Dear
brothers and sisters,
he
Order of Preachers (the Dominicans) "was founded,
from the beginning, especially for preaching and the
salvation of souls ". Because of this, we, the
sons and daughters of Saint Dominic, offer ourselves
in a new way to the universal Church, dedicating ourselves
entirely to the complete evangelization Word of God
to all men and women, groups and communities, believers
and non-believers and especially the poor . We are conscious
that history and the world of humanity are the places
where salvation is achieved. Because of this, attentive
to the dynamism of modern society, we insist on the
necessity of establishing our preaching on the new experiences
and realities that contemporary men and women daily
bring to the Christian faith. Reading the Acts of the
most recent General Chapters, we can sketch the new
"Areopagus" or "frontiers" to which
we are called; which are priorities for the Order and
how we can portray our proclamation of the Gospel.
I. THE MISSION OF THE ORDER FROM ITS ORIGINS: "MISSION
WITHOUT FRONTIERS"
The
emphasis on the missionary and evangelizing character
of the Church in Vatican II, in Evangelii Nuntiandi
- which Brother Damian Byrne called the "Carta
Magna of the preacher" - makes singularly clear
the foundational project of Dominic. It is the responsibility
of the whole Dominican Family, "men and women together
in mission," to realize that project and to set
in motion the specific mission of the Order in the world.
Some features that have characterized the Dominican
mission from the beginning are:
The
mission of the Order was and must continue to be a mission
beyond frontiers.
This mission, situated at the - as Bro. Pierre Claverie
OP, bishop of Oran in Algeria, called them, "lignes
de fracture" of humanity, which go across our globalized
world so often marked by injustice and the violence
of racial, social and religious conflicts.
It demanded and demands of the Dominican community the
attitude and practice of itinerancy, mobility, the continuous
displacement towards the new frontiers to which the
priorities of our mission guide us.
II. THE FRONTIERS ON WHICH WE ARE CALLED TO EVANGELIZE:
1. The frontier between life and death:
The great challenge of justice and peace in the world
The most dramatic and urgent problems that confront
contemporary men and women are of a historical character.
They deal with the systems, structures, social practices,
politics and economies that put a great mass of people
between life and death. So, the dedication to justice
and peace - analysis, reflection and actions of solidarity
- is a criterion of the validation of any Dominican
mission, and must accompany any sphere or modality of
our preaching. The example of Bartolomé de las
Casas, Antonio de Montesinos and Pedro de Córdoba
in Latin America, like the example of Domingo de Salazar
in the east and the works of Brother Louis Joseph Lebret
in our time are illuminating.
2.
The frontier between humanity and inhumanity:
The great challenge of the emarginated
The marginalizing structure of today's society produces
an ever-increasing number of emarginated men and women,
who come close to the frontier of an inhuman or sub-human
life. Among the categories of emarginated can be found
many peoples that suffer from material poverty and a
cultural, social, economic and political marginalization.
There are still today, in various forms, victims of
"apartheid": emigrants, dissidents, workers,
women, the sick, the young, the old. These are manifest
signs of the absence of the reign of God, and as such,
a challenge that takes priority in our reflection, study
and evangelization. The mission of the Dominican community
is to inaugurate and show a new model of communion and
participation among all men and women.
3.
The Christian frontier:
The challenge of the universal religions
The universal religious traditions give us the experience
of God. Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism and Islam are situated
nevertheless, beyond the frontier of the Christian experience
of God. Some of these religious traditions exert a strong
influence on contemporary men and women. The dialogue
with other religions brings into question the traditional
conceptions of the evangelizing mission of the Church
as well as inauthentic attitudes and models of evangelization.
The dialogue must be at once analytical and self-critical;
this presupposes a listening attitude and an inculturated
presence, free of any hint of colonialism, imperialism
or fanaticism. Dominic's ideal was to be in mission
beyond the frontiers of established Christianity, among
the Cumbans (this was his dream). The placing of convents
in cities and the presence of the friars in universities
for intercultural and inter-religious dialogue give
priority to this challenge of Dominican evangelization.
4.
The frontier of religious experience:
The challenge of secular ideologies
Contemporary men and women find themselves in a deeply
paradoxical situation: there is a lack of religion and
a yearning for the religious. Secular ideologies explain,
in part, this lack and question the old models of the
transmission of Christ's message. Many of these questions,
planted by contemporary thought, remain to be answered.
Present in all of these is the interrogative about the
person and his or her future and the critical question
about the truth. Atheism, unbelief, secularization,
indifference and laicism are questions that deal strongly
with these ideologies. Dialogue on these very subjects
can serve as a critical corrective to the varied manifestations
of religious and Christian actions and, at the same
time, suggest a priority area of Dominican evangelization.
