk, and then we listen. It is the same with God. Prayer allows us the opportunity to tell God how we are feeling, ask for guidance, assistance and answers to questions, but it also is our opportunity to learn from Him what His will is for us. HOW we discern His will for us will be another blog post.

            Another reason for prayer is for the purpose of repentance. Christ atoned for our sins so that we can be worthy and pure when we enter into God’s presence. Only He can grant us forgiveness for the sins that we have committed. Prayer is a means for confessing our sins. The Lord has promised us that “I, the Lord, forgive sins, and am merciful unto those who confess their sins with humble hearts” (D&C 61:2).

            We can also pray and ask God to help us find purpose in our lives. He has a plan for us and desires to lead and guide us. I know from experience that when I have humbled myself in prayer and offered myself as a tool for Him to use, God has guided me and directed me in making life plans and decisions. He has even given me purpose that gets me through performing the mundane and seemingly purposeless tasks of daily life.

            Finally, I think one of the most important purposes of prayer is to bring our will into correspondence with God’s will. I think that many people pray and then become upset when their prayers are not answered. Even though God loves us, it is not always His will nor is it possible for Him to give us the things that we desire. I have a friend who prayed for a unicorn every day for quite a while when she was a child, but not surprisingly, she never got one. Was this because she lacked faith? I don’t really think so. If you aren’t receiving answers to your prayers, or your prayers aren’t answered in the way that you want them to be answered, maybe you need to evaluate what you are praying for and instead ask God what you should be praying for.

Application of Dominic's personal prayers today

St Dominic used 9 ways of prayer. Some of his prayers are still followed by us even today. At  the same time some of them are not practical to follow in this generation like scourging and sleeping over the bricks etc..

St Theresa of Avila says" I cannot give to others what I don't have."  The God experience can be passed on to others only after your experience of divinity of Jesus. people do not look for plain messages from you but they expect to share your experience with them. Or we will be like empty vessels which makes lot of noise.

Some of us may feel that we don't get sufficient time to pray or we are pre occupied with lot of things. Brothers, please do not make compromise in your personal prayer. How do a plant need water to grow , in the same manner personal prayer is necessary for the growth of our spirituality. St Dominic never insisted his brethren to follow his method of prayers. But we adopted those forms of prayers after seeing the goodness in his prayers.

All of us have come from different back grounds. Our taste and preference varies from each other. No one can enforce on you a particular type of personal prayer. But we must find our own ways to pray to our God . he is not a God who will punish  if you don't pray . Our God is a personal God who loves each one of us a lot. So we can adopt any method of prayer to communicate to him. The roads may vary but all of us are trying to reach the same destination.

There are times we are lost in thought during our community prayers, at times it is more mechanical, but the desire within us to pray , bring each one of us close to our lord through personal prayer. In our own community we can see different forms of personal prayer. Some of us prefer to pray late night, some like to pray early in the morning, some prefer to walk and pray some like to pray sitting on the ground, etc... there are also brothers who want to spend time in chapel late night but  some of them fail in their efforts. They fall asleep in the presence of the Lord. Samuel was called by the Lord when he was sleeping  in the temple of  the Lord. The attempt and the effort the person make is more important to God than the outcome of our efforts. Our master Fr. Sunoj is a good example for each one of us as he prays rosary while traveling by bike. He also encourages brothers to pray rosary when they cycle to college.

We may complain at times that "Due to our busy schedule I don't get time to pray". Remember brethren if you have a will there is a way. Our God does not observe how long do I spent in chapel. But he looks at our heart to see how faithful are we in our duties towards God and to our brethren.

Compiled and presented by Brs. Jinson and Nithin