Talks & Reflections

August 2, 2025

Memorial of Bl. Jane of Aza

Dear Sr. Olivia, Br. Luis, Sr. Aileen, Sr. Clarisse, Br. Patrick, and Sr. Rosemarie,

Greetings in the Lord Jesus Christ and in our Lady of the Rosary!

When Bl. Pier Giorgio Frassati learned that his friend Antonio Villani became a Dominican Tertiary, he wrote him a letter saying:

I’m very glad that you want to become a member of the great family of St. Dominic…. The obligations are very small otherwise you must know that I wouldn’t be able to belong to an order that required a lot. When the Saint started the third order he instituted it as an army to do battle against heretics.… Since you are already tied to me by the bond of brotherhood through the Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ, you will be doubly a brother to me through our common Father St. Dominic.

I share the sentiments of Br. Girolamo when you decided to join the Dominican family which was subsequently confirmed by the Council. I am looking forward to your admission as Lay Dominicans. Be assured that the obligations are “very small” indeed. Our obligations are nothing but expressions of our love for God and for our neighbors: we pray, we do missions.

It is providential that the Sunday before your admission, i.e., the 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time, has for its Gospel reading the passage from Luke 12:13-21. In v.15 thereof, the Lord is recorded to have said,

Take care to be on your guard against all kinds of greed. Life does not depend upon an abundance of one’s possessions.

Brothers and Sisters, the reading warns against “all kinds of greed,” saying that life does not depend on “abundance of one’s possessions.” This illuminates a profound truth for your Dominican journey. While the direct message of the Gospel refers to material possessions, we can also construe the same to include intangible possessions like knowledge, skills, time, etc.  

Brothers and sisters, your time as novices will also be the time to acquire knowledge about our Dominican charism. During your novitiate, you will learn about the Dominican life as being Christ-centered while at the same time inspired by the Blessed Mother. You will also discover why the Holy Mass is important to the life of Dominicans, the significance of the Liturgy of the Hours, and many more. In studying all these, however, remember not to be greedy as the Gospel reading says. You are to share what you will learn to others. A parallel quote attributed to our Holy Father Dominic states: We must sow the seeds, not hoard it!

As novices, one of your primary duties and mission is to be faithful to your Study Circles and your Veritas Encounters. What you will learn from these sessions are not meant to stay with you. They are meant to be shared with others. They are the seeds that must be sown in the hearts of the people we meet every day. Remember, we do not meet people by chance! People are sent to us by God as vineyard to be cultivated. We must sow the seeds in their hearts. We cannot be greedy!

What is the best way to sow the seeds in the hearts of the people we meet? The witness of having a disciplined life.

In addition to acquiring knowledge about the Order, your novitiate year will also be a time to begin exercising and acquiring the discipline to live your life as sons and daughters of St. Dominic. As novices you will begin saying the same prayers as the rest of the Lay Dominicans. You shall also have the duty to integrate with the members of the Chapter by attending faithfully our monthly meetings and experience the joys and sorrows of community life.

In this regard, I would like to emphasize the necessity of having a Personal Program of Christian Perfection. It is called “Personal” because it presumes that it follows from, and is dependent for its structure on, the “General Program of Christian Perfection of Lay Dominicans” which has been proven for centuries to be an effective means for sanctity. We have as examples St. Catherine of Siena, St. Rose of Lima, St. Zdislava of Lemberk, as well as the soon-to-be canonized beati: Bl. Bartolo Longo and Bl. Pier Giorgio Frassati.

What’s the General Program, you may ask? They are nothing but our daily, weekly, monthly, and annual commitments as Lay Dominicans. They are mentioned in the Rule and are defined more particularly in the Directory of the Chapter. I will not discuss them here, but I encourage you to review them as you write your Personal Program.

Going back, in preparing your Personal Program, ask yourself:

1. How do I see Christ? What attracts me to Christ? 

2. Who is the Dominican saint that resembles the trait that attracts me to Christ?

3. Examine yourself: what keeps me from being united with Christ? Do I have habitual sins? What behavioral patterns do I have that keeps me from being holy: do I always want to prove myself (manifestation of pride), do I fall into self-pity when I fail (manifestation of pride), do I always look for what is comfortable (manifestation of sensuality), do I excessively use my phone (manifestation of sensuality), do I lack control in my appetite (manifestation of sensuality), or do I seek to be praised by others (manifestation of vanity)?

4. Be reasonable and think of concrete ways to overcome your vices. Choose a virtue and provide specific, concrete, and practicable means of overcoming the vices. General statements will not help.

Your Personal Program is, as it says, personal to you. You are not supposed to broadcast it to the whole world. You are to use it when you do your commitments as defined in the General Program such as when you meditate, when you examine your conscience during Compline, Confession, etc. 

In determining whether you are progressing in overcoming your vices, you do not judge yourself. It is in this light that the help of a spiritual guide is most necessary. Thus, while your Personal Program is not supposed to be broadcast, it must be discussed with your Spiritual Director with sincerity and honesty. You are blessed as Fr. Saw Justin Kaung Hbown Myint, OP has agreed to guide you with the permission of Fr. Raymond Mi, OP.

Dear Brothers and Sisters, as you have observed the past years and now with this discussion, the Lay Dominican Way is not just about prayer meetings and charity works. It is more importantly a commitment to discipline ourselves for heaven. As St. Paul wrote in Philippians 2:12, “work out your salvation in fear and trembling.”

Finally, Brothers and Sisters, you are about to begin an adventure of a lifetime. By our admission, you will join the army of light called “to battle heretics” as Bl. Pier Giorgio wrote. Resolve to persevere because the world desperately needs what you will become: men and women on fire with divine love, armed with truth, and committed to sowing seeds of grace wherever you go.

May Our Lady of the Rosary, Queen of the Dominican Order, intercede for you as you begin this journey. May St. Dominic himself welcome you into his family with joy. And may the Holy Spirit kindle in your hearts the same apostolic fire that has burned in Dominican hearts for over 800 years!

Welcome to the Dominican family!

Verso l’alto!

In Christ, Our Master,

Br. J. Luis

I. INTRODUCTION

Dear Brothers and Sisters, the title of my talk today is inspired by Psalm 1:1-2. It says:

Blessed is the man who does not walk

    in the counsel of the wicked,

Nor stand in the way of sinners,

    nor sit in company with scoffers.

Rather, the law of the Lord is his joy;

   and on his law he meditates day and night.

Ven. Louis of Granada wrote in, “The Book of Prayer and Meditation” that “…among the praises of the just man, this is put for one of the most principal: that his exercise is to meditate upon the law of the Lord day and night.”

But this begs at least two questions, brothers and sisters. First, the subject of meditation, i.e., the law of the Lord. Second, how should we meditate?

Brothers and sisters, this afternoon I invite you to open your hearts to the Lord and as the Lenten Invitatory Antiphon says: Today, if you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.

II. WHAT IS MEDITATION?

Let us begin by knowing what meditation is. 

Meditation is often misunderstood as a passive activity or the emptying of the mind. This is not how Catholics meditate. Dumbing the mind is not a Christian practice. As Ven. Louis of Granada so beautifully explains, it is a deeply transformative process that engages both mind and heart. It is a means of uniting our hearts with God's will, cultivating a spirit of prayer, and fostering a deeper intimacy with Christ.

So what is meditation? The Catechism says it is one of the three expressions of prayer: 1) Vocal Prayer, 2) Meditation, and 3) Contemplation. 

VOCAL PRAYER means praying aloud with words, usually using a formula or a set prayer. It is the most accessible form of prayer and is essential to Christian prayer (the Lord taught a vocal prayer – the Our Father). More than the words, it is the fervor of the soul saying the vocal prayers that count. This makes vocal prayer the initial form of contemplative prayer. (CCC 2700-2704)

As the basic form of prayer, it prone to becoming a mere recitation of the words. St. Catherine of Siena in her Dialogues wrote:

“But do not think that the soul receives such ardor and nourishment from prayer, if she pray only vocally, as do many souls whose prayers are rather words than love. … But if thou askest Me, whether the soul should abandon vocal prayer, since it does not seem to all that they are called to mental prayer, I should reply ‘No.’ The soul should advance by degrees, and I know well that, just as the soul is at first imperfect and afterwards perfect, so also is it with her prayer. She should nevertheless continue in vocal prayer, while she is yet imperfect, so as not to fall into idleness. But she should not say her vocal prayers without joining them to mental prayer…

From this, we can gather that vocal prayer is not sufficient to sustain one’s spiritual life. If we want to advance in the spiritual life, we need to also practice Mental Prayer – and there are two ways of doing mental prayer. One is by meditation, and the other by contemplation.

MEDITATION – means actively engaging one’s understanding, imagination, emotion, and desire in order to understand the why and how of the Christian life. Meditation helps the Christian to adhere and respond to what the Lord is inviting him or her to do. Meditation, therefore, is necessary because it helps the Christian grow in the knowledge and love of Jesus. (CCC 2705-2708)

CONTEMPLATION – As the Christian grows in the knowledge and love of Christ, so does his or her prayer life. From the use of mental faculties in meditation, the Christian now arrives at contemplation or the silent “gaze of faith, fixed on Jesus.”  Contemplative prayer, the Catechism says, is the poor and humble surrender to the loving will of the Father in ever deeper union with his beloved Son. (CCC 2709-2719)

III. WHY MEDITATE?

Ven. Louis of Granada, in the book we already mentioned wrote:

…although the mysteries of our faith be of very great force to incline our hearts unto goodness: yet because there be very many Christians that have no due consideration of the things they believe, therefore they work not such effect in their hearts. ... For want of (meditation), we see many Christians, which are very whole and sound in matters of faith, be yet in their lives very licentious, and dissolute. And the reason is, because they do not (meditate), and weigh the holy mysteries which they believe….