An important lesson from the origins of Dominican history
has been the capacity of the Order to establish a dialogue
between Christ's message and both classical and emerging
cultures. Some examples are: Saint Dominic, who incorporated
study in his foundational project: Thomas Aquinas in
the 13th century; the Dominican professors and theologians
of the 16th century; the Dominican theologians at Vatican
II. Theology has been creative and prophetic in the
Dominican Family in so far as it has been allowed to
be clarified by cultural coordinates. It has been life-giving
in the measure that it has taken as its point of departure
the pressing quæstiones disputatæ of each
time.
5.
The frontier of the Church:
The challenge of the non-Catholic confessions and other
religious movements
The plurality of confessions is a scandal for believers
and non-believers. The hidden riches in the diverse
Christian traditions are an invitation to ecumenical
dialogue and reconciliation. The theological reflection
of the Order, faithful to its tradition, addresses this
challenge. With other overtones, the frontier of the
Church also goes to the phenomenon of the "new
religious options". In certain countries and regions
of the world, the growing presence of these "movements"
constitutes a challenge for evangelization. Simple denunciation
and anathemas are insufficient. The first ideal of Dominic
was to be in mission beyond the frontiers of "Christianity".
The immediate needs of the Church impeded him, and he
carried out his mission among heretics, in the frontiers
of the Church. From them he learned and took models
of the evangelical and apostolic life. With them, he
was in dialogue without rest. He questioned them with
his witness and fidelity to the communion of the Church.
III. PRIORITIES OF THE ORDER THAT CORRESPOND TO THESE
FRONTIERS:
The
Order of Preachers, which participates in the Apostolic
Life of the Church, must be always in mission and position
itself on the frontiers. The highest priority of all
for us is preaching, "dedicating ourselves entirely
to the complete evangelization of the Word of God".
To realize this end, the Order has reaffirmed four priorities
in recent years. These priorities can not be separated
one from the other nor can one be emphasized while diminishing
the importance of the others; on the contrary, they
are complementary; each one responds in a different
way to the more pressing needs of contemporary peoples
with regard to preaching the Word of God. Neither are
they new, but belong wholly to the charism and tradition
of the Order: in the life of Saint Dominic, in the life
of the brothers of the 13th century, in the life of
the brothers of the 16th century who arrived in Latin
America and the Far East, in the modern epoch. The four
priories are certainly the fruit of our original grace.
They are:
1.
Catechesis in a dechristianized world: the world of
those who grew up in the context of a Christian tradition,
but in fact live on the fringes or outside; indifferent
or hostile to the visible community of believers. This
catechesis should be Pascal, to call people to a personal
conversion and bring about the transformation of the
world; also, it should promote lay ministries.
2.
Evangelization in the context of diverse cultures: oriented
towards a philosophical and theological investigation
of cultures, intellectual systems, social movements
and religious traditions operative "outside of
historical Christianity". The Order is called to
help to give birth to a new way to be Christian on the
various continents. The local communities must identify
with the people in a positive attitude of dialogue and
appreciation of their cultural values.
3.
Justice and Peace: critical analysis of the origins,
forms and structures of injustice in contemporary societies;
evangelical praxis for the liberation and promotion
of the whole person. Actions for Justice and Peace,
that they may be prophetic signs in the world, need
to be integrated into projects of local, provincial
or regional communities; they must be based in social
analysis and biblical and theological sources; they
must support the brothers and sisters who participate
at the risk of their lives in associations and movements
in favor of human dignity.
4.
Human communication through mass media: in the preaching
of the Word of God. The media has very evidently shown
us "the drama of our times": the fracture
between human culture and the evangelical message, between
the human word and the word of faith (Evangelii Nuntiandi
20); the media today constitutes a privileged instrument
to provide a culturally intelligible and effective word
to the efficacious proclamation of the whole Gospel.
Immersed in a world in which the whole person is communicative
of life or death. This occurs in a process in which
there are no spectators; all are actors; the vocation
of the Order calls us, then, to be preachers, that is,
communicators with these characteristics: conviction,
new vision, liberty.
IV.
CHARACTERISTICS OF PREACHING AND ATTITUDES OF THE PREACHER
Evangelization
in these frontiers and in accord with these priorities
has certain characteristics and requires some personal
and communitarian attitudes :
1.
THEOLOGICAL Preaching
This implies a total openness to the whole truth, wherever
it is to be found. It demands a profound reflection
and disposition for dialogue (ecumenical, inter religious
and cultural). Our preaching has always been rooted
in a profound and scientific study of theology. "Our
study must be directed principally, ardently and diligently
to this: that we can be useful to the souls of our neighbors."
Since then our study has been intimately related to
the apostolic mission of preaching of the Order. To
dedicate ourselves to study is to respond to a call
to "cultivate the human search for the truth".
Saint Dominic encouraged his friars to be useful to
souls through an intellectual compassion, to share with
them misericordia veritatis, the mercy of the truth.
The crisis of today's world, the scandal of growing
poverty and injustice, confrontation of different cultures,
contact with dechristianized peoples; all of this is
a challenge for us. Our practice of theological reflection
must prepare us to penetrate profoundly into the significance
of these subjects in the mystery of Divine Providence.
