Category: Four Pillars Page 1 of 3

The Four Pillars of Dominican Spirituality are Prayer, Study, Community, Preaching. It is the special challenge and privilege of Lay Dominicans to Harmonize these four pillars into our daily life.

The Nativity Narrative of Luke

By Mr. Michael Morris, OP

On 2022-12-22

In Advent, preaching, Reflections

Johannes Tauler OP describes the Nativity as a kind of three births. A trinity that, for Tauler, symbolically reflects the Divine Trinity and finds expression in each individual person who makes herself available to the interior movements of the Holy Spirit. The first is the paternal birth, of God begetting His only Son “within the Divine essence.” The second birth is of Maternal fruitfulness and purity. The third is “effected when God is born within a just soul every day and every hour truly and spiritually, by grace and out of love.” These “three births,” captured within the nativity, bestow upon mankind:

A paternal outpouring of love that holds nothing back. As Tauler poetically describes in his Christmas sermon, “And so He turns inward, comprehending Himself, and He flows outward in the generation of His Image (that is His Son), which He has known and comprehended. And again, He returns to Himself in perfect self-delight. And this delight streams forth as ineffable love, and that ineffable love is the Holy Spirit. Thus, God turns inward, goes outward, and returns to Himself again.”
The maternal reflection and interiorization of the Father’s Grace. This manifestation finds perfection in the soul of Mary, as Augustine describes; “Mary was more blessed because God was born spiritually in her soul than because He was born from her in the flesh.” Her soul was virginal and pure, and this is the state that may bring about God’s birth within each of our souls. It is a purity concerned primarily with internal movement, bearing within itself invisible fruit—this is the construction of the tabernacle of the Holy Spirit within one’s heart.
Finally, the Nativity, delivered in the silence of our being, where in our humility we make the room necessary to receive our guest, purifies the three faculties of our spirit, as Tauler explains, “memory, understanding, and free will. With their aid the soul is able to grasp God and to partake of Him.” In this process the soul is cleansing itself of the temporal things that the fall of Adam has inclined in our hearts to pursue. This is a necessary reversal, and it is one that Augustine implores in us to, “Pour out that you may be filled to go out of yourself, so that you may enter.” As Tauler asks, “does God leave anything empty, so contrary is this to His nature and to His ordinance.”

As an historical event, the Nativity arose from the Thundering Silence of a humble manger in Bethlehem. An event that, in time and space, midwifed more than a decade of peace. As Saint Bede the Venerable demonstrates from Luke 2:1, “But there could be no greater sign of peace than for the whole world to be brought together under one taxing, while its ruler Augustus reigned with so great peace for twelve years, about the time of our Lord’s nativity, that war having been quelled throughout the whole world, there seemed to be a literal fulfillment of the Prophet’s prediction, They shall beat their swords into ploughshares.” May the silence in which the Logos was made flesh penetrate our hearts, planting itself in the fertile soil of our souls, and may it usher in an era of peace so eloquently described by the prophet Isaiah:

He shall judge between the nations, and set terms for many peoples. They shall beat their swords into ploughshares and their spears into pruning hooks; One nation shall not raise the sword against another, nor shall they train for war again.

(Isaiah 2:4)

The Scourging At The Pillar

By Mr. Mark Connolly, OP

On 2022-03-16

In Lent, Reflections, study

Lent Reflection – Part 3 of 6

BY: Mr. Mark Connolly, OP

Some short observations to start off this reflection. The Joyful Mysteries span approximately 12 years of Jesus’ life. The Luminous Mysteries approximately 3 years. The Glorious about 90 days.

The Sorrowful less than 24 hours.

I got to thinking about this when I was reading the Gospel accounts of the scourging. Here they are:

Then he released for them Barab’bas, and having scourged Jesus, delivered him to be crucified.
Mt 27:26

So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released for them Barab’bas, and having scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified.
Mk 15:15

Then Pilate took Jesus and scourged him.
Jn 19:1

The account from Luke does not say Pilot had Jesus scourged. Rather it describes him telling the Jewish authorities (twice) that he finds no wrongdoing and that he would have him flogged (or chastised), and then released.

So, I got to thinking about the compressed nature of the Sorrowful Mysteries, and the very minimal mentions of scourging. Why is it that this seeming afterthought in the account of the Passion of Our Lord is one of the Sorrowful Mysteries? I also wondered whether there was a difference between scourging and “chastising” or “flogging”.

Now, there are a lot of things to read about the scourging from sources outside the Bible, including whether or not it was a common practice, technical details as to how it was done, why it was done, etc. But, I did not want to understand why it was done, or how it was done. I wanted to understand, what is the mystery here; what am I supposed to learn and try to understand?

But, I realized that the how and the why are clues. That I would need to study the how and the why as a means to the end of understanding the mystery in this Mystery.

Some things I learned along the way. It is not explicitly stated how many lashes Jesus received. While many refer to Paul’s account in 2 Cor 11:24 of himself receiving “40 lashes less one”, we cannot rely on this. According to Dt 25:1-3, the maximum number stripes that can be given is 40. In order to ensure they did not exceed 40, they typically stopped at 39. An important point to hold in mind is that the 40 lashes were not a prelude to execution. They were a punishment that intentionally spared the life of the person being punished.

But, Jesus was not given lashes by the Jews. The Romans scourged him.

Scourging is to be distinguished from whipping. The scourge would have balls made of lead and bits of bone designed to both bruise and tear flesh down to the bone. In short, it was a savage beating designed to inflict pain and weaken through blood loss. Scourging was the beginning of an execution. People being punished for less than capital crimes were whipped with leather whips or caned with rods; they were not scourged.

Jesus was given the Roman treatment reserved for the very worst criminals. Worthy of note is the fact that Roman citizens could not be scourged. In other words, even a Roman citizen sentenced to death would be spared the humiliation and degradation of scourging.

Jesus was sentenced to death under Roman law, for the crime of insurrection. Crucifixion was used to degrade the criminal, and was a hideous public spectacle designed to deter future enemies of the state.

It is good here to recall some biblical verses:

Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them; ⁹and he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.”
MT 4:8-9

Note, Jesus did not counter that the kingdoms of the world were not Satan’s to give. As prince (ruler) of this world, they were Satan’s to give. Otherwise this temptation would not really be a temptation.

I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has no power over me;
Jn 14:30

Now is the judgment of this world, now shall the ruler of this world be cast out;
Jn 12:31

A question: Are we citizens of this world, loyal to the prince of this world?

So, what is the mystery in the Mystery of The Scourging At The Pillar?

Understand three things, and then ponder. First, scourging and crucifixion go together, it is a package deal. Second, this sentence of death was imposed on Christ as a non-citizen enemy of the state. This execution is specifically designed to deter people from following Christ. Third, when Christ says, “If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me,” (Lk 9:23) understand that he is inviting us to insurrection against the devil.

Ask, “Am I a citizen of the State and loyal to the prince of this world?”

The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting; it has been found difficult and left untried.
GK Chesterton

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Next: The Crowning With Thorns

Invitation to Pray for Peace from fr. Gerard

By Mr. Mark Connolly, OP

On 2022-03-06

In community, Lent, prayer

Dear brothers and sisters:

As we begin the great season of Lent, the Master of the Order, fr. Gerard Timoner, OP, has issued a Lenten message asking us to continue to offer our prayer, fasting, and almsgiving for peace where there is war, unrest, and persecution, particularly for Ukraine, and to remember that we are part of a global Dominican Family. He also invites us to pray the Litany of Dominican Saints at least once a week until the First Week of Easter.

