St. Dominic sends out the Friars.
Image: Stained glass | St. Dominic sends out the Friars | photo by Lawrence, OP | flickr
License: CC BY NC ND 2.0
Saint Dominic’s Story
If he hadn’t taken a trip with his bishop, Dominic would probably have remained within the structure of contemplative life; after the trip, he spent the rest of his life being a contemplative in active apostolic work.
Born in old Castile, Spain, Dominic was trained for the priesthood by a priest-uncle, studied the arts and theology, and became a canon of the cathedral at Osma, where there was an attempt to revive the apostolic common life described in Acts of the Apostles.
On a journey through France with his bishop, Dominic came face to face with the then virulent Albigensian heresy at Languedoc. The Albigensians–or Cathari, “the pure ones”–held to two principles—one good, one evil—in the world. All matter is evil—hence they denied the Incarnation and the sacraments. On the same principle, they abstained from procreation and took a minimum of food and drink. The inner circle led what some people regarded as a heroic life of purity and asceticism not shared by ordinary followers.
Dominic sensed the need for the Church to combat this heresy, and was commissioned to be part of the preaching crusade against it. He saw immediately why the preaching crusade was not succeeding: the ordinary people admired and followed the ascetical heroes of the Albigenses. Understandably, they were not impressed by the Catholic preachers who traveled with horse and retinues, stayed at the best inns and had servants. Dominic therefore, with three Cistercians, began itinerant preaching according to the gospel ideal. He continued this work for 10 years, being successful with the ordinary people but not with the leaders.
His fellow preachers gradually became a community, and in 1215 Dominic founded a religious house at Toulouse, the beginning of the Order of Preachers or Dominicans.
Dominic’s ideal, and that of his Order, was to organically link a life with God, study, and prayer in all forms, with a ministry of salvation to people by the word of God. His ideal: contemplata tradere: “to pass on the fruits of contemplation” or “to speak only of God or with God.”
Reflection
The Dominican ideal, like that of all religious communities, is for the imitation, not merely the admiration, of the rest of the Church. The effective combining of contemplation and activity is the vocation of truck driver Smith as well as theologian Aquinas. Acquired contemplation is the tranquil abiding in the presence of God, and is an integral part of any full human life. It must be the wellspring of all Christian activity.
Saint Dominic is the Patron Saint of:
Astronomers
Dominican Republic
Used with permission from Franciscan Media. www.franciscanmedia.org.
In the reflection about Dominic combining contemplation with the work of preaching, my father recalls the years, decades he spent developing me (Rose) in his mind, before he finally overcame inertia, sloth, indifference, and put me ‘on paper’, and hurled me into the vast expanse of the internet. He now refers to those ‘lazy’ years as a time of soulful contemplation. As described in the Franciscan reflection, “acquired contemplation is the tranquil abiding in the presence of God, and is an integral part of any human life. It is the wellspring of all Christian activity”. What an imagination, with which, my father was gifted!
My father learned that St. Dominic is the Patron Saint of: Dominican Republic and astronomers. With the celebration of the coming solar eclipse, let us say a prayer to St. Dominic that we will practice contemplation in a more active way. St. Dominic established the Rosary as a meditative prayer, and it has been refined throughout the centuries, with the addition of the Luminous Mysteries under the pontificate of John Paul II. An article at the link below discusses the Rosary.
My father studied and worked hard most of his life, and usually he was totally oblivious to the worldly events around him. Today’s Saint of the Day, St. Dominic, is commemorated on the same day my parents celebrate their wedding anniversary. My father has known about St. Dominic for many years, but did not discover the commemoration until this week, nearly 50 years after his marriage celebration. “Wake up, Daddy!”
I encourage you to read a brief story about the saint, his work fighting the Albigensian heresy, and his establishment of the Order of Preachers.
Happy Anniversary, Dad and Mum!
With love,
Rose M. Bryo