Life // 
Four Pillars
Four Pillars
Four Pillars
Because you have asked me, my brother John, most dear to me in Christ, how to set about acquiring the treasure of knowledge, this is the advice I pass on to you: That you should choose to enter by the small rivers, and not go right away into the sea, because you should move from easy things to difficult things.
Such is therefore my advice on your way of life:
+ I suggest you be slow to speak, and slow to go to the room where people chat.
+ Embrace purity of conscience; do not stop making time for prayer.
+ Love to be in your room frequently, if you wish to be led to the wine cellar.
+ Show yourself to be likable to all, or at least try; but do not show yourself as too familiar with anyone; because too much familiarity breeds contempt, and will slow you in your studies; and don't get involved in any way in the deedsand words of worldly people.
+ Above all, avoid idle conversation; do not forget to follow the steps of holy and approved men.
+ Never mind who says what, but commit to memory what is said that is true.
+ Work to understand what you read, and make yourself sure of doubtful points.
+ Put whatever you can into the cupboard of your mind as if you were trying to fill a cup.
Following these words of wisdom, let us kick start our studies this year with the following prayer of St. Thomas:
Ineffable Creator,
Who, from the treasures of Your Wisdom,
Have established the three hierarchies of angels,
Have arrayed them in marvellous order
Above the fiery heavens,
And have marshalled the regions
Of the universe with such artful skill,
You are proclaimed
The true font of light and wisdom,
And the primal origin
Raised high beyond all things
Pour forth a ray of Your brightness
Into the darkened places of my mind;
Disperse from my soul
The twofold darkness
Into which I was born:
Sin and ignorance
You make eloquent the tongues of infants
Refine my speech
And pour forth upon my lips
The goodness of Your blessing.
Grant to me
Keenness of mind
Capacity to remember,
Skill in learning,
Subtlety to interpret,
And eloquence in speech.
May You
Guide the beginning of my work,
Direct its progress,
And bring it to completion
You Who are true God and true Man,
Who live and reign, world without end.
Amen.
We Dominicans centre our lives on Jesus Christ, the true light, and are moved by the Holy Spirit who radiates God's healing presence in the world today. We celebrate the Word of God in daily common prayer, meditation, study, and in our preaching. Our lives are nourished by God's Word as found in Sacred Scripture, celebrated in the Eucharist, lived in Tradition, and encountered in everday life.
For Dominicans, the communal dimension of our religious life requires us to be of "one mind and one heart in God." Profession into the Order of Preachers includes the promise to hold all things in common. We live together and pray together and share a common vision in the ministry of preaching. It was St Dominic's desire to imitate the apostolic poverty of Jesus and the early Church, so "we call nothing our own." As Dominicans, we share the blessings God has bestowed on us with the rest of the world.
St Dominic made study an essential part of the "Sacred Preaching." This was no small innovation in the thirteenth century when most of the clergy were uneducated. St Dominic sent the friars to the universities to study, to preach, and to establish places of learning. The dedication to study and teaching continues today. The Dominican emphasis on study opens our hearts and minds more fully to the human condition today, continues to build on a rich history and tradition and has its ultimate effect on our preaching and teaching.
Dominican friars continue the work of St Dominic today in an active and contemplative life. Our mission includes preaching, teaching, and works of social justice in a variety of settings: parishes, universites and schools chaplaincy, and retreats. We are inolved in full-time itinerant preaching, health care as chaplains and theologians. In our outreach to the poor we work for truth, justice, and peace though our ministries and involvement in the local and universal Church, the Body of Christ.
