hen
Dominic wanted to form his brothers as preachers he
sent them to study". The importance of study runs
like a thread through the entire text of the Primitive
Constitutions and marks the way in which observances
are lived.
"Our
study ought to tend principally, ardently, and with
the highest endeavor to the end that we might be useful
to the souls of our neighbour."
The
Law of Dispensation is introduced, "especially
in those things which are seen to impede study, preaching
or the good of souls." The daily chapter may be
postponed or omitted "so that study may not be
hindered.” The Office is to be recited "briefly
and succinctly lest the brothers lose devotion and their
study be in any way impeded." The Novice Master
is to teach those in his care "how they should
be intent on study..." This we received from Dominic.
The
originality of Dominic is in putting study at the service
of preaching and giving study a significance, a specificity
that is apostolic.
Study
Ordained to Preaching
Study ordained to preaching was an essential part of
his plan for the Order. In his Expositio Supra Constitutiones,
Humbert of Romans clearly states the Dominican attitude
to study when he says:
"Study
is not the end of the Order but it is of the utmost
necessity to that end which is preaching and labouring
for the salvation of souls, for without study we can
do neither."
He is also aware of the danger that study might become
an end in itself:
"There
are some who devote themselves to sacred writings, but
if study is not directed to the doctrine of preaching
of what use is it.
The Gillet Constitutions gave the impression that study
was linked to the first years of Dominican Life, a necessary
preamble to a life of preaching and ministry! Whole
generations of Dominicans have been affected by this
attitude. The River Forest Constitutions :restored the
tradition that study and reflection are an integral
part of our religious tradition, yet the earlier spirit
persists among many who see study as being confined
to specialists, or a particular period of our lives
as Dominicans.
Pastoral
and Academic
It has been said that "we must walk in the past
to understand the present." An event occurred in
1221 which gave an added pastoral dimension to study
within the Order. On the 4th February 1221, Honorius
III, commended Dominicans as confessors. It focused
the attention of the Order on the need to prepare the
brothers for hearing confessions and counselling. While
the scope of Dominican study expanded to include philosophy
with the creation of the Ratio Studiorum of 1259, the
commission of Honorius III to the ministry of confessions
launched the Order into a system of education with a
strong pastoral bias.
It was the genius of Thomas Aquinas to carry forward
Dominic's fundamental orientation and to broaden; the
basis of theological education in the Order through
his study of Aristotelian philosophy, which enabled
him to give an intellectual foundation to the theology
of the goodness of creation and the rejection of dualism.
In 1265, Thomas began to write his Summa. Fr Leonard
Boyle writes of this time in the life of the students
and studium in Santa Sabina and the beginning of the
Summa:
"...
he was now in position to broaden the basis of their
theological education and to break out of the tradition
of the practical theology that had hitherto marked the
Dominican educational system." He "attempted
to set the regular training in practical theology in
the Dominican Order on a more truly theological course."
Dominic and Thomas shared the same ideal. Thomas' dedication
to study was in no way a neglect of preaching, he shared
the same purpose as Dominic - salvation through preaching,
formed by a life of prayer, contemplation, study and
an apostolic community.
Study
and Community
The Chapter at Oakland reminds us of the intimate connection
between study and community. "The common life is
also the context of our study. First of all because
no one can speak of the love of God unless he or she
finds that love incarnate. Secondly, no one can be a
theologian alone... a full theology must always be the
fruit of communal endeavor." Dominican study is
communitarian. The primary responsibility for study
lies with the community just has the community has the
primary responsibility for preaching.
In the Letter to Brother John, attributed to St Thomas,
he replies to John's request on how to study by first
suggesting, - how to live!
The climat of study is all important. He urges on John
the importance of silence, the place of prayer - to
make room in the heart for the Lord, the need for a
tempered curiosity, and the need to cultivate fraternal
charity. Those who live in centers of study know well
how study is helped or hindered by human relations.
The atmosphere for study is enormously aided by a good
community spirit.
Victor White, in his commentary on the Letter, draws
attention to the Second Part of the Summa, where Thomas
reflects on the emotional problems experienced by students
and their special need for recreation.
Students
have special needs. They need encouragement.
Have some of us forgotten what it was like to be young
and to struggle ? The acquisition of real knowledge
is a gradual and interior process. It is gradual because
we are human and not angels. No one else can do our
knowing for us. There are no short cuts. We need teachers
to guide us but the best teacher cannot do our learning
for us.
They need an atmosphere conducive to study and reflection.
This is not the least of the purposes of having a studium,
a master and teachers to guide us. When we study elsewhere,
it is necessary to have a rhythm of life and accompaniment
that enables us to pursue our studies in a fruitful
way. For us, study is an observance which makes considerable
demands. It requires a high degree of personal devotion,
discipline and dedication. The habit of study is the
result of personal endeavour and perseverance.
