Study and the Intellectual Life of Dominican Friars

From the very beginnings of the Order of Preachers, study has formed an integral part of the formation of its members and of the ongoing life of all its friars. This naturally flowed from the commitment to study of the founder, St Dominic. As Bl Jordan of Saxony writes in his Libellus concerning St Dominic's commitment to study of Sacred Scripture, “in his untiring desire to learn, he spent his nights with almost no sleep at all and the truth which he heard made its way into the deep recesses of his mind, where it was held fast by his memory.” This attitude to study, one of the 'four pillars' of Dominican life (study; prayer and liturgy; community life and regular observance; apostolic mission), has continued to the present day, as can be seen in a letter of a recent Master of the Order, Timothy Radcliffe OP, in 1995, “Study is a way to holiness, which opens our hearts and minds to each other, builds community and forms us as those who confidently proclaim the coming of the Kingdom.”

There are two main aspects to study within the context of religious life, the personal and apostolic. One could say that these relate to two of the other pillars of the Dominican life, prayer and apostolic mission. Study nourishes prayer life by increasing knowledge of God; directly, through the study of Sacred Scripture, and indirectly through the study of nature, His creation. It then strengthens the message which is taken to others in the apostolic life.

First of all, study is a prayerful and ascetic practice which leads to the sanctification of the individual. As n.83 of the Book of Constitutions and Ordinations of the Order states, “Assiduous study nourishes contemplation and fosters with a lucid fidelity the living of the evangelical counsels. The very perseverance it demands and its difficulty make of it a form of asceticism. Being an essential part of our life, it is an excellent religious observance.” Through the discipline of study one learns to train the mind in a similar way that bodily ascetic practices train the body. Struggling with difficult concepts and subjects that can seem pointless at times, and then achieving the satisfaction of the fruits of study, builds patience and perseverance which strengthens the other aspects of religious life, adding depth to prayer life and giving structure to a daily routine.

However, it would be disappointing if all this effort and discipline only served to sanctify the individual. Fortunately this is not the case in the Dominican life. Bl Jordan of Saxony says, “it is better to sow grain than to keep it stored in the barn” seemingly anticipating St Thomas who says, “it is better to enlighten than merely to shine”. This attitude perfectly embodies the motto of the Order, also coined by St Thomas, contemplare et contemplata aliis tradere, first to contemplate and then to bring the fruits of this contemplation to others. From the very early legislation of the Order, in the Primitive Constitutions, it was made clear that the main purpose of study is to be useful to the souls of others. Part of this benefit to our neighbours is to awaken in their minds a desire for Veritas, the Truth, another one of the goals of the Order. Much of philosophy and popular wisdom in the current age is founded on an underlying skepticism or relativism which doubts whether the human mind has the capacity to know the truth or even whether there is any such thing as truth, similar to Pilate's agnostic challenge to Jesus, “What is truth?” One very powerful antidote to this is the study of St Thomas, whose work is one of the greatest heritages of the Order. The study of St Thomas has been recommended not only within the Order, but constantly by the Church over the centuries and in such modern documents as Optatam Totius, a decree on priestly training of the Second Vatican Council, Vita Consecrata, a post-synodal Apostolic exhortation of Pope John Paul II on religious life, and even in Canon Law (n.252 §3)!

Allowing the freedom to pursue study and showing the vital importance placed on study within the Order is the principle of dispensation. From the very beginnings of the Order, a superior was empowered to dispense a friar from almost any obligation of regular observance if it impeded his ability to study and to preach. However, there was never any law which permitted dispensation from study, which shows how integral study was, and still is, to the charism of the Order.

Every Dominican should be fascinated by the Truth and desire to pursue it with all the natural abilities of the intellect. Cardinal Cajetan, a famous Dominican commentator on the Summa Theologica of St Thomas and intellectual opponent of Martin Luther during the Reformation, is supposed to have said that he could not excuse a friar who failed to devote at least four hours to study each day! While this may not be possible in the modern age, a thirst for the Truth and a commitment to persevere through the difficulties which arise during study are the best way to acquire the tools needed to go forth and confidently and convincingly preach the good news of the Kingdom of God.