Dominic certainly “opened his mouth” and spoke words of wisdom. He is the founder of the Order of Preachers. The Collect even called Dominic “an outstanding preacher” of the Lord’s Truth. It is said the primary work of the Dominican Order is “to preach the gospel for the salvation of souls.”
This is certainly the task of all Christians: to preach the Gospel for the salvation of souls. What can we learn from St. Dominic and the Order of Preachers to help us in our task?
Dominican preaching is fueled and nurtured particularly by prayer and contemplative study.
By prayer, the Dominican immerses himself in the life of God through personal meditation, celebration of Mass, recitation of the liturgy of the hours, and of course, the rosary. An early Dominican document even details St. Dominic’s private prayer. When Dominic prayed, he would incline profoundly, prostrate his body upon the ground, genuflect, beat his breast, raise his arms to heaven. He would pray standing, sitting, kneeling, prostrating, walking, Dominic employed all these as postures when praying. For Dominic, prayer was not just a mental activity or exercise, but an intimate, personal conversation with God in which he would engage his whole person—body, spirit, mind, and soul. For the preaching of the Gospel, God wants to use all of us, our whole life, our whole self, our creativity, our past memories, our present struggles. And so we should seek the sort of prayer life, that truly nurtures us in the Christian life.
The Dominican life is also supported by study. When we think of study, images of boring classrooms or abstract discussions may naturally come to mind. But in the context of Dominican life, study leads to prayer, which inspires the preaching of the gospel. Dominic exhorted his brothers to be fervent in cultivating both the attitude of discovery and the discipline of inquiry. The Dominican father, St. Thomas Aquinas puts it well when he writes that the Dominican life is characterized as contemplation of divine things and the divine One and then sharing these fruits of contemplation with others.
As Christians, we should never stop learning and studying our faith, never stop seeking and studying the face of Christ in the Sacred Scriptures. There is always something to discover about our faith, for there is always something to discover about Our Lord. And there should be an element of discipline, that we simply don’t jump from one novelty to the next, but truly enter into the mysteries we contemplate.
Through prayer, and study, may we, like St. Dominic, we filled with the spirit of wisdom and understanding, and come to be, like him, robed in glory, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.
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For a deeper devotion among all Christians to prayer and contemplative study of the Sacred Mysteries.
For an increase in vocations to the priesthood and consecrated life, for Order of Preachers, and that we may all be dedicated to preaching the gospel for the salvation of souls.
For Pope Francis’ prayer intention for the month of August: “That artists of our time, through their ingenuity, may help everyone discover the beauty of creation.” We pray to the Lord.
That the love of Christ, the divine physician, may bring healing to the sick and comfort to all the suffering. We pray.
For the deceased members of our families, friends, and parish, and all the poor souls in purgatory, for deceased priests, religious, especially for all deceased Dominicans who have served our local Church, and for those who have fought and died for our freedom. We pray.
O God, who know that our life in this present age is subject to suffering and need, hear the prayers of those who cry to you and receive the prayers of those who believe in you. Through Christ our Lord.
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