The Dominican Life Reflecting the Image
of St. Dominic:
Reflections in Preparation for the feast of
St. Dominic
We
imitate St. Dominic because he is an example in the imitation of Jesus Christ
and walked in his footsteps. Therefore every Dominican is also called to
imitate Jesus in his life through the spirit of St. Dominic. The Christian can
most effectively learn how to live in holiness by learning from the life of
Christ. In the same way a Dominican can best learn how to live as a saintly
religious by studying the life of St. Dominic, the Founder of the Order of
Friars Preachers.
1 Sources to know about St. Dominic
Most
precious in learning the mind and spirituality of St. Dominic are ‘The Acts of
his canonization process’, ‘The Little Book of the Origins of the Friars
Preachers’ by Jordan of Saxony, ‘The Primitive Constitutions’, Two types of
witnesses for his canonisation and Nine ways of prayer.
The
witnesses in the canonization process of St. Dominic are divided into two
groups
The
first group is the larger numbered about three hundred men and women of the
Toulouse region who had known him during the years before he founded the Order;
The
second group counted only nine friars who had been intimately associated with
him during the last few years of his life.
The
relationship of these nine friars with the saint had been extremely close. All
of them were part of the community at Bologna, his headquarters during his
closing years, and they had been his travelling companions. They had every
opportunity to see how he lived, prayed, ate, slept, did penance and suffered.
Their testimony gives us the best and the most detailed information about
Dominic’s heroic life. Both these nine friars and Jordan of Saxony had walked
with him, prayed with him, nursed him in sickness, buried him, worked for his
canonization, and first celebrated his feast. They captured Dominic’s spirit,
understood what he wanted for his Order, knew from his words and example how a
friar preacher was to sanctify himself.
2 Spiritual characteristics of St. Dominic
Growing
into the image of Dominic we focus on his priestliness, his love for Christ,
his love for Eucharist, his love for the scripture, his love for the salvation
of souls and his love for his brethren.
Priestliness: One
of his outstanding characteristics was his priestliness. St. Dominic’s
priestliness shines in his love for the doctrines of the Church, his personal
love for Our Lord in the Mass and the Blessed Sacrament, his penances in
imitation of the Suffering Christ, his love for souls, his ability to give
advice and counsel, his trust in Divine Providence. As canon of the cathedral chapter at Osma,
where he made profession soon after his ordination to the priesthood and
afterwards again he continued his studies. He was a contemplative priest,
lovingly seeking to penetrate the truths of the faith with the assistance of
the gifts of wisdom and understanding, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
The doctrines of revelation had penetrated to the very core of Dominic’s
spiritual fibre before he became an apostle. When he was ready for this next
step in his life, divine guidance carried him to southern France where he spent
twelve years of his priestly life, from 1205 to 1217, defending and preaching
the faith.
His love for Christ: 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. Dominic’s devotion to Our Lord carried his soul into the
depths of the mystery of the Passion. Many of the witnesses, both at Toulouse
and Bologna, testify that he spent almost all the night in prayer. During this
prayer, he was so moved that he often prayed aloud. Rudolph of Faenza testifies that St. Dominic used to pray and
make reparation for sinners saying, “O Lord, have mercy on Thy people . And
Jordan of Saxony says that St. Dominic “was a sanctuary of compassion” where
“he offered God, all human misery.”
His love for Eucharist: The
founder had a profound devotion to the Mass, celebrating it every day and when
it is possible, singing it. Invariably he was so moved by the sacred mystery
taking place before him, that the tears flowed down his cheeks. Little wonder
that he made the Order of Preachers a liturgical order. One of the great means
he set for the realization of the Order’s end is the solemn chanting of the
Divine Office; because The Office flows from the Mass and it is the climax of
the liturgy. The Mass is the diamond, the Office is its setting. The hours of
the Office lead to the Mass and follow from the Mass; preparing for it and
bringing us its fruits the rest of the day.
His love for the scripture: St.
Dominic constantly carried the Gospel of St. Matthew and the Epistles of St.
Paul. but it was a different problem in those days of handwritten books.