Contemplation and theological reflection give us the
capacity to seek ways more suited for today's preaching
of the Gospel. This is the true path we follow so that
our preaching be doctrinally true, and not an abstract,
intellectual exposition of some system.
2.
COMPASSIONATE Preaching
This demands an attitude of profound compassion for
people, especially for those who find themselves "distant".
Only compassion can cure our blindness and make it possible
that we see the signs of the times. Compassion brings
humility to our preaching - humility for which we are
willing to listen and speak, to receive and give, that
we may influence and be influenced, to be evangelized
and to evangelize. Compassion and humility come only
from a profound union with God in Christ. We are united
to God when we imitate the compassion and humble service
of Christ. Compassion and humility are fountains from
which emanate the knowledge of the signs of the times,
pervading prayer and contemplation. This is how we contemplate
God, who has revealed himself to us through Sacred Scripture
and who manifests his will in the signs of the times.
3.
INCULTURATED AND INCARNATED Preaching
This demands a profound sensibility to the diverse visions
of reality that other religions, cultures and philosophies
(incarnation and inculturation) have. It implies an
education in order to know how to hope, to learn, to
come to conversion, to be part, integrate and help to
purify and elevate that which we find in these religions,
cultures and philosophies.
4.
PROPHETIC Preaching
It is the proclamation not of our own knowledge, but
of the Word of God, living and life-giving, integral
pronouncement of the revealed Gospel that contains words
of eternal life. It is not possible to omit the serious
analysis of the "signs of the times", which
proceeds from supernatural principles and is illuminated
through prayer. To discern the signs of the times, we
must attend diligently to the cry of the poor, the oppressed,
the emarginated and the tortured, and all those who,
because of race, religion and denouncing injustice,
suffer persecution. God talks to us through these cries
and also through the silence of those who have no voice
and live in apathy, loneliness and depression.
5.
Preaching IN POVERTY
Poverty is not only a form of self-denial, but also
a testament and appropriate means that lends credibility
to our preaching; it is a sign of its authority and
sincerity. We live in a world that augments the division
between the rich and the poor - as much in rich and
poor nations as in rich and poor groups and people.
Moreover, the poor today have a better knowledge of
national and international structures that are the cause
of this state of servility and poverty. If in a world
such as this we were to present ourselves as living
more with the rich than with the poor, our preaching
would not be credible.
6.
ITINERANT Preaching
We are men and women in journey. Itinerancy is, in the
first place, a spatial concept that implies a disposition
to go on journey, to travel; but our preaching asks
of us a social, cultural, ideological and economic itinerancy.
It is an aspect of Dominican spirituality that must
inform the whole of our lives and that is nurtured from
diverse biblical experiences from the Hebrew Scriptures
as well as those of Jesus, "The Way" whom
Dominic longed to follow as a true evangelical son.
7.
COMMUNITARIAN Preaching
Our preaching is not the solitary effort of isolated
individuals. And so, it demands a disposition to collaborate,
to work in groups, to support the efforts of others
with a demonstrated interest, vivaciousness and effective
aid. These attitudes have their roots in the essential
elements of our Dominican life: the common life, contemplative
prayer, assiduous study, a fraternal community and consecration
through our vows. The communion and universality of
the Order also inform its government in which are exceptional
the organic and proportioned participation of all of
the parts to attain the correct ends of the Order. It
is a communitarian government in its way and is certainly
appropriate for the promotion of the Order and its frequent
revision.
8.
SHARED Preaching: THE DOMINICAN FAMILY
The Order was born as a Family. Friars, contemplative
nuns, sisters, members of secular institutes and lay
and clerical fraternities and other groups in some manner
associated with the Order (among these: Dominican Youth
Movement - IDYM ; Dominican Volunteers International
- DVI ) inspire us in the charism of Dominic. This charism
is one and indivisible: the grace of preaching. It is
a shared preaching with our brothers and sisters of
the Order who through their baptism live the same common
priesthood and who are consecrated through the same
religious profession and through their promise to the
same mission. Our global identity is better manifested
through our collaboration with one another. This collaboration
includes: praying together, planning, making decisions
and completing projects from a mutual complementarity
that respects equality. These projects include very
diverse themes such as ministries of prayer, teaching,
preaching, pastoral animation, justice and peace, the
mass media, investigations and publications, as well
as promotion of vocations and formation.
Conclusion:
These frontiers, priorities and characteristics of our
proclamation of the Gospel are not "new tasks"
that are added to others like a kind of "categorical
imperative" or "new way" that excludes
others of yesterday. On the contrary, they express a
path of joy and freedom; they express the vocation of
many men and women that have given and give their lives
making their own the words of the Apostle:
"Woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel!"
(1 Corinthians 9, 16) 
Rome,
7 November 2002. Feast of All the Saints of the Order
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