A little over two weeks ago, I was able to speak as a member
of the Young Dominican Mission Team, at Ohio Dominican University. My portion of the talk was about the
Dominican charism and spirituality.
In learning about this spirituality, I narrowed it down to a few
topics. Below, I would like to
explain these topics as I know them and, sometimes, give a little bit of my
personal experiences with these aspects of the Dominican spirituality. (If you
see something incorrect or would like to expand upon a topic, please feel free
to leave a comment!)
The Four Pillars
Dominican spirituality revolves around four pillars:
community, prayer, study, and preaching/mission. Many other words could be used as well, but I have most
frequently heard these used. These
pillars are intertwined. You can’t
remove one of these pillars because, just like a building supported by physical
pillars, the Dominican spirituality could not continue to be supported.
Community
Sisters, nuns, and friars all live in communities. The sharing of community allows
Dominicans to share their lives and have a support network that is very strong.
When I first was introduced to the Dominican order and
spirituality, this pillar immediately grabbed me. I was welcomed in with such love and respect. I was recognized for the talents and
skills that I could add to the community.
I felt like I missed out on that community at my home parish throughout
my childhood. I never found my
niche. But once I started spending
time with young adults in the Dominican Preaching in Action conference, I felt
like I found my place in church.
This is what ultimately led my friends and I to start Dominican Young Adults,
USA. We wanted to continue our
newfound community of likeminded individuals in the Dominican tradition.
Now that I am living in an intentional community, living
with two fellow Dominican Volunteers, and sharing community with a former
Dominican Volunteer, Lisa, the Dominican friars who live upstairs, Fr. Brendan,
Fr. Matt, and Fr. Chuck, the Dominican sisters of Springfield, Sr Pat, Sr.
Judine, Sr. Judy, and Sr. Beverly, and soon the friars who live across the
street in the priory, I am learning the joys of this pillar. I have such a support network and I can
contribute to my community.
Study
Dominicans feel that we must study to gain the knowledge
that will bring us closer to the truth.
This is both in the sense of secular and religious knowledge. This also refers to studying about
issues of injustice and oppression.
Always having done well in school, this pillar made a lot of
sense to me. However, I realize
that I need to learn more. I WANT
to learn more (see last post). But
I realize that I will continue to learn throughout my life. I especially look fondly on the learning
I am experiencing as part of this Dominican Volunteer journey.
Preaching/Mission
“Preach at all times, when necessary use words.” ~St.
Francis of Assisi
Dominicans are called upon (actually all Catholics, by baptism,
are called upon) to preach the good news of the gospel. We must share the good news with our
brothers and sisters here on Earth.
Many of us think of preaching as preaching from the pulpit. However, we can preach through all our
actions, through art, music, athletics, dance, etc. We preach in so many ways. If we live out our lives following Christ, we are preaching
to others.
Many Dominicans are involved in mission work. This involves working with and for the
poor and marginalized, the outcast, those in formation of or lacking in faith,
and so many other good works. When
we enter into mission work, we are living out the gospel values and preaching
the good news.
I am so blessed to be able to volunteer at St. Pius V
School. Volunteering has allowed
me to learn so much about teaching, technology in schools, and the Hispanic
culture (99% of the students were Hispanic in 07-08, not sure what the current
stats are). Also, being able to
teach in a Catholic school has allowed me to share my religious background and
knowledge with the students. I
love the additional aspect of prayer in the classroom and I feel that it
attributes to the wonderful atmosphere of the school. I enjoy being a positive role model for my students and
being able to reach out to those students who need help academically,
emotionally, or spiritually.
Prayer
Prayer is key to Dominicans. While this may be a big “duh!” to people, the close personal
relationship to God was very important to St. Dominic. Known as a man of very few words and an
intensely devout relationship with God, St. Dominic developed nine whole body
prayer positions. These were
recorded and shared with the world.
This is a pillar that I am working very hard on this
year. Personal prayer is something
that I struggle with. Whether it
is the excuse of not having enough time or not knowing what to do, I often
neglect prayer unless it is in a spiritual setting, such as church or retreat
or a prayer service. Thanks to the
sisters, I have been able to use “Give Us This Day” which chronicles the daily
mass readings, prayers, and a morning and evening prayer service. It also features saints and other
important people in faith as well daily reflections on scripture. Incorporating this prayer is easy and
helps me keep in touch with my personal relationship with God.
