Word to the Wise
Saturday, August 8, 2009 - Our Holy Father Dominic
[[Isaiah 52:7-10; 2 Timothy 4:1-8; Matthew 5:13-19 or Matthew 28:16-20 or Luke 10:1-9]How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of the messenger announcing peace, of the messenger of god news, who proclaims salvation.....
Today is the feast of Our Holy Father Dominic, the founder of the Order of Preachers [Dominicans]. The words quoted above are from the Book of Isaiah and often appear on the memorial card at the funeral of one of our brethren. From a small informal group of preachers (and one monastery of nuns) in the south of France in the early 13th century, Dominic developed a religious family that rapidly grew into an international way of life that includes friars (priests and brothers), nuns (cloistered women religious), apostolic women (congregations of Dominican sisters), and Laity. At the very beginning, the Church bestowed the central charism of the Order: Preaching. We have been the Order of Preachers since our foundation, December 22, 1216! Are we the only preachers in the Church? Of course, not! Is every Dominican a pulpit preacher? No! St. Martin de Porres and many other outstanding Dominicans never set foot in a pulpit. Nevertheless, our charism is to proclaim the Word through our way of life and through pulpit (or elsewhere!) preaching, writing and teaching. Our way of life is organized around four fundamental "pillars:" prayer, study, community and ministry. Our structure, established as early as 1220 and pretty much finalized by 1228, is democratic! We have had a "balance of powers" between executive and legislative governance long before such a thing was dreamed of in the American system (much less in our Church generally!). Democracy, flexibility and mobility are features of our way of life that enable us to bring the gospel message around the world. Our heroes and heroines include St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Catherine of Siena, St. Martin de Porres, St. Rose of Lima, the great artist Fra Angelico and a large number of lesser-known brothers and sisters (Pope John Paul II canonized a bunch!). Our association with the devotion of the rosary goes back to the earliest forms of that prayer, and we wear the complete rosary (well, we may have to add a decade since John Paul II did) as part of our habit! On this important day, I beg the prayers of all my beloved congregation for the Order of Preachers in its mission to preach salvation around the world. I especially beg for your prayers for my own small part in that mission - my itinerant preaching! AMEN
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