Novena to St Dominic 2024 - Day 8
Published by Dominican Nuns Ireland in Reflections (Dominican) · 7 August 2024
Tags: st, dominic, novena, to, st, dominic, feast, day, patron
Tags: st, dominic, novena, to, st, dominic, feast, day, patron
Novena to St Dominic - Day Eight
Novena Prayer
O wonderful hope,
which you gave to those who wept for you at the hour of your death,
promising that after your decease you would be helpful to your brethren;
fulfill, Father, what you have said and help us by your prayers.
which you gave to those who wept for you at the hour of your death,
promising that after your decease you would be helpful to your brethren;
fulfill, Father, what you have said and help us by your prayers.
V/: You shone on the bodies of the sick by so many miracles;
bring us the help of Christ to heal our sick souls.
bring us the help of Christ to heal our sick souls.
R/: Fulfill, Father, what you have said and help us by your prayers.
V/: Blessed Father Dominic, pray for us.
R/: That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
Reflection
A Contemplative Life
7th of August
An extract from the letter of Father Timothy Radcliffe, O.P. 'A Letter to the Order: A City set on a hilltop cannot be hidden - A Contemplative Life'
The Search for Truth
"You are nuns of the Order that has Veritas as its motto. Dominicans have always been known for our passion for study. It is tempting to think that it is the brethren who study and the nuns who pray. This is to misunderstand the nature of our commitment to the Truth. It is a way of being in the world truthfully. Each of us is called to this, regardless of whether we have a gift for academic study or not.
Veritas summons us to be men and women who live truthfully, speak truthfully and listen attentively. Often communication can become deformed – innuendo, allusion, and suspicion may muddy the clarity of our conversations. Fear or a lack of trust may make us resort to hints and winks. It belongs to our Dominican life that we dare to speak truthfully, with discretion and sensitivity and respect. This has nothing to do with being a scholar. It is seeking to live with the clarity of Dominic. “He who does what is true comes to the light, that it may be clearly seen that his deeds have been wrought in God.” (Jn 3:21). Seeing clearly means seeing what is central and essential and not being distracted by details.
Father Simon Tugwell, O.P. wrote that “it is, in fact, most typical of Dominican spirituality to view God, not primarily as the object of our attention, but rather as the essential subject, with whom we are united as co-subjects, co-operators with Him (ICor 3:9) in His work of redemption. That is to say that, as God’s friends, we do not so much look at God as with Him. We are invited to see the world through God’s eyes, and that is to see its goodness. To see with God’s eyes is to share his pleasure in all that God has made, including our brothers and sisters! Seeing with God we come to share God’s love. If we learn that truthful way of being in the world, then we can face anything with joy: our failures, our mortality, the true state of the monastery, our fears and hopes. We can be joyful even in the dark."
(Artwork: St Dominic, Detail from 'The Mocking of Christ' by Fra Angelico, Convent of San Marco, Florence, Italy)
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