St. Dominic de Guzman, the founder and namesake of the Dominican Order, was born in 1170. Dominic's passion for preaching and education are observed throughout his life. He encouraged leaders of the time to put away the sword and political powers but rather reach the world in humility, prayer and sound arguments. He turned down several offers to become bishop, preferring to lead his little band of preachers. The Pope requested Dominic to form an Order of Preachers to combat the heresies of the time. In 1216 the first Dominicans made their community residence in Toulouse. They spread to Spain and Paris quickly so that if one location were to be attacked they would survive and continue their mission. The order spread quickly to the surrounding countries, all the while Dominic overseeing every detail until his death at the age of 51 in 1221. [1]
The Dominicans include friars, cloistered nuns, sisters and laity. Their lives are lived according to their motto Veritas Caritas, which is translates to “truth, human compassion and mercy.”[2] St. Dominic established the four pillars of the Dominican Order to grow those in the order and encouraged them to take their preaching to the church as well as to the public. “The elements of the Dominican life are fivefold: (1) Community; (2) Prayer and Liturgy, (3) Study; (4) Discipline; and (5) Apostolate.”[3] They are to live in communion with one another, encouraging each other in their studies, prayers, disciplines and taking that message to the world. They pray specific prayers and liturgies, they are constantly studying the Holy Scriptures to better their understanding. Discipline comes in their life of humility, penances and serving others in kindness. The apostolate is the part that is always growing- preaching and teaching the world. Preaching used to be as simple (although time consuming and difficult) as walking to the next town, finding the public square and beginning to talk or writing a letter. Now, through the ease of media outlets and communication that we have at our finger tips, this is spreading almost faster than we can keep up with.
I don’t know that there is ever a time in history that the world as a whole is a safe place to live as a Christian. Right now, on American soil, it is a relatively easy thing to take advantage of the freedoms we have to advance these great causes and grow ourselves by joining a Third Right Order even as lay people. What an exciting time it is in history to be a part of such powerful Community!
If this sounds interesting to you, and you want to look into if this formal commitment to the Dominican way of life appeals to you, I highly suggest you read a blog written by Judith Babarsky that you can find at the end of my footnotes or by clicking here.
[1] Butler’s Saint for the Day by Butler, Alban; burns, Paul Edition: Rev. ed London: Burns & Oates. 2007. eBook.
[2] http://www.domlife.org/beingdominican/History/HistorySummary.htm Dominicans: a short introduction to our history in the US published in Encyclopedia of American Catholic History commissioned by Michael Glazier and The Liturgical Press, Collegeville, MN written by Nona McGreal, OP (Sinsinawa) for Project O.P.U.S.
[3] http://holyapostles.edu/dps/are-you-called-to-be-a-lay-dominican-4162/ written by Judith Babarsky, posted to The Dead Philosophers Society Blog May 26, 2014
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