ST. DOMINIC

For seven and one half centuries the Order of Preachers (Dominicans) has contributed immensely to the life of the Church on every continent of the world. Nevertheless, its founder St. Dominic, enjoys very little popularity compared to many other saints such as St. Francis. This is not because we know little about the life of Dominic — we know a great deal as a matter of fact. Nor is it because Dominic was not admired and loved during his own lifetime — he was indeed. We know little about Dominic because he, along with his followers, have always been more interested in the job of the Order, namely preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Dominic's early followers, and certainly Dominic himself, never promoted the personality of Dominic — as attractive as that personality was. No, Dominic's great legacy to the Church was a body of well-trained and committed preachers. Dominic is known today principally in the ingenious idea he had of reviving the apostolic life in the Church: men living in community, praying and studying together, living the vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience, and — most of all — going out in the world to preach to all the nations.

Although many Christians may be ignorant of St. Dominic, every Dominican has been touched by his unique charism or gift for the up-building of the Church. And to understand that gift, it necessary to know something about the fascinating personality of Dominic: his early years, his missionary work, and finally as the great founder and organizer of the Order of Preachers.

The early years

St. Dominic was born as Domingo de Guzman in 1170 in a small town in northern Spain. Like Nigeria, Dominic's homeland was not entirely Catholic; the area was mission territory on the frontier of Christendom, having just recently been won back from the Muslims. No doubt this had a great impact on young Dominic; Dominic's driving urge was the salvation of souls, and to this end he often thought of becoming a missionary.

Dominic was sent by his parents from home at an early age to begin his studies for the priesthood. While a student in the Spanish city of Palencia Dominic developed a great love for study, especially the study of the Bible. He also had a great concern for the well-being of others. The story is told that during a famine in Palencia Dominic sold everything he had —including his most prized possessions, his books— to help the poor. Evidently Dominic's charity and sincerity came to the attention of many, for after his ordination as a diocesan priest at the age of 24 he was invited by Father Diego to come and join a community of priests living at the Cathedral in Osma, Spain, which was devoted to improving the religious spirit of all the clergy through the good example of study, community life, and preaching. Dominic's first nine years of priesthood were spent in Osma living with this rather exceptional group of priests.

Dominic's missionary journeys

At the end of this time, Dominic's friend and mentor, Diego, had become the bishop of Osma. Dominic's life was soon to take a different direction that would profoundly affect him and eventually the entire Church. In 1203 Bishop Diego, with Dominic as companion, was sent on the first of two diplomatic missions by their King to Denmark. During the course of this journey they stayed in the city of Toulouse in southern France.

There Dominic came headlong against the Albigensian heresy (so called because Albi was the centre of the heresy). Seeing that many Catholics had left the Church, and that the high-living priests were inadequate to defend Catholic doctrine and preach the Good News convincingly, Dominic's thirst for the salvation of souls was stirred.

The Albigensians believed in a spiritualized form of Christianity where anything material (food, drink, possessions, even our bodies) was bad, and that anything good was immaterial or spiritual. It is an old recurring heresy — one which we still find present today with some non-Christian groups and with Pentecostals who do not accept that God's power operates in the sacraments and the teaching authority of the Church. These heretical beliefs were far from harmless as they contradicted the true meaning of the Incarnation in which God himself became material in Jesus of Nazareth so as to save us. Bishop Diego and Dominic, both enlivened by the Holy Spirit, wanted to remain in southern France. So intense was their Christian convictions and their concern for those who had strayed from the faith. They agreed to stay on, with permission, and work among these people.

After finishing their business in Denmark, they decided to return to Spain via Rome, where Bishop Diego pleaded with the Pope to release from his diocese so as to work as a missionary. The Pope refused the bishop's request. Bishop Diego to return to his diocese in Spain, but left Dominic behind in southern France.

For ten, long difficult years Dominic laboured among the heretics with very few companions and, typically, never calling much attention to himself. His successes can no doubt be credited to the Holy Spirit, but Dominic's effectiveness was owing to his strong faith, firmly rooted in his study of Scripture and theology, and in his love of all men. To the heretics' false austerity he showed the example of a simple, poor life, going around to preach barefooted. This was why after his death years later, one of Dominic's companions said, "I never knew anyone whose service of God I liked so much. And he was more zealous for the salvation of souls than any man I ever saw." Another witness said, "He was loved by everyone, rich and poor, Jew or pagan."

The foundation of the Order

In 1215 Dominic was invited to the city of Toulouse where he was given a house as a base for his work. Shortly after that the owner of the house and another man committed themselves to Dominic and his preaching ministry by vows of religious profession. In this simple, unheralded way, the great Order of Preachers had its humble origins. Never concerned with worldly security or ecclesiastical prestige, Dominic and his followers' concern remained that of preaching. The founding of an Order for that purpose was the means to that end.