Because Manuscripts were bulky and expensive. If they were small, the
handwriting had to be almost microscopic. Dominic carried the books he loved
best; the ones that spoke most clearly to him of Our Divine Saviour. Jordan of
Saxony says that he read these works so much that he practically knew them by
heart.
His love for the salvation of souls: Those
who knew Dominic tell us that he wanted to give his life for souls, if
necessary. With courage he travelled through the Albigensian country. At times
he knew his enemies were planning to kill him, yet he continued on his way.
Once they took him, but seeing that he offered no resistance, they asked: “What
would you have done, if we were to carry out our plans?” he answered them
"I would have begged you to put me to death in the slowest possible way,
to cut me to pieces bit by bit, so that my martyrdom would be prolonged for the
good of souls.” But seeing his willingness to die for Christ, they did not kill
him. This incident signifies that he was a martyr by desire.
His love towards his own brethren: As a
good priest, St. Dominic was firm in correcting. This might seem a peculiar
illustration of priestliness, but correction is a great charity to an earring
soul. Rudolph of Faenza describes this quality of Dominic: He was always
cheerful and pleasant, a comforter of the brethren. He was patient, merciful,
and kind. If he saw a brother breaking any rule, he would pass by as though he
had not seen it. But afterward he would, with a mild expression and kind word,
say, “Brother, you must confess your fault.” With his gentle words he induced
all to confess and repent. He rigorously punished transgressors, but they went
away consoled because of his humble attitude. He made the necessary correction
with firmness, with an adequate penance, but knowing how delicately a soul must
be treated, he did not break the man’s spirit. Paul of Venice testifies that
St. Dominic rigidly and perfectly kept the rule himself and exhorted and
commanded the brethren to do the same, and he strictly punished offenders. Yet
he reproved them with such patience and kindness that no one was ever upset or
rebellious because of the correction.
3 The imitation of St. Dominic
Members
of the Order should be well acquainted with St. Dominic and they should be
always happy in his company, realizing how much he loves them.
St.
Dominic as our founder, he devoted the last precious years of his life to establishing
the Order, visiting the first priories and monasteries, supervising, directing,
encouraging, and teaching the friars and nuns. Each Dominican must grow by
promoting these qualities of St. Dominic in their daily internal and external religious activities.
St.
Dominic always trusted in Divine Providence and it blessed him with a
sympathetic heart and endowed him with the gift of directing his sons and
guiding his daughters. In the same way every Dominican must have the heart to
direct and guide his own fellowmen who live within the community as well as
outside the community.
Dominicans
can live their lives in a priestly manner, imitating the priestliness of their
Founder, his love for the doctrines of the Church, for the suffering Christ,
for the Mass and Blessed Sacrament, for souls, and his reliance on Divine
Providence.
All
Dominicans should nourish a tender devotion to their founder. So that they
shall receive the ability to understand the Dominican life, to live it well and
to be zealous for souls. They should go to him, for the grace of contemplation,
and to live their Dominican life in worthy manner.
It
is said that 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.”
All
these elements help us reflect on his life and inspire us to promote brotherly
love towards Jesus by loving each other and working for the salvation souls.
4 How can we become the image of St.
Dominic?
We can
become the image of St. Dominic in internal ways and in external way
Internal
way refers to the practises within us and within the community. They are like:
our prayer life, community life, study of divine scripture and so on.
External
way refers to the practises that take place outside the community. They are
like: our ministries, pastoral visit, preaching and so on.
Keeping
these two things in mind, let us look into our own life and question
ourselves:-
How
patient are we towards our brethren in correcting them and leading them to a
right path?
How
faithful are we to the teachings of the church, the sacraments, and liturgy?
Is our
vocation is a specific end of our own order that is preaching for the salvation
of souls?
Do our
internal and external religious activities enable us to bring many more souls
to Christ?
As we
are preparing for the solemnity of our founder St. Dominic, we make our efforts
to make our life as the image of St. Dominic by imitating his virtues, his ideas,
and his qualities in our day today life.
Compiled and presented by Brs. Deepak and Alex
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