– Click here to read the Master’s letter
– Click here to view the Litany of Dominican Saints and Blesseds in English (or Latin)

In addition, the Polish Dominican friars are working to provide assistance to Ukrainian friars and refugees. If you’d like to donate, you can donate funds through the Western Dominican Province, who will then transfer the funds to the Polish Dominican Province. You can help by clicking here: https://opwest.org/ukraine

Grace to you and Peace,
– Mr. Alan Phipps, OP
– Lay Provincial Secretary, Province of St. Martin de Porres

Lenten Reflection – 2022

By Mr. Mark Connolly, OP

On 2022-02-28

In Lent, Reflections, study

A 6 part series

BY: Mr. Mark Connolly, OP

I am writing this on Fat Tuesday. Tomorrow is Ash Wednesday and so I decided to do a personal Lenten reflection by doing a deep dive into the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary. Since Lent is focused on Christ’s Passion, and the Sorrowful Mysteries are about Christ’s Passion, it just seemed to make sense. (Well, actually the Triduum is focused on the Passion and Lent leads into it. So, in preparation for the Triduum…)

I plan on an introduction (this post) and the 5 mysteries as subsequent posts, The Agony in the Garden, The Scourging at the Pillar, The Crowning with Thorns, The Carrying of the Cross, and finally the Death of Our Lord.

Have you ever wondered why the mysteries of the Rosary are called mysteries? What do we think of when we hear the word mystery? Usually, it depends on the context. In a mystery novel, we know that something has happened but the explanation is hidden. The hero/detective, a very observant and rational person, slowly figures out what is hidden through research and careful consideration of clues. In the best mystery novels, the clues are there for us as well as the detective in the novel, and when he or she figures it out, we think, “Ah hah!” and it all makes sense. Mystery solved. The key point is this: We know there is an answer, we know that the mystery can be solved. And, we enjoy the search and discovery. I think in the most successful mysteries, we figure it out at the same time as the protagonist, and when all the pieces fit together we feel satisfied and think, “That was a good mystery.”

When we think of mystery in the context of religion, we generally have a different experience. We hear or read something that we don’t understand, and when we ask about it, all too often we are told, “Well, it’s a mystery.” By this is meant, “I don’t know either, we can’t figure it out, we shouldn’t try to figure it out, so just accept it on faith.”

But, isn’t this dissatisfying? Why can’t we get answers to our religious questions? Why can’t they be solved? Are we really supposed to just turn off our brains and accept things on faith? This seems dangerous to me, but mostly it just seems wrong. If there is Truth with a capital T, shouldn’t we strive for understanding?

Now, don’t get me wrong, there is a hiddenness to reality. Let’s face it. Reality is mysterious. We probe reality—this is a defining human characteristic, and this is what drives all discovery—the desire to know, and equally, to understand.

And what do we want to know, what do we want to understand? While our minds and hearts are young, the answer to that question is “Everything.” But as we get older, we begin to suspect something troubling, something maybe even a bit scary.

Reality is too big.

Some are defeated by the fact that all of reality is beyond their grasp and stop questing. Losing their child-like wonder at the world, they live with a vague sense of loss and a certain weariness. Jaded and cynical, they dissipate themselves with idle diversions and ask, “What is the point?”

So, what is the point?

The point is just this: There is a point.

While we will never have complete grasp of the mystery that is life, we can always know and understand more. We can read the mystery book of life, and begin to see the clues. Rather, we can intentionally participate in this mystery. And while we may not figure it all out until the end of the story, we can always know more tomorrow than we do today.

Some recognize that this desire to know everything is simply the desire to know God. They understand that while reality is what we must work with, reality isn’t the goal.

Reality is the clue.

Mystery is the subject of knowledge. Mystery, the kind of religious mystery that we are talking about here, is not so different from that of a mystery novel. The clues are there, they need to be studied. Rather, they need to be lived. For in this particular mystery, we are not reading about characters. We are the characters.

As is always the case with mystery, the fact of mystery is the first clue. What do I mean by that? Oddly, mystery is in some ways self-revealing. It announces its presence, it says,

We will never be aware of all the mysteries, we will never see all the clues, but that’s OK. We can work with the clues we have, the ones we see in a sunset and find in the spring thaw, and the ones we have been given through Revelation. We can pursue these clues, study them, and hope to have those “Aha!” moments when we suddenly understand some piece of the grand and glorious Mystery of our lives. And what is this mystery? It is the Mystery of who we are in relation to God—it is the Mystery of Salvation. And it is this Mystery that is the subject of the Rosary.

The Rosary offers several mysteries for our consideration. Think of them as clues, insights into Revelation, insights into reality. Traditionally there have been 15 mysteries, three sets of five, known as the Joyful, Sorrowful and Glorious mysteries. These mysteries date back at least 400 years. In brief, they in turn focus our attention on the Incarnation, the Passion, and The Resurrection of our Lord. In 2002, Pope St. John Paul II offered a fourth set, the Luminous mysteries. These mysteries focus on Christ’s public ministry, aka the Gospel.

Succinctly, these four sets of mysteries offer us opportunities for meditations and contemplations on the birth of Christ, the life of Christ, the death of Christ and the resurrection of Christ. As Jesus is God made Man, they also offer us an opportunity to reflect on our own birth, our own life, our own death and our own resurrection. And in solidarity with our fellow man, we can enter into the births, lives, deaths, and yes, the resurrections of our family and friends. One more thought on mystery and knowledge: there is no theoretical limit to how much we can know. And, if to know someone is to love someone, then there is no theoretical limit to how much we can love God. Yet the question remains, “How can we know God?” The answer is obvious when you understand it—we can know God because he has revealed Himself to us.

He has revealed Himself to us.

Join me, if you will, and over the next 5 weeks we will dig into the Passion of Our Lord, beginning with next week’s post: The Agony In The Garden.

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As Dominicans we contemplate and bring the fruits of our contemplation to those we know. I don’t know about you, but my contemplation is helped by the thoughts of others. Please share your thoughts in the Comments.

To Praise, To Bless, To Preach

By Mr. Mark Connolly, OP

On 2022-02-24

In Books, Four Pillars, Lay Dominican, spirituality

Dominican Life is Liturgical (First and Foremost!)

By Mr. Pedro A. Moreno, O.P.

This is Part 4 of a Series on what it means to be a Lay Dominican. Part 3 is here.

Dominican Spirituality: Principles and Practice by Fr. William A. Hinnebusch, O.P., chapter V, Dominican Life is Liturgical, begins with these words:

“We have examined the ends of the Order — contemplation and the apostolate, the first fructifying in the second. These are the noble goals that the Order sets before the Dominican. However, it is not enough to have marvelous ideals. It is necessary to have suitable means to achieve them.”

He reminds us that:

Contemplation and Apostolate are the ends of the Order.
Liturgy can lead us to contemplation, and is distinct from it.
Liturgy is a prerequisite to our apostolate of preaching because it feeds our ministry with life.
Liturgy, how we Praise and Bless God, is our most important, foundational and essential act.

This chapter presents Liturgy as the means to achieve the ends of the Order, contemplata aliis tradere. It presents us with basic principles on the liturgy in Dominican Life that will always stand the test of time and councils.