It is easy to verify this observation of Ven. Louis. For how many Catholics are considered lapsed? How many Catholics go to Mass as a matter of routine without really putting any effort into it, and thereby not getting anything out of it? And also, how many times have we been scandalized by priests and religious – who are presumably trained in the right doctrine? 

Fr. Timothy Garde, OP, in his foreword to a book on mental prayer wrote:

“Mental prater is, in a certain sense, the most important exercise of the spiritual life. Fidelity to it, (saints tell us) will ensure salvation; its complete abandonment may lead to perdition; progress therein means a corresponding progress in the interior life of union with God.”

Fr. Jordan Aumann, OP, in his book, “The Lay Person in the Church After Vatican II” also wrote:

“(Meditation) is an invaluable aid in the cultivation of the virtues and the formation of a Christian character. Moreover, as a type of mental prayer it brings into play the virtue of prudence which, as we have seen, is also composed of three elements: think, judge, act. As a matter of fact, in making a discursive meditation we are focusing our attention on ourselves to a great extent because we are applying spiritual truths to our own lives with a view to improvement.” 

IV. WHAT THE SAINTS SAY ABOUT MENTAL PRAYER

St. Alphonsus de Liguori

"In the first place, without mental prayer the soul is without light. They, says St. Augustine, who keep their eyes shut cannot see the way to their country. The eternal truths are all spiritual things that are seen, not with eyes of the body, but with the eyes of the mind; that is, by reflection and consideration. Now, they who do not make mental prayer do not see these truths, neither do they see the importance of eternal salvation, and the means which they can adopt in order to obtain it."

St. Francis de Sales:

"But especially I commend earnest mental prayer to you, more particularly such as bears upon the Life and Passion of our Lord. If you contemplate Him frequently in meditation, your whole soul will be filled with Him, you will grow in His Likeness, and your actions will be molded on His. …

"Children learn to speak by hearing their mother talk, and stammering forth their childish sounds in imitation; and so if we cleave to the Savior in meditation, listening to His words, watching His actions and intentions, we shall learn in time, through His Grace, to speak, act and will like Himself. Believe me, my daughter, there is no way to God save through this door."

St. Teresa of Avila:

"He who neglects mental prayer needs not a devil to carry him to hell, but he brings himself there with his own hands."

St. John of the Cross: 

"Without the aid of mental prayer, the soul cannot triumph over the forces of the demon."

V. HOW TO MEDITATE

Now that we have been informed of the importance of Mental Prayer or Meditation in our Christian life, let us take a look at method of Ven. Louis of Granada. How should we meditate?

Ven. Louis was a renowned Dominican spiritual writer who lived in the 1500s (b.1504-s.1588). According to St. Teresa of Avila, the book of Ven. Louis of Granada entitled – The Sinner’s Guide – saved millions of souls from hell. St. Rose of Lima – the secondary patroness of the Philippines – was also an avid reader of Ven. Louis of Granada. Her favorite was Ven. Louis’ – The Book of Prayer and Meditation. It is said that she protected herself from the devil with that book, and the devil, enraged, forcibly took it away from her.

Brothers and sisters, this Lent, be like St. Rose of Lima! Do not let the devil take away from you the discipline of committing at least 15 minutes a day to meditation!

Let us now look at the method of meditation by Ven. Louis: it has five parts – Preparation, Reading, Meditation, Thanksgiving, and Petition.

A. PREPARATION – it is necessary that one prepares his heart before meditation just as a musician tunes his instrument before playing. Imagine yourself attending a meeting with an important person – for example, you are going to see the Pope or the Mayor of your city – you prepare, right? You take a shower, iron your clothes, and you also make sure that you won’t be late during the meeting. You may even practice the things how you will greet and talk to the dignitary. During the meeting, you are also expected to be so focused on the dignitary that you feel turning your head away from the dignitary would be disrespectful. 

In the same way,  brothers and sisters, we also prepare when meeting the Lord in meditation. We do this by recognizing our sinfulness and our need of God's mercy, and by acknowledging the glory of God. In our Aquam Prayer Book - we invoke the Holy Spirit, and say the Acts of Faith, Hope and Love.

It is also important to note that in our preparation for the meditation proper, we also focus our attention on God and stop thinking about our worries. We must enter meditation with only one intention: to fulfill God’s will. 

B. READING – The second is reading. For those advanced in the practice of Meditation, they can forego this. But for beginners, reading is necessary. What do we read? In the book of Ven. Louis he wrote several meditations to be read. However, in our case, since we do not necessarily have access to his book, it is recommended that we use the Gospel readings of the day – of course the presumption is that we all do our meditation daily. And we should! If we want to be saints!

In reading the text for meditation, make sure you read it with attention. Do not do it in haste. It is recommended that after your first reading, you read the text again – more slowly.

C. MEDITATION – after reading, comes the meditation proper. Ven. Louis mentions two faculties of the mind (thus, mental prayer) to be used: one is understanding and the other is imagination. According to him, the Gospel scene may be represented in your mind – by doing so, we become part of scene, and Gospel passage becomes more vivid.

During the meditation proper, we ask the following questions:

a. Message of the Gospel: Does it contain a command, a warning, an illustration, a comparison, or a promise? Are there characters, places, or words in the Gospel reading that caught your attention?

b. Response to the message of the Gospel: What attitude does the Gospel invite you to change? What virtue or good work does the Gospel invite you to develop or do?

D. THANKSGIVING – after the meditation proper, thank God for the graces and lights you received during the meditation. 

E. PETITION – the last part is petition. What should we petition God? Ven. Louis says we should petition first for our neighbor and then our self. Thus, according to him, we should petition that all creatures praise and serve the Lord. And then, we pray for our own salvation, for virtue, for overcoming of vices; in other words for our holiness.

When was the last time you prayed for virtue? Lord, give me the gift of faith, hope and charity!

V. NECESSITY OF MENTAL PRAYER

Dear brothers and sisters, you now know how to practice Christian meditation. This is not exclusive to priests and religious. Ven. Louis says, priests and religious meditate because it is their obligation to do so; the laity meditate because it is necessary. The laity live in the world, and they need a weapon to protect them from vices and sins – that weapon is meditation. 

One objection to the practice of mental prayer is this: I am only bound to keep the commandments of God and the Catholic Church. I do not need to meditate. In addition to what the saints say about the importance of mental prayer, Ven. Louis says, “to keep the law of God, we have need of many things to strengthen, and encourage our hearts, for the keeping and observation of the same law.” Then he gave the example of the Israelites who, coming from Babylonian exile, intended to build Jerusalem again. But because the it had no borders, they were distracted by their enemies from all sides. Thus, they were constrained to appoint people to build Jerusalem while others were appointed to guard from enemies. (2 Esd. 4) The task for meditation is like that of the guards.

VI. CHALLENGE

In our fast-paced world, the call to meditate may seem counter-cultural. We are often distracted by the noise of daily life – our obligations, our worries, our plans. Yet, Lent invites us to take a step back and examine whether we are truly living in the presence of God, whether we are allowing Him to shape our hearts and minds.

Meditation is the practice that centers us. It draws us away from the noise and refocuses our hearts on God. Ven. Louis of Granada emphasizes that it is in the silence of meditation that we encounter God’s voice most clearly. In the quiet of our hearts, God speaks to us, inviting us into a deeper relationship with Him.

I invite each of you, then, brothers and sisters, to be faithful to our Dominican commitment of daily meditation especially during this Lenten season. 

Let us follow the method of Ven. Louis of Granada - a method that helped sanctify St. Rose of Lima, and I'm sure, many other saints as well. May our meditation lead us to a deeper union with Christ, a more sincere repentance, and a greater love for God and neighbor.

VII. PRACTICE

Write your meditation on Luke 15:11-32

VIII. CLOSING

Let us pray:

Lord, as we walk this Lenten journey, help us to meditate deeply on Your love. Open our hearts to Your presence and transform our lives through the power of Your grace. May our meditation bring us closer to You and lead us to the joy of Easter. Amen.

May God bless each of you in this Lenten season. Thank you for being here, and may your time of meditation bear abundant fruit.

January 28, 2025

Feast of St. Thomas Aquinas

Mass of First Profession

We are gathered together in the Church of Santo Cristo to honor our brother St. Thomas and to witness joyfully the simple profession of three sisters and one brother as lay Dominicans.

Our sharing is on St. Thomas. I try to answer two questions: Who is St. Thomas Aquinas and Who is the Angelic Doctor, our brother, for us? You know the answers. May our loving remembrance help us follow the Angelic Doctor example today.

WHO IS THOMAS AQUINAS? Thomas Aquinas was born in Roccaseca, Italy,about 1225. He studied with the Benedictine Monks of Monte Cassino. Thomas was asked by his teacher: “Thomas, what do you dream?” The boy answered quickly: “I look for God, master, “Quid est Deus?” What is God?”

When he was around 14 years old, he studies at the University of Naples. Five years later, he joined the Dominican Order: in 1244, at 19, against the wishes of the family. In 1248, he was sent to Cologne, where he studied under Albert the Great, completed his studies, and was ordained to the priesthood. He was called by his students “the dumb ox”. Albert told them: “You call this man a dumb ox, but I tell you that the time will come when the bellowing of his doctrine will be heard to the ends of the earth.” At about 28, he went to Paris, taught at St. Jacques and later became professor of theology at the University of Paris. Later on, he taught in different cities of Italy (Anagni, Orvieto, Rome, Viterbo, Naples).

After having written “books enough to sink a ship or to stock a library” (Chesterton), Thomas had a special encounter with Christ, a vision of God, which prompted the theologian to utter humbly: “All that I have written is straw.” It happened on December 6, 1273 during the Mass of St. Nicholas in the Church of St. Dominic in Naples. After this mysterious vision, Thomas did not write anything anymore. After the intimate encounter with the Word, Thomas kept silent: no more words, no more writings, just silence: the mystic’s sound of silence, the silent language of love that God listens to.

The Universal Doctor was canonized by John XXII in Avignon on July 18, 1323. His distinctive sign: the sun, because, according to Pius XI, “while he gives the light of science to the intellects, he lights up the wills with the flame of virtue.”

