Jesus, Our Brother,
You emptied yourself to be open to the fullness of life and love. Show us the way to empty ourselves in prayer so as to be full of your presence.
Open us to the wonders of all creation that in our study we may ponder your incarnate Word.
Give us the strength
and patience to be vulnerable enough to live our common life in mutuality, service of the Gospel and love in your name.
Give us the passion for your people that sends us forth in mission so your holy preaching may continue to those most in need of the Good News. Amen.
More on the Dominican Way of Life or Charism:
the deep search
To Praise, To Bless, To Preach - the integration of all aspects of our life.
Common Life - our life in community with God, self, others and the earth.
Mission - our life in community with God, self, others and the earth.
+ Pillars of Dominican Life +
+ Prayer + Study +
+ Common Life + Mission+
+ Pillars of Dominican Life +
www.catholicdominicansisters.org
Sponsored by the Vocation Ministers of the Northeast Dominican 6 Congregations
Mission
Prayer, study, and the common life give us the confidence and direction necessary to be sent forth in mission. No one is given the gift of God’s presence for themselves alone.
Dominicans are impelled to the mission of the holy preaching in many forms: teaching, nursing, administration, retreat work, pastoral ministry, social work, parish outreach, advocacy, earth centered ministries as well as pulpit preaching. The preaching is most profoundly who we are as persons and who we become.
Prayer
At the heart of Dominican Life is prayer. While we are called “to share the fruits of our contemplation” private prayer has traditionally found its counterpart in common prayer, especially the Liturgy of the Hours and Eucharist. It is from our prayer that all life and ministry flows.
Dominican spirituality recognizes that each person is unique and has a special relationship with God. Shaped by our own personality and giftedness. Meditation and contemplation will take different forms for each person.
The Dominican Life at its foundation is based upon what we call the four pillars of Dominican Life: Prayer, Study, Common Life and Mission. These fundamentals are key to understanding the Dominican Charism and Spirituality.
.Study
Dominic said, “Always study!” The one thing that is never looked upon as a luxury are the books of a Dominican. They are tools for the holy preaching.
Dominicans believe that God’s revelation takes place in all of life. To study is to find God. Dominicans especially study the Word of God. Dominic always allowed his followers the principle of dispensation so that the practices of the Order would never get in the way of study for the preaching. Common study was fostered from the beginning of the Order.
Initially common study took the form of the readings at table. Today media and technology make study possible through the web, video and dvd. We also take time to allow the earth to teach us our place on this planet
Common Life
We do not learn to walk alone, we do not learn to pray alone, we cannot fully know the mystery of God in isolation. We need each other. The Common Life challenges us with interdependence and diversity. The common life opens us up to others and calls us to grapple with differences. From the beginning in 1206, Dominican life has not been about uniformity but a celebration of unity in diversity. Today that continues in the Dominican family of sisters, friars, nuns, laity, associates, and Dominican volunteers. It raises the question -- what is the common good?
In our living the vowed life in obedience to God’s call, voluntary poverty, and consecrated celibacy we are opened to new ways of loving. Associate and lay members open us further in their sharing of the charism.
What can these pillars
teach the world?
We can do more together than we can alone. God’s unique presence in each person is gift for all to be recognized, celebrated, fostered, and cherished. We share this planet. We raise the question: What is the Common Good? Our struggles to live a common life, recognize unity in diversity, and live with a lighter touch on the planet’s resources may begin to show the way for a future full of hope.
The Order of Preachers sharing the Gospel for over 800 years.
