St. Dominic: A Christlike man - Novena to St Dominic Day 2
The more I immerse myself into the Dominican way of life and grow in knowledge (be it still at an elementary level) of the Order of Preachers, I can’t help but see striking similarities
between our Lord Jesus Christ and our holy founder, St. Dominic. Indeed, as William A. Hinnebusch O.P states in his book, Dominican Spirituality (1965); “Everything positive in the Order’s spiritual life traces back to Dominic, just as everything positive in the church traces back to Christ.” And what, you may ask are some of these positive similarities? There are so many, as you know, but I wish to outline just a few.
Firstly, St. Dominic possessed a most sincere and compassionate concern for the salvation of all mankind. So great was his compassion that as Blessed Jordan of Saxony states in paragraph 13 of the Libellus; “…he could spend himself utterly with all his strength in the winning of souls, just as the Lord Jesus Christ, the saviour of us all, gave himself up entirely for our
salvation”. This giving of himself entirely was most evident in Dominic’s long, nightly vigils in prayer, the fruit of which gave our holy father an immense apostolic zeal, together with his first friars,
to preach the gospel to poor souls for whom he shed innumerable pious tears. Undoubtedly, this intense prayer life which overflowed with compassion for sinners was modelled after Christ, who Himself “spent
the whole night praying to God” (Luke 6:12) and “called His disciples to Himself and chose twelve of them whom He named disciples” (Lk 5:13). Hence, as “ the church is Christ’s
instrument” (ccc 776) for the salvation of all, St. Dominic and his order partakes in this great salvific symphony by the preaching of the gospel and its’ truth.
Secondly, Jesus had a great love and regard for women in His earthly ministry. Not only for His beloved mother but also for the “women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities…who
provided for Him out of their means” (Lk 8:2,3). So too did St. Dominic have a tender love and concern for women, specifically for the first nuns of the order who were mostly made up of converted women
whom he had healed of the evil spirit of the Albigensian heresy. In return, the nuns provided for the first friar preachers by means of their many prayers and penances, a complimentary collaboration that still very much
exists in the order today.
Finally, as Our Lord and saviour, Jesus Christ hung on the cross, out of his His all-encompassing love and thirst for our salvation, he gave to the church the gift of His beloved Mother. Out of a similar
love and concern for the salvation of all, St. Dominic gave, through Our Lady, the most holy rosary, not only to his sons and daughters of the order but for all Christians who wish to draw closer to Christ through the loving
guidance and intercession of Mary, our mother.
In conclusion, St. Dominic was a wholly and truly Christ like man. His likeness to Christ can not only be seen from his saintly life of prayer and preaching but also from the fruitfulness of his vibrant
and unified religious order that we see today. Just as Christ continues to intercede for the church today and promises to be with us always (Matthew 28:20), so too does our holy father, Dominic intercede and
promises to remain with his sons and daughters, a promise that is recalled in each O Spem Miram.
0
reviews