Dominican All Saints
There's an old joke in the Order of Preachers: “If you want to be a Dominican saint, then live with a Dominican martyr. If you want to be a Dominican martyr, then live with a Dominican saint.” The implication here is that surviving life with a either a Dominican saint or martyr is a sure-fire way to get at least a memorial Mass with your name on it. Why? B/c living saints and martyrs can be challenging housemates. The religious fervor of a still-living Dominican saint easily convicts the evident laxity of less fervent brothers and sisters. And the self-sacrifice of the still-living Dominican martyr similarly exposes the selfishness of those confreres less inclined to surrender their preferences for the common good. Of course, the joke is: the religious fervor of the saint and the ease of self-sacrifice in the martyr is usually only present in the mind of the Dominican in question. The rest of us just chuckle and wonder. And probably pray a little harder for the grace of sainthood and martyrdom. You know, just in case. This feast taps all Dominicans on the shoulder and whispers, “Don't forget what you signed up to do and be.”
It never hurts to be reminded of our ideals. Dominic started this whole thing to “preach the Gospel and care for souls.” From the start, he sent us out two-by-two to universities to study God's Word so that our preaching would be grounded in the ancient apostolic faith. He gathered us together in community so that that ancient faith would always have a contemporary expression. He made sure we prayed together so that we'd learn to express that faith with one voice and at the same time shape that one voice to speak in different tongues. He knew that the Truth is always the Truth. But he also knew that our understanding of Truth grows by nature. So, he gave us the enduring habit of study, the habit of always seeking out the “manifold wisdoms of God.” Most importantly, most fundamentally, he gave us the grace of preaching, the gift of giving the Eternal Word a human voice to bring souls to Christ. On the more practical side of our life together, we have the vow of obedience, our only vow. It binds us, frees us, and makes everything we do and are possible. It gives life to Peter's declaration to Christ: “We have put aside everything to follow you.” Ideally, you could ask any Dominican, “What have you given up to follow Christ?” And he/she would answer, “Everything.” “And what have you gained?” The answer, “Even more.”
Our saints, blesseds, and martyrs show us what “even more” means in light of what they all sacrificed. From the 13th c. to just a few weeks ago, they still bear witness to the power of Dominican life to bring the preaching of the Gospel to every nook and cranny of this needful world. Jesus promises Peter that his surrender will result in a hundredfold multiplication in this world and the world to come. That promise is our inheritance. What will we do with all that wealth? We'll pray, study, care for souls; and live together with one heart and one mind; forgiving one another; loving the grumps, the self-made martyrs and saints; correcting, teaching; and being docile to the Spirit, waiting for the advent of our Christ; and never forgetting that we do all of this willingly, freely for the sake of the Gospel. IOW, we'll spend our inheritance in the same way it was given to us – with generous abandon for the salvation of the world.
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