Those
who teach have special needs. Your work involves
the intense application of the mind. The work of investigation
and critical reflection is not known for giving immediate
gratification or guaranteed recognition. The results
are at times so meager that they do not seem to justify
the effort. The academic vocation is rare and those
who, pursue it are constantly faced with the temptation
to abandon it.
You cannot teach students everything and sometimes there
is little thanks. Perhaps your greatest gift to them,
is to equip them with the tools of critical reflection.
Do we need to be reminded once again of the plea in
the Acts of the General Chapter of Walberberg ?
"We
would say one word to the Brothers: Read Thomas; give
this formation to our students so that they are able
toread the text of Thomas for themselves."
Yves Congar described the work of scholarship and research
in these words: "The scientific study of philosophy
and theology, with all this demands: meticulous documentation,
reflection, publication... all these are integral to
the Order's mission. Should it ever neglect them the
grace would be given to others... In Biblical science,
in historical matters and in the knowledge of sources,
there are today, resources at our disposal, which no
theologian would ignore or neglect to use in research
work."
A
demanding vocation
Our motto is truth. If it meant that we possess the
truth, we would be guilty of arrogance. If we understand
that we are pilgrims in the search for truth, we have
begun to understand our vocation.
Gilbert of Tournai wrote: “We will never discover
the truth if we are content with what we have discovered.
The writers who went before us are not our masters but
our guides. The truth is open to everyone. It has never
become the sole possession of any one person."
In the Office of Readings, we find this comment of Vincent
of Lerins: "Is there to be no development of doctrine
in Christ's Church ? Certainly there should be great
development. Who could be so grudging towards his fellow
men and so hostile to God to prevent it ?"
Dominican study is the study of theology. If our study
is dedicated to preaching and moreover doctrinal preaching,
then our study has to be theological. Because it is
specifically theological does not imply a disregard
for other areas of knowledge. If it is theological,
it is likewise interdisciplinary.
Pilgrims
of Truth
We have a tradition in research and scholarship. How
faithful are we to this aspect of our vocation ? It
has to be said, that Brothers are more drawn to pastoral
involvement than to lives dedicated to study and research.
Yet the Church and the time we live in, needs men and
women who will dedicate themselves to study and research
and to creating a philosophy and theology which speaks
of God to the people of today. Are we creating in the
Order the conditions for them to emerge and support
them when they do ? How few of the topics chosen for
doctoral theses address the problems of today!
Addressing the General Chapter in 1983, John Paul II
reminded us:
"You
Dominicans have the mission of proclaiming that our
God is alive... The Prophetic charism within your Order
has received the particular seal of theology... Be faithful
to this mission of theology and of wisdom in your Order,
no matter in what form you are called to exercise it,
whether academic or pastoral."
This tradition of study and theological reflection for
the purpose of salvation, continues to challenge us.
It does not mean that a Dominican is more learned than
others, or that every Dominican must be a specialist
in philosophy or theology; but it does mean that the
pursuit of truth is an intimate part of the life of
every Dominican.
Is the search for truth still valid ? Some say no. Words
and language have been so devalued that they no longer
mean what they originally sought to convey. On the other
hand a preoccupation with subjectivity suggests that
the truth is - how I feel. A widespread pluralism suggests
that everyone's opinion is right - truth is relative.
On another level we live at a time when society is so
busy trying to solve the urgent and concrete problems
of our time, a preoccupation with survival, that the
study of philosophy is considered irrelevant. Yet the
pursuit of truth is our vocation. We believe in God's
gift to every human creature - the ability to discover,
to live and communicate truth.
Fidelity
to our Tradition, Doing Theology Today
It raises the question of how we do theology. The Chapter
at Oakland reminded us: "We have been most theologically
creative when we have dared to let ourselves be interrogated
by the problems that have burdened, people," as
indeed Thomas was. In the Questiones Disputatae, Thomas
addressed the problems of his day as Dominicans must
address the problems of ours.
Theology flourished in Salamanca, precisely because
Vittoria and his companions addressed the actual questions
which came to them from their Brothers in the Americas
and dedicated themselves to a theological reflection
on these questions. It is, perhaps, the finest example
of collaboration between missionaries and teachers.
Fidelity to our past is only possible by addressing
the problems of today. We are not being faithful to
our past by assuming a defensive or triumphalist attitude
or by repeating or mimicking what our brothers wrote,
or by a servile interpretation of ancient texts: To
study tradition out of curiosity is sterile, to study
it in a defensive or triumphalist way is harmful. It
is necessary to study it critically. The time we live
in and our changed circumstances require answers to
the questions of today. These challenges are formulated
in the Four Priorities. They are the most critical areas
of concern today, while at the same time being deeply
rooted in our tradition. The most creative scientific
contributions of Dominicans in this century were made
by men who addressed the problems of their time: Lagrange,
Chenu, Lebret...