WHO IS ST. THIOMAS FOR US? The Angelic Doctor, is indeed still relevant today. However, his writings will not be fully meaningful to us unless we re-encounter in faith the God who inspired St. Thomas (S. Pinckaers).

The Angelic Doctor continues to be our example, our model Dominican today. Christ is the center of St. Thomas’ life and writings. The author of the Adoro te devote and Pange lingua writes: “For the love of Jesus Christ, I have studied, kept vigil, and struggled; indeed, it was you, Jesus, that I preached and You that I taught…” St. Thomas, like St. Dominic, St. Catherine point us to Christ, the only Way in the hopeful journey of life.

Besides Jesus and because of Jesus, the Universal Doctor had three loves: the crucifix, the Eucharist and prayer (Jean-Pierre Torrell). He is not only a great philosopher and theologian, but also a saint and a mystic: Usually, the outstanding intellectual dimension of Thomas’ life is underlined. But Thomas was a saint, described as “the wisest of the saints and the holiest of the wise.” He is a mystic. How was he able to write the awesome and sublime hymns to the Holy Eucharist? Because he was in love with the Holy Eucharist, Thomas celebrated one Mass and heard another Mass every day.

He was very devoted to Our Mother Mary. (At margins in his Summa Contra Gentiles, we find repeatedly written Ave Maria.) Also devoted to the angels about whom he wrote creatively well. Thomas was also devoted to the saints and in particular to St. Agnes, virgin and martyr. We are told that, since he was very young, our brother was scared of thunderstorms, of lightening, so he made recourse to St. Agnes, the protector in storms.

Let me underline, more concretely, some our standing traits of the Angelic Doctor.

(1) Thomas was very humble as a student, a professor and a brother in the community. He submitted his writings to the magisterial authority of the Church. He refused high ecclesiastical positions. He was a lover of the poor: “He had a heart of mother towards the poor.” The Angelic Doctor invites us today to be humble, to live a simple life style, and to love all, especially the poor and needy.

(2) Thomas was a man of prayer, a contemplative man. In his life, there was no opposition but integration between prayer and study, contemplation and action. With his emblematic saying Contemplata aliis tradere (see II-II, 181, 3), Thomas captured marvelously the charism of our dear Father and Founder Dominic, the one who always talked of God, and that “never asking for reward, he just talked about the Lord.” And so must we - according to our specific Dominican vocation.

(3) Thomas loved, in particular, Truth and Love, because Jesus is the Truth and God is Love. St. John Paul II calls him the apostle of truth (veritas). Every truth “regardless of who said it, comes from the Holy Spirit” (I-II, 109. 1). 

The moral/spiritual theology of our brother Thomas is a theology of virtues cantered on love as charity, and on the other virtues as the feet and hands of love.  St. Thomas writes: “All things issue from charity as from a principle, and all things are ordered towards charity as to an end” (In Jn. XV, 2). The practice of virtues helps us flourish as joyful human beings: “Happiness consists in the practice of virtue.”

And (4), Thomas lived the truth in love. His words: “Prius vita quam doctrina,” or first life, then doctrine. A. Sertillanges says that in him, “learning goes hand in hand with virtue-ing. What saves us is not merely knowledge but virtuous living: witnessing the truth in love.

Finally, a marvelous example to follow for all the Dominican branches, including in particular the lay Dominicans, who will have this Jubilee Year of Hope - we all - a new Dominican lay brother saint: Pier Giorgio Frassati, who died a hundred years ago, and will be canonized during the Jubilee of Youth. He learned from St. Thomas, too, his love for the poor and the Eucharist. When the young lay Dominican was asked how could he visit the filthy and smelly houses of the poor every day, Blessed Pier Giorgio answered: “Jesus comes to me every morning in Communion, and I return the visit by going to serve the poor.” A marvelous example for the whole Dominican Family, and in particular for the lay Fraternities, for our dear four new members of the lay fraternity of the Santuario del Santo Cristo, who will make their first profession in this Holy Mass in honor of our brother Thomas Aquinas. We are all proud of being Dominicans, members all of the marvelous Dominican Family.

Saint Thomas Aquinas and Blessed Pier Giorgio, pray for us.

January 28, 2025

Feast of St. Thomas Aquinas

Dear Sr. Melita Catherine, Sr. Minerva Mary Magdalene, Sr. Gertrude Fideliz Joseph and Br. Kyle Baldwin Pier Giorgio,

Congratulations on your first profession!

As you make your first profession, I’d like to go over three, among many, manifest graces and circumstances that – I am sure, one way or another – shaped your preparation for this important phase of your spiritual journey:

- The Year of Prayer. You were admitted to the novitiate during this year – certainly a fitting year to prepare yourself for your first profession. 

- The Jubilee Year of Hope. This year, when you make your first profession, we again find ourselves in a season of renewal as the Church celebrates the Jubilee Year of Hope. I would like to believe that Divine Providence allowed this to happen so you may be inspired, in a world full of despair, to become missionaries of hope; hope that is anchored in the promises of Christ. 

- The Double Jubilee of St. Thomas Aquinas. Today, the Church closes the Double Jubilee of St. Thomas Aquinas - commemorating the 700th anniversary of his canonization and the 750th anniversary of his death. I propose that as you make your commitment to live according to the Rule of the Lay Fraternities of St. Dominic, you also take St. Thomas as your model of how to live out the Dominican life, i.e., joyfully embracing our vocation of finding God in contemplation and sharing the fruits of that contemplation with the world.

Brother and Sisters, today, you do not only declare your intention to live according to the Rule of the Lay Dominicans. By your profession, you also declare your willingness to make your life a sacrificial offering to God by committing to the daily observance of the Rule – prayer, study, community, and apostolate. When at times you think that it is difficult to fulfill your Dominican commitments – be inspired by the thousands of lay Dominicans who have gone before us who have proven that fidelity to the Rule is an authentic pathway to sanctification and a deeper union with Christ.

Be assured of my prayers as you take this important step in your vocation.

I entrust your Dominican journey to Our Lady of the Rosary, our Blessed Father Dominic, our Seraphic Mother Catherine, and our Angelic Doctor Thomas. 

Verso l’alto!

In Christ and St. Dominic,

Br. Jeremy John Luis

January 28, 2024

4th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Fr. Raymond was asked to offer the Mass at the nursing home of the sisters. I, therefore, have to give the points for our reflection this morning. Before I begin, I would just like to mention that today is supposed to be the feast day of St. Thomas Aquinas; but since it’s a Sunday, it’s transferred to tomorrow.

Pope Francis declared that 2024 shall be a year of prayer in preparation for the Jubilee Year in 2025; and Pope Francis inaugurated the Year of Prayer last Sunday. He said:

“The coming months will lead us to the opening of the Holy Door, with which we will begin the Jubilee. I ask you to intensify your prayer to prepare us to live well this event of grace, and to experience the strength of God’s hope. Therefore, today we begin the Year of Prayer; that is, a year dedicated to rediscovering the great value and absolute need for prayer in personal life, in the life of the Church, and in the world.”

I. Importance of Prayer for Dominicans

We, the heirs of the contemplative and apostolic spirit of St. Dominic, know very much how true the words of Pope Francis are – prayer is of great value and of absolute necessity. In fact, it is one of the four pillars of the Dominican life – along with study of sacred Truth, community life, and preaching or apostolate.

The importance of prayer in the Dominican life is evidenced by our prayer commitments: from liturgical prayers such as the Mass, Confession, and the Liturgy of the Hours, and non-liturgical prayers such as mental prayer, Holy Rosary and our Devotion Christ’s Passion and Crucifixion. As Fr. William Hinnebusch, OP, said, “in seeking to make its children contemplative apostles, the Order demands of them, as an indispensable condition, a life of prayer. It frames their daily life in prayer, prescribing that they carry out the liturgy and fulfill many other spiritual obligations.”

Furthermore, according to Fr. Hinnebusch, “within the Church, the Order constitutes a special group of adorers. Each of its parts is united to the others by the supernatural bonds of profession for the holy purpose of praising God. Furthermore, all its branches work together as a family to multiply, by their apostolic works, adorers of the Trinity. To achieve this end most effectively, the Order seeks to make its members contemplatives, living images of Christ, the perfect Adorer.”

He also adds, “The ambition to become a prayerful man must consume the Dominican. He should give careful attention to his spiritual life, should devote himself especially to his prayers of obligation, faithfully attending choir, reciting the rosary, and making meditation.”

First point of reflection: How is my prayer life? Am I taking advantage of the spiritual means available to me as a Dominican: like praying the Liturgy of the Hours, Confession, Mass? Or do I take them for granted?

II. The Great Value and Absolute Need for Prayer in Our Personal Life

To better appreciate Pope Francis’ statement about the “great value and absolute need for prayer in personal life,” I propose these 7 thoughts on prayer by Fr. Paul O’Sullivan, OP, first published in 1943:

1. Prayer is Conversation with God. – “What then is prayer? Prayer is nothing else than talking to God, conversing with God Himself. When we kneel down and make the Sign of the Cross reverently, God at once turns to us and gives us all His attention as fully as if there was no one else in existence.”

Fr. Sullivan goes on to say that, “This was the secret of the Saints, but it is a secret so clear and easy that anyone can understand it. Why did the Saints love to pray? Just because they knew and they felt that they were talking to God. Therefore, far from being wearisome it was an immense joy for them to pray.”

2. God has bound Himself to hear our prayers. – “’Ask and you shall receive, seek and you shall find, knock and it shall be opened unto you.’” What words could possibly be clearer? These and similar promises our Blessed Lord made over and over again. Sometimes God may not give us what we ask because He sees that it would not be good for us, but undoubtedly in this case He will give us another and a better grace.”

