The World as Cloister: The Audacity of the Dominican Mission
With the recent election of Pope Leo XIV and the upcoming General Chapter of our Order in Krakow next July, now is an opportune time to reflect on the life and legacy of our founder, St. Dominic, and the mission he entrusted to us as the Order of Preachers.
Above all, Saint Dominic was a man of the Church. A rereading of his missionary work makes sense only from this perspective: Dominic wanted to save the Church of Christ from the schisms and heresies that threatened it on all sides. For Dominic, the sinners to be saved, and the future of the Church were one and the same. This would leave a profound mark on the identity of the Order and all those who would follow in Dominic’s footsteps.
His great missionary intuition knows no bounds and cannot be limited to the narrow confines of an abbey church, a canon’s priory or even a diocese, as was the case for religious Orders at the time of Saint Dominic. He truly opened the doors of the Church’s mission to the world.
We, of the family of St. Dominic, are of the Church, we are the Church on the move, a Church that must constantly convert itself while making itself the servant of all, and this profound intuition that animates our being together is above all apostolic, although its roots are contemplative. Dominican life is lived in a mission defined and recognized by the Church as an extension of the Apostles’ ministry and, by extension, of Christ’s. It is a life that plunges us into the heart of the Church’s mission because it was there that Dominic found his passion.
Our Dominican life is shaped and forever marked by the compassion that dwelled in Dominic, making him moan and weep at night while he prayed: ‘My God, my God, what will become of sinners?’
Our Dominican life is therefore one of urgency in the face of a world that too often ignores, misunderstands or distorts the good news of Jesus Christ, and scorns and tramples underfoot God’s love. That’s what gives a determination and energy to Dominic’s steps, and to everyone who lives the Gospel following his example.
This life demands our freedom in Christ. It does not confine us within narrow boundaries. Rather, it opens us to creativity and responsibility, setting us adrift on the open sea for the sake of the mission. In the 13th century, the Benedictine Mathieu de Paris was appalled to see the first Dominicans leaving their monasteries to preach the Gospel on the streets and in towns and cities — a practice that was unheard of at the time. Mathieu de Paris said of the first Dominicans: ‘They have the universe for a cloister and the sea for a fence!’ And that is our pride, my brothers and sisters!
This freedom also implies placing a great deal of trust in others, in the brothers and sisters with whom we journey. Dominic’s joyful and welcoming nature, recognized by several witnesses during his lifetime, and his compassion, reveal that he was above all a man of dialogue and brotherhood, capable of sitting down with a Cathar and spending several hours of the night at the table in conversation with him.
What if the dialogue initiated by Dominic laid the foundations for encountering others, a practice that his brothers and sisters throughout the world continue to this day? Would this not be a prophetic gesture with implications for the future of Saint Dominic’s followers? He thus opened a path that the Dominican family has continued to explore, deepen and broaden since its beginnings.
Let us mention here Jordan of Saxony in the Holy Land in 1236, just twenty years after the foundation of the Order; of Thomas Aquinas and his dialogue with Greek and Arab thinkers; of Catherine of Siena and her bold, active involvement in the Church and society of her time; of Antonio de Montesinos, Francisco de Vitoria, and Bartolomé de Las Casas, and their struggles for the recognition of what would one day be called human rights; and what about Father Lataste in the 19th century, and his work with women prisoners; of Pierre Claverie and his love for the Muslim world, he who said we needed the truth of others, …even though they profess a different faith. Like Saint Dominic, each of these figures was shaped by the culture and mentality of their time, yet they demonstrated boldness in their vision of a plural and fraternal humanity.
May our commitment to the Order of Preachers, lay fraternities, apostolic sisters, contemplative nuns and friar preachers, give us the grace to continue deepening our call to follow Christ in the manner of Saint Dominic. Happy summer season to you all!
Fr. Yves Bériault, OP
Source: Réseau -June 2025- Volume 57, No 2
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