Vatican II’s Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, Sacrosanctum Concilium, written before the final 1965 adaption of Fr. Hinnebusch’s 1962 Lenten Conferences to the Dominican Sisters in Amityville, NY, states in paragraph 10 something similar for the whole church:

“… the liturgy is the summit toward which the activity of the Church is directed; at the same time it is the font from which all her power flows. For the aim and object of apostolic works is that all who are made sons of God by faith and baptism should come together to praise God in the midst of His Church, to take part in the sacrifice, and to eat the Lord’s supper… the renewal in the Eucharist of the covenant between the Lord and man draws the faithful into the compelling love of Christ and sets them on fire. From the liturgy, therefore, and especially from the Eucharist, as from a font, grace is poured forth upon us; and the sanctification of men in Christ and the glorification of God, to which all other activities of the Church are directed as toward their end, is achieved in the most efficacious possible way.”

Liturgy, primarily the celebration of the Eucharist, and then the praying of the Divine Office or Liturgy of the Hours, is how we, on a regular basis, worship. It is how we give God his just due and affirm the primacy of God in our lives.

God’s love for us and our love for Him, through the re-presentation of the Paschal Mystery, is ritualized, proclaimed and celebrated. Liturgy is our reaffirmation, and personal reminder, that God is the most important, and most loved, being in our lives.

He’s #1, and we are totally dependent on Him. Liturgy is our communal thanksgiving of being saved by the God that loves us more than we can ever understand. Liturgy is life and this life is not optional!

The primacy of God in the life of every member of the Dominican Family is a principle reaffirmed by St. John Paul II in a letter he wrote to the Order back in March of 1983,

“The Church continues to propose these principles as the foundations of Christian wisdom and as the axis of apostolate… The first of these principles is that which affirms the absolute primacy of God in the intelligence, in the heart, in the life of man. You know well how Saint Dominic responded to this requirement of faith in his religious life: “He spoke only with God or of God.” You also know how, on the level of doctrine, Saint Thomas Aquinas, beginning with the Sacred Scriptures and the Fathers of the Church, envisioned this primacy of God and how he supported it with the force and consistency of his metaphysical and theological thought, using the analogy of being which permits the recognition of the worth of the creature, but as dependent on the creative love of God.”

Liturgy is receiving the oxygen we need to be able to speak the Word! Liturgy is communing with Veritas so as to be able to share Veritas with others. Liturgy is when we Praise and Bless so we are then able to Preach. Liturgy is our community’s lifeblood. Liturgy is what keeps the Dominican Family united as one with Christ first and then, through Christ, unity with each other.

In a paragraph dedicated to all Lay Dominicans Fr Hinnebusch states…

“Tertiaries follow a rule which, in accord with their life in the world, parallels that of the fathers and sisters. They promise to live according to the Order’s spirit, attend Mass every day, if possible, and recite either the Office of the Blessed Mother or the fifteen mysteries of the rosary. They hold their monthly chapter meeting and endeavor to achieve a deeper understanding of the truths of the faith. In all branches of the Dominican family the same goals are pursued, fundamentally the same means are employed, and the same spirit is engendered and maintained. In this chapter we shall discuss only the prayer life of the Dominican.”

What follows in the chapter are clear recommendations for those living a conventual life. References are made to the vowed life, leaving the cloister and how the liturgy is a key part of life in these houses. Recommendations that are clearly not with the Lay Dominican in mind. Here is an example that clearly does not apply in my home:

“… an atmosphere of prayer in its houses, enjoining silence as the essential environment in which Dominicans shall lead their lives.”

It is clear that the late Fr. Hinnebusch never visited my house between 1990 and 2010 when my three daughters were teenagers! This reminds me of a favorite family meme, “We’re not loud, We’re Puertorrican!”. Silence in our house back then meant that we were either traveling, or, it was 3:00AM and we are finally all asleep.

As a Lay Dominican it is my responsibility to find or create moments and places for my personal prayer. While never equaling the silence of conventual life spaces for prayer are available if you take the time to look around. I sometimes lock myself in the bedroom, or even the bathroom. (Thank God we have more than one!) After finding a place I then, if possible, set up some classical or instrumental music, open a Bible or the Liturgy of the Hours and spend some quality time with the Lord.

Sometimes I just stay in the car, or just stay at the office, after 5:00PM when everything calms down a bit. If I didn’t get to Mass yet then I would search for an evening Mass or an opportunity for quiet adoration. All of this is essential for the preaching life. We all need to Praise, Bless and then, after some serious study, Preach.

Regarding the Divine Office, a.k.a. the Liturgy of the Hours, it is more common for today’s laity to participate in this liturgical prayer. Here is a quote from Laudis Canticum, the Apostolic Constitution promulgating the revised book of the Liturgy of the Hours, from 1970:

“The Office has been drawn up and arranged in such a way that not only clergy but also religious and indeed laity may participate in it, since it is the prayer of the whole people of God. People of different callings and circumstances, with their individual needs, were kept in mind and a variety of ways of celebrating the office has been provided, by means of which the prayer can be adapted to suit the way of life and vocation of different groups dedicated to the Liturgy of the Hours.”

Chapter V once again speaks specifically to Lay Dominicans, or Tertiaries, and they are mentioned in reference to the “Little Office”:

“The spirituality of Dominican sisters and tertiaries, shared with a priestly and apostolic Order, is also liturgical. The little Office of the Blessed Mother which they recite fashions and molds them in the spirit of Mary, teaching them how to do everything in her, through her, by her, and for her. They contemplate the Mother of God, who, “kept in mind all these things, pondering them in her heart” (Luke, 2:19). They love souls because Mary, the mother of souls, loves then. They are anxious to save souls because she, the Mother of the Savior, wants to save them.”

The “Little Office of the Blessed Mother” also known as “Hours of the Virgin”, is a simplified version of Liturgy of the Hours and has a cycle of psalms, hymns, scripture and other readings highlighting and promoting the devotion to our Blessed Mother.

I thank Fr. Hinnebusch for the examples of saints and their prayer lives, beginning with St. Dominic. He ends that section with a clear warning:

“If a Dominican is not devoted to prayer and praise, he cannot contemplate; he cannot even hope to contemplate. Without prayer, he will never penetrate the truths of faith. Speaking of Our Lord’s mysteries, St. Thomas writes:
If anyone would diligently and piously consider the mysteries of the Incarnation, he would find such a profundity of wisdom that it would exceed all human knowledge… the wonderful meaning of this mystery is manifested more and more to him who piously ponders it.”

To contemplate, piously ponder or lovingly gaze, is a special supernatural grace given freely by God to many of those that Praise and Bless so they may Preach. No liturgy means no true contemplation and no contemplation means no preaching that is consonant to our call. May God grant us the gift of perseverance in our prayer life, both liturgical and private.

The last section in chapter V is a reflection on, The Prayer of the Dominican Family. It begins with these words:

“As the Church is a family, the Mystical Body of Christ, so also the Order of Preachers is a mystical family. Its members, numbered in thousands, are joined to their holy father, St. Dominic, and to one another by the bonds of profession. By birth men are related to their parents, brothers, and sisters by ties of blood. Religious profession joins the Dominican in a spiritual relationship with his Founder and all his children on earth, in purgatory, and in heaven. This union is closer than the bond of blood linking earthly parents and children because it is supernatural.”

Paragraph 3 of The Rule of the Lay Fraternities of Saint Dominic reminds us that all Lay Dominicans are united in communities and constitute, with other groups of the Order, one Family. And, as Father Patrick Peyton use to say, “The Family that prays together, stays together.”.

I end with a slight variation on the ending of chapter V.