3. Every prayer we say with reverence and trust gives God immense glory. – “What a joy it should be to feel that we are giving real joy to God. But does God really bother about us? God does not only love us, but He most earnestly desires our love and affection in return. ‘Behold the Heart that loves men so much, but is so little loved by men.’ These are His own very words addressed to each of us.

Fr. Eladio Neira, OP, seconds this statement when he wrote that one of the reasons why we meditate is so that we can, “offer Him our homage and to promote His glory by our advancement in virtue."

4. Prayers obtain for us many important graces and blessings which we shall never get and never enjoy if we do not ask for them. – “If a Christian believes these truths, as he is bound to do, is he not a madman if he omits his prayers?”

Blessed Raymond of Capua, quoted by Fr. Hinnebusch, relates this story of St. Catherine of Siena:

Catherine told me that when she decided to learn to read so that she could say the divine praises and the canonical hours, a friend of hers wrote the alphabet out and tried to teach it to her; but after spending many fruitless weeks over it, she decided not to waste any more time and turned to heavenly grace instead. One morning she knelt down and prayed to the Lord thus: "Lord", she said, "if you want me to learn to read so that I can say the psalms and sing your praises in the canonical hours, deign to teach me what I am not clever enough to learn myself. If not, thy will be done. I shall be quite content to remain in my ignorance and shall be able to spend more time in meditating on you in other ways."

Then a marvel happened -- clear proof of God's power -- for during this prayer she was divinely instructed so that when she got up she knew how to read any kind of writing quite easily and fluently, like the best reader in the world. When I realized it, I was quite flabbergasted, especially when I discovered that though she could read so fast, she could hardly spell the words. I believe that Our Lord meant this to be a sign. of the miracle that had taken place.

From then on, Catherine began to hunt for books of the Divine Office to read the psalms and anthems and the other things fixed for the canonical hours.

5. Prayer obtains happiness for us. – “All men desire happiness, all men seek happiness, all men work for happiness. Unfortunately, men seek happiness in a thousand different ways and never find it. They lose their time. God alone gives happiness, as God alone gives life and health. Happiness is God’s greatest gift, for it embraces what is best for us. God, as we have said, promises to give us all good things if we ask for them. What can be easier than to ask God every day in our prayers for happiness? Why do not men ask God for happiness? They do not think. True, it is not possible to have perfect happiness in this life, because we are in a vale of tears due to the sin of Adam and due to our own sins, which bring so much sorrow and suffering with them. However we can have a great measure of happiness in this life, and it is God and God alone who can and will give us this great measure of happiness if we confidently and lovingly ask Him for it. There is no better, no surer way of attaining happiness than by praying for it. Therefore real peace and happiness God and God alone can give and gives to all who ask Him for it in prayer.”

6. Prayer is the greatest power and the greatest consolation in the world. – “Let us give one clear example: Solomon was the wisest of men. He enjoyed all the delights which wisdom gives. He was immensely rich; there seemed to be no limit to his wealth. He had pleasures, honors and power. Yet he tells us that in all these pleasures he found no real happiness. It was only in God that he found happiness and joy. Solomon is no exception, for it has become a proverb that “Uneasy is the head that wears a crown.” If kings and the great ones of the earth fail to find happiness, how can other poor mortals hope to achieve it? Finally, whatever little happiness worldlings may claim is lost in death, and they are always afraid of death. Death always has terror for them. Whereas, God’s friends not only enjoy the great measure of peace, joy and happiness which God gives them, but they are sure of a still greater happiness after death for all eternity. Death for them is not the grave, the tomb; it is only the gate of infinite joy and bliss for ever and for ever. Oh, Christian man, pray, pray much to the good God for happiness!"

7. Prayers deliver us from countless evils and dangers. – “Only recently an eminent American doctor, a Protestant by religion, published a striking article on the power of prayer in restoring health of mind and body. He says, ‘How very, very often have I not seen my patients restored to health when all my skill and the skill of my colleagues had utterly failed. Prayer—and I mean the prayer of the ordinary Christian—is the greatest power in the world.’ To any observant Christian, especially a doctor, this fact is manifest. Without referring to the thousands and thousands of people miraculously cured every year at Lourdes, at Fatima in Portugal and at many other shrines, also by the intercession of St. Philomena, the Little Flower and other saints, prayer is every day obtaining from God relief from suffering and restoration to health. We do not know what evils and dangers may lie in wait for us during the day. Therefore, let us pray. … How many Christians would regain new life if they prayed fervently and received the last Sacraments, in time and with faith, instead of putting them off until it is too late.”

For our second point of reflection, we ask ourselves: what is my attitude towards prayer? Do I see it as burden? Have I ever looked forward to prayer time in the same way that I am excited to meet with friends?

III. Meditation

For our third and last point of reflection, Brothers and Sisters, I would like us to look into one of our non-liturgical prayer commitments which highlights the conversational and discursive nature of prayer, that is, meditation.

One the mottoes of the Order of Preachers is contemplare et contemplata aliis tradere, i.e., to contemplate and to give to others the fruits of contemplation. Now contemplation is the highest form of mental prayer. It is a gift from God; it is not something that we can attain by ourselves. However, we can make ourselves ready for contemplation; we can make ourselves ready to accept the gift of contemplation. How? By being faithful to our commitment to daily meditation.

Fr. William Hinnebusch, OP, says:

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 (IV Cont. Gent., c. 54).

He puts the emphasis on pondering. A soul of praise must constantly be meditating on the truths of faith. Mental prayer is a major obligation of the Dominican. Meditating the truths of faith over a lifetime causes a man to penetrate their inner meaning.

This is seconded by Fr. Eladio Neira, OP, when he said that the object of our meditation – or the topics for our meditation – should be “any mystery of our faith, the life of Christ, the liturgy, or the saints.”

To further appreciate meditation, let us look to Venerable Louis of Granada as our guide. (Sidenote: According to St. Teresa of Avila, the foundress of the Discalced Carmelites, the book by Ven. Louis of Granada entitled, The Sinner’s Guide, saved millions of souls from hell.) In Pathways to Holiness, an abridgement by Fr. Jordan Aumann, OP of Ven. Louis’ Summa of the Christian Life, meditation is characterized as follows:

1. Meditation is a most effective way of stimulating true devotion and the practice of the Christian virtues. – “In this type of mental prayer we look at ourselves by means of an examination of conscience in order to acquire true self-knowledge. We cannot make progress in the spiritual life unless we know how we stand before God and then take practical steps to grow in the practice of virtue.”

2. Meditation gives us a deeper awareness of divine things. – “In meditation we can pause and mull over the words and concepts without being concerned about when we shall finish or whether we shall cover a specified amount of matter.” In the words of Fr. Neira, meditation allows us to, “understand one’s faith more deeply and apply its truth to oneself.”

3. Meditation arouses in us a love or a holy fear of God and hatred for sin. – “It increases our understanding of spiritual truths and it prompts us to apply them to our lives and make firm resolutions for the future.” Also in the words of Fr. Neira, “to love and hope in God and to will to those things which serve God better.”

How do we meditate? There are several basic steps – which are all found in the Aquam Sapientiae Prayer Book – preparation, reading, meditation proper, thanksgiving and petition. We do not have time to go through the process but please go ahead and read it.

For our final point for reflection, we ask ourselves: am I faithful to my commitment to meditate daily? When was the last time I took the time to meditate?

For our resolution: I propose that we commit to our daily meditation, and to write our meditations daily in a notebook, at least, for 2024. This way, we can concretely answer the call of Pope Francis to make this year a year of intense prayer.

May Our Lady of the Rosary, our Blessed Father Dominic, and all the Dominican saints pray for us.

December 24, 2023

It’s Christmas Eve!

The waiting, the preparations are now over. I go to that scene “in Bethlehem, at midnight, in piercing cold…” (St Andrew Advent Prayer) when the Christ Child was born. I can imagine that in this moment, creation must have trembled in awe, the stars must have glowed their brightest in joy, the angels must have sung their best, singing praises and hosanas as they announced this very Good News!

The introduction of the angels to the poor shepherds triggered a curiosity difficult to set aside “..for today in the city of David, a Savior has been born for you who is Messiah and Lord…” (Luke 2:11) So they decided to see and finally, they found the Child and encountered that beautiful vision of Light.

And they narrated to Mary what the angels told them and they glorified and praised God.

How blest these poor shepherds were!! Humble and open, it was so easy for them to see and glorify the Light. After they left, some might have gone back to keep the mother company or to just be at the manger. Life could never be the same again.

Anyone would always want to be where He is.

Come Lord Jesus come….

You are with me everyday through the Mass, the Holy Eucharist and prayers but if I go out in the world, will I encounter you with the same intensity?

If I look for you elsewhere, will I find you? Where and how will I find You?

And if you do come, will I recognize you?

Can I recognize you in that stranger man who may knock at my door in need of help?

If I were that innkeeper in Bethlehem – would I have also said, ”Sorry…no room..” even if there may have been room...

Would I still have said “no room” if I noticed that behind the man was a lady, heavy with child, tired and cold?

Come, Lord Jesus come…

Can I recognize you in that baby waiting to be born into the world?

Can I recognize you in the poor who, like the shepherds, are given a distinct blessing of encountering the Lord in their simplicity and uncomplicatedness?

Come, Lord Jesus, come…

You came more than 2000 years ago and only a small band of shepherds and three Kings found you …

You still come to us everyday, in different ways, in different forms. Help us to see you more clearly, help us to find You and understand You…until that day when we finally join and unite with you face to face.

Come, Lord, Jesus, come!

