Saint Dominic (c.1170 - 1221)
After the office of compline or night prayer, Dominicans traditionally salute Saint Dominic with a hymn which gives him the title, among others, of ‘preacher of grace’. In the two most important texts which describe his religious experiences, the Libellus or ‘Little Book’ of Jordan of Saxony and the record of the ‘Process of Canonisation’, the term grace is frequently used, along with cognate terms like ‘gracious’, ‘graceful’ and ‘graciousness’. With the term grace, a key word in his vocabulary, Jordan describes the freshness, enthusiasm, joy, freedom, light and gratitude that characterised the lives of Saint Dominic and his first followers whom he refers to as 'sons of grace, co-heirs of glory'.
The description of Saint Dominic as ‘preacher of
grace’ can be understood in three ways. Firstly it might mean that he was
gracious, attractive, encouraging, friendly and pleasant. Similarly we might
speak of someone as a gracious person or use the word grace to describe the
presence or performance of a speaker, artist, dancer or musician. Many
witnesses to Dominic’s life support this understanding. Jordan talks about his
delightful holiness, beautiful character and pleasant countenance which stirred
all classes of people [Libellus 36, 103-04]. A witness called Brother Ralph
says Dominic was happy, cheerful and pleasant [Process, 32]. Sister Cecilia
paints a portrait of Dominic’s physical appearance as attractive and pleasant
[Miracles of Saint Dominic, 15].
One might think ‘well, fans of Saint Dominic would say
things like that’. Of greater interest here, though, are those
testimonies which associate the ‘graciousness’ of Dominic with the experience of
being loved by him or of coming to love him (Libellus, 21, 39, 104, 107;
Process 36, 90).
A second meaning we can give to ‘preacher of grace’ is
to take it that grace was a frequent subject of Dominic’s preaching. While none
of his sermons have survived it seems clear that this understanding is accurate
because of two things: his deep desire to reconcile people to the truth of God
and his great compassion for those in distress. For Dominic God is a God of
mercy, forgiveness and reconciliation, the God of grace.
A third meaning of ‘preacher of grace’ is that grace happened as Dominic spoke, acted and prayed. Once again this is confirmed by various witnesses: that the grace (now meaning power, light, help) of God was made present in those whose lives he touched. At Toulouse Dominic spent the night arguing ‘powerfully and passionately’ with an inn-keeper until ‘unable to withstand the wisdom and Spirit which was addressing him’ the inn-keeper was brought back to the faith ‘by the help of the Spirit of God’ [Libellus, 15]. A characteristic work of grace in the lives of many of the saints is a steadfastness, even stubbornness, when once they have reached a decision before God and this too is said of Dominic [Libellus, 103].
A third meaning of ‘preacher of grace’ is that grace happened as Dominic spoke, acted and prayed. Once again this is confirmed by various witnesses: that the grace (now meaning power, light, help) of God was made present in those whose lives he touched. At Toulouse Dominic spent the night arguing ‘powerfully and passionately’ with an inn-keeper until ‘unable to withstand the wisdom and Spirit which was addressing him’ the inn-keeper was brought back to the faith ‘by the help of the Spirit of God’ [Libellus, 15]. A characteristic work of grace in the lives of many of the saints is a steadfastness, even stubbornness, when once they have reached a decision before God and this too is said of Dominic [Libellus, 103].
It is striking how quickly the story of Saint Dominic
becomes the story of the first brothers and sisters of his Order and we find
these three meanings of ‘grace’ recurring in their lives also. They are men and
women of grace because among them are some very attractive, encouraging and
inspiring personalities. Jordan himself, Reginald, Henry, Thomas, Diana
d’Andalò, Cecilia and others are gracious, are united in friendship and make up
a community characterised by enthusiasm and joy [for example Libellus 38 and
66].
The early Dominicans continue to preach God’s grace by
proclaiming the compassionate, encouraging, challenging, grace-filled and
reconciling Word of God. And finally grace continues to happen in and through
them as they share with others the effects of the grace of God towards
themselves [Libellus 58,69, 77-78; Process 24].
Closely associated with the term ‘grace’ in early
Dominican sources is the term ‘joy’. As with the first followers of Saint
Francis, the lives of the first Dominican friars and sisters was characterised
by great freedom and joyfulness [Libellus 75]. Saint Dominic was remembered,
among other things, for his joy in singing along the roads of Spain, France and
Italy [Process 21].
The association of joy and grace is etymologically
correct since in Greek the two terms are related: grace is charis
and joy is chairo. In the annunciation to Mary the angel addresses Mary using
both ‘grace’ and ‘joy’. ‘Hail full of grace’, he says, also translatable as
‘Rejoice highly favoured one’ [Luke 1.28]. As we will see, the moment of the
annunciation in fulfilling the promised joys of the Old Testament is also the
beginning of that grace which Christians believe to be at the heart of the
gospel.
It has been like that in the history of Christianity
ever since. Times of inspiration and fresh enthusiasm, what we might call
‘evangelical moments’, are times of new life among God’s people and they are
always characterised by joyfulness. In Galatians 5.22-23 Saint Paul speaks of
the experience of grace in terms of the fruits of the Holy Spirit: ‘love, joy,
peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control’.
Against such things, he adds, ‘there is no law’.
Times of fresh enthusiasm and evangelical renewal
always require also fresh thinking and theological creativity. In the life and
work of Saint Dominic the Holy Spirit was active in a way that brought new life
and enthusiasm to the Church. His evangelical experience was complemented
brilliantly by the theological reflection of Saint Thomas Aquinas, the most
outstanding of the second generation of Dominicans, by Saint Catherine of
Siena, the outstanding Dominican of the 14th century, and by many
other men and women since then, Spirit-filled followers of Christ along the way
of Saint Dominic.
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