When the Dominican Family prays, we all benefit. Our prayers make us fervent, intimate friends of God. We also help the other members of the Dominican Family, and all their neighbors everywhere. Prayerful Dominican save more souls by prayer and contemplation than by words and action. When we participate at Mass or pray the Liturgy of the Hours, St. Dominic stands in spirit with us as he did 800 years ago in Bologna. He encourages us to put our whole heart into it. When we listen to him, we place our prayers in his hands. In turn, he bows toward the Holy Trinity, offering the combined homage and adoration of the entire mystical body of the Dominican Family.

Thank you Fr. William A. Hinnebusch, O.P., for this book that stills gives fruit after almost 60 years.

VERITAS

Next up: Dominican Life is Doctrinal

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I thought it might be interesting for everyone to understand the concept of liturgy from a practical mundane standpoint. I found this definition of the word separated from the usual religious trappings; I think it applies to us as Lay Dominicans and is something to keep in mind when we engage in public worship:

In ancient Greece, particularly at Athens, a form of personal service to the state which citizens possessing property to a certain amount were bound, when called upon, to perform at their own cost. These liturgies were ordinary, including the presentation of dramatic performances, musical and poetic contests, etc., the celebration of some festivals, and other public functions entailing expense upon the incumbent; or extraordinary, as the fitting out of a trireme in case of war. [Century Dictionary]

Liturgy is a form of personal service. _{(Mr. Mark Connolly, OP)}

Dominican Life is Apostolic

By Mr. Patrick Norton, OP

On 2022-02-18

In Books, Lay Dominican, preaching, spirituality

This is Part 3 of a series. Part 2 is HERE

Dominican Spirituality can be summarized into prayer, study, community, and the apostolate (aka preaching) which we call the four pillars. Debra explored with you in the previous article how the Dominican Life is Contemplative which is located in the Prayer pillar. In this article, we’re going to explore the Apostolate pillar through the chapter called “Dominican Life is Apostolic” in the book “Dominican Spirituality, Principles and Practice” by Fr. William A. Hinnebusch, O.P.. Here we are presented with some of the most straightforward yet perplexing elements of Dominican life.

Before we get too far, it is important that we discuss what is “apostolic.” The root word of “apostolic” is the Greek verb for “to send.” Those that are sent are apostles. Since Jesus was sent into the world first and by the Father, Jesus is the prime and prototypical apostle. Just as He was sent, He sends the disciples into the world, John 17:18, making them apostles. By our baptism and confirmation we are called to participate in Christ and in His mission. Fr. Jordan Aumann, O.P. speaks of sanctification in this way:

The measure of the perfection or holiness of the spiritual life is the degree of participation by the individual Christian in the sanctity and perfection of God.
OP Fr. Jordan Aumann, Spiritual Theology, n.d.

When most people think of religious orders they usually think of “monks,” who are sequestered off in their monasteries living a private and an interior life seeking holiness, and “friars,” who are out on the streets living a life with the people and an exterior life serving others. As the conversation continues we end up discussing examples like Benedictine monks and Franciscan friars each with their own participation in Christ’s life. This always makes me chuckle when I am explaining that I am a permanently professed member of a religious order because I am clearly neither of these, and yet I am called to both of these activities.

Mark, in a previous article, references a quote from Dominican Spirituality that I really enjoy. Let me paraphrase it, a person can be saved outside of the Order of Preachers but once they enter the Order they must save their soul through the spirituality of the Order. The spirituality of the Order follows in the spirituality of its founder, Dominic, who was a cloistered monk then later sent into the world. Like Christ, Dominic sent his brothers into the world. The Rule for Lay Dominicans, which we promise to follow and live by, aligns us to the Order’s mission by stating as “Members of the Order, [the Dominican Laity] share in it’s apostolic mission through prayer, study, and preaching according to the state of the laity.” This is followed by three more paragraphs describing the apostolic mission where the Order describes how our apostolic activity has its source in contemplation, attending to the particular goals of the contemporary Church, and how we are to be attentive to the needs of the people of their time.

Hinnebusch takes this theme and starts off the chapter on the apostolate by establishing the eschatology of the Order:

The general end of the Dominican Order is the sanctification of its members through contemplation; its special end is the salvation of souls through preaching. These two ends are not contradictory; in fact, they are one. The second implies the first.
The Rule #I.4

This is a really striking statement. It asserts two things about the lay members of the Order; that we practice contemplation and that we serve others through the apostolate. This is for a number of reasons. One of which is that that love which draws the Dominican into such a union with God is the same love that draws him out to encounter others. There is an inseparable link between our sanctity and our apostolic efforts.

There are a number of things that contribute to our sanctity. First, we must want it. We must desire to become holy. Then we need to have a sacramental life, namely that we confess our sins in Confession and reception of the Holy Eucharist. We are also called to a regular prayer life. We join our voices with the rest of the Order of Preachers, other religious orders, Clergy, Lay persons, including the Holy Father by praying the Liturgy of the Hours. We also pray privately through conversation with God and contemplation. Which can be done as simply as by picking up the rosary and praying it. Both the liturgical and the private prayer form a minimum goal. Both have such an important role in our lives that Hinnebusch devoted a chapter to each of these to dive into those areas in more detail with the articles on how a Dominican life is liturgical and contemplative. We should never run out of things to tell our Lord. There is a phrase that we use around the chapter, that we take our studies into our prayer life and then share the fruits from our prayer life with others. As we continue to study and grow in our knowledge of the Truth, we should be taking what we learned to the Holy Trinity then sharing with others the gifts we receive from that exchange.

There is a saying that we preach with the Bible in one hand and the newspaper in the other. Like the prophets of old, we are called to engage with the situations of the times we find ourselves in. This was not new to the Second Vatican Council where church fathers said the following:

[The laity] exercise the apostolate in fact by their activity directed to the evangelization and sanctification of men and to the penetrating and perfecting of the temporal order through the spirit of the Gospel. In this way, their temporal activity openly bears witness to Christ and promotes the salvation of men. Since the laity, in accordance with their state of life, live in the midst of the world and its concerns, they are called by God to exercise their apostolate in the world like leaven, with the ardor of the spirit of Christ.
Catholic Church, “Decree on the Apostolate of the Laity: Apostolicam Actuositatem,” in Vatican II Documents (Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2011), 2.

The “temporal order” phrase refers to the time and place that we are in. We are called to go into the world, the world that we were born into, and seek to perfect it through the Gospel. We are to be God’s agents in the world bringing about change. This is not work that is unique and special to us, the laity. We strive to labor in our homes, families, work places, grocery stores, our social groups, our government offices, etc. It is in these places that we bring about change. Not only speaking out like prophets of old against injustice but actually making change like Jesus did. Some might say that we preach from the everyday pulpits we find ourselves at, yes, and I say that we are to be craftsman laboring in the perfection that which God has set before us. Like the prophets, we were born at a chosen time and place. We have to look around us to see the needs of our times. One of the largest questions faced by Lay Dominicans is what to do in their apostolate. Like our forefathers in the Order, we are called to attend to the particular goals of the contemporary church specifically toward the suffering, defending freedom, and promoting peace and justice. Here we begin to see the first hints of what kind of apostolic activities we are called to. But this should not be a surprise to us just look at what the prophets said and what Jesus did. There is a common activity that people assume we do because we are members of the Order of Preachers that is, well, preaching. The most visible form of preaching is that of the Priests and Deacons during liturgical celebrations. As lay persons, we don’t have the permissions to do that. But we are sent to preach into places where they can’t go like our workplaces, sports teams, families, etc. Our service to those in need and the particular church we abide within starts with praying for the intentions of our Bishop and our Pastor and ends with us clothing the naked, feeding the hungry, and protecting the stranger. There are a lot of opportunities between prayer and Works of Mercy. Could be volunteering at the local homeless shelter or helping at the food pantry. We can not sit around waiting for those opportunities to present themselves like the next netflix episode. Be in the world to seek those opportunities or as craftsmen, we sometimes need to create opportunities to help others. Think of it like building the pulpit that we preach from. As Lay Dominicans we are in the world sharing God’s mercy through our attitudes, words, and actions.

