Vade, Praedica

Closing Sermon of the General Chapter of Bologna

 On the mountain Jesus says to the apostles, ã Go and make disciples of all nations.ä That was the
decision of the second General Chapter in Bologna in 1221, that the brethren go on mission. The
brethren were sent to the east and to the north, even to England. And our Chapter too has sent us on
mission. It has commanded us to go: to Russia and the Baltics, to Papua New Guinea, to Cuba, to
that strange and new country which is Internet. It has commanded us to go with new companions,
with our sisters, with our Dominican laity, with the young. It has commanded us to go in new ways.
 

ãGo and preachä, ãVade, Praedicaä, it is even written on the stoles we are wearing. This is what we
have decided to do. These stoles bear the image of Dominicâs staff, the sign of the pilgrim. We
have decided, formally in Chapter, to take to the road once again as pilgrims. Today we celebrate
the end of the General Chapter, but we also celebrate the beginning of the mission that it has given
to us. Now begins the difficult bit!

But what will happen when we go home, filled with enthusiasm for a new mission? What will
happen when you meet with your Provincial Councils and tell them that the Province has to free a
brother for the missions, for Melansia, for Internet or even for Rome? How will our brethren
respond? Will they catch our enthusiasm, and implement our decisions? Or will they say to each
other ãDonât worry in a month he will have got over this rash enthusiasm and then we can carry on
as beforeä.

On the mountain in Galilee, Jesus said ãAll authority on heaven and on earth is given to me. Go and
make disciples of all the nations.ä  What is the authority of our decisions? One cannot say that all
authority in heaven  and on earth is given to the General Chapter. But it is the supreme authority in
the Order. When we make our vows of obedience on the Constitutions, we promise to obey its
decisions.

This legal authority of the Chapter is fundamental to our lives. But it is not enough. How may it
have that deeper authority, which alone will liberate the Order for the mission?

Let us think for a moment of authority of Jesus. ãAll authority in heaven and on earth is given to
meä It is an authority that he receives from the Father. It is founded on his listening to the words of
his Father. In the first place, Jesus has authority because he listens.

Our Chapters too have authority for us all, because we gather in Chapter in order to listen. We
come together to listen to God and to each other. All the texts that we vote will have a true
authority if they are born of attentiveness, to God and to our brethren.

The most powerful moments of this Chapter have been, for me at least, when I have seen us
listening to each other, with great attention. I think of Andrzej Kaminksi telling us of the sufferings
of the Russian people; or when other brethren shared their hopes for dialogue with the Orthodox.
Even if we did not fully understand, we tried to hear. I think of Thomas Kamainda sharing the
situation of our brethren in the Congo, who once again are afflicted with violence. I think Margaret
talking of her experiences of being a Dominican sister, or of Miguel speak of the hopes of the
young. They have said to us ãCome, come and seeä.

Sometimes it has been hard for us to listen and understand, as when we discussed some issues of
affectivity last week. But we have begun, with an open heart and an open ear. So when we go back
home to our Provinces, we will do more than merely tell our brethren of the thousands of
ordinations and recommendations that we have made. That would not achieve much. We will be
able to speak with the authority if we share what we have heard from each other.  We can go back
not just with a text, but as those who share what they have heard.

Second Jesus speaks with the authority of the one who has died and is risen. He has gone outside
the camp, and triumphed over death. Now he can speak with authority, because he has made that
journey.

Often in this Chapter we have talked about how we must make that journey too, beyond narrow
identities of race or culture, beyond a narrow mission that excludes our sisters. We must take to the
road. As Hebrews said in the second reading, ãSo Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to
sanctify the people through his own blood. Therefore let us go forth to him outside the camp and
bear the abuse which he endured.ä

But our texts, our ordinations and recommendations, will remain mere words until we have begun
the journey. I will mention just two moments when I heard that voice of authority, the authority of
the pilgrim.

Right at the beginning of the Chapter, we saw that video of our brother Pierre Claverie, killed just
two years ago, on the 2nd August. We were moved because he spoke with the authority of one who
has taken to the road to Jerusalem, to death. His words were bread for our journey.

And the second  moment was when our brothers from India and Pakistan, Paul and Munawar, both
blessed us with the blessing of peace. They made the exodus beyond the enmity of their people.
They went outside the narrow camps of nationalism, and we were indeed blessed. So let us go forth
to Christ outside the  camp, and then we will speak with his authority. If we remain stuck where we
are, then our words, our excuses, will be empty.

Finally, the words of Jesus have authority because he speaks the truth. He commands the disciples
to teach all that he has commanded them, the whole truth. And his commands have the irresistible
authority of truth. On this same mountain he proclaimed that ãblessed are the poor, for theirs is the
Kingdom of God, Blessed are the merciful, blessed are those who hunger and thrist after justice.ä
These words have authority because however crazy they may seem, we know most deeply that they
are true. Jesus did not need to issue the Beatitudes cum ordinatione!

That was Dominicâs authority too. He scattered the brethren. He told them to go, because stored
grain rots. And they went, eventually, after a little resistence perhaps, just like us, negotiating for
some money for the road. And they went because they recognised that what he said was true. And
this is central to our Dominican tradition. We believe that human beings are made for the truth. We
hunger for the truth, and we can recognise it. This must be the authority of our Acts, that they say is
indeed true.

So, this Chapter sends us on our way:Vade, Praedica! Go and preach. And we can go with
confidence and with authority. In the first place because the Order authorises us to take decisions in
its name. And we have done so. But perhaps even more importantly, because I hope that our words
will be marked with the authority of those who have listened, the authority of those who have
begun to pilgrimage outside the camp, and the authority of truth.

But some on the mountain doubted. Even faced with the Risen Lord, some were not convinced!
And that may be true of some of us. Will these Acts make any difference? Will anything be
changed? Are these just empty texts, which we have wasted hours voting? Allof us may have that
doubt from time to time. But that did not stop Jesus sending all of the disciples, even those that
doubted. He said to them ãGo anyway. Go and learn to believe on the journey.ä

This Chapter sends us. May Dominic, with his pilgrim staff and his star of truth, teach us to speak
with authority as we go.
 

© 1998 Order of Preachers General Chapter, 1998 Internet site by Scott Steinkerchner OP email: steinkerchner@op.org