I. Introduction

         After Jesus’ baptism in the river Jordan and his subsequent victory over the devil in the wilderness, we read in Matthew 4:12-17 the following:

When he heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee. He left Nazareth and went to live in Capernaum by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali, that what had been said through Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled…. From that time on, Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Emphasis added)

 That the theme of the Reign or Kingdom of God is critical in the study of Christian thought cannot be over-emphasized. Surely, the Lord would not have inaugurated his public ministry with this theme if it were not important. In fact, everyone is called to enter the kingdom.[1]

II. The Meaning of the Kingdom

The Catechism of the Catholic Church provides that in the New Testament, the word basileia can be translated by "kingship" (abstract noun), "kingdom" (concrete noun) or "reign" (action noun).[2]

In its abstract sense, George E. Ladd, a Protestant Pastor wrote:

The primary meaning of both the Hebrew word malkuth in the Old Testament and of the Greek word basileia in the New Testament is the rank, authority and sovereignty exercised by a king. A basileia may indeed be a realm over which a sovereign exercises his authority; and it may be the people who belong to that realm and over whom authority is exercised; but these are secondary and derived meanings. First of all, a kingdom is the authority to rule, the sovereignty of the king.[3] (Emphasis added)

He explained this understanding of the Kingdom of God by citing several passages from both the Old and New Testaments. One illustrative case is quoted below:

We read in Luke 19:11–12, “As they heard these things, he proceeded to tell a parable, because he was near to Jerusalem, and because they supposed that the kingdom of God was to appear immediately. He said therefore, ‘A nobleman went into a far country to receive a basileia and then return.’” The nobleman did not go away to get a realm, an area over which to rule. The realm over which he wanted to reign was at hand. The territory over which he was to rule was this place he left. The problem was that he was no king. He needed authority, the right to rule. He went off to get a “kingdom,” i.e., kingship, authority.[4]

The Kingdom of God as God’s rule or authority is agreeable to Fr. Gerald O’Collins, SJ who illustrated the joy of partaking in this reign (as in the action noun referred to in the Catechism). He wrote:

When a group of seventy disciples return from a mission, they report to Jesus with delight: ‘Lord, in your name even the demons submit to us’ (Luke 10:17). Although they have not been promised this power when sent on their mission (Luke 10:1-12), they find themselves sharing in Jesus’ dominion over the forces of evil. Jesus alludes to this victory over the demonic powers by replying: ‘I watched Satan fall from heaven like a flash of lightning’ (Luke 10:18). The power of Satan has been broken; by implication God’s kingly power has been established.[5] (Emphasis added)

If Kingdom means authority, then, it is not difficult to deduce that Jesus is the personification of the Kingdom – of the authority – of God. We again take Fr. Gerald O’Collins, SJ, as guide:

In the third century Origen (c. 185–c. 254) packed a lot into a comment about Jesus as being ‘the kingdom in person, autobasileia’ (In Matt. 24.7; on Matthew 18:23). If we follow the Gospels, we cannot conceive of the kingdom detached from the person of Jesus. Both in his preaching and in his miraculous deeds, Jesus was inseparably connected with the arrival of the divine kingdom. Through his person and presence, God’s rule had come and was coming.[6] (Emphasis added)

III. The Reign of God in the Father’s Plan of Creation

In studying the theme of the Kingdom of God, it is important to have a background on the Old Testament themes thereof. This is especially so because Jesus did not preach just any doctrine on a kingdom, but THE Kingdom of God and, certainly, the Kingdom of God did not just begin in the New Testament.

While the concept of the Kingdom of God is not a well-developed theme in the Old Testament, Fr. Braulio Peña, OP, offers several clues that point to it.[7] According to him in addition to the establishment of the Kingdom of Israel in the elevation of Saul as king, the following Old Testament accounts also give us hints of the concept of the Kingdom of God in the New Testament:

·      Adam and Eve. The first stage is given to us in the first chapters of Genesis describing man's creation, his blessing, fall and subsequent promise by God. (Genesis 1-3).

·      Noah. The second passage is Noah's story, and with the flood provoked by man's evil, followed by Noah's liberation and covenant with Yahweh. (Gen. 6-9)

·      Abraham. The story of Abraham’s choice and of the covenant with Yahweh constitutes another relevant stage to understand the meaning of Yahweh's Kingdom. (Gen. 12-25)

·      Jacob. The story of Jacob gives us also some insights about God's Kingdom and God's way of choosing his elects. (Gen. 27-36)

·      Joseph. The narration of Joseph 's life and his successful mission in Egypt gives us also some pointers about the concept of Yahweh's Kingdom. (Gen. 37-50)

·      Moses. One more historical occasion is the covenant between God and Israel in mount Sinai after a saga of salvific events. (Ex. 2-24; Deut.1-34)

·      Samuel and Saul. The first book of Samuel summarizes for us a turning point in the history of Israel. The people wish to be ruled like other peoples, and they ask for a king different from the judges of Yahweh. (1 Sam. 8-12)

·      David. The second book of Samuel tells us the story of king David. But it is in chapter seven where we find the divine message about the Kingdom of Yahweh. (2 Sam. 7)

·      Isaiah. For a description about Yahweh S Kingdom there is no better than the one given to us by Isaiah, presenting to us the ruling of one Emmanuel. (Is.9:6-7; cf. 7:14)

It seems, therefore, that from the Fall of Man two kingdoms were formed – the Kingdom of God, and a kingdom opposed to God. Thus, from the Fall of Man, God has been in a quest to redeem man from the Evil One, since “by our first parent’s sin the devil has acquired a certain domination over man.”[8]

IV. The Reign of God in the Historical Ministry of Christ

A. In the Person of Christ

As we have already mentioned above, the Kingdom – the authority of God – is personified in Jesus. He testified to this in his public ministry by witnessing to his authority. Fr. O’Collins is of the opinion that:

Jesus so identified himself with the message of God’s kingdom that those who responded positively to this message committed themselves to him as disciples. To accept the coming rule of God was to become a follower of Jesus. To be saved through the kingdom was to be saved through Jesus.[9] (Emphasis added.)

Among the passages that Fr. O’Collins cited were Matthew 5:21-44 where Jesus prefaced his teaching with “But I say to you,” and not with the usual words of Old Testament prophets, “Thus says the Lord.” Also cited were Jesus’ claims of authority over the observance of the Sabbath (Mark 2:23-28; 3:1-5), the Temple (Mark 11:15-17) and the Law, which, according to Fr. O’Collins are “three divinely authorised channels of salvation.”[10]

         Fr. Peña explains the identity of Jesus and of God’s Kingdom as follows:

God’s Kingdom is the prevalence of God’s will and blessing on creation. Now that divine will and blessings are personified, fulfilled, in Jesus’ witness and preaching. Hence we affirm that Jesus is the incarnation of the Father’s Kingdom. Jesus is the Kingdom, the blessing given to us by the Father.[11]

For his part, Fr. Peña cited Matthew 11:4-5 where John sent his disciples to ask Jesus whether he is the messiah, and Jesus answered, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind regain their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have the good news proclaimed to them. And blessed is the one who takes no offense at me.” He also cited Matthew 12:24-28 where Jesus answered the doubting Pharisees that “if it is by the Spirit of God that I drive out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.” Fr. Peña, then, concluded that the height of Jesus witnessing to his authority – to his kingship, to him being the Kingdom of God – is found in the account of his ultimate sacrifice when he exclaimed, “It is finished.” (John 19:30) Then he notes that Jesus’ “own enemies contributed to such a climax by putting on the cross the cause of his condemnation: ‘Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.’” (John 19:19)

B. In the Preaching of Christ

We have already cited Matthew 4:17 to confirm that the preaching of the Kingdom of God was central to Jesus public ministry as it was the first theme that he preached. The significance of this preaching is all the more highlighted because when John’s disciples inquired whether Jesus was the Messiah, supra, Jesus’s response included, “the poor have the good news proclaimed to them.” Again, we quote Fr. Peña:

All throughout his ministry, Jesus constantly comes back to the proclamation of the Kingdom. It is the core of his Sermon on the Mountain: “… theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:1-12) It is the core of his parables: “The kingdom of heaven is similar to...” (Matthew 13:1-52). It is the core of the task entrusted to his disciples when he sends them two by two with the message, “to proclaim the Kingdom.”  (Matthew 10:5-15). It is the core of Jesus’ final command before his ascension: “Go through the whole world and preach the Gospel to all mankind.” (Mark 16:15) (Italics in the original)

It is essential to “listen” to the preaching of Jesus because to enter the Kingdom, “one must first accept Jesus’ word.”[12]

C. The Characteristics of the Kingdom of God

         In preaching of the Kingdom, Jesus emphasized that it is the Father’s Kingdom and a Kingdom given by the Father. “I cannot do anything on my own; I judge as I hear, and my judgment is just, because I do not seek my own will but the will of the one who sent me.” (John 5:30)

         Fr. Peña enumerates the following characteristics[13] of the Kingdom of God:

·      It is a year of grace akin to the jubilee in Leviticus 25. This is the implication of Luke 4:21 which records Jesus saying, “Today this scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing” after reading the following passage from Isaiah 61:1-2:

The spirit of the Lord God is upon me,

    because the Lord has anointed me;

He has sent me to bring good news to the afflicted,

    to bind up the brokenhearted,

To proclaim liberty to the captives,

    release to the prisoners,

To announce a year of favor from the Lord

·      It is festive as illustrated in the parable of the prodigal son. (Luke 15:11 ff)

·      It is a victory over evil. As Fr. Peña wrote:

From the moment of creation in Genesis, and all throughout the Old Testament, man sees the twofold force of light and darkness, of life and death, of Yahweh and Satan engaged in a fierce struggle to establish their respective Kingdom. With man’s sin God’s will over man has suffered a dramatic defeat. Nevertheless, the time will come when evil will be defeated by God’s light. And ‘the Light came into the world.’” (John1:9)

·      It is characterized by a good works. “I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another. This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:34-35)

·      It is universal. It is open to the ignorant and the simple (Luke 10:21), the sick and the poor (Matthew 11:4-5). It only excludes those who refused to believe. “For if you do not believe that I AM, you will die in your sins.” (John 8:24)

·      It is not forced but it is demanding. “If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” (Luke 9:23)

·      It is already present. It is a Kingdom that has already arrived. Asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he said in reply, “The coming of the kingdom of God cannot be observed, and no one will announce, ‘Look, here it is,’ or, ‘There it is.’ For behold, the kingdom of God is among you.” (Luke 17:20)