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Next up: Dominican Life is Liturgical

The Season of Waiting

Fr. Jude commented in his homily yesterday that emergency hospital waiting rooms are holy places for many prayers are said there.

It made me quiet inside.

By Mr. Mark Connolly, OP

On 2021-11-29

In prayer

Lay Dominicans, all Dominicans, are like a box of chocolates…

By Mr. Mark Connolly, OP

On 2021-11-04

In Four Pillars, Lay Dominican, spirituality

You never know what you’re going to get!

By Mr. Pedro A. Moreno, O.P.

Since I was asked to contribute an article on Dominican Spirituality, I’ve been praying, studying and reflecting on what to say. I kept coming back to this point: we are all awesomely different.

Many years ago, yes, I’m that old, I heard from a wonderful Dominican friend, Fr. Ralph (RIP), a phrase that has long been around in Dominican circles: “When you’ve seen one Dominican, you’ve seen one Dominican!” The implication is clear: every member of the Dominican family is slightly different.

The same can be applied to our Lay Dominican reality. “When you’ve seen one Lay Dominican, you’ve seen only one Lay Dominican!” We are an awesomely diverse bunch; each living his or her own Dominican spirituality in a slightly diverse way, and that is OK. Each human being’s spirituality will be slightly different, many similarities, but ultimately different. We live in unity but not in uniformity. And once again I reiterate, that is OK.

Fr. Timothy Radcliffe, O.P., past Master of the Order of Preachers, in his Foreword to the book Dominican Spirituality by Erik Borgman, a Dutch Lay Dominican, said the following: “… it is also part of Dominican spirituality to delight in discovering that we do not always agree….”

Fr. Edward Schillebeeckx, O.P., in an article on Dominican spirituality writes: “… When I became a Dominican, I linked my life story with the family story of the Dominicans; as a result, my life story took on a new orientation and I picked up the thread of the story of the Order in my own way. So my own life has become part of the Dominican family story: a chapter in it. Through the story of the Order I have attained my own identity.”

We are one family quilt composed of many threads, each with his or her own identity and each with his or her own variants in the way the Dominican spirituality is lived! Schillebeeckx goes on to say, “A first conclusion already follows from this: a definitive all-round definition of Dominican spirituality cannot be given.”

Dominicans, lay and religious, are a family, and as such, are composed of individual members that do not lose their individuality by becoming part of the family. Every Dominican is different in one way or another just as every member of a family is different while still being part of that family.

In my own family, a major issue is that of alcohol consumption. I can’t hold my liquor, and I am known as a cheap drunk. During my time in the army, I was even known as Private Half Beer! There are a few family stories regarding this issue that I have not shared with anyone else at home. In fact, it scared me to read Dominican Fr. Paul Murray’s book The New Wine of Dominican Spirituality. The metaphor of wine and drunkenness being applied to Dominican spirituality throughout history while being intimidating does make clear how we are all different. I get drunk very easily. Likewise, people will get drunk with the Word of God at varying degrees.

Fr. Hinnebusch, O.P., in the Foreword to his book on Dominican spirituality mentions the need to adapt depending on his audience…

“I have also adapted the material to the needs of a wider reading audience. No longer do I address the sister but the Dominican. While some matter applies specifically to nuns or sisters, the use of masculine nouns and pronouns elsewhere by no means indicates that I am addressing only the members of the First Order. Though the forms and methods of their spiritual life vary to some degree (especially that of the secular tertiary), all Dominicans share the same basic vocation and follow the same spiritual path.”

A never-ending series of adaptations of resources to accommodate the differences among the members of the Dominican family is impossible so all resources on Dominican spirituality should be read and studied with this limitation in mind.

The reality of our diversity, as Lay Dominicans and as Catholics is repeated in church teaching. Here are some examples. First from the Catechism…

2672 The Holy Spirit, whose anointing permeates our whole being, is the interior Master of Christian prayer. He is the artisan of the living tradition of prayer. To be sure, there are as many paths of prayer as there are persons who pray, but it is the same Spirit acting in all and with all. It is in the communion of the Holy Spirit that Christian prayer is prayer in the Church. (695)

Also…

2707 There are as many and varied methods of meditation as there are spiritual masters. Christians owe it to themselves to develop the desire to meditate regularly, lest they come to resemble the three first kinds of soil in the parable of the sower. But a method is only a guide; the important thing is to advance, with the Holy Spirit, along the one way of prayer: Christ Jesus. (2690, 2664)

Even Saint Dominic left us an assortment of praying styles and positions! Variety is the spice of the spiritual life!

Recently, Pope Francis, gifted us with a beautiful Apostolic Exhortation entitled Gaudete Et Exsultate, which translated is “REJOICE AND BE GLAD” a quote from Matthew 5:12. The exhortation’s topic is: On the Call to Holiness in Today’s World. Paragraph 11 of the exhortation has some wonderful words of wisdom that apply to Lay Dominicans, and all of the baptized:

“Each in his or her own way” the Council says. We should not grow discouraged before examples of holiness that appear unattainable. There are some testimonies that may prove helpful and inspiring, but that we are not meant to copy, for that could even lead us astray from the one specific path that the Lord has in mind for us. The important thing is that each believer discerns his or her own path, that they bring out the very best of themselves, the most personal gifts that God has placed in their hearts (cf. 1 Cor 12:7), rather than hopelessly trying to imitate something not meant for them. We are all called to be witnesses, but there are many actual ways of bearing witness. Indeed, when the great mystic, Saint John of the Cross, wrote his Spiritual Canticle, he preferred to avoid hard and fast rules for all. He explained that his verses were composed so that everyone could benefit from them “in his or her own way”. For God’s life is communicated “to some in one way and to others in another”.

This quote begins with key words from the last line of paragraph 11 in Vatican II’s Lumen Gentium: “Fortified by so many and such powerful means of salvation, all the faithful, whatever their condition or state, are called by the Lord, each in his own way, to that perfect holiness whereby the Father Himself is perfect.”

Regarding our spiritual lives, I must emphasize that we are not meant to be clones. Every spiritual life, the spiritual life of every Lay Dominican, or any Dominican, is meant to be lived “each in his or her own way”, and this way is never meant to be a complicated way and we should try and avoid complicating our spiritual paths.

Quoting Saint Thomas Aquinas, Pope Francis emphasizes this point in paragraph 59 of Gaudete Et Exsultate:

“Once we believe that everything depends on human effort as channeled by ecclesial rules and structures, we unconsciously complicate the Gospel and become enslaved to a blueprint that leaves few openings for the working of grace. Saint Thomas Aquinas reminded us that the precepts added to the Gospel by the Church should be imposed with moderation “lest the conduct of the faithful become burdensome”, for then our religion would become a form of servitude.”

Moderation, in my personal view, is uniquely important to Lay Dominican spirituality because Dominican spirituality was born, in part, from a reaction against the Albigensian heresy, Catharism, which was a very extremist attempt to forge a path to God.