Setting the achievement of Thomas before us as an example
for our time Paul VI wrote:
"
he found a new solution for the relation between faith
and reason consists in his harmonizing the secularity
of the world with the austere demands of the Gospel."
"He
showed in his teaching and in his life that it was possible
to harmonize fidelity to the word of God with a mind
completely open to the world and its genuine values,
to combine zeal for renewal and progress with the aim
of building a system of doctrine on the firm foundation
of tradition."
He also reminds us that Thomas:
"kept
abreast of the new knowledge of his time in dealing
with new problems to which it gave rise and in studying
arguments from human reason both for' and against the
faith... His mind was open to every advance of truth
from whatever source it came."
He also warns against a slavish following of Thomas:
"It
is not sufficient to take this doctrine up again with
a literal repetition of formulas, with the same group
of problems and with the once customary manner of treating
questions." "We have no doubt that today he
would eagerly seek to discover the causes of the changes
effecting man, his circumstances, his mentality, his
behaviour."
We are challenged to be equally creative. Fidelity to
St Thomas means a theological reflection on the "disputed
questions" of our time.
In an article entitled "El Estudio En La Orden
De Predicadores", to which I am indebted in writing
this letter, Felicisimo Martinez writes:
"To
really get theological reflection going in the Order,
the first task is to reconcile missionaries and professors;
pastoral activity and intellectual activity; the missionary
tradition and the monastic tradition. The existence
of these two traditions in Dominican history is not
an impoverishment but a richness. To oppose these two
traditions is an impoverishment. A divorce between theological
reflection and preaching has been one of the greatest
tragedies in the history of the Order because at the
name time it devalues theology and preaching. The division
of Dominicans into groups of professors and preachers
impoverishes the ideal of study and evangelization,
because pastors and evangelizers will consider themselves
dispensed from study which is considered the territory
of specialists and professional; and the professors
will consider themselves dispensed from pastoral work
and evangelization."
The tension between the pastoral and the academic should
be creative for both. When it is not, we are all diminished.
Some
Dilemmas with Regard to Study
Most provinces and vicariates believe that students
should pursue their studies in their own country. Experience
has shown that sending students in institutional formation
abroad, has had disastrous consequences in many cases.
Yet the small number of students in some entities makes
it impossible to have a Dominican studium. As a consequence
students must be sent elsewhere for their studies. Where
the number is small they need the company and stimulation
of larger numbers.
The solution in many instances is to send students to
an institution in their own country - diocesan seminaries
or institutes established by religious. Some are good
but this is not always the case.
As far as possible, we must ensure that their studies
pattern those of the Ratio Studiorum and ensure a graduated
introduction to philosophy and theology. There is a
value in a sequential order of studies for students
rather than a haphazard series of unrelated courses.
The Primitive constitutions describe a form of tutorial
system which provided a forum in which students could
tease out the more difficult problems relating to their
studies. There is much to be said for some form of tutorial
system to enable students to assimilate the material
they receive in their lectures.
In some entities there is an indifference to studies
and intellectual formation. Little importance is given
to the academic ability of the candidates seeking admission
to the order nor is sufficient effort made to bring
them up to a required standard. The lack of emphasis
on study is then reflected in an indifference to study
among the students themselves.
An option for the poor cannot be lived in opposition
to Dominican studies. The problem is how to give students
the conditions for formation without at the same time,
making them into comfortable middle-class people.
Some entities clearly do not put enough thought into
the solution of the real problems that confront them
in the education of their students.
Everything we do in ministry will be coloured by our
academic formation. If we are to be good media people
we must first be good theologians : if we work in justice
likewise. We have the example of the first brothers
in Latin America. Their success as preachers was precisely
because they were recognized as good theologians. They
themselves realized their own limitations and had recourse
to their professors in Salamanca.
Collaboration
We are short of men trained in philosophy, theology
and the kindred sciences. In some areas joint planning
and sharing of personnel would help to relieve this
problem. In developing countries economics is one of
the factors which inhibits the sharing of personnel.
With this in mind, a fund has been established to assist
such collaboration and formation. The details have been
sent to provincials.
Whether a province decides to send its students elsewhere
for part or the whole of their studies, each province
should train some men in philosophy, theology and the
kindred sciences. The doctrinal mission of the Order
cannot be fulfilled unless each entity endeavours to
train men who will work together as a team in a center
of studies, men who are willing to try and work on the
frontiers of learning.
Where there is collaboration between entities each entity
must supply someone to accompany their students to this
teaching center as part of the formation team or as
teachers.
If we are preachers we are also students. Study is an
obligation that goes with being a friar preacher.