·      It is eschatological. Fr. Gerald O’Collins, SJ, in his exposition on the second “You Petition” of the Lord’s Prayer, wrote:

In the second ‘you’ petition we pray for the coming of the final kingdom of God – something we cannot achieve but which only God can make happen. The ‘kingdom of God’ is a slightly more abstract way of speaking of God ruling as king. …. Jesus proclaimed a divine kingdom that had already become effectively present through his deeds and words.[14] (Emphasis supplied)

The last two characteristics of the Kingdom of God seem to be contraditorcy: is it present, or is it something that we are expecting? If God’s Kingdom is already present and became effectively present through the preaching of Jesus Christ, why, then, do we still pray for it to come? According to Fr. Paul Murray, OP, this question was also asked by St. Thomas Aquinas in his Compendium Theologiae where he also offered the answer that it was because all things on earth are “not yet subject” to God. How are creatures not subject to God when God is their creator? St. Thomas answers, because “sometimes sin reigns in this world and this happens when human beings are so disposed that they follow at once the lure of sin, and carry it into effect.”[15]

Fr. Sal Putzu, SDB, beautifully synthesized the above ideas in his reflection on the second “You Petition” in his book also entitled, The Lord’s Prayer. He wrote:

God’s “Kingdom/Reign” is His unrivaled dominion over all creation as its Creator and supreme Legislator. It is also the perfect implementation of His plan of love for all mankind. Opposed to God’s reign is the Devil’s kingdom. Between the two stands Man’s kingdom, which is not necessarily opposed to God’s Kingdom but which, historically, has often become so whenever it is guided by human pride and fanned by the Devil.[16]

         There is, therefore, no contradiction between the characteristics of the Kingdom as present and as something that we hope for: it is already present by the coming of Christ and by our hearing of the Word; it is something that we pray for because some are not yet subject to God. The Catechism puts it, “the kingdom will be fulfilled, then, not by a historic triumph of the Church through a progressive ascendancy, but only by God's victory over the final unleashing of evil, which will cause his Bride to come down from heaven. God's triumph over the revolt of evil will take the form of the Last Judgement after the final cosmic upheaval of this passing world.”[17]

V. The Reign of God in the Permanent Action of the Holy Spirit

         The Holy Spirit did not begin building up the Kingdom when Jesus began his public ministry. The Catechism says, “The Kingdom, however, the object of the promise made to David, would be the work of the Holy Spirit.”[18] In other words, the Holy Spirit has been building up the Kingdom God following the Father’s plan of creation.

Before Jesus began his public ministry, the Holy Spirit was already at work: a) the Spirit guided John the Baptist as he prepared Israel for the Lord; b) by the power of the Holy Spirit, the virgin Mary conceived Jesus; c) moved by the Spirit, Elizabeth recognized Mary as the mother of the Lord; and d) by the power of the Spirit, Zechariah’s tongue was loosened to name his son John and to announce the prophetic status of his son.

In Luke 4:1, we read that, “Filled with the holy Spirit, Jesus returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit.” This indicates that the Holy Spirit is inseparable in the life and in the preaching of Jesus of the Kingdom of God.

Christ is truly a man of the Spirit, the Word-made-flesh whose every gesture is anointed by the Spirit’s invisible unction. As the Word cannot be without the Spirit whom he breathes forth, neither can the Word incarnate act without the empowering presence of the Holy Spirit.[19]

The same Holy Spirit is sent – poured forth – in the name of Jesus, by the Father. Thus, we read, “The Advocate, the holy Spirit that the Father will send in my name—he will teach you everything and remind you of all that [I] told you.” (John 14:26) In another verse, we read that it is Jesus himself who also sends the Holy Spirit. “But I tell you the truth, it is better for you that I go. For if I do not go, the Advocate will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.” (John 16:7)

According to Fr. Dominic Legge, OP, “The Holy Spirit teaches the same truths as the Son because everything the Spirit has, comes from the Father and the Son, who give everything they have (except their paternity and sonship) to him.”[20] He adds that the Spirit does teach corporeally but “by interiorly illuminating the mind.”[21]

Additionally, from Fr. Legge’s writing we can deduce that the Holy Spirit makes the saving power of Christ effective in us, and thus, keeps building the Kingdom of God, in two ways: 1) by leading us to know Christ’s Principle, i.e., the Holy Spirit makes Christ known by faith, and, in Christ, the Father himself; and 2) by conforming us to Christ’s Principle, i.e., by giving us a share in Christ’s sonship and holiness.[22]

The first way is significant because it is possible that one hears the Word, and still be deaf to it; one can receive the seed of the Word and will not be affected by it (Matthew 13:1-23) The importance of the role of the Holy Spirit in making the saving power of Christ effective also highlights that the building up of the Kingdom of God in the subjects of the Kingdom is a Trinitarian act: “to receive in the Holy Spirit is also to be brought to know the Son precisely as the divine Word of the Father; this is the incarnate Son’s glory. This means, once again, that the Holy Spirit’s mission in the world is not independent of Christ or of his humanity, but flows from the Incarnation and always refers us back to Christ, God and man.”[23]

The second way means that when the Holy Spirit comes to us, “he configures us to Christ our exemplar.”[24] In 1 John 3:2, we read, “Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we shall be has not yet been revealed. We do know that when it is revealed we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.” But how will this happen? St. Thomas Aquinas refers us to Romans 8:14, “For those who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.”

These works of the Holy Spirit were clearly manifested at Pentecost where the apostles were filled with the Holy Spirit. (Acts 2) After the event, the apostles manifested many the characteristics of the Kingdom of God: they spoke in tongues, they proclaimed repentance as Jesus did when he first preached, they became bold, they exhibited an excitement for the coming Kingdom, and yet did not forget to do good works by healing the sick.

VI. Reign of the God in the Liturgy

         The Catechism says that, “by prayer every baptized person works for the coming of the Kingdom.”[25] This is especially so when they participate in the Liturgy because the “Liturgy is an ‘action’ of the whole Christ (Christus totus).”[26] Thus, “in Christian tradition, (liturgy) means participation of the People of God in ‘in the work of God.’”[27]

         As such action of Christ, the liturgy also follows the pattern of how he accomplished his historical ministry, i.e., preaching repentance as a requisite for entering the Kingdom. “The first movement of the prayer of petition is asking for forgiveness… It is a requisite for righteous and pure prayer.”[28] After asking for forgiveness, “Christian petition is centered on the desire and search for the Kingdom to come, in keeping with the teaching of Christ. There is a hierarchy in these petitions: we pray first for the Kingdom, then for what is necessary.”[29]

This is especially manifest in the Liturgy of the Eucharist where its Introductory Rites include a Penitential Act. Thus,

The four elements of the eucharistic celebration that make up the introductory rites – the greeting, the penitential act, the doxology, and the collect – cannot be understood in isolation from each other. Rather, they reproduce a precise scriptural dynamic that becomes a liturgical dynamic: presence, mercy, glory.[30]

Having poured out the Holy Spirit on his disciples who later formed the Church, the Holy Spirit is the Church’s living memory.[31]

In the liturgy, Christ now acts through the sacraments he instituted to communicate his grace. As Sacrosanctum Concilium declares:

Christ is always present in His Church, especially in her liturgical celebrations. He is present in the sacrifice of the Mass, not only in the person of His minister, … but especially under the Eucharistic species. By His power He is present in the sacraments…. He is present in His word, since it is He Himself who speaks when the holy scriptures are read in the Church. He is present, lastly, when the Church prays and sings, for He promised: "Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them" (Matt. 18:20).[32]

In the liturgy, therefore, the Kingdom of God continues to preached by Christ through the sacraments and the Word, while the Holy Spirit teaches and reminds the faithful of the teachings of Christ.

VII. Reign of God in the Mission of the Church

         Lumen Gentium describes the Church the seed of the Kingdom of Christ on earth. It says:

When Jesus, who had suffered the death of the cross for mankind, had risen, He appeared as the one constituted as Lord, Christ and eternal Priest, and He poured out on His disciples the Spirit promised by the Father. From this source the Church, equipped with the gifts of its Founder and faithfully guarding His precepts of charity, humility and self-sacrifice, receives the mission to proclaim and to spread among all peoples the Kingdom of Christ and of God and to be, on earth, the initial budding forth of that kingdom.[33] (Emphasis added)

How does the Church proclaim the Kingdom of God? It does so just as Jesus did, i.e., “just as Christ carried out the work of redemption in poverty and persecution, so the Church is called to follow the same route that it might communicate the fruits of salvation to men.”[34]

The Church carries out its mission in two ways: by liberation and by salvation.

The Church’s work as an extension of Christ’s work of liberation is principally a liberation from sin: “Courage, child, your sins are forgiven.” (Matthew 9:2), “Receive the holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.” (John 20:22-23); from evil: as exemplified by his expulsion of demons in Luke 11:14 ff, and by his teaching of his disciples to pray, “deliver us from the evil one” (Matthew 6:13); and from death: it is the mission of the Church to witness that Jesus is alive and proclaim to proclaim his message that he is “the resurrection and the life” and that whoever believes in him, even if he dies, will live. (John 11:25).[35]

         In the Church’s work of salvation, she tries to build a kingdom of communion, of life and of love. This mission is rooted in the Christian principle that man is imago Dei, i.e., he was created in the image and likeness of God. “Thus in the Kingdom such a Community of Community of life and love presents itself as a liberating hope for the deprived and oppressed, while for the powerful and privileged it comes as a denunciation and an urge for justice, thus bringing about a Kingdom of sharing and brotherhood.”[36]

         Based on the Church’s renewed appreciation of man as imago Dei, the Church has reoriented its catechesis and liturgy. Similarly, it has intensified its social apostolate which includes the mission of promoting social transformation and social justice as embodied in its social doctrines. It is precisely through the formation of social conscience that the Church begins its work of liberation and salvation.