So, as we strive to live out our Dominican spirituality as lay men and women, as we recommit ourselves each day to practice of the “Four Pillars of Dominican Life”: Prayer, Study, Community, and Preaching, we live our lives inspired by the example of St. Dominic, which was either “talking to God or talking about God,” each Lay Dominican will give these elements of Veritas (truth) a different flavor.

The distinct flavor of our Lay Dominican spirituality will depend on each person’s state of life. It will rely on factors such as whether this lay person is male or female; single, married or widowed; which ethnic background they come from; what level of education they have obtained, which profession has he or she chosen; what their current health status is; their upbringing; and many other variants. All of these will have a direct effect on one’s spirituality, their personal response to God, and their style of preaching.

Fr. Benedict M. Ashley, O.P., mentions, at the end of his book The Dominicans, the following idea regarding our obligation to preach as Lay Dominicans:

“… Dominican Laity share in this same obligation but they, in particular, need today to rethink, as Catherine did, what their opportunities are… They must decide with courage exactly what their relation is to the Dominican family…”

I am sure that how we interpret our preaching opportunities and our relation to the family, will vary a bit depending on which Lay Dominican you speak to, and that’s OK.

Different varieties of Lay Dominicans, like the different varieties found in a box of chocolates will depend on many factors and that includes some nuts in each box, each chapter. This makes us more flavorful and tastier. The lack of uniformity, the presence of diversity while living our unity, is not just OK, it is beautiful. It is a blessing It is a grace-filled communion of love in Christ.

We might not know what we’re going to get in each chapter, but we know it will be good.

VERITAS!

Works Cited

Ashley, Benedict M. The Dominicans. The Liturgical Press, 1990. Available at www.domcentral.org/study/ashley/.

Catholic Church. Catechism of the Catholic Church (2nd ed.). Our Sunday Visitor, 2000.

Hinnebusch, William A. Dominican Spirituality: Principles and Practice. Wipf & Stock Publishers, 2014.

Murray, Paul. The New Wine of Dominican Spirituality. Burns & Oates, 2006.

Pope Francis, “Gaudete Et Exsultate.” The Holy See, March 19, 2018. https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/apost_exhortations/documents/papa-francesco_esortazione-ap_20180319_gaudete-et-exsultate.html.

Radcliffe, Timothy. Forward. Dominican Spirituality: An Exploration, by Erik Borgman, Continuum, 2001.

Schillebeeckx, Edward. Appendix: Dominican Spirituality: An Exploration, by Erik Borgman, Continuum, 2001.

Vatican II. Dogmatic Constitution on the Church: Lumen Gentium. November 21, 1964. https://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19641121_lumen-gentium_en.html.

Pedro A. Moreno, a husband, father and catechist, completed his graduate studies in theology and education in Puerto Rico and is a lay member of the Dominican Family, Order of Preachers. He is an award-wining writer and is regularly sought out for parish missions, retreats, courses and workshops.

Dominican Life is Contemplative

By Ms. Debra Weldon, OP

On 2021-09-11

In Books, Lay Dominican, prayer, spirituality

This is Part 2 of a series. Part 1 is HERE

Undertaking the task of explaining how “Dominican Life is Contemplative” has been a real challenge (just ask Mark who has read a variety of drafts). While explaining what it means to me is hard enough, trying to find a way of expressing a more global view is another. Contemplation means too many things to too many people. So, I think it is important to start out with the truth that my article will not be a full expression of how Dominican life is contemplative, but I think through prayer, I may have stumbled onto a means of explaining contemplation in a way that is relatable to most people.

Let us start with coming to a decision about how we will define contemplation for purposes of this article. Some people say that it is the equivalent of meditation. Others describe it as a higher form of prayer. The truth is, it is all these things and more. In order to expand my personal view, I reached out to other Lay Dominicans. After some discussion, one friend said that our discussion on the issue was contemplative, and that rang true. As I later pondered why the search for an answer was contemplative, I came to see that contemplation includes all forms of seeking Truth, which explains why it is so many different things to different people.

How does this definition shape the explanation of how Dominican life is contemplative? By answering the call to join the Dominican Order, we have chosen to follow Dominic’s example of how we search for God. Luckily, his example is rich and diverse. As the last article in this series said, Dominic was priestly, and we were encouraged in ways to live out our priesthood, the priesthood of the faithful. We also know that St. Dominic sought God in private and public prayer. He sought God in his apostolic works. He sought God in his fight against the heresies of his day. He sought God in all things.

More importantly in my mind is that St. Dominic created the order around four pillars: study, prayer, preaching, and community. Thus, as Dominicans, our spirituality, the way in which we quest for God is strongly rooted in living out these pillars. This does not mean that our spiritual lives are identical for there are many ways of living out the four pillars. For instance, a single person will have to live them differently than a married person because the aspects of community are different in each lifestyle.

If contemplation is one’s search for Truth, then we would do well to found our search in the Holy Spirit, who is the Spirit of Truth. He was sent to teach us everything that Jesus said and more. Jn 14:26.

But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.
Jn 14:26.

Thus, the next question we need to ask is – how do we tap into this Truth? Over the last two thousand years of studying the Bible and learning to live it in each and every age, we have learned that it is through all forms of prayer that we are educated in the way of Truth.

Through vocal prayers, we make our petitions to God, and in so doing, we grow in humility. We learn our proper relationship to God and our utter dependence on him.

In praying the scriptures through activities like meditation and lectio divina, we look to understand the words revealed to us by God. Anyone who has so studied the Bible can attest to the fact that such study reveals deeper and deeper awareness and understanding of these holy texts. This is especially true when we seek to study these words with the Spirit of Truth who helps us to properly interpret these words and the greater contexts in which these words were written. These practices can become for each of us a personal walk to Emmaus where scripture enlightens our hearts.

Similarly, daily living can be studied like scripture. When we take life experiences and questions to God through prayer or discussion with others, our understanding of Truth is enhanced.

Those who have gone before us tell us that in these and similar prayers we find ourselves drawn to silence. We find ourselves like Mary pondering these things in our heart. Lk 2:19. This is important because through baptism the Holy Spirit has taken up residence in our hearts, and it is in this inner chamber with him that we have the potential of reaching the loftier forms of prayer.

Through those who have gone before us, we also know that it is only through the Holy Spirit that we can ascend to such heights. However, it is likely that in extending our hand to the Holy Spirit, He may lead us where we do not want to go. John 21:18. Going deeper will show us things about ourselves that will be hard to see. The Bible tells us that only God is good. Mk 10:18. Encountering this truth is bound to bring each of us to a place where we will have to choose between being humbled or turning away.

When we have such encounters, it is important to know that the Holy Spirit is leading us on these paths not to humiliate us, but to heal us; to more fully unite us to himself. One cannot stand in the presence of Light and remain in darkness. One cannot seek Truth without seeing truth through the eyes of Him who is all truth.

While all of this is difficult to endure, when we allow the Holy Spirit to guide us and to heal us, we find peace, love, and joy. This makes no sense from a worldly point of viewpoint, which views brokenness as a reason for rejection. No. Divine love understands how we became broken, empathizes with us, and then seeks to repair the damage done. Unfortunately, he chooses not to override our free will, and it is only in surrendering to him, inviting him in to do his work, that we can achieve the new person spoken of by Paul. 2 Cor 5:17.

In closing, contemplative living is a life lived in an ever-increasing awareness of the indwelling Spirit of Truth, and through such awareness of his presence, all untruth is purged. As Dominicans this awareness is grown through the practice of our four pillars. He is with us when we pray, study, preach, and engage with all layers of our community (those in our Dominican Chapter, our family, friends, co-workers, and others we know through our apostolic works). It is in living our four pillars that we are not only sanctified (which can be defined as the process of healing all within us that is not Godly) but help lead others to sanctification.