To Praise, to Bless,
to Preach
I always feel so scholarly when I can recite laudare, benedicere,
praedicare in Latin. But being
able to praise, to bless, and to preach is at the heart of being Dominican.
Truth
Veritas (see I love Latin)! Dominicans love being able to learn about the truth. St. Thomas Aquinas emphasized
throughout his studies the importance of finding the truth. During St. Dominic’s time, there were
many heretics called Albigenses, who believed that the body was evil (among
other beliefs). St. Dominic and
his followers had conversations with these heretics trying to get them to see
how what they believed was straying from the truth of the church.
Contemplate and Share
the Fruits of Your Contemplation
I am too lazy to look up the Latin words for this. The Dominicans believe that we must be
willing to contemplate. We must
think, pray, study, and allow ourselves to be open and let God in. But we can’t just stop there; we have
to share the fruits of that contemplation.
As I am living in community, I am continuing to see the
wonderfulness of contemplation and the ability of my roommates and I being able
to share in those fruits of contemplation. I believe that the ability to see other people’s points of
view on subjects, dilemmas, and issues allow us to come closer to the
truth.
Preach the Signs of
the Times
Dominicans believe that we must preach the signs of the
times. We must keep the bible in
one hand and the newspaper in the other hand. The oppression and the injustices that happen in our world
today must be addressed and intertwined with the gospel.
In my own life, I constantly struggle with this. This is what I loved about the campus
minister at St. Thomas Aquinas College, Sr. Madeleine Murphy, O.P. In her reflections on the gospel at
mass, she would constantly tie her preaching of the gospel into everyday
college experiences. I always try
to take the gospel and figure out how it applies to my life.
Bartolomé de las Casas, O.P. spoke out against
the mistreatment of the native peoples during the Spanish colonization of the
New World. He and his fellow
Dominican friars looked to the gospels and preached a famous sermon about the
mistreatment of these peoples. They
are said to have preached:
“Tell me by what right of justice
do you hold these Indians in such a cruel and horrible servitude? On what
authority have you waged such detestable wars against these people who dealt
quietly and peacefully on their own lands? Wars in which you have destroyed
such an infinite number of them by homicides and slaughters never heard of
before. Why do you keep them so oppressed and exhausted, without giving them
enough to eat or curing them of the sicknesses they incur from the excessive
labor you give them, and they die, or rather you kill them, in order to extract
and acquire gold every day.” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bartolomé_de_las_Casas)
The Holy Rosary
Thanks to the wonderfulness of my roommate and fellow
volunteer, Stephanie, I was able to re-learn how to pray the rosary. I don’t remember being formally taught
the rosary (though I’m sure they covered it in religious ed.) and I most
certainly don’t remember learning about the mysteries. Previous to this new knowledge, I had
always wondered what would be so appealing about praying the same prayers over
and over again. I can now see that repetition can lead to this meditative state
where you can think about the mysteries or anything else prayerful.
I still think I prefer other types of prayer, but I am
definitely more willing to do the rosary than I was before.
I knew that the Dominicans focused on the rosary, but I
didn’t necessarily know why. While
studying a bit of the Dominican Order’s history on Wikipedia, I came across a
very interesting part of the article:
“Histories of the Holy Rosary often attribute its
origin to Saint Dominic
himself through the Blessed
Virgin Mary. Our Lady of
the Rosary is the title received by the Marian apparition to Saint Dominic in 1208 in
the church of Prouille
in which the Virgin Mary gave the Rosary to him. For centuries, Dominicans have
been instrumental in spreading the rosary and emphasizing the Catholic belief
in the power of the
rosary.” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominican_Order#Rosary)
Wow. I had no
idea.
A Dominican Journey
Throughout my life journey, I am slowly seeing a parallel
Dominican journey that I have embarked upon. My Dominican journey is responsible for my renewal in faith
and my continuing spiritual development and I know I am not even close to the
end destination – which excites me so much!
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