VIII. Pastoral Application

         Finally, we ask the question: how should we respond to this knowledge on the Kingdom of God?

         The Catechism states, “By living with the mind of Christ, Christians hasten the coming of the Reign of God, a kingdom of justice, love, and peace. They do not, for all that, abandon their earthly tasks; faithful to their master, they fulfill them with uprightness, patience, and love.”[37]

         We respond, then, by the testimony of our lives, and by proclaiming the Good News.

         A. Witnessing

         It is a truism that people listen to those who are witnesses more than to those just teach or preach. Thus, one way of responding to the Kingdom of God is to live moral lives according to the standards of the Kingdom, i.e., by doing good works. In other words, to make our Christian lifestyle patterned on the lifestyle of Jesus. We recall the passages we have already mentioned above: “I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another. This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:34-35) And to this, we add the words of St. Paul, “the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.” (Romans 13:8)

         B. Proclaiming

         Just as one cannot give something that he does not have, so a person cannot proclaim the Kingdom of God without first accepting Jesus as God’s revelation and man’s salvation. But after this, what should the person who confessed Christ proclaim? Pope Francis proposes the proclamation of the kerygma. In his Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium, he wrote:

The centrality of the kerygma calls for stressing those elements which are most needed today: it has to express God’s saving love which precedes any moral and religious obligation on our part; it should not impose the truth but appeal to freedom; it should be marked by joy, encouragement, liveliness and a harmonious balance which will not reduce preaching to a few doctrines which are at times more philosophical than evangelical. All this demands on the part of the evangelizer certain attitudes which foster openness to the message: approachability, readiness for dialogue, patience, a warmth and welcome which is non-judgmental.

         As a final word, we recall the Lord’s ascension as recorded by Luke. In those passages, we read that two angels appeared to the witnesses of the event who said, “Men of Galilee, why are you standing there looking at the sky? This Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven will return in the same way as you have seen him going into heaven.” (Acts 1:11) Indeed, as disciples of Christ, we must not just keep looking up to heaven but also work to testify to his resurrection and be joyful bearers of hope in his Second Coming.

[1] Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC), 543

[2] CCC, 2816

[3] George Eldon Ladd, The Gospel of the Kingdom: Scriptural Studies in the Kingdom of God (Michigan: Eerdman’s Publishing Co., 1959), p.19

[4] Id., pp.20-21

[5] Fr. Gerald O’Collins, SJ. Jesus: A Portrait (London: Darton, Longman and Todd, Ltd., 2007), Kindle Loc. 537-541

[6] Id., Kindle Loc. 563-566

[7] Fr. Braulio Peña, OP. Soteriology: Jesus, His Person and Work (Manila: UST Press, 1990), p.452

[8] CCC, 407

[9] Fr. O’Collins, Jesus: A Portrait, Kindle Loc. 591-593

[10] Id., Kindle Loc. 600-602

[11] Fr. Peña, Soteriology, p. 456

[12] CCC, 543

[13] Id., pp.456-459

[14] Fr. Gerald O’Collins, SJ. The Lord’s Prayer. (Bangalore: St. Paul Press, 2009), p.78

[15] Fr. Paul Murray, OP. Praying with Confidence: Aquinas on the Lord’s Prayer (London: Continuum International Publishing, 2010), p.52

[16] Fr. Sal Putzu, SDB. The Lord’s Prayer. (Makati: Word and Life Publications, 2010), p.27

[17] CCC, 677

[18] CCC, 709

[19] Fr. Dominic Legge, OP. The Trinitarian Christology of St. Thomas Aquinas (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2017), p.187

[20] Id., p.227

[21] Ibid.

[22] Id., p.224

[23] Id., p.225

[24] Id., p.226

[25] CCC, 2632

[26] CCC, 1136

[27] CCC, 1069

[28] CCC, 2631

[29] CCC, 2632

[30] Goffredo Boselli. The Spiritual Meaning of the Liturgy (Minnesota: Liturgical Press, 2014), pp.26-27

[31] CCC, 1099

[32] Sacrosanctum Concilium (SC), 7

[33] Lumen Gentium (LG), 5

[34] LG, 8.3

[35] Fr. Peña, pp.466-467

[36] Id., p.468

[37] CCC, 2046

November 19, 2023

Last Regular Meeting for the Year

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Since Fr. Raymond is not around yet, I will give the points for meditation this morning.

Incidentally, today is the last regular meeting we will have this year. And it falls days before the Church celebrates the Solemnity of Christ the King. The Solemnity of Christ the King was instituted by Pope Pius XI in his encyclical, Quas Primas, in 1925. It was originally instituted by Pope Pius XI to be celebrated on the last Sunday of October, i.e., before the celebration of All Saints’ Day to emphasize that Jesus Christ is King of all kinds of races and people, and that His Kingship results in peace. In the reforms made after Vatican II, the solemnity of Christ the King was transferred to the Sunday before the 1st Sunday of Advent to emphasize the eschatological kingship of Christ, meaning, He is the King of history and of time; and that we will witness the regal splendor of His kingship at the end of the world.

In both Quas Primas and Vatican II, the Church invites us to profess our faith in Christ not only privately but also publicly. And this is what I want us to meditate on this morning.

In Matthew 28:16-20, we read as follows: Then the eleven disciples set out for Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to meet him. When they saw him, they prostrated themselves before him, although some doubted. Then Jesus approached them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the world.”

Brothers and sisters, “all authority in heaven and on earth” has been given to the King! We are subjects of the King. And the King has commissioned us to make disciples. The question is: are we making disciples? You most probably will say, yes! But concretely, who are you discipling? How are you discipling them? Are your personal apostolates geared towards discipling people? Or are your apostolates driving people away from Christ?

Brothers and sisters, as Lay Dominicans, we should lead the way in discipling people. Is not the aim of the Order’s preaching the making of disciples for the salvation of their souls?

For several years we have taken this responsibility to make disciples for granted. It is high time for us to revive it.

How do we do this? I propose the following:

1. Change in perspective. – We must recognize the need for change in perspective and, even of direction. Since we have taken our responsibility to make disciples for granted for years, our membership also suffered for years. The Chapter is 75 years old and yet we still remain to be a small group! We are not even 75 souls in this room! A concrete proof that we are not discipling.

Brothers and sisters, we are not a religious club that just meets here every month. We are a community especially called by Christ the King to make disciples by living the Dominican life! Let us, therefore, change our mind and attitude towards the spiritual welfare of the people around us: from indifference to intentional discipling. This is surely a troublesome command, but is not this a consequence of our profession that Christ is our Lord and King? If we profess Him to be King, are we not supposed to be following His command to make disciples? Are we willing to change our attitude to accomplish the mission entrusted to us by Christ the King?

2. Reach out to people: the last, the least, and the lost; and introduce them to Christ. – In Luke 19:42, when Jesus was entering Jerusalem, he wept and said, “If only you had recognized on this day what would bring you peace!” This is reason for the Solemnity of the Christ the King! To proclaim to the whole world that in Jesus Christ alone is true peace. Many, even among us, have not experienced this peace because we have not recognized Him. We are troubled because we are more concerned about our feelings and what we think than what Christ wants of us. So the question is, how can you make disciples if are not yourself a disciple?

I propose that you do three things: prayer, authentic Christian and Dominican life, and active invitation. 

First, prayers. In John 15:5, Jesus said, “I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever abides in me, and I in him, will bear much fruit. Apart from me you can do nothing.” Are you praying as you should? We can only effectively invite people if we are praying. This, again, is an accusation against the members of our Chapter – aside from the monthly meetings, do we pray on our own? Do we meditate daily? It is said that mental prayer and sinning cannot mix in one person. Either one meditates and stops sinning, or he stops meditating and starts sinning. So I would like to take this opportunity to invite all of you take your daily mental prayers seriously.

Secondly be a witness: Be careful how you speak and how you conduct yourself. As some say, you may be the only Bible people will read. So let us ourselves this morning: do my family and friends see Christ in me? Or do they see a complaining and angry person far from the character of Christ?

Thirdly, brothers and sisters, we have instituted in the past two years, programs that will make it easier for us to introduce Jesus Christ to our friends. One is the institution of the Friends of Lay Dominicans (FOLD) which allows those who are not yet members to participate in the life of the Chapter; you may invite your friends to join the FOLD so they can join our study sessions and our monthly recollections. Another is the Veritas Encounters. You can invite your friends to join your Veritas Encounters groups and, there, effectively introduce them to Jesus. How else can we best introduce our friends to Christ than letting them hear the Gospel? For concrete actions, then, we ask ourselves, who are the people I will be inviting to attend Veritas Encounters?

I agree with those who say that when we die and present and ourselves before the judgment seat of Christ the King, we will not be asked how many books we read or how many questions were able to answer. We shall be asked, where are your friends? Where are the souls I entrusted to you? Did I not tell you to make disciples?

3. Cooperate with the other members of the Order. – One probable reason why we have ignored making disciples is because we have not really reflected on our identity as Dominicans; and this is further caused by our lack of Dominican network. How many activities do we have that involve the community of the Holy Cross Convent? The Religious Missionaries of St. Dominic? The Dominican Sisters of Bl. Imelda? We have closed in on ourselves to the detriment of our apostolate and the Dominican spirit. Let us, therefore, strive for closer apostolic cooperation with the other branches of the Dominican Order – apostolates which have no other objective than to make disciples through preaching.

But, brothers and sisters, when we talk about discipleship, we talk about making disciples or followers of Christ. The word disciple comes from the Latin, discipulus which means student or learner. Discipulus, in turn, is from the word discere which means to learn. This makes the verse we read earlier clearer: Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. So discipleship connotes learning, i.e., learning about Christ. Be careful, therefore, not to make disciples for yourselves; our mission is to make disciples of Christ!