Of course, there is more to the story because the fullness of Dominican contemplation includes all aspects of study, prayer, preaching, and community. Throughout this series on Dominican spirituality, we will continue to see how this quest for Truth, rooted in four pillars, includes a love of doctrine, liturgy, apostolic works, and more.

As I mentioned in the very first paragraph, there are many ways to view Lay Dominican life as contemplative, and I hope you will continue building on this concept by adding your own experiences in the comments section below.

Part 3: Dominican Life is Apostolic

About the Author: Debra is a permanently professed Lay Dominican who made her final profession in early 2023. She spent several years studying Carmelite and Jesuit spirituality both by attending classes at the local monasteries and independently studying books written by or about saints from these orders. She always felt called to join an order as a lay person but did not find her home until someone introduced her to the Dominicans where the four pillars rooted her and made her feel at home. She endeavors to structure her day around a format that supports her goal of prayerful study before preaching to community. You can find more fruit of her labors in her blog, Thoughts of a Crazy Woman.

The Rule of St. Augustine

By Mr. Mark Connolly, OP

On 2021-08-31

In community, Resources

Anyone taking a look at the Dominican Order will eventually come across the fact that St. Dominic adopted as his first Rule the Rule of St. Augustine. Upon Dominic’s petition to Pope Innocent III in 1213 to form an order, he was given the condition that he must follow one of the decrees of the recently completed Fourth Lateran Council, to wit, no religious order was allowed to create a new rule of life for itself. St. Dominic would have to adopt an existing order. He chose the Rule of St. Augustine.

Why this Rule? It was one of the oldest and most venerable rules in existence even at that time. It is short and adaptable. Dominic had been living under this rule as a Canon Regular, so it was familiar. The rule is challenging yet merciful. And it begins with the Greatest Commandment.

The Rule of Saint Augustine

Chapter One

Before all things, dearly beloved brothers, love God and then your neighbor, because these were the first commandments given to us.

1. Here are the rules we lay down for your observance, once you have been admitted to the monastery.
2. The chief motivation for your sharing life together is to live harmoniously in the house and to have one heart and one soul seeking God.
3. Do not call anything your own; possess everything in common. Your superior ought to provide each of you with food and clothing, not on an equal basis to all, because all do not enjoy the same health, but to each one in proportion to his need. For you read in the Acts of the Apostles: ‘They possessed everything in common’, and ‘distribution was made to each in proportion to each one’s need.’
4. Those who owned anything in the world should freely consent to possess everything in common in the monastery.
5. Those who had nothing should not seek in the monastery possessions which were beyond their reach outside. Allowance should be made for their frailty, however, on the basis of individual need, even if previous poverty never permitted them to satisfy those needs. But they should not consider their present good fortune to consist in the possession of food and clothing which were beyond their means elsewhere.
6. Nor should they put their nose in the air because they associate with people they did not dare approach in the world. Instead they should lift up their heart, and not pursue hollow worldly concerns. Monasteries should not provide advantage for the rich to the disadvantage of the poor. Such would be the case if the rich become humble and the poor become proud.
7. But on the other hand, those who enjoyed some measure of worldly success ought not to belittle their brothers who come to this holy society from a condition of poverty. They should endeavour to boast about the fellowship of poor brothers, rather than the social standing of rich relations. They are not to think well of themselves if they have contributed to the common life from their wealth. Sharing their possessions with the monastery ought not to become a greater source of pride than if they enjoyed these goods in the world. As a matter of fact, every other vice produces evil deeds with a view to doing evil, but pride sets a trap for good deeds as well with a view to destroying them. What benefit is there in giving generously to the poor and becoming poor oneself, if the pitiful soul is more inclined to pride by rejecting riches than by possessing them?
8. Live then, all of you, in harmony and concord; honour God mutually in each other; you have become His temples.

Chapter Two

1. Be assiduous in prayer at the scheduled hours and times.
2. No one has any business in the prayer-room apart from the particular purpose which it serves; that is why it is called the oratory. Consequently, if some wish to pray even outside the scheduled periods, during their free time, they should not be deterred by people who think they have some other task there.
3. When you pray to God in psalms and hymns, the words you speak should be alive in your hearts.
4. Keep to the prescribed text when you sing; avoid texts which are not suited for singing.

Chapter Three

1. To the extent that your health allows, subdue your flesh by fasting and abstinence from food and drink. If anyone is unable to fast, let him at least take no food between meals, unless he is sick.
2. Listen to the customary reading from the beginning to the end of the meal without commotion or arguments. Food is not for the mouth alone; your ears also should hunger for the Word of God.
3. No one is to be annoyed, nor should it seem to be unjust, when a special diet is provided for brothers whose health has been adversely affected by their former status in life. A different background endows some people with greater physical strength. These should not consider others fortunate because they see concessions granted to their brothers and not to themselves. Let them be thankful rather that they have the strength to endure what others cannot.
4. If food, clothes, a mattress, or blankets are given to those who come to the monastery from a more comfortable manner of life, the more robust individuals, to whom such things are not given and who are on this account more fortunate, ought to recall how much affluent people have altered their lifestyle in order to embrace the present one, even though the frugality practised by the stronger brothers continues to elude them. No one should desire the extras given to a few, more out of tolerance than out of deference. Deplorable disorder would occur, if the monastery provided a setting, to the extent that it is possible, where the wealthy become workers, while the poor become pampered.
5. Sick people necessarily take less food so as not to aggravate their condition. During convalescence they are to receive such care as will quickly restore their health, even if they come from the lowest level of poverty in the world. Recent illness has afflicted them with the same frailty which the wealthy possess from their previous manner of life. When sick people have fully recovered, they should return to their happier ways, which are all the more fitting for God’s servants to the extent that they have fewer needs. Food formerly necessary to remedy their illness should not become a pleasure which enslaves them. They should consider themselves richer since they are now more robust in putting up with privations. For it is better to need less than to have more.