In that same year, Dominic went with Fulk, the bishop of Toulouse, to the Fourth Lateran Council in Rome to gain permission from the Pope to begin a new religious order, one which would be called, and would be, an "Order of Preachers." For its time this request was rather bold. First, the Council had decreed that no new religious orders were to be founded. Secondly, preaching was then the prerogative or right of the bishop only. While priests were allowed to preach, their preaching was not expected to be doctrinal (on the teachings of the Church) but simple moral exhortations. However the people were thirsting for genuine, solid preaching of the Gospel. Like today, there was a growing re-discovery of the Bible. Realizing all of this, and no doubt sensing Dominic's own sincerity of purpose, the Pope said "yes" and the Order of Preachers was approved in 1216.

The formation of the brethren

Dominic was always concerned about the happy job of preaching the Good News for the salvation of souls. Instead of busying himself with writing a Rule for his Order, Dominic and his brothers accepted one of the Church's existing rules for religious — the Rule of St. Augustine, the famous Doctor of the Church from north Africa. Without a moment to spare, Dominic, the man of faith, the preacher, organizer, and dreamer, got down to work. Upon returning to his small community in Toulouse he shocked them with the news that they would not be staying together but that, few as they were, they would be immediately dispersed —or sent out— to the great university cities for their training. So in 1217 brothers were scattered to form many new communities, one of them the University of Paris.

Study of sacred truth

One of the marked characteristics of Dominic and his followers was the importance they placed on study. Dominic always carried with him the Gospel of Matthew and the letters of St. Paul, which he read assiduously — even while trekking between towns and villages as he preached. Dominic realized that to be good preachers his brothers needed well-trained in addition to possessing a lively faith. A Dominican house (called a convent or priory) was known to be a place of study. But the Dominicans were not to be cold academics; their study was always to feed and enlighten their faith so that through their preaching others would be brought to Christ.

Community life and prayer

The "brothers preachers," or friars, as the Dominicans were known, lived a particular kind of apostolic life which clearly bore the stamp of Dominic's charism. In each house of the Order the brothers would live together, inspired by the original community of apostles in Jerusalem. All goods would be shared in common as allowed by their vows of poverty. Some of the members were priests, others were brothers — regardless, all were brothers equal to one another. The superior of the house, called the prior (literally, "first among equals") was elected by the members of each house. Right from the beginning the Dominican Order was unusually democratic in its constitution. Every Dominican priory was a house of prayer where the brothers would gather at appointed times during the day for common prayer and the Eucharist. But the internal life of the house never interfered with the "job" of the Order, preaching. The work of the community, its apostolate of preaching, was meant to constitute the life of the brothers and the community. This is the meaning of apostolic life to the Dominicans.

Dominic's last years

Dominic had only six years from the official foundation of the Order until his death in 1221. But during that time he was busy as a religious superior and itinerant preacher. In 1220 the first Chapter meeting of all the brothers was called in Bologna in Italy; there Dominic asked to be relieved of his position as Master of the Order but the brothers refused to accept his resignation. The Order was growing rapidly, no doubt helped along by the sanctity of its founder and the high calibre of men (including outstanding university professors) joining it. By the time of Dominic's death there were 25 houses of the Order in Europe alone.

Fittingly, Dominic spent the last six weeks of preaching intensely throughout Lombardy in France. When he returned to Bologna in Italy he was weak with fever. He died a few days later on the Feast of the Transfiguration, August 6, 1221. Jordan of Saxony, his successor as Master of the Order, said of Dominic:

He easily made his way into the hearts of everyone, almost as soon as they saw him. Wherever he was, whether travelling with his companions or in someone's home with their family, or in the company of princes or prelates or other important people, he always abounded with inspiring words, overflowing with instructive anecdotes, by which the minds of his hearers would be turned to the love of Christ and disdain for worldly success. Wherever he was, he showed himself, in word and deed, to be a man of the Gospel. During the day, there was nobody more companionable cheerful, than he. But during the night there was nobody more dedicated to vigils and prayer.

Dominic's final wish was that he be buried under the chapel floor in Bologna. Although Dominic spent himself entirely for the Gospel, never wanting to attract attention to himself, the attention of the Church was certainly drawn to him. In 1234 he was canonized a saint in the Church by Pope Gregory IX.

Just as Dominic was buried under the feet of his brothers in death, so too has he been "buried" over the centuries under the great works of the Order he founded. St. Dominic himself would have wanted it that way.

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Lord,
Let the holiness and teaching of Saint Dominic
come to the aid of your Church.
May he help us now with his prayers
as he once inspired people by his preaching.

(Prayer at Mass for the Feast of St. Dominic, August 8)