To summarize, brothers and sisters, I offered three points of reflection to recover our mission of making disciples: 1) change of mindset as a Chapter; 2) reach out to people; and 3) cooperate with the other branches of the Dominican Order. In reaching out to people, we can only be effective if: 1) we are prayerful; 2) live out what we believe and preach; and 3) invite them to the join the Chapter’s activities.

Finally, I repeat, the mission given to us by our King is clear: make disciples! Spread His Kingdom! So I ask again, brothers and sisters: who are you discipling? We ask ourselves, am I doing my mission as an obedient Christ the King who commissioned me to make disciples? Am I doing my mission as a Dominican to save my soul and that of others?

Let us examine ourselves in silence.

September 3, 2023

22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Dear Sr. Minerva, Sr. Gertrude, Br. Kyle, Sr. Kathleen, and Sr. Millie, all candidates for Admission; and to Br. Marlon, Sr. Evelyn, and Sr. Normamina, all candidates for First Profession:

Peace!

I congratulate you on your admission and your first profession this coming September 5, the 75th founding anniversary of our Chapter. On that day, the Chapter will not just commemorate that blessed day in 1948 when we were founded, but we will also be witnessing your taking up of the challenge to continue the mission we have received from God through the Church in the spirit of St. Dominic.

I would like to begin by quoting Fr. Hinnebusch, OP’s who wrote in his book, Dominican Spirituality: Principles and Practice the following lines:

The Dominican enters the Order of Friars Preachers to save his soul. He could have saved it outside the Order, but, once he takes vows, must save it through the spirituality of the Order. Nothing could be more vital for him, therefore, than to understand Dominican spirituality. It is composed of the end St. Dominic chose for his Order and the means he established to realize this end.

What is this end? What is the objective of the Order? What are the means to achieve this end? In the Book of Constitutions of the Friars Preachers, we read this:

For the Order of Friars Preachers founded by St. Dominic is known from the beginning to have been instituted especially for preaching and the salvation of souls. Our brethren, therefore, according to the command of the founder must conduct themselves honorably and religiously as men who want to obtain their salvation and the salvation of others, following in the footsteps of the Savior as evangelical men speaking among themselves or their neighbors either with God or about God. (Fundamental Constitution, II)

In this very short provision, we can discern the objective of the Order: salvation of oneself and the salvation of others. How about the means? It can also be found in the same provision, i.e., “following in the footsteps of the Savior as evangelical men speaking among themselves or their neighbors either with God or about God.”

Is this also true of Lay Dominicans? Yes! In the very words of our Chapter’s Directory, “the purpose of the Dominican Laity is the sanctification of its members and others.” (Art. V) In regard to the means, the Chapter’s Directory also says, “the spiritual life of the members is guided by norms willingly accepted as means to that end; tried and proven to be effective by more than 7 centuries of experience. These obligations offer several variations. None in themselves bind under sin. They are followed voluntarily never to be regarded as rigid routines that threaten conscience or peace of mind.” (ibid.) By now, if you have been religiously attending the Veritas Encounters, you must have memorized the norms.

Dear candidates for admission, the purpose of the Order and norms by which we carry this out are found in the scapular which you will soon wear. But before I tell you that, let me first tell you that the scapular is the most important element of your Lay Dominican uniform: it does not only signify your membership in the Order but is also the sign of your consecration to the Blessed Mother! In fact, it is also the only part of the uniform that is blessed! Your veil is not blessed, your white shirts and your black skirts and pants are not blessed, your black socks and black shoes are not blessed. Only your scapular is blessed! And yet, it is unfortunate that whenever we meet and go to Mass, some of our members are more concerned with their veils and the black and white uniform – and they don’t even bother wearing the scapular! Dear candidates, we can forgo the black and white uniform but not the scapular! Not even Dominican pins can replace it. Our Chapter’s Directory states:

The Dominican pins, cross or shield are not officially authorized to replace the scapular but may be worn as a visible expression of one’s Dominican vocation. (Art. IV, Sec. 4)

Dear candidates, another reason why we should wear the scapular is because it was given to us by the Blessed Virgin Mary. Just as the Brown Scapular was given to the Carmelites, the White Scapular was given to us! Wearing it is a sign of our consecration to Mary! It, therefore, boggles my mind when some are more concerned with their shirts and pants! It also puzzles me that some Lay Dominicans, probably for lack of instruction, would say that the Brown Scapular is more powerful than the White Scapular and that the Virgin Mary promised salvation to those wearing the Carmelite Scapular but not the Dominican Scapular. Rubbish! Was the promise of our Lady regarding the Brown Scapular automatic? Does the mere wearing of it save one’s soul? No! That would be superstitious, if not an outright heresy! It is faith and the living of the Christian life that will save you. Neither scapular, therefore, is superior to the other.

Yet, when one chooses to become a Dominican, he or she wears the Dominican Scapular. The Lay Dominican wears it not just as a symbol of membership in the Order but also as a symbol of his or her devotion to our Blessed Mother. Fr. Lawrence Lew, OP, wrote:

Our Lady’s third sign to her favoured sons is the scapular which she gave to the Order through Blessed Reginald. Like our own mothers who clothed us, so our heavenly mother clothes us in garments that anticipate the wedding garments of heaven. …. The scapular is “the maternal pledge from Heaven of the love of the Blessed Virgin Mary towards us, under whose wings thou shalt find a shelter from the heat, and a bulwark and defence in death from all dangers both of body and soul.” Kiss the scapular, therefore, before you put it on, as a sign of your love for Our Blessed Mother and of trust in her great patronage; this devout act used to be enriched with indulgences.

Now going back to the point I made earlier that our Chapter’s Scapular summarizes the purpose and the means by which we achieve the such purpose. While it is a general rule that the scapulars of Lay Dominicans are plain white, the founders of our Chapter wisely made it a point to make it not only a devotional material but also a tool for instruction.

On the front side of the scapular – which is derived from our original estandarte – our founders chose the image of Our Lady of the Rosary of Pompeii carrying the Holy Child (which, however, was localized by using the image of Our Lady of the Rosary of La Naval) with Sts. Dominic and Catherine kneeling on either side receiving the Holy Rosary for propagation. This summarizes the spirituality of the Order: Marian yet Christo-centric, personal and fraternal, contemplative and active, doctrinal and apostolic. In the words of Fr. Hinnebusch, OP:

St. Dominic embraced the same general elements of the Christian life shared by others in the Church, but blended them into a specific spirituality that is original, balanced, and unique. …. It is, in truth, the spirituality of Christ the Preacher and of the Apostles. The primary intention is to elevate the friar to the heights of contemplation, but going beyond this, Dominican contemplation itself is intended to fructify in the apostolate for souls, especially through preaching, teaching, and writing. Contemplation is the generic element, the one the Friars Preachers share with other contemplative Orders; the salvation of souls through preaching is the specific note distinguishing Dominicans from all other Orders.

On the back side of the scapular, we see our logo with the Dominican emblem which was explained by Fr. Eladio Neira, OP:

In the Dominican emblem, there are four white and four black triangles, and in between them, superimposed on the triangle is a black and white cross with a fleur de lis at the ends.

The four white and four black triangle symbolizes unity or the working together of a body of people for the common good.

The four white triangle symbolizes: (1) Purity; (2) Peace; (3) Charity; and (4) Sincerity. The four black triangles symbolizes: (1) Wisdom, i.e., great learning; (2) Silence, i.e., stillness; absence of sound; (3) Fortitude, i.e., spiritual strength for the hardships as well as courageous endurance; and (4) Penance, i.e., suffering or self-sacrifice, as the expression of sorrow. for having sinned.

The black and white cross with a fleur de lis at its end, superimposed upon the triangles symbolizes: (1) Conquest or triumph over an enemy; (2) Duty or obligation, especially moral obligation such as respect and obedience to parents and superior (husband), etc.; and (3) Self-sacrifice or the giving up of one's own satisfaction to help others.

What are the Dominican colors? They are white and black. White is universally regarded as the symbol of innocence or purity. Black symbolizes penance.

Fr. Neira also wrote, that “on the outer side of the shield, there is usually a design of an emblem, a symbol that stands for ideals.” These outer elements in our logo is what I wish to give an interpretation today – as such interpretation is absent in all the currently available resources.

Firstly, the royal crown: while this may refer to the royals of Spain from which the Province we belong to originated, it may as well mean the dominion of Christ as King over the Chapter and its members which necessarily implies a duty on our part to help build the Kingdom by our missionary and apostolic works.

Secondly, the wreath: if you observe there are two different leaves used in the scapular but not in the original estandarte. While the origin of the different leaves in the scapular is not clear, I believe the use of two different leaves highlight the Chapter’s commitment to achieve the objectives of the Order: the salvation of one’s soul represented by the laurel leaves which is a sign of victory; and the mission to save others’ soul represented by the oak leaves which was given by the Romans in ancient times to their soldiers who saved the lives of their fellow Roman citizens in battle.

Dear candidates, I hope that with your admission, we shall recover the culture of wearing the scapular daily (with our small scapulars) and whenever we do “Dominican work.”

Now, I turn to you, dear candidates for first profession. As you may know, Dominican groups and lay associations abound. However, the formula of profession is exclusive to Lay Dominicans. The General Declarations of the 2019 Rule provides:

2. …. § III – The formula of the promise contained in the Rule of the Lay Fraternities of St Dominic approved by the Holy See is not to be used by other groups aggregated in any way to the Dominican Family, unless the Master of the Order expressly permits otherwise.

It is my prayer that, as you make your first profession, your original desire to follow Christ in the footsteps of St. Dominic will be stronger. Soon, you will become members Council in charge of charting the direction of the Chapter. It is my fervent prayer, therefore, that you will lead our members into cultivating the culture of praying and studying – without these, no amount of apostolic work will be effective in building the Kingdom.

Finally, dear candidates, I would like you to please write your Personal Program of Christian Perfection in preparation for your admission and first profession.

Congratulations once again, and may Sts. Dominic and Catherine pray for us!

Yours in Christ,

Br. J. Luis