Chapter Four

l. Do not allow your clothing to attract attention; seek to please not by the clothes you wear, but by the life you live.
2. Whenever you leave the house, go together; wherever you are going, stay together.
3. In your walk, posture, all external comportment, do nothing to offend anyone who sees you. Act in a manner worthy of your holy profession.
4. When you see a woman, do not fix your eyes on her or any woman. You are not forbidden to see women when you are out of the house. It is wrong, however, to desire women or to wish them to desire you. Lust for women is mutually stimulated not only by tender touches but by sight as well. Make no claim to a pure mind when your eyes are impure; an impure eye is the herald of an impure heart. Unchaste hearts reveal themselves by exchanging glances even without any words; people yield to lust as they delight in their passion for each other. Chastity takes to its heels, even though their bodies remain unsullied by unchaste actions.
5. The man who directs his attention towards a woman and enjoys her similar token of affection should not think others fail to notice this mutual exchange. He is certainly observed even by persons he thinks do not see him. But if his actions escape the notice of men and women, what will he do about the One who keeps watch on high, from whom nothing can be hidden? Is God therefore blind, because he looks on with patience proportionate to his wisdom? The holy man should fear to displease God, lest he desire to please a woman sinfully. So as not to look upon a woman in a sinful manner, let him bear in mind that God sees everything. Fear of the Lord is recommended in this matter too where we read in the Scriptures: ‘The Lord abhors a covetous eye.’
6. Mutually safeguard your purity, when you are together in church or wherever women are present. God, who dwells in you, will protect you in his way too by your mutual vigilance.
7. If you notice in any of your number this roving eye referred to above, immediately admonish the individual and correct the matter as soon as possible, in order to curb its progress.
8. If, after this warning, you observe him doing the same thing again or at any other time, whoever happens to discover this must report the offender, as if he were now a wounded person in need of healing. But first, one or two others should be told so that the witness of two or three may lend greater weight and the delinquent thus be convicted and punished with appropriate severity. Do not consider yourselves unkind when you point out such faults. Quite the contrary, are not without fault yourselves when you permit your brothers to perish because of your silence. Were you to point out their misdeeds, correction would at least be possible. If your brother had a bodily wound which he wished to conceal for fear of surgery, would not your silence be cruel and your disclosure merciful? Your obligation to reveal the matter is, therefore, all the greater in order to stem the more harmful infection in the heart.
9. If he neglects to mend his ways after such admonition, he should first be reported to the superior, before his behaviour is revealed to others, whose task it is to expose his failing in the event of his denial, so that his misconduct may not somehow be withheld from the others, after he has been corrected privately. But if he denies the charge, then the others are to be summoned without his knowledge so that he can be accused in the presence of all, not by a single witness but by two or three. When convicted, he must submit to the salutary punishment determined by the judgement of the superior, or even that of the priest whose authority embraces such matters. If he refuses to submit to punishment, even if he is determined not to leave, expel him from your society. Even this is not an act of cruelty but of mercy: to prevent the contagion of his life from infecting more people.
10. Diligently and faithfully, then, attend to my words about suggestive glances at women. Such advice holds also for detection, prevention, disclosure, proof, and punishment of other offences, with love for the person and hatred for the sin.
11. Whenever anyone has gone so far in misconduct as to receive secretly from any woman letters or small gifts of any kind, if he confesses the matter freely, pardon him and pray for him. If, however, he is detected and proved guilty, he is to be rather severely corrected according to the judgement of the priest or the superior.

Chapter Five

1. Keep your clothes in one place under the care of one or two, or as many people as may be needed to air them out and prevent damage from moths. Just as a single storeroom furnishes your food, so a single wardrobe should supply your clothing. Pay as little attention as possible to the clothes you receive as the season requires. Whether each of you receives what he had turned in or what was worn by someone else is of little concern, so long as no one is denied what he needs. If arguments and grumbling occur among you, and someone complains that he has received worse clothing than previously and that it is beneath his dignity to be dressed in clothes which another brother was wearing, you thereby demonstrate to yourselves how deficient you are in the holy and interior clothing of the heart, arguing as you do about clothes for the body. Even though one caters to your weakness and you receive the same clothing, you are to keep the clothes you are not wearing at the present time in one place under common supervision.
2. In this way, let no one work for himself alone; all your work shall be for the common purpose, with greater zeal and more concentrated effort than if each one worked for his private purpose. The Scriptures tell us: ‘Love is not self-seeking.’ We understand this to mean: the common good takes precedence over the individual good, the individual good yields to the common good. Here again, you will know the extent of your progress as you enlarge your concern for the common interest instead of your own private interest; enduring love will govern all matters pertaining to the fleeting necessities of life.
3. Consequently, whenever anyone brings anything to sons or relations who reside in the monastery, an article of clothing, or anything else that is considered necessary, the gift is not to be pocketed on the sly but given to the superior as common property, so that it can be given to whoever needs it.
4. The washing and cleaning of your clothes may be done in the monastery or at the laundry. The superior decides how often your clothes are to be laundered, lest an inordinate desire for clean clothes inwardly stain your soul.
5. Nor shall the body be denied proper hygienic care as standards for good health require. Do this without grumbling, following the advice of a physician. In the event a brother is unwilling to comply and the superior gives strict orders, he shall do what has to be done for his health. If a brother desires something which is harmful, he ought not to satisfy his desire. Desires are sometimes thought to be salubrious when they are really injurious.
6. Whenever a servant of God says he is not feeling well, take his word without hesitation, even though the source of the pain is not apparent. If uncertainty continues whether or not the remedy he desires would really make him better, consult a physician.
7. Whenever necessity requires a visit to the public baths or any other place, no fewer than two or three should go. When someone has to leave the house, he ought to go with companions designated by the superior, not with persons of his own choosing.
8. Care of the sick, whether the convalescent or those currently ill with any ailment, even though they are not running a temperature, shall be assigned to someone who shall personally obtain from the storeroom whatever he regards necessary for each individual.
9. Those responsible for food, clothing, or books are to serve their brothers without grumbling.
10. Books are to be requested at a definite hour each day; requests made at other times will be denied.
11. Those responsible for clothes and shoes shall promptly honour the request for either when anyone expresses the need.

Chapter Six

1. Either have no quarrels or put an end to them as quickly as possible, lest anger grow into hatred, make timber of a splinter, and turn the soul into the soul of a murderer. Thus you read: ‘Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer.’
2. Whoever has offended another with insults or harmful words, or even a serious accusation, must remember to right the wrong he has done at the earliest opportunity. The injured must remember to forgive without further bickering. If they have offended each other, they shall mutually forgive their offences for the sake of your prayers. The more frequent your prayers are, the sounder they ought to be. An individual who is prone to anger, yet hastens to beg forgiveness from someone he has consciously harmed, is better than another who is less inclined to anger and less likely to ask pardon. An individual who absolutely refuses to ask pardon, or does so without meaning it, is entirely out of place in the monastery, even if he is not dismissed. Spare yourselves the use of words too harsh. If they have escaped your lips, those same lips should promptly heal the wounds they have caused. Requirements of discipline may compel you to speak harsh words to correct young people. Even if you feel your criticism has been immoderate, you are not obliged to ask their pardon; too much attention to humility in their regard would undermine their ready acceptance of your authority. Instead, ask forgiveness from the Lord of all who knows how generously you love even those you may correct too harshly. Your love for one another ought to be spiritual, not carnal.

Chapter Seven

1. Obey your superior as a father, always with the respect worthy of his position, so as not to offend God in him. Be especially obedient to the priest who bears responsibility for all of you.
2. The superior has the principal task of seeing to it that all these precepts are observed. He should further provide that infractions are not carelessly overlooked but punished and corrected. He must refer matters which exceed his competence and power to the priest who has greater authority over you.
3. Your superior should regard himself to be fortunate as one who serves you in love, not as one who exercises authority over you. Accord him the first place of honour among you, but in fear before God he shall lie prostrate beneath your feet. Let him be a model of good deeds for everyone; he shall restrain the restless, cheer the fainthearted, support the weak, with patience towards all. He shall willingly embrace discipline and instill fear. While both are necessary, he shall strive, nevertheless, to be loved by you rather than feared, mindful always that he will be accountable to God for you.
4. By being obedient, you manifest more compassion not only for yourselves, but also for him, because the higher position among you is all the more perilous.

Chapter Eight

1. The Lord grant you the grace to observe these precepts with love as lovers of spiritual beauty, exuding the fragrance of Christ by the goodness of your lives; you are no longer slaves under the law, but a people living in freedom under grace.
2. These precepts should be read to you once a week, so that you will see yourselves in this little book as in a mirror and not neglect anything through forgetfulness. When you find yourselves doing what has been written here, thank the Lord, the giver of all good gifts. However, if anyone of you realizes that he has failed on a specific point, let him be sorry for the past, safeguard the future, and continue to pray for his offences to be forgiven, and that he